Authorities in Moscow are offering a record bonus for new recruits to fight in Ukraine, the latest sign of an effort to boost the number of Russian troops.
The financial offer comes as President Vladimir Putin seeks to recruit soldiers for his army, as the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine continues into its third year, according to foreign media.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin introduced a one-time bonus of 1.9 million rubles (around $22,000) for city residents who join the army, according to a statement on Tuesday.
However, anyone accepting the offer could earn up to 5.2 million rubles ($59,600) in their first year of service, the statement added.
Those wishing to join the fight in Ukraine can also receive one-time cash payments of around $5,690 to $11,390 for injuries, “depending on severity,” and the family of a soldier killed in action could be paid $34,150.
While the number of Russian casualties remains concealed, estimates suggest that the death toll among troops is high.
Over 70,000 soldiers are likely to have been killed or wounded in May and June alone, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence in an update on July 12, as the Russian army faced heavy losses on a new front in the Kharkiv region.
Meanwhile, it is estimated that Russia has lost 87% of its active-duty ground troops that it had before the invasion of Ukraine and two-thirds of its tanks that it had before the invasion began.
As personnel deaths rise, the Kremlin is searching everywhere to find fighters to send to the front.
Putin has ordered the country’s military to increase its troop numbers by 170,000, which would bring the total number of Russian military personnel to more than 2.2 million, including 1.32 million troops, according to a decree published by the Kremlin in December.
This equates to increasing the size of the Russian army by 15% and marks the second such expansion of the army since the beginning of Putin’s invasion.
