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Agence France-Presse

A slick new video that has gone viral on Russian social media platforms shows a taxi driver, a security guard and a fitness coach at work.
“Did you really dream of being this kind of defender?” the footage released by the Russian defence ministry says.
The video, set to dramatic music, then depicts armed men in full combat gear walking across a battlefield in thick fog.
“You’re a real man! Be one!” says the ad, encouraging Russians to sign a contract with the defence ministry.
Moscow has launched an aggressive military recruitment campaign complete with videos and ubiquitous billboards as Kyiv gears up for a counteroffensive after months of stalemate in eastern Ukraine.
“Our job is defending the motherland,” reads one of the billboards in the capital, showing three soldiers under a big blue sky.

new russian recruitment video just dropped
for ‘real men’ onlypic.twitter.com/nH9S4JQC19
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) April 20, 2023

“An honourable job and a decent salary,” says another slogan.
Last September, President Vladimir Putin announced a “partial” military mobilisation – Russia’s first since World War II – sending shock waves across the country and prompting tens of thousands to flee.
Russia does not disclose full casualty figures. But up to 43,000 Russians have been killed in the war so far, according to a recently leaked estimate from the US Defence Intelligence Agency.
It estimated up to 17,500 Ukrainians had been killed too.
Unwilling to announce a second mobilisation drive, Moscow has instead opted for a massive PR campaign, hoping to lure Russians with financial incentives.
The authorities have not disclosed their targets but various estimates say Moscow could be trying to recruit 400,000 volunteers.

“The authorities are almost certainly seeking to delay any new, overt mandatory mobilisation for as long as possible to minimise domestic dissent,” British military intelligence said this week.
Those who sign a contract with the Russian defence ministry are promised a monthly salary of at least 204,000 roubles (US$2, 450).
A notice on the Moscow mayor’s website specifies that servicemen will be paid “at least 204,000 roubles” in “the zone of the special military operation”, the Kremlin’s official term for the offensive in Ukraine.
Those who take part in offensives are promised a daily bonus of 8,000 roubles (around US$100) and at least 50,000 roubles (around US$615) for capturing or destroying enemy weapons and military equipment.
Russia’s new T-14 Armata battle tank debuts in Ukraine: report
Some praised the recruitment drive.
“In Russia, this is a good amount to support your family, and even your parents,” Pyotr Lipka, a 21-year-old student from the southern city of Volgograd, said.
“This makes sense: if a person defends his motherland, why shouldn’t he get paid?” Lipka said, adding that signing a contract was better than being mobilised.
The PR campaign in support of the army builds on Russia’s macho culture, promoting the image of a “real man” as strong and patriotic.

Last year, the authorities admitted embarrassing mistakes in their troop call-up for Ukraine, after some public outrage over students, older or sick people being mistakenly ordered to report for duty.
Yevgeny Krapivin, 41, served as a professional soldier when Russia fought Chechen separatists in 1999-2002 and would like to sign up again to fight in Ukraine.
He said recruitment officers first turned him away, pointing to his age. “Then they told me: ‘Wait. You can get a call at any moment’,” he said in central Moscow. “I am ready.”
The launch of the new recruitment drive has coincided with preparations for May 9 celebrations marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, which has reached a cult status under Putin.
Ukraine war spurs record global spending on military: SIPRI
This month Putin approved a controversial bill to create a digital draft system that could stop men from leaving the country.
Kremlin critics say the bill will greatly facilitate mobilising men to fight and clamp down on those avoiding the draft as the assault on Ukraine stretches into a second year.
Political observers say the Kremlin is keen to keep a tight lid on social discontent in Russia as economic troubles mount.
“Authorities clearly want to avoid a new shock, a new stress for society,” Denis Volkov, head of independent pollster Levada Centre, said, referring to a military mobilisation.
“And they’ve opted for a different scenario: to recruit volunteers,” he said.
The campaign could be successful, especially in Russia’s small, poverty-stricken towns, he added.
The new approach seemed to be working, Volkov said.
“We are not seeing any of the panic that there was in autumn,” he said.
“No one is queuing up to go across the border.”
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Ukraine war

‘Be a real man’: Russian army launches recruitment drive as Ukraine counteroffensive looms

In a new recruitment video, the Russian military challenges ‘real’ men to swap civilian life for the battlefield. Photo: Russian Ministry of Defence

A poster in Moscow promoting contract army service. It reads: ‘Our job, defending the homeland’. Photo: AFP

Russian conscripts called up for military service at a recruitment centre in Simferopol, Crimea. Photo: Reuters

Russia’s new T-14 Armata battle tank debuts in Ukraine: RIA report

A Russian T-14 Armata in Red Square, Moscow in 2015. File photo: EPA-EFE 

A Russian T-14 Armata tank drives through Moscow’s Red Square in 2015. File photo: AFP

Ukraine war: Putin ally indicates we are ‘probably on verge of new world war’, as Kyiv counteroffensive looms

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said “The world is sick and quite probably is on the verge of a new world war,”. Photo: Pool via AP

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman and the head of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev. Photo: Pool via AP

Ukraine war spurs record global spending on military: SIPRI report

Globally, the world’s countries thus continued to spend more money on the military than in the previous year for the eighth year in a row.  Photo: Reuters

Ukraine official claims ‘Putin double’ visited war zone

President Vladimir Putin visiting the headquarters of the Dniepr military grouping in the Kherson region of Ukraine. Photo:  Russian Presidential Office via AFP

The Kremlin released a short video showing Vladimir Putin getting out of a helicopter and shaking hands with uniformed men. Photo: Russian Presidential Office via AFP 

News

World

Europe

Russia & Central Asia

Russia’s military has launched a video campaign to lure more professional soldiers to fight in Ukraine
Posters seeking professional soldiers have also sprung up in the Russian capital in recent weeks


Moscow has launched an aggressive military recruitment campaign complete with videos and ubiquitous billboards as Kyiv gears up for a counteroffensive after months of stalemate in eastern Ukraine.


Russia

Vladimir Putin

Ukraine

War and conflict