According to analysts, the increase in financial incentives introduced by the Russian authorities to attract the military is unlikely to significantly help overcome mobilization problems.
Why the Kremlin will continue to recruit soldiers for money
The Russian government plans to allocate 90 billion rubles ($948 million) in one-time payments to those who sign military contracts with the Ministry of Defense between 2025 and 2027, it said.
This suggests that the Kremlin expects to continue using cryptomobilization to meet manpower needs for the war in Ukraine.
The Russian government currently offers one-time payments of 400,000 rubles ($4,200) for signing a military contract, in addition to regional payments, some of which already exceed a million rubles. This indicates the Kremlin's intention to recruit 225,000 new military personnel by 2027, but this is unlikely to happen, given the increase in rates from 2022, analysts say.
ISW points out that in recent months, the Russian authorities have significantly increased financial incentives for recruitment, but these efforts are yielding less and less results.
The increase in payments indicates that current efforts are insufficient to ensure the constant recruitment of new soldiers needed to support offensive operations in Ukraine.
An increase in financial incentives is unlikely to significantly change the situation, as there are medium- and long-term limits on the number of conscripts that can be attracted by the Russian crypto-mobilization campaign, ISW emphasized.
Analysts also note that Vladimir Putin continues to support cryptomobilization to avoid announcing a new, unpopular partial mobilization draft. However, the possibility remains that Putin could again resort to conscription, as he did in the fall of 2022, if Russia faces a new crisis.
Putin increased the size of the Russian army by 180,000 soldiers
On September 16, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a decree increasing the number of servicemen in the Russian Armed Forces by 180,000.
Putin also instructed the government to allocate the necessary budget funds to the Ministry of Defense for the implementation of the relevant decree.
Thus, Putin increased the size of the army by 180,000 troops.
In December 2023, Putin also increased the size of the Russian army, bringing the number of servicemen to 1.32 million. Before a full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022, the Russian armed forces barely exceeded 1 million.
