Whoever signs a contract with the Russian armed forces forces in Crimea and fighting on the fronts in Ukraine, will receive land on the annexed peninsula. Is this how Moscow recruits new soldiers without mobilization?
Until now, only residents of the annexed peninsula could receive land in Crimea from the occupying “powers” if they participated in the war with Ukraine. Now non-residents of Crimea who sign a contract with the Russian armed forces in the annexed Crimea to participate in the war with Ukraine are given such an opportunity. As a reward for this, such Russian citizens will receive a plot of land in Crimea for free - “regardless of the place of registration and residence on the territory of the Russian Federation”, the occupying “authorities" announced. of Moscow's subordinate “Republic of Crimea“.
Replenishments for the army without mobilization?
Russia is not able to replenish its losses on the front line, which have reached the maximum, the Bloomberg agency writes in this regard. And the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region revealed Moscow's lack of defensive reserves. Despite the significantly increased salaries of contract servicemen, Russian regions fail to fulfill a third of the quotas for recruiting servicemen, sources close to the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Kremlin told the publication. In this regard, they do not rule out that a new mobilization will be announced in Russia by the end of the year, probably disguised as a “rotation” of the military at the front.
Meanwhile, the Russian armed forces continue to recruit prisoners from Russian prisons, and conscripts in the Kursk region are forced to sign contracts. Russia is also actively recruiting citizens from the Global South for the war, promising them high pay and citizenship. Such foreigners, captured or surrendered to the Ukrainian army, testify that they were sent to the front line despite promises to the contrary.
The war is costing Russia dear
From the Re: Russia project, they calculated that payments to servicemen participating in the war against Ukraine, as well as to the wounded and relatives of those killed in the fighting for one year (from July 2023 to June 2024) amounted to 2 .75 to 3 trillion rubles. This is equivalent to approximately 1.5% of Russia's expected GDP in 2024, according to Re: Russia.