𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Vladimir Putin is running out of soldiers as his war on Ukraine drags on. The dictator is increasingly relying on prison inmates and foreign mercenaries to fight his war, as well as Russians with large debts which can be written off if they agree to join Putin’s army.

Businesses are also being ordered to send a portion of their workforce to the front lines. And as the recruitment crisis becomes increasingly desperate, injured Russia soldiers are being ordered back into battle they have healed – making their chances of survival slim.

But recruits are disproportionately drawn from the country’s poorest regions, and Putin has so far avoided using strong-arm tactics to boost numbers from the wealthiest part of Russia or Moscow itself. With the war in its fifth year, the scale of Putin’s problem is revealed in a paper from the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre in Kyiv, based partly on evidence gathered from Russian service personel who have surrendered.

Author Oksana Kuzan, head of the centre’s Analytics Department, revealed that every square kilometre of territory captured in the Donetsk region is costing Russia 316 killed and wounded soldiers, with the number rising due to the increased use of drones by the Ukrainian Defence Forces.

He writes: “Russian authorities face mounting difficulties in recruiting new volunteers for the war against Ukraine. Even in the poorest regions of Siberia and the Far East, increasingly generous financial incentives are failing to sustain enlistment levels.”

The Kremlin aims to recruit between 33,500 and 34,600 new soldiers every month, or at least 1,100 every day, but is managing to sign up just 940 each day.

Putin is bringing in personnel from Russia’s strategic reserve forces to keep numbers up, but also relying on repressive recruitment methods. The paper says: “This applies to the most powerless segments of the population as well as prisoners and debtors (40% of the total quota), who can be ‘won over’ with amnesty, debt forgiveness or the closure of criminal cases.

“The Kremlin is also actively recruiting students and foreigners.”

There are currently around 27,000 foreign mercenaries in the Russian army. In addition, Putin is also forcing Ukrainians in territory occupied by Russia to fight against their fellow countrymen.

Horrifically, wounded Russian soldiers are often denied treatment by their own side – in some cases leading to unnecessary deaths, but in other cases “wounded but still living Russian soldiers are sent back into the fray”, the report warns.

The paper states: “In the first three months of 2026, the Russians advanced at half the pace compared to last year. Moscow has to choose where to redeploy troops – for an assault or for defence – stretching forces across wider sections of the front and consequently leaving the rear exposed.

“If Ukraine can maintain this momentum for long enough, Russia may gradually lose its ability to conduct active offensive operations.

“To achieve this, Ukraine will need sustained international military aid. It will simultaneously strengthen Europe’s defence capabilities and negotiating position, thereby limiting Russia’s ability to open new anticipated fronts within the EU.”