Russia resorts to trucking and large wages to attract volunteer soldiers

Sept. 18 (Reuters) – The Russian military is looking for contract soldiers for what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, and is using mobile recruiting trucks to attract volunteers, offering nearly $3,000 a month as an incentive.

A special unit placed one of these trucks in a central park in the southern Russian city of Rostov on Saturday and removed the sides to reveal a mobile office.

Soldiers in camouflage uniforms and black masks showed their weapons to interested passersby and distributed colorful brochures entitled “Military Service under Contract – The Choice of a Real Man”.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine disclosed their military losses, which Western intelligence agencies put in the tens of thousands on both sides.

Moscow has not updated the official death toll since March 25, when it said 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed and 3,825 wounded. The Kremlin said last week there had been no discussion of a national mobilization to reinforce its forces. Read more

But the recruitment drive shows that Moscow needs more men. The officer in charge of the Rostov truck said that Russians and foreigners between the ages of 18 and 60 with at least a secondary education would be eligible.

“Citizens with a patriotic mind choose to sign contracts for three or six months to participate in the special military operation,” said Major Sergei Ardashev, promising training for everyone.

The minimum monthly wage offered is 160,000 rubles ($2,700), which is almost three times the national average.

One potential recruit was musician Viktor Yakunin, who said that he had always been drawn to the idea of ​​military service and that now he was collecting the necessary documents.

“I would love to serve in the Airborne Forces,” he said. “My parents raised me from childhood to love my country, to protect the Russian world. And I believe that strength is with us.”

Inside the truck, Yakunin sat with Ardashev, who told him that the next step would be a mental examination. If he succeeds, there will be a physical test of speed, strength and endurance.

If all goes well, Yakunin “will reach a military unit, enroll in a certain division, (and) from that moment begin military service.”

Young men outside, some with their families, watched a temporary exhibition displaying portraits of the conflict’s official heroes, along with a large banner that read “Imitation of Victory”.

(1 dollar = 59.5000 rubles)

Reporting by Reuters. Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Thomas Janowski

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