the Russian army continues to recruit massively, by all means

Six months after the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, the front line remains almost frozen between the two countries. To change the situation, Russia ordered a new enlistment campaign on Friday, while Ukraine tries to attract civilians to relieve its exhausted soldiers.

After 19 months of war, the Ukrainian population is exhausted. The counter-offensive which began in June was very dangerous and, on both sides, thousands of soldiers died every day in positional battles. Ukraine is aware that the war will last a long time and the initial enthusiasm is fading. While the army tries to attract civilians through arrangements to relay soldiers to the front, the authorities in Russia seek to increase the number of its troops by all means.

Raids in Russia?

On Friday, December 1, Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering an increase in the number of soldiers in the army by 15%, or nearly 170,000 additional men. A considerable growth made necessary obviously by the war, but also justified by “the continuation of NATO enlargement”which unfolds “near the borders of Russia.” The Russian government, however, denies wanting to launch a second wave of mobilization, which is too unpopular. The September 2022 mobilization caused a wave of exiles: hundreds of thousands of men fled the country. Officially, 300,000 men had then been mobilized, but their number is perhaps higher, the question of numbers on the Ukrainian front being extremely sensitive and secret. Today, the army therefore explains that it is recruiting elsewhere, with the help of particularly generous salaries. Last September, she said that including military service conscripts and voluntary enlistees, a total of 385,000 people had joined the Russian army in 2023. Despite these seemingly massive numbers, it doesn’t seem to be enough. Hence this decree from Vladimir Putin.

If the volunteers are not enough, the Russian authorities seem to have other solutions. This weekend, two MPs proposed extending military service from one to two years. For its part, the Ministry of Defense plans to review the medical criteria which allow people to escape the army. Finally, numerous testimonies, confirmed by human rights movements, relate raids in certain large cities, in Moscow in particular. Some young men are arrested in the street or in the metro, and are taken directly to military police stations for “verification”, officially. Stories are emerging on social networks and in certain media: young men, normally exempt for medical reasons or because they are students, find themselves enlisted against their will. On Telegram messaging, lawyers even provide advice on how to escape forced departure to Ukraine. The whole country is increasingly turning its economy, its resources, its population towards war and everyone here has understood that it will last.

The urgency to demobilize exhausted Ukrainian forces

In Ukraine, we are far from the queues in front of recruitment offices during the first weeks of the war. Today, Ukrainians are anxiously awaiting their mobilization order. With the establishment of martial law, men aged 18 to 60 are not allowed to leave the country. Only students, fathers of more than three children and disabled men or those caring for a vulnerable person can theoretically escape it. Once mobilized, conscripts have 45 days of express training and are sent to their position, often directly to the front. Many seek to circumvent the system. University registrations have exploded, some desert and flee the country with smugglers, in exchange for a few thousand dollars, others obtain false medical certificates. In September, Volodymir Zelensky fired all the heads of conscription offices after corruption scandals.

Ukraine needs mobilization more than ever, because the losses are significant, but also because we must also be able to “demobilize”, allow those who have been at the front for two years, almost without breaks, to return to normal life. These men and women are exhausted. We recognize them in kyiv, during rare leave, by their fixed gaze of those deeply traumatized.

Thus, Ukraine is considering the implementation of new legislation. From now on, graduates over the age of 30 can no longer re-enroll at university. The State promises Ukrainians who want to participate to ensure that they are used to the best of their skills and not simply in the infantry or artillery. Thus, many civilians are starting to enroll in private drone piloting training, which is so essential in this war. You can also choose your unit of assignment and the State could call on private recruitment firms to improve this process.