Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Moscow has recruited almost 120,000 contract soldiers since January 1, 2023 in its army, which is trying to rebuild its forces weakened by the offensive in Ukraine, AFP reports.

“From January 1 to May 19, 117,400 people were accepted into the Armed Forces under contract and into volunteer formations,” Dmytro Medvedev said during a meeting on army recruitment.

The Russian politician, who is currently the second in the Security Council of the Russian Federation, expressed his satisfaction with the “continuation of work” on increasing the forces of the army “within the instructions given by (Vladimir Putin) in this regard.”

The Russian army has suffered significant losses in Ukraine – although the military hierarchy has kept them secret – prompting it to try to expand its ranks.

The Russian army wants to recruit hundreds of thousands more soldiers

Anticipating a large-scale counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops, Moscow launched a large-scale recruitment campaign in recent weeks, reports Agerpres.

The authorities have not announced specific targets, but some Russian media have reported that the army hopes to attract hundreds of thousands of people by offering them contracts with very attractive terms.

The campaign took off in social networks, numerous posters promoting the army appeared on the streets of Russian cities.

Last September, Moscow organized the first “partial” mobilization of at least 300,000 people, forcing tens of thousands of men who refused to go to the front to flee abroad.

In late December 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Shoigu estimated that Russia’s military “needs” to increase its strength to 1.5 million soldiers — “of which 695,000 are under contract” — thus exceeding the 1.15 million target set by Vladimir Putin. in August.

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