Due to the lack of troops, Russia is trying to recruit new forces, including using Vkontakte accounts of libraries and even kindergartens, he writes. New newspaperappropriate Ukrainian Pravda.

Russian soldiers use dronesPhoto: Vitaly Newar / Sputnik / Profimedia

Last week, Vladimir Putin signed into law an electronic subpoena law that makes it much easier to challenge Russians to war. But the Kremlin is not yet ready to announce a second wave of mobilization, so the authorities are trying to solve the shortage on the front lines with the help of contract workers and volunteers.

“In Vkontakte, we found 75,000 ads with calls to go to the front, and 70% of them appeared in the last two months. “Posts are published in the accounts of hospitals, employment centers, libraries and even kindergartens,” Novaya Gazeta writes.

Almost 90% of all contract announcements are from the Ministry of Defense, but there are also posts about the search for volunteers and recruitment for the private military company “Wagner”.

“Contract service – the choice of real men!”, “Military service – stability and confidence in life!” and “Your country needs you!”.

“Novaya Gazeta” found almost 20,000 advertising posts in news publications, as well as in job search groups.

At least 650 vacancies are posted on HeadHunter, a popular job search site in Russia. The rest of the announcements were published in groups without a clear theme.

Speculations that the Russian army would run out of reserves appeared as early as last fall, but later the ministry headed by Sergei Shoigu threw conscripts into battle as part of the “partial” mobilization that Vladimir Putin ordered in September. 21.

However, these new forces suffered heavy casualties during the winter months, when the Russian army unsuccessfully attempted to capture the city of Bakhmut, as well as launching other smaller-scale offensives against the towns around it.

In these conditions, rumors are increasingly persistent that Putin is preparing to start a new wave of mobilization, even if it will not be officially announced, but implemented at the local level by the Russian military leadership and governors of various regions.

Last Friday, Putin unveiled a law making it easier for Russians to join the armed forces after the corresponding bill was passed by the Russian parliament as an emergency.