Russia may announce a new mobilization as its army lacks enough soldiers to make up for losses on the front lines in Ukraine, which have reached their highest level since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Suspilne writes.
According to Bloomberg, citing three anonymous sources close to the Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry, the growing shortage of soldiers for the war in Ukraine is prompting Russia to raise recruitment bonuses to avoid a repeat of the unpopular mobilization.
So far, there are few signs that this is working, the agency notes. According to the source, regional officials are leaving more than a third of their personnel quotas unfilled on average.
According to two other sources, the situation may force Russia to consider a new mobilization. Alternatively, officials could present it as a rotation measure to rest troops on the front lines, the first source said. According to another, the draft could be announced as early as the end of this year.
Russian economist Alex Isakov told Bloomberg Economics that Putin needs “about 500,000 people over the next 12 months to compensate for attrition and rotation of its troops deployed in Ukraine”.
Russia’s current recruitment strategy, which relies on paying volunteers above market wages, will not be enough to achieve this. Instead, the government will likely turn its attention to conscripts, – Isakov said.
On September 21, 2022, Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia, which affected 300,000 people. In late October, Putin said the mobilization was over, but he did not sign a decree.
