Russia employs coercive recruitment to meet military manpower targets

The Russian government is implementing aggressive and coercive recruitment tactics to replenish military forces amid ongoing losses in Ukraine. To avoid the political instability associated with a formal nationwide mobilization, the Kremlin has reportedly set quotas for regional authorities to recruit approximately 409,000 new soldiers.

Reports indicate that recruiters are targeting vulnerable individuals, including those with outstanding debts, criminal investigations, or recent driving license suspensions. Methods of enforcement have included detaining men in streets, workplaces, and factories to pressure them into signing military contracts. In the Khabarovsk region, for example, authorities conducted thousands of recruitment conversations but achieved very few signed contracts.

While the Kremlin offers significant signing bonuses to incentivize enlistment, budget data suggests a decline in federal enlistment bonuses during the first quarter of the year. Analysts suggest these measures reflect a desperate attempt to sustain the war effort without triggering the mass flight from the country seen during the 2022 mobilization.