Putin doubles signing bonuses to lure more soldiers to Ukraine war

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has sharply increased the one-time payment for Russians and foreigners in exchange for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense. Now, a conscript participating in the war against Ukraine will receive as much as 400,000 rubles (approx. $4,300).

Until now, those wishing to go to the conflict zone, as well as military personnel and mobilized individuals who signed a contract after September 21, 2022, were entitled to a one-time payment amounting to 195,000 rubles (approx. $2,100). "Thus, the amount of the payment has more than doubled," writes "The Moscow Times".

At the same time, only those who sign a contract from August 1 to December 31, 2024 will be eligible for the increase. Meanwhile, Putin has recommended that the regions also pay at least 400,000 rubles to citizens who have decided to go to war. This means a one-time payment of 800,000 rubles (approx. $8,600).

Since the beginning of Russia's mass invasion of Ukraine, "fees" for joining contract service have been introduced in over 50 regions. This was intended to help quickly replenish the army's losses, which, according to Western intelligence, amount to over 500,000 people (killed and wounded). "In two years, the average salary has increased 15-fold," notes "Novaya Gazeta. Europe".

Previously, the Moscow government established "social assistance measures" amounting to 1.9 million rubles (approx. $20,600) for those who go to war in Ukraine after July 23. In Tatarstan, the one-time payment was increased by half a million to 1.5 million rubles (approx. $16,300). Such measures are available to citizens who signed the contract before July 31.

Regional authorities have also begun promising monetary rewards to those who bring their relatives and colleagues to the units. In Tatarstan, they pay 100,000 rubles (approx. $1,100) for this. Similar "promotions" are in effect in Yakutia, Mordovia, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Arkhangelsk, Kaluga, Ivanovo, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl.

"Clearly, there is a shortage of people willing to sign contracts in the quantities that the military needs, given the current level of losses in the Russian army and the intensity of military actions," explained military expert Pavel Luzin in an interview with "The Moscow Times."

From July 2023 to June 2024, payments to military personnel participating in the war, as well as to the wounded and the relatives of the fallen, reached 3 trillion rubles (approx. $32.5 billion). This is almost one-third of Russia's military budget, the largest since Soviet times, which amounts to 10.8 trillion rubles (approx. $116.2 billion). It is also about 8 percent of the federal budget and approximately 1.5 percent of Russia's GDP.

At the end of last year, half a million Russians enlisted in the army as "volunteers" and "contract soldiers," reported Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev.

According to British intelligence, this year, the Russian authorities have set a goal of enticing another 400,000 people to the front with money. According to the Ministry of Defense, from January to July 2024, about 190,000 Russians signed contracts with the military department.