Russia is reportedly planning to recruit around 20,000 soldiers from among the approximately 60,000 individuals currently held in pretrial detention.
Ordered to Release Prisoners for Military Service
This strategy, aimed at bolstering its military ranks, follows a pattern established earlier in the conflict, where prisoners were offered a path to military service in exchange for their freedom, according to Hotnews.
According to Russian investigative portal iStories, military recruiters will sift through these detainees to find individuals deemed fit to serve on the front lines.
Reports indicate that some detention centers have received orders to release certain accused individuals for military service, with each of Russia's 210 such centers potentially supplying around 100 recruits.
Fears Another Exodus
This shift suggests that Russia may have exhausted previous recruitment efforts among sentenced prisoners, who were initially incentivized to volunteer for combat roles under a pardon scheme offered by President Vladimir Putin. '
The Wagner Group, a paramilitary organization, was at the forefront of this recruitment strategy, which saw thousands of convicts enlist for battle in Ukraine.
Despite the ongoing recruitment efforts, Putin appears reluctant to declare another general mobilization after the last one triggered an exodus of hundreds of thousands of Russians fearing deployment.
While the Russian president has stated that sufficient volunteers are available, the willingness to enlist has reportedly declined significantly in the first half of the year. However, there was a noticeable uptick in interest following Ukrainian attacks in August.
The conflict, characterized as a bloody war of attrition, continues to inflict heavy casualties on both sides, with unverified estimates suggesting around 80,000 Ukrainian military deaths and as many as 200,000 Russian fatalities.
