The Massive Recruitment Failure Of The Russian Army

According to a recent statement by a U.S. Defense Department official, Russia has suffered significant setbacks and a significant loss of personnel since its invasion of Ukraine six months ago, and its present effort to re-recruit more troops is also in jeopardy.

According to the U.S. official, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an executive order on August 25 calling for a 10% increase in the size of the Russian army beginning in January of the next year, with a goal of 1.15 million soldiers. However, the U.S. Defense Department believes that given Russia’s history failure to fulfill its personnel and troop strength requirements, the Putin administration’s recruitment efforts are unlikely to be successful.

Early in August, U.S. Under-Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl calculated that since Russia’s invasion on Ukraine, 70,000–80,000 Russians have died or been injured. Although Russian authorities are stepping up their recruitment efforts with measures like raising the age limit and even hiring inmates to replenish its military, many of the new recruits are older, less fit, and untrained. Therefore, any further hiring will fall short of Russia’s objectives.