Amid the Russia-Ukraine war and shortage of troops in the country, the Russian military is offering four times higher salaries to pull in new recruits for short-term contracts, according to The Moscow Times.
The report citing a local advertisement and data from a Russian financial portal said that in Tula, a city about 200 kilometers south of Moscow, the government is offering three-month military service contracts at an allowance starting from 170,000 rubles ($3,000) a month. This number is almost four times higher than the average salary in the region.
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According to a Russian news outlet owned by Radio Free Europe, Sever.Realii, a recruiter for the military in Chechnya, also offered a first-month salary of 300,000 rubles ($5,200).
The Moscow Times report further noted that the Vladimir Putin-led country has also been setting up mobile offices across the nation to step up recruitment for its military units.
An earlier report by Washington Post highlighted that about 70% of the Russian military is made up of contract soldiers — who typically sign on for a maximum of three years and are paid about $1,100 a month.
Russia is making extra efforts as it continues with its invasion of Ukraine, where its military has suffered major losses. Om March 25, Moscow said that around 1,351 Russian soldiers had died but the Russian government hasn't since updated the numbers.
Recently, Britain’s armed forces minister James Heappey said that the Russian president’s forces were suffering heavy losses in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Heappey further said that more than 20,000 Russian military personnel have died in the war, according to the Evening Standard.
