Over the past year, Moscow authorities have recruited more than 26,000 people to fight in Ukraine, of whom 10% are foreign nationals. This information comes from the Unified Recruitment Point for Contract Service, according to the publication Vyorstka.
"There are Chinese, Serbs, Brazilians, and Egyptians among them, but the majority are from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan," a source in the Moscow city administration told the publication.
According to the source, about 70% of all contractors sent to the front by Moscow are Russians from other regions. Residents of Moscow and the Moscow region make up less than 20% of all new recruits passing through the recruitment point.
Ideological reasons drive only a few, with about 90% of those signing contracts facing financial difficulties, the Vyorstka source specified. "Finance is a crucial part of this story," he noted.
According to the Unified Recruitment Point for Contract Service, interest in contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense declined from mid-summer 2023 to early August 2024. In August 2023, over 3,000 people agreed to participate in the war, while in June 2024, just over a thousand did.
However, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin's decision to increase the signing bonus to 1.9 million rubles from August 1 has tripled the number of people willing to go to war.
Officially, there are requirements for all potential contractors. They must also undergo an "extremism check," the source told Vyorstka. However, recruitment point staff are focused on accepting everyone. The suitability of individuals will be assessed in the military, the source added.
All those willing to sign a contract are sent to the war under the guise of employees from budgetary institutions such as "Moslift," "Moskgaz," "Mosvodokanal," "Mosmetro," and "Automobile Roads" of Moscow. This is because budget organizations have quotas for recruitment.
The contract process takes only one day: the person first fills out a form and application, then signs an agreement with one of the state budget institutions, undergoes a medical examination, and is then sent to "Avangard" — a training center of the Ministry of Defense in the Moscow region. After a few days, the volunteers are distributed to military units.
At the recruitment point, it was stated that the contract is formally for one year, but in practice, it will continue until the end of the war.
"So far, none of the guys have been released," concluded the recruitment point staff member.
