Russia’s military plans to recruit 420,000 contract personnel by end of 2023: UK

The Russian military intends to recruit 420,000 contract personnel by the end of 2023, which is likely to worsen non-defense workforce shortages, a UK intelligence update revealed on Tuesday.

“The Russian military intends to recruit 420,000 contract personnel by the end of 2023. On 3 September 2023, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dimitry Medvedev stated that so far 280,000 personnel had been recruited. These numbers cannot be independently verified,” the British ministry of defense said in its war intelligence update.

It added: “Russia's conscription continues to have negative effects on its industry workforce. The Yegor Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy found that Russia's industry shortage of workers reached a new high of 42 percent for July 2023, 7 percent higher from April 2023.”

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The British intelligence report highlighted: “Mobilization and conscription within Russia has worsened non-defense workforce shortages. In the run-up to the Russian presidential elections scheduled for March 2024, Russian authorities will likely seek to avoid further unpopular mobilization’s.”

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Monday that Russia may announce a new wave of “forced” mobilization in the near future due to “catastrophic losses”.

It added that according to varying estimates the mobilization can range from 400,000 to 700,000 people.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence had reported on Sunday that Russia has amassed over 420,000 troops in the occupied Ukrainian territories and on the Crimean Peninsula.

Additionally, the General Staff of Ukraine’s army reported on Tuesday that the total combat losses of Russian troops since the beginning of the invasion amounted to 269,760 military personnel.

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