Surge in military enlistment follows Ukraine's offensive in Kursk

After Ukraine's offensive in the Kursk region, there was said to be a surge of patriotism among men. Recently, twice as many people have been reporting to a typical military recruitment point in Moscow as before Ukraine's attack, according to independent Russian media. "I wouldn't trust data accuracy provided by an independent service. For the desired effect, authorities are ready to leak information even to opponents," says Prof. Krzysztof Żęgota.

Many pieces of information provided by Russian media or government representatives are elements of propaganda. Such reports are part of the information war conducted by the Russian Federation.

The Russian magazine Verstka reports that a Moscow City Hall official obtained data on the number of volunteers joining the military. In the week before the attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (July 29 - August 4), an average of 97 people signed contracts daily, according to the service.

In the following week (August 5-11), their number reportedly increased to 126 people per day. This increase supposedly continued for the next two weeks as media reports of Ukrainian military successes grew. From August 19 to 25, according to the magazine, 213 people per day were signing contracts with the military.

"Half of the arrivals justify their decision by the Ukrainian Armed Forces' invasion of the Kursk region. For example: 'I always said I would go if my homeland was attacked. They were attacked,' an anonymous official told "Verstka". Volunteers confided that the decision to sign the contract was 'planned for a long time, and they felt that now was the time to do it.'

According to the publication, better financial security for soldiers is not insignificant for volunteers. On July 23, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced increased bonuses (paid from the local budget) for volunteers. Counting various allowances, a person donning a uniform can expect a one-time payment of 1.9 million rubles for signing the contract (approximately $28,000 CAD). This is equivalent to two years' salary for an average skilled worker.

- Recently, Russian authorities have been doing everything to encourage, rather than force, citizens to take up military service. In particular, certain patriotic surges are concerning state media. They are trying to create a message that in the event of an attack on Russian territory, everyone should already be going to the army. - comments Prof. Krzysztof Żęgota from the Institute of Political Science at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, who deals with security policy in Russia for WP.

- The financial aspect is also significant. The money offered is enormous by Russian standards. - indicates the expert. - I wouldn’t trust the accuracy of data provided by an independent service. For the desired effect, authorities are ready to leak information even to opponents - he adds.

Russian regional officials are introducing various incentive programs, within which they even pay people who convince their acquaintances to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defence. In such a case, the bonus is 100,000 rubles (almost $1,500 CAD). Additionally, Moscow pays the highest compensation to the family of the fallen - the so-called funeral allowance. This is equivalent to about $1,950,000 CAD. An equal amount is the "presidential bonus", established by Putin himself.

Russian authorities do not disclose how much money has been spent on payouts to the families of fallen participants in the invasion of Ukraine. According to estimates by opposition media, the state has to allocate hundreds of billions of rubles for funeral allowances.