In response to the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s (AFU) recent offensive in the Kursk region, Russian authorities have launched an extensive advertising campaign to recruit new military personnel.
This campaign, the largest since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is being heavily promoted across various platforms, including Telegram, Yandex, VKontakte, and federal television channels.
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According to an analysis conducted by ‘Agents’ media, the campaign began as Ukraine intensified its operations in the Kursk region, coinciding with Russian forces’ renewed efforts in the Donetsk region.
The recruitment drive is seen as an attempt to bolster Russian military ranks amidst the Ukrainian incursion.
The campaign has been particularly aggressive on Telegram, where mentions of the Ministry of Defense’s Contract Service website saw a significant surge in August 2024.
Posts referencing the site were viewed over 13.5 million times, a drastic increase from the average 2.3 million monthly views since the site’s launch in November 2022. This spike in visibility surpasses the previous record set during the Battle of Bakhmut in May 2023.
In addition to social media, the campaign has expanded to Yandex. Moscow City Hall and other regional authorities have placed ads highlighting the financial benefits of joining the military.
These ads, which reached hundreds of thousands of users, emphasize lucrative payments for enlisting – a one-time payment of 2.3 million rubles ($24,000) and an annual income of 5.2 million rubles ($54,000).
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The campaign is also active on VKontakte, where recruitment ads have appeared on the accounts of schools and kindergartens in St. Petersburg, raising concerns among observers.
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On television, propaganda shows on federal channels have increasingly aired calls to sign military contracts, with prominent figures like TV host Vladimir Solovyov promoting recruitment numbers during broadcasts.
This intense recruitment push comes amid reports of difficulties in attracting new personnel for the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In July, officials acknowledged a 30 percent decline in recruitment rates, leading President Vladimir Putin to increase the financial incentives for joining the military, particularly in Russia’s poorer regions.
The scale and urgency of this campaign suggest growing challenges for Russia in maintaining its military strength as the war in Ukraine continues.
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