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The Kremlin's recruiters are crushing their targets and might get their 2025 goals bumped up, Ukraine spy chief says
Business Insider ^ | August 13, 2025 | Matthew Loh

Posted on 08/17/2025 6:23:09 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican

The Kremlin's military recruitment is doing so well this year that it may increase its annual target again, said the deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence.

"In general, the Russian Federation's recruitment plans are being fulfilled by at least 105 to 110% each month," said Maj. Gen. Vadym Skibitsky, in an interview with Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne that was published on Tuesday.

Skibitsky said Russia has likely recruited two-thirds of the 343,000 new soldiers it aims to field in 2025, putting it on track to hit its annual goal.

Russia's expanded military recruitment, buoyed by large sign-up bonuses and other perks for families of injured or killed soldiers, has been a driving force for Moscow's ability to sustain its war in Ukraine.

Sign-up bonuses vary depending on the region in Russia, with local governments in areas such as Moscow and St. Petersburg offering higher payouts. The baseline bonus is set at 400,000 rubles, according to a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the summer of 2024.

"For an average citizen of the Russian Federation, a simple worker, this is a lot of money. In the case of the first contract, we are talking about an average of 1.5-2 million Russian rubles," Skibitsky said.

2 million rubles is worth roughly $25,000. Russia's federal statistics service said in its latest update that the average wage in the country was about $1,200 a month in February.

Skibitsky said the accelerated recruitment rate means Russia can send up to 35,000 fresh troops a month to the front — critical to the Kremlin's strategy of repeatedly launching costly ground assaults that wear down Ukrainian defenses.

Ukraine also has intelligence that the Kremlin plans to follow up on its success this year by increasing recruitment goals by 15 to 17%, Skibitsky added.

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: Ukraine
KEYWORDS: bloodmoney; fustestwitthemostgas; matthewloh; teamputin; theusualfrussians; theusualzeeperkooks
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1 posted on 08/17/2025 6:23:09 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican
critical to the Kremlin's strategy of repeatedly launching costly ground assaults that wear down Ukrainian defenses

A large load of pony manure here...

2 posted on 08/17/2025 6:29:34 PM PDT by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: MinorityRepublican

They are having success getting a lot of people to voluntarily sign military contracts.
The pay varies a lot by region.

The problem is they massively increased the pay which is badly inflationary... and there’s a big shortage of men for other jobs in the economy.


3 posted on 08/17/2025 6:36:29 PM PDT by Mount Athos
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To: MinorityRepublican
Eat it Zeepers


4 posted on 08/17/2025 6:39:24 PM PDT by JonPreston ( ✌ ☮️ )
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To: MinorityRepublican
Here is what Skibitsky actually said, machine translated from the original Ukrainian:

One of the strengths of the Russian Federation's armed forces is that they have operational reserves. They use them for rotations, reinforcements in the most critical areas of the front. And, accordingly, to replenish losses on the battlefield.

This is an important element, and we clearly monitor it - when rotations occur, when units are withdrawn for replenishment, to restore losses. The staffing of the armed forces of the Russian Federation is quite high. For example, all groups of troops are staffed by 98 percent of officers. This is a very high figure.

They are trying to maintain the same high figures for personnel recruitment. The figures that have been announced – 30-35 thousand people [per month] depending on the activity of hostilities – go to replenish the losses of enemy armed forces units.

About 25 percent of this number today are people who are in prison, under investigation, and against whom criminal cases have been initiated.

In general, Russia is fulfilling its recruitment plans by at least 105-110 percent every month. To date, about 67 percent of the 343,000 they planned to recruit this year have already been fulfilled. And there are preliminary data that they have already decided to increase this figure by at least 15-17 percent. But we do not yet have confirmation whether this decision has come into effect.

In general, today they have no problems with recruiting. They have a powerful social package, large payments for signing the first contract. Now in the Moscow and Leningrad regions, payments are much higher than, for example, in the Far East or in the central part of the Russian Federation, in Siberia. These are payments from the Ministry of Defense for the first contract, from the president, from the governor, from the enterprise where this worker worked. And there are others.

For an average citizen of the Russian Federation, a simple worker, this is a lot of money. In the case of the first contract, we are talking about an average of 1.5-2 million rubles. This is a lot of money. Plus, there is a large salary for those who take direct part in the fighting - 200-250 thousand rubles.

Source

The Business Insider article seems to have omitted Skibitsky's statement that the 30 to 25 thousand recruits per month replace the Russian soldiers lost in fighting.

Putin's war is very successfully reducing the population of men in Russia, and emptying out the prisons. Their recruitment successes are needed just to replace their losses.

5 posted on 08/17/2025 6:43:33 PM PDT by freeandfreezing
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To: MinorityRepublican

Let’s keep the war going and kill more subhuman Russians.
Expend Russian manpower, treasure and resources. Eventually they’ll become a non-entity and the world will be a better place.
As long as the Russians can’t stand up to their midget dictator, they can commit national suicide.


6 posted on 08/17/2025 6:44:16 PM PDT by grumpygresh
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To: JonPreston

What are you going to say when President Trump offers Article 5 level commitments to defending Ukraine?


7 posted on 08/17/2025 6:44:34 PM PDT by freeandfreezing
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To: grumpygresh
subhuman Russians

Wow! Have you drunk the cool aid! They are people, just like everyone else. But big brother would have you believe they are subhuman, so you are okay with killing innocent Russians. There are many cases of ignorant people being manipulated to think just like you do throughout human history. It never ends well for the ignorant.
8 posted on 08/17/2025 7:04:03 PM PDT by JoSixChip
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To: freeandfreezing

What are you going to say when President Trump offers Article 5 level commitments to defending Ukraine?

*****************

A commitment isn’t a guarantee.

Also, Article 5 doesn’t spell out the amount of support a country shall recieve in an attack scenario. There’s leeway.

With 37 trillion in debt, we might only send 100 trannies with BB guns and some LBGQT flags.


9 posted on 08/17/2025 7:04:06 PM PDT by unclebankster (Globalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. )
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To: freeandfreezing

Hush libertarian freak


10 posted on 08/17/2025 7:07:36 PM PDT by JonPreston ( ✌ ☮️ )
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To: MinorityRepublican

Zelensky is having success too, with his FORCED Conscription Squads
Roaming and snatching conscripts in Kiev by force.


11 posted on 08/17/2025 7:08:20 PM PDT by tennmountainman ( (“Less propaganda would be appreciated.” JimRobr 12-2-2023 DITTO)
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To: freeandfreezing
For an average citizen of the Russian Federation, a simple worker, this is a lot of money.

For Russia's federal budget this is also a lot of money. Note: the accelerated recruitment rate means Russia can send up to 35,000 fresh troops a month to the front

So the bill to buy soldiers continues every month. But the bill to pay death benefits to grieving mothers, widows and orphans continues at the same pace, with Russia sustaining as many as a thousand casualties daily. Compensation for wounds and deaths cost Russia more and are longer lasting than sign-up bonuses, so the damage to the federal treasury is much worse.

Russians are meeting their recruitment quotas because unemployment is high and the life options are few.

The other side of the coin of apparent success in meeting recruitment goals when properly understood illustrates how Russia, no less than Ukraine, is in a race to exhaust the enemy before they themselves are exhausted. This side of the coin helps explain why Putin went to Alaska.


12 posted on 08/17/2025 7:12:41 PM PDT by nathanbedford (Attack, repeat, attack! - Bull Halsey)
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To: freeandfreezing
In the case of the first contract, we are talking about an average of 1.5-2 million rubles.

The Russian POW profiled by the Wall Street Journal, Mikhail Simdyankin, got 2 million rubles for signing up. He sent the first payment of 500,000 rubles to his girlfriend who bought an iPhone, so some of that money is finding itself our way.
13 posted on 08/17/2025 7:13:31 PM PDT by Chad_the_Impaler
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To: freeandfreezing
The Business Insider article seems to have omitted Skibitsky's statement that the 30 to 25 thousand recruits per month replace the Russian soldiers lost in fighting.

Nice mind-reading there...

14 posted on 08/17/2025 7:18:18 PM PDT by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: JonPreston

It’s a Losertarian?


15 posted on 08/17/2025 7:19:47 PM PDT by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: MinorityRepublican

Did they post pictures of Ukrainian girls?

That would do it.


16 posted on 08/17/2025 7:23:56 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: JoSixChip

As long as US blood isn’t spilled and US money isn’t spent, the fewer Russians the better. Let them chew through their military age men and waste their money on weapons and munitions.
Only the Russians can stand up and decide for themselves not to commit national suicide. But if they want to do it, no one should stop them.
Why the US had to bear responsibility for the actions of Putin, an insane selfish dictator and the stupid people that support him is beyond me.


17 posted on 08/17/2025 7:28:49 PM PDT by grumpygresh
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To: unclebankster

“””With 37 trillion in debt, we might only send 100 trannies with BB guns and some LBGQT flags.””””

We have quite a few social justice warriors that are always looking for a fight.


18 posted on 08/17/2025 7:33:17 PM PDT by shelterguy
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To: MinorityRepublican

They might have some less voluntary ways of encouraging men to get in the truck.


19 posted on 08/17/2025 8:09:53 PM PDT by lurk (u)
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To: MinorityRepublican

business insider is a german-owned propaganda outlet ...


20 posted on 08/17/2025 8:25:15 PM PDT by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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