Ads urge Russians to sign up for military service as authorities turn to prisoners and mercenaries to grow ranks. The Kremlin has embarked on a nationwide drive to recruit new military personnel as Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to regain the offensive in Ukraine and replenish some of the estimated thousands of soldiers lost in Russia’s war effort. Six months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Moscow’s military has lost much of what momentum it had but has chosen not to take the politically risky decision to declare a national mobilization.