“There are at least six million migrants from Central Asia in Russia, who are believed to be potential recruits by the Kremlin,” the British Ministry of Defense said in its daily report on the situation on the Ukrainian front on Saturday.
Russia aims to avoid another mobilization before next year’s presidential elections, according to the ministry.
Exploitation of foreign nationals will allow the Kremlin to gain additional manpower amid rising Russian losses, the report said.
Since June, Russia has also been circulating advertisements in neighboring countries such as Armenia and Kazakhstan to lure mercenaries, who are promised a one-off initial payment of 495,000 rubles (about 5,000 euros) and a monthly salary of 190,000 rubles
The recruitment of Central Asian migrants has been going on since at least May, promising them Russian citizenship.
There are also reports of the use of coercive methods. For example, Uzbek builders in Russian-occupied Mariupol were forced to join the ranks of the invading army.
2023-09-03 14:03:00
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