Since June, Russia has been trying to recruit residents of neighboring countries to the war effort in Ukraine using advertising campaigns.
This is what the UK Ministry of Defense writes in an intelligence update on Sunday morning Norwegian time.
– Online advertisements offering a starting sum of 495,000 rubles (54,740 kroner, editor’s note) and salaries from 190,0000 rubles (21,564 kroner, editor’s note) have been observed in Armenia and Kazakhstan, the ministry writes.
Among other things, the campaigns have targeted the Russian population in the Kostanaj region in the north of Kazakhstan, according to the intelligence update.
Since May or earlier, immigrants from Central Asian countries have been offered salaries of up to NOK 44,350, as well as speeding up the process towards Russian citizenship, in order to fight in the war, it says.
– Uzbek construction workers in Mariupol have reportedly had their passports confiscated upon entry and have been forced to join the Russian military, the ministry further claims.
The explanation, according to the ministry, may lie in the fact that the Kremlin wants to avoid an unpopular mobilization of Russian citizens ahead of the Russian presidential election in 2024.
2023-09-03 07:38:50
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