New soldiers for the front
Russia sends thousands of immigrants to war
27.06.2024, 13:23
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Even if no one knows the exact figures, the attrition of Russian soldiers in the war is gigantic. In order to recruit new soldiers, Moscow is making massive use of newly naturalized Russians. According to the authorities, the recruitment has another advantage.
The Russian authorities say they have already sent 10,000 naturalized men into the war of aggression against Ukraine. “We have already caught more than 30,000 (migrants) who have received citizenship and did not want to register in the military service register, and have sent about 10,000 of them to the zone of special military operations,” said the head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, during an appearance at the St. Petersburg Lawyers’ Forum. Russia describes the war against Ukraine as a special operation.
Bastrykin was a fellow student of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and is one of his close confidants. The immigrants are mainly responsible for digging trenches and building fortifications. “You really need strong hands for that,” said Bastrykin.
In recent months, security forces have repeatedly raided companies employing guest workers – especially from the post-Soviet states in Central Asia. Migrants who have already received Russian passports are often forcibly recruited, Russian media reported. Others are promised an easier naturalization process if they are sent to the front.
According to Putin, a total of 700,000 Russian soldiers are currently at the front. Some of them are men who were recruited in a partial mobilization in the fall of 2022. Since the measure was unpopular, the Kremlin wants to forego further waves of mobilization and is looking for other ways to make up for the losses.
Bastrykin saw another advantage in the forced recruitment of naturalized citizens: In this way, many migrants would leave Russia, he said.