The Russian military has launched a video campaign to attract more professional soldiers to fight in Ukraine, which invites those interested to show they are “real men” and trade boring civilian life for the battlefield.
The ad, which Reuters reports is accompanied by haunting music, comes in the wake of a British military intelligence report and Russian media reports that Moscow is seeking to recruit up to 400,000 professional soldiers – on a volunteer basis – to strengthen its forces in Ukraine.
In its war with Ukraine, Russia does not disclose full figures on its losses. But as many as 43,000 Russians have been killed in the war so far, according to a recent estimate leaked by the US Defense Intelligence Agency.
Up to 17,500 Ukrainians are also estimated to have been killed.
The ad invites the men to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry with a salary starting at 204,000 rubles ($2,495) a month.
Among other things, the ad shows a man walking through the fog with other soldiers on a battlefield. He then appears as a trainer helping a client lift weights.
“Is this where your power really lies?” the video asks, before switching to a taxi driver paid by a customer, who then transforms into a soldier on the battlefield.
“You’re a real man. Become one,” the ad emphasizes.
After September’s “partial” conscription, which prompted tens of thousands of Russian men to flee the country to avoid it, authorities are downplaying the possibility of a second conscription – despite a move to introduce electronic conscription calls – and are scrambling to recruit volunteers.
Posters calling for professional soldiers have gone up in the Russian capital in recent weeks and say “our profession is to defend the motherland”.
The posters, which say the army is looking for gunners, paramedics, medics, drivers and tank commanders, promise prospective recruits “respect, an honest profession and decent pay”.
Source: Capital