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Ivan Chenin, a student in Moscow, resigned as president of Ukraine when Vladimir Putin decreed a full-scale invasion in 2022 to work as a volunteer for the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics of eastern Ukraine, which Russia now calls its “new territories.”

Chenin re-enlisted in the Thunder Cascade volunteer unit after returning from an earlier trip to Ukraine’s occupied areas last year.

Chenin told Al Jazeera, “I operated a reconnaissance UAV [drone].

“My responsibilities included observing and resolving issues with the enemy.” I reported a target to the commander, and we took control of it once it was discovered. Then the missile or artillery systems operated.”

One of the nearly half a million people who signed up for military service in Russia as contract soldiers or volunteers was Chenin.

Russia does not currently appear to have this issue despite Ukraine’s struggles with manpower to the point where recruitment officers are accused of systematically detaining young men off the street.

Putin asserted at a meeting in March that Russia is hiring more servicemen at a rate twice as high as Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials in Kiev reported in April that this year the Russian military will increase its presence in Ukraine by 150 000 soldiers. The Russian Federation’s deputy head of military intelligence, Vadym Skibitsky, stated earlier this month that its recruitment goals are being met by at least 105 to 110 percent per month, which puts it well on track to meet its quotas by the end of the year.

Reduced casualties

Given that Russia keeps these statistics secret, it is impossible to independently verify that number, which is in line with other estimates from Western intelligence agencies and think tanks, is more than a million Russian soldiers have died during World War II.

However, one reason for Russia’s escalating number of troops is because it is now enduring fewer losses, according to Oleg Ignatov, a senior analyst for Crisis Group.

He told Al Jazeera, “This is explained by a change in tactics.”

Because it is so vulnerable to drones, Russia has almost stopped using heavy equipment on the front lines. He continued, citing Ukraine’s counterattack in western Russia as the last time it used heavy equipment on a large scale during the Kursk operation in winter.

“Russia hasn’t attacked with large numbers of soldiers in a while. Under the cover of drones and artillery, Russia gradually infiltrates Ukrainian army positions using small groups, occasionally just one or two people. This lessens the number of casualties.

Other factors are at play, too.

In neighboring countries like Georgia and Mongolia, thousands of young men who were eligible for military service fled during the first year of the conflict. In order to arrest potential draftees, police patrolled subways and searched for housing options.

These apprehensions about being press-ganged have now largely dissipated.

Since November 1, 2022, there hasn’t been a call-up for mobilization, according to a human rights lawyer from the group that assists eligible recruits avoid military service.

The mobilization period is still ongoing and has not yet been ended, meaning those who are already serving can’t quit until the mobilization is complete. The regions have been given the task of recruiting contract soldiers since 2022, replacing having them conscripted for mobilization. Participants in the war are limited to those hired under contract.

The lawyer added that unscrupulous recruiters who tell their targets they are required to sign a contract because conscription is still in place use this tactic to exploit the confusion. Conscripts have occasionally been the subject of contracts that have been forged on their behalf, which is against Russian law.

The generous salaries appeal to others.

A decree signed by Putin last year gave new contract soldiers a welcome bonus of 400, 000 roubles (roughly $4, 977) from the federal government. Local authorities were advised to at least double that amount, as well as offer a minimum monthly salary of 204, 000 roubles ($2, 500) and other benefits like loan assistance. The offers are appealing for those who are struggling to find a job or who come from rural areas that are less developed and poor.

The lawyer, who requested anonymity, continued, “People who are most vulnerable to recruitment for a contract are people who are suffering from poverty as well as those who have been brought to the attention of the police, such as those who are caught for petty thefts and other crimes.”

Worker migrants, foreigners, or new citizens are also susceptible to recruitment and coercion to serve under a contract. It is obvious that more people are recruited because the regions are more economically and economically depressed.

Freedom is a major battleground for Russia’s front-line forces, which includes a sizable portion of it. Prisoners who have been detained throughout the war, including those who have been found guilty of murder and rape, have been released from their cells and given rifles to fight in Ukraine.

They were instructed to storm Ukrainian positions in human wave assaults in battles, such as the bloody fighting in Bakhmut in mid-2019, when Russian forces were accused of war crimes. If they were to survive, they were greeted as heroes deserving of redemption and returned to Russia as men who could not be free.

However, rehabilitation is not always successful: veterans are encouraged by the fact that they can simply re-enlist if they are caught again. This is a problem.

The scheme was expanded to include those who were awaiting trial or were merely being investigated by the government last year.

Ivan Chuviliaev, spokesman for Go By The Forest, a group that assists soldiers avoid mobilization, said, “On average, 50 people leave]prison] colonies in a single stream, about once a week.

According to a report in the Moscow daily MK in February, the once-massive prison population in Russia has decreased by 120, 000 over the past two years to a record low of 313, 000. Correctional facilities across the nation are currently shutting down.

However, these strategies are not always required. According to a poll conducted earlier this year by independent pollster Levada, 75% of Russians are in favor of the war, and recruits like Chenin are drawn to patriotism.

Love for the motherland is considered to be the first and foremost factor. He claimed that “everything else is secondary.”