The occupiers in Crimea are stepping up their recruitment advertising campaign
Russian invaders in the temporarily occupied Crimea have stepped up their campaign to recruit local residents into the aggressor’s army.
In 2026, the Kremlin set an ambitious goal to recruit over 409,000 new soldiers, causing the pressure on the peninsula’s residents to become systematic and aggressive.
According to activists from the “Yellow Ribbon” resistance movement, the occupation administration has sharply increased the number of propaganda publications in media outlets under its control and on Telegram channels.
However, behind the facade of “voluntary” recruitment lies a coercive machine, into which even local police officers have been drawn.
Law enforcement officers in the occupied territories now have clearly defined plans for recruiting contract soldiers.
To incentivize the process, a cynical bonus system has been introduced within the structures of the occupation police and administrations: employees receive a monetary reward for every person they manage to persuade to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“The intensification of the campaign is taking place against the backdrop of a systemic recruitment crisis in the Russian Federation—despite a record increase in payments, the number of contract soldiers being recruited is falling,” activists emphasize.
Even raising one-time payments in Crimea to 1.2 million rubles does not attract the necessary number of volunteers, forcing the occupiers to resort to methods of direct pressure.
The Kremlin’s plans for 2026 to recruit 409,000 soldiers indicate preparations for further escalation and a disregard for the colossal losses on the front lines.
Moscow views the temporarily occupied Crimea as a primary mobilization resource where covert and overt conscription can be carried out unhindered.
Russia has begun covert forced mobilization due to a shortage of recruits
From January 1 to March 26, 2026, Russian troops lost 89,000 personnel on the front lines, including those killed and seriously wounded.
During a counteroffensive in the Oleksandrivka direction, Ukrainian forces liberated 9 settlements and completely cleared 3 more of Russian occupiers.
