“Vladimir Putin is recruiting soldiers from prisons and the poorest parts of Russia as the Kremlin scrambles to prop up its army after suffering tens of thousands of losses in Ukraine.
Western officials believe that the regime is not confident it has the support for mass mobilisation in Russia’s biggest cities and is instead resorting to increasingly desperate measures to prevent a collapse in numbers.
The military is using “very active recruitment” among the most impoverished Russians, hiring from prisons and allowing older people to sign up, according to officials.
Sources said hiring drives have stayed away from the big cities where support for the war is lower.
The Ministry of Defence also said on Tuesday that losses are forcing Russia to turn to “non-traditional recruitment”, suggesting it has suffered problems hiring.
It said: “This includes recruiting personnel from Russian prisons for the Wagner Private Military Company.
“If true, this move likely indicates difficulties in replacing the significant numbers of Russian casualties.”
Russian forces have been depleted by a misfiring campaign. Ukraine’s military claims that almost 40,000 Russian soldiers have been killed during the conflict while its troops are given outdated equipment and just days of training. The West’s estimates of Russian losses are lower but still put them in the tens of thousands.”
Comment: Soldiers “recruited” in what are essentially press gang fashion are unlikely to be very useful. They will be more human flesh to feed the god of war. pl
Putin raids prisons for soldiers after massive losses in Ukraine (telegraph.co.uk)
Imagine a country where:
1-The first lady says Hispanic people are unique like Tacos.
2-Over One hundred police do nothing while 19 Hispanic children are butchered inside an elementary school – with full knowledge of those police.
I won’t comment on the what the brain-addled President Joe (I’m a Zionist) Biden said.
It’s in this tweet though:
https://twitter.com/blackintheempir/status/1546898509781164033?s=21&t=PCLX57Nya6pMRiXYp4KRrA
—Joe Biden said that “Unlike the African American community, the Latino community is incredibly diverse”
—Jill Biden said that “Hispanic people are unique like tacos”
—I’m starting to think that these Democrats don’t really respect us
Jill’s messages for next week are all set to go.
After the nuclear war killing two hundred million people instantly and several billion by wintertime she will not overlook to mourn that:
Russian cities vaporized, are as unique as Blinis and Pelmeni.
And
American cities remaining after the largest were vaporized are as unique as, hmm tough one —hamburgers, french fries, slices of apple pie, blueberry, pumpkin? Maybe pickle slices under hamburger buns. I bet the White house will figure it out. Maybe unique as nine year olds on gender identity sex changing surgery medication?
She won’t mention China but there’s rice kernels, wontons, chopsticks. She’ll figure it out. She’s Doktor Jill.
Is there trouble in the First Household?
Husband Joe thinks the Hispanic committee are “Incredibly diverse,” while
beloved Wife Jill thinks they are “unique like tacos.”
Are we unknowingly breaking a first time scoop of American history – Divorce on at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
F&L
Nah! He doesn’t know unless they put it on a teleprompter and she likes the WH too much for that.
The pro-Russian partisans who think that the war is going swimmingly for Russia (e.g., Andrei) are nuts.
But are the pro-Ukrainian partisans being overly sanguine about how Russia is doing in the economic war? Russia is currently earning more money from exports than it ever has before and its current surplus is twice that of last year – and that was already a record:
https://twitter.com/bneeditor/status/1546828865200332800
If Russia cuts off the gas to Europe and manages to do in gas what it has done in oil (make more revenue on less export volume) that will certainly help them in the economic war.
James,
The broader Russian economy should weather the sanctions just fine. No Russian will starve or freeze due to sanctions. What the sanctions do hit is the military economy. Putins weapons are surprisingly dependent on Western technology, far more than the Soviet Army of the 50s and 60s was. That’s all a function of the massive kleptocracy allowed to flourish for the past two decades. Another sector affected is Russian shipping. Russia has either defaulted or been deemed too high a risk for two Asian ship builders who cancelled five LNG carriers being built for Russia. The ships has been sold to other customers
TTG,
I agree with everything you say except for the “massive kleptocracy” being responsible for Russian dependence on Western technology. The Soviet Union built its own semiconductors but they sucked. Russia can’t build everything itself. Nobody can – US fighter planes use imported gallium arsenide semiconductors that the US is nowhere close to being able to fab itself. They get fabbed in Taiwan by TSMC. Russia needs to do what the US does – fab what it can itself and what it cannot it should import from a reliable partner named China.
James
Two of you are using the name, “James.” One of you needs to change.
Colonel,
I will use “JamesT” from now on.
What neither Uk nor Russ can build are soldiers. Anyone know the accurate military death count for each Army?
This action sounds like the Putin regime is more sensitive to public reaction about high casualties than previously admitted? The Security Apparatus may yet have their hands full in Moscow. Consequences or no.
They should go to N. Korea and a borrow 100k soldiers in exchange for gas, oil, food and military and other assistance…
Or maybe just get some of the Putin’s admirers to sign up. There’s a million men army right there. Ukraine would be doomed.
LOL, this is just a joke. The amount of gaslighting has gone from pathetic to amusing. Within three months quoting any of these sources will indicate one is a buffoon. At some point, say when Zelensky flees in a halo with $100 mill left on the landing site, this nonsense will end. Then everyone can say, what a profitable waste of lives and treasure.
Are Western’s Intels really so poorly informed about what’s going on in Russland ? The russian army is using less than 20% of its forces in its SO in Ukraine, why in the hell would it need to recruit inmates ?