Russia raises one-time payments to recruit mercenaries for war

Russian authorities continue to lure the population into the war against Ukraine by significantly increasing financial payments for signing the first contract.

This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

They noted that the primary contingent of Russian "volunteers" consists of people in difficult circumstances and radicalized youth who are easily influenced by propaganda.

In some regions, the one-time payment has been increased to over 2 million rubles (23,629 dollars at the exchange rate of the Russian Central Bank as of March 23, 2025). Meanwhile, in the Samara region, recruits are being offered nearly 4 million rubles (47,259 dollars).

Ukrainian intelligence emphasizes that the regular increase in financial bonuses is a forced move by the Kremlin, which indicates difficulties in filling military units.

"The aggressor state's authorities are finding it increasingly difficult to find enough people willing to fight, even for large sums of money," stated the GUR.

• Recently, partisans discovered that Russian soldiers are being sent to fight on the Kursk front for refusing to extend their contracts.