Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine
An ad in Saint Petersburg, Russia, promoting the army. The ad says ''serve Russia, with a real work."
Russia's Ministry of Defense launched a major new drive for volunteers with an advertising campaign telling potential recruits, "you're a real man. Be one."
The U.K.'s defense ministry noted Sunday that "a pervasive campaign" has seen advertising appear on Russian social media sites, billboards and on TV.
"The new adverts appeal to potential recruits' masculine pride, appealing for 'real men', as well as highlighting the financial benefits of joining up." The ministry said it was highly unlikely that the campaign will attract the Russian defense ministry's reported target of 400,000 volunteers.
One ad, Reuters noted, invited men to sign a contract with the Russian defense ministry for a salary starting at 204,000 Russian rubles ($2,495) a month. The ad showed men in everyday jobs and situations and alternatively as soldiers, concluding with the phrase: "You're a real man. Be one."
The public recruitment drive comes as both Russia and Ukraine prepare to step up the pace of fighting, with Kyiv expected to launch a counteroffensive imminently.
Regular Russian units, and the private military company called the Wagner Group, are now "competing for the limited pool of Russian fighting-age men," the ministry said.
The authorities are almost certainly seeking to delay any new, overt mandatory mobilization for as long as possible to minimize domestic dissent, it added.
The Wagner Group had been allowed to recruit prisoners from Russian jails last year, with freedom offered to those who completed six months' service in the private military company fighting in Ukraine. That avenue to recruits was closed recently, however.
— Holly Ellyatt
Source: CNBC
