Ukrainian Military: "Russia's Troop Mobilization Target Nears 410,000 for Next Year"

Some New Recruits Receive a Signing Bonus of About 37 Million Won

Ukraine announced on December 27 (local time) that Russia has set a mobilization target of recruiting 409,000 troops next year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate, stated in an interview with a local media outlet released on the same day that Russia achieved this year's mobilization target of 403,000 earlier this month. He added that the figure is expected to reach 103% of the target by the end of this year and that next year's goal is 409,000.

The Kremlin had initially planned to recruit 343,000 troops this year but reportedly raised its target.

According to Chief Budanov, the majority of new Russian recruits are contract soldiers. It has been identified that some new recruits receive a signing bonus of over 2 million rubles (approximately 37 million won).

He also reported that Russia continues to recruit foreigners to participate in the war. Oleh Ivashchenko, head of the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service, claimed that in December alone, more than 150 foreigners from 25 countries were confirmed to have been recruited into the Russian military, with about 200 more preparing to enlist.

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, as of December 27, Russia has lost a total of approximately 1,203,000 troops since the full-scale invasion began.