What methods are used to replenish the Russian army? Following Putin’s statements

At the meeting of the Board of the country’s Defense Ministry on December 16, among a number of other problematic statements, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that “thousands of people are volunteering to join the Russian Armed Forces every day.”

“Every single day, more than a thousand Russians enter service in the Russian Armed Forces under a contract, people voluntarily go to the front,” Putin said.

It is noteworthy that the mobilization announced by the Russian authorities in the fall of 2022 was followed by major public discontent and mass emigration. According to various estimates, in 2022 alone, between 600,000 and 1 million people left Russia, the vast majority of whom were men subject to conscription.

The Fact Investigation Platform has brought together numerous investigations from international and Russian media sources that contradict Putin’s claims that thousands of citizens are voluntarily going to the frontline.

Avoiding the second mobilization

Nastoyaschee Vremya (Current Time TV) has exposed the illegal methods by which private companies help Russian authorities recruit Russians and migrants into the armed forces.

In particular, one of the source’s investigations revealed that large enterprises create fake, non-existent positions, and then hire Russian citizens and migrants, sending them to the front.

According to the investigation, those sent to the front, who have never worked a single day for their “employer” company, receive very high salary offers.

Russian sources write that the “secret” mobilization is carried out through billboards placed everywhere, propaganda in various institutions, like in employment centers, hospitals, and public educational institutions. The media has calculated that the number of such advertising offers on the Russian social network VK alone reaches 50,000.

A number of investigations have revealed instances of forced recruitment of citizens, especially former prisoners. One such case was described by the Russian united24media.com, revealing how a former inmate involved in drug trafficking in prison was faced with a dilemma of either being drafted or “drugs would appear in his pocket.”

On the Mobilization Telegram channel, a mother complained that her son, a conscript, was forced to sign some documents, which later turned out to be an agreement to participate in the “special military operation” (Russian-Ukrainian war – Ed.). The woman appealed to different officials, including commanders, the Investigative Committee, and the Office of the Military Prosecutor, but received no response. She says she is not alone in facing this problem. There are many mothers whose sons have had contracts signed without their consent. The woman was forced to prepare a video message to send to Putin for a “direct connection” on December 19.

Thus, the claims that thousands of Russians are volunteering every day to join the armed forces to participate in the war against Ukraine are, at the very least, manipulative. Both the public discontent and emigration following the mobilization, as well as dozens of investigations documenting the recruitment of contract soldiers by illegal methods, through threats and promises of high salaries, contradict the reality described by Putin.

The claim that Zelensky is an illegitimate leader 

At the same meeting, Putin once again repeated the false propaganda claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is an illegitimate leader because his presidency is unconstitutional.

In particular, the Russian President claimed that the Ukrainian constitution only provides for the extension of the powers of the Verkhovna Rada (the Parliament) of Ukraine and does not provide for the extension of powers of the president, even under martial law.

According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the president of the country shall be elected for a 5-year term. Zelensky was elected president in May 2019, and presidential elections were to be held in 2024. 

However, Putin bypasses Ukraine’s internal legislation on martial law, which allows for the non-holding of presidential elections under martial law.

Thus, Putin’s claim that Zelensky is an illegitimate president because he violated the five-year term stipulated by the country’s Constitution by extending his term in office is false.

Nane Manasyan