HUR: Russia plans to recruit 126,000 prisoners and debtors for war in Ukraine in 2025

Jan 31, 2025 - 03:00

I am confident Russia will lose this year. Here’s why

Russia plans to recruit at least 126,000 “special contingent” soldiers to replace losses in the war against Ukraine, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry (HUR).

As of January 2025, the situation on the Ukrainian front lines and Russia’s Kursk Oblast remains fluid, with both Kyiv and Moscow troops engaged in intense fighting. This month, Ukraine initiated its second offensive into Kursk, building on the momentum from its earlier operations in August 2024. Meanwhile, Russia continues its multi-pronged offensives across Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts while leveraging drone and missile strikes to target Ukrainian infrastructure in the rear.

According to the HUR, in 2025, Russia will focus on the “special contingent” forces to replace losses in its occupying army.

“In 2025, to replenish the losses of the occupying army in the war against Ukraine, the aggressor state, Russia, plans to recruit at least 126,000 soldiers from the so-called ‘special contingent’,” the Ukrainian Intelligence Agency’s statement says.

Specifically, this refers to Russians who are serving prison sentences, are under investigation, have financial debts, or have other issues.

“On average, to cover the losses of the occupying army, Moscow plans to mobilize 10,000 people from the ‘special contingent’ each month,” the HUR statement adds.

Overall, Russia intends to mobilize at least 280,000 soldiers in 2025 to replace losses in military units and formations in the war against Ukraine.

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