The Nochlezhka charity said officials had targeted its homeless shelters in a central city district. “(A recruiter) offered to hand out leaflets explaining that men should be called up to serve under contracts,” the Rotunda news agency quoted an unnamed source in Nochlezhka as saying. “The duty officer [at the shelter] did not allow the leaflets to be distributed’. Rotunda, a St. Petersburg-based news service published on the Telegram social media channel, said city administration officials confirmed that a recruiter “on his own initiative” tried to recruit from the city’s homeless population. The Kremlin has ordered regions across Russia to muster so-called volunteer battalions to fight in its war in Ukraine, but uptake has been slow.
Maximum recruitment age increased
To boost the numbers, it has already raised the maximum age of recruits to 59 if they have previous military experience, and is offering a sign-up bonus of around £5,000. The Russian military also relies on the Wagner mercenary group to fill gaps in its front line in Ukraine. Wagner has launched a public recruitment campaign for the first time and is also actively recruiting from Russian prisons.
