The Russian military is recruiting soldiers in homeless shelters and is seriously considering conscripting convicted criminals to fight against Ukraine amid a significant troop shortage, according to reports. A US official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday that intelligence showed Russia was suffering from “severe manpower shortages” in Ukraine. Moscow has not publicly disclosed as of March 25 how many Russian soldiers were killed during the unprovoked invasion, but unverified estimates range from 15,000 to 49,000 soldiers killed. Last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to increase the size of Russia’s armed forces from 1.9 million to 2.04 million, according to Reuters. And it seems to be reaching that number, and to make up for losses on the battlefield, Russia is engaging in unconventional recruiting tactics. The US official, citing intelligence, told Reuters that “reliable” evidence suggests that the Russian Defense Ministry is likely to start recruiting convicted criminals in Ukraine to bolster the military. The criminals will be offered pardons and financial compensation in exchange for fighting for Russia, the official said, according to Reuters. The official also told Reuters that intelligence suggests the Russian Defense Ministry is seeking to recruit contract workers to make up for shortages “by forcing wounded soldiers back into combat, acquiring personnel from private security companies and paying bonuses to conscripts.” According to Newsweek, officials in St. Petersburg left flyers about contract services at a homeless shelter as part of the recruitment drive. The homeless charity Nochlezhka told Newsweek that officials from the Frunzensky district administration in St. Petersburg visited one of their shelters on August 17 to talk to people living there about signing up to fight. A spokesperson for the charity told Newsweek that a duty officer at the shelter informed staff that this was not allowed, prompting them to leave. “Nochlezhka is not prepared to be an intermediary in this campaign; therefore, we informed them that they could not distribute their material,” the spokesperson said. “Then they left our shelter.”
