In the last seven months of war, the Russian forces have lost nearly as many men as they did in the prior two years combined.

Under a new attritional strategy, the Russian military, paramilitary units, and pro-Russian forces have lost around 300,000 men killed or wounded. To make up for the losses, the Kremlin is offering generous incentives to prospective recruits.

Incentives for Military Recruits

“In late November 2024, Russia passed a law that would allow personnel who signed up after 01 December 2024 to have their loan debt written off,” British Defence Intelligence stated in its latest estimate of the conflict.  

This write-off would cover debt of up to 10 million rubles, or around $94,500, and would be applicable to the spouses of Russian troops. But this isn’t the only financial incentive geared to prospective military recruits.

“This is in addition to the loan repayment holidays for the Russian servicemen program. The independent Russian media organisation Mediazona reports that 411,000 repayment holidays for mortgages and personal loans have been taken up since October 2022,” the report stated.

These generous incentives have one goal: bolster the ranks of the Russian military without forcing the Kremlin to launch another mobilization that could hurt the credibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Russia’s financial incentives to military recruits are almost certainly intended to secure sufficient replacements for their steadily increasing casualties, now totaling over 760,000 killed and injured, and averaging 1,523 a day in November 2024. The incentives are also almost certainly intended to reduce the potential for Russia to have to enact further mobilisations, which are seen by Russian leadership as both damaging public support for the war, and raising the risk of further detrimental large-scale emigration,” British Defence Intelligence assessed.

When the Russian government commenced the first round of mobilization since the start of the war in the fall of 2022, approximately one million Russian males of military age fled the country to avoid being called up.

300,000 Losses in Seven Months

As we have analyzed here at The National Interest, the Russian military is pursuing an attritional strategy that hinges on large numbers of troops, and, consequently casualties. As Russia lacks the troop quality, maneuver warfare capability, or necessary advanced weapon systems, the Russian military leadership has opted to fight simply by hurling hundreds of thousands of troops against the Ukrainian defenses.

The strategy has been paying off. In recent months, the Russian forces have advanced several miles into Ukrainian territory, capturing important battlefield points in the process, including Chasiv Yar, Vuhledar, and Kurakhove. However, the cost has been high. From May to the present, Russian forces lost almost 300,000 men killed or wounded. From February 24, 2022, when the large-scale invasion began, to May 2024, the Russian forces had lost approximately 500,000. So, in about seven months, and under the new attritional strategy, the Russian military lost almost as many troops as it had lost in over two years of fighting.

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.