Russia offers cash bonuses, frees prisoners and lures foreigners to replenish its troops in Ukraine

Photo: Soldiers’ graves at the Preobrazhenskoye Cemetery in Moscow – August 12, 2008. Photo credit: A.Savin via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0. Article by Dasha Litvinova. AP News – January 26, 2026.

For average wage earners in Russia, it’s a big payday. For criminals seeking to escape the harsh conditions and abuse in prison, it’s a chance at freedom. For immigrants hoping for a better life, it’s a simplified path to citizenship. All they have to do is sign a contract to fight in Ukraine. As Russia seeks to replenish its forces in nearly four years of war — and avoid an unpopular nationwide mobilization — it’s pulling out all the stops to find new troops to send into the battlefield. […]

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