Russian Military Wartime Personnel Recruiting and Retention 2022-2023

📖 The Scoop

In this report, the author presents an evaluation of the effects of Russia's full-scale 2022 invasion of Ukraine on Russian military manpower and the potential future effects on recruiting and retention. The analysis has identified several efforts that Russia's government is pursuing to stabilize wartime recruiting and retention and to mitigate emerging problems when the war ends. However, the heavy casualties, poor force employment, and flawed unit leadership that the soldiers are experiencing will undermine these efforts. This report presents a survey of the severe losses of Russian manpower during the first 18 months in Ukraine, an evaluation of Moscow's wartime recruiting and retention strategies during this period, and the near-term implications for Russia's military manpower moving forward. This report seeks to fill a gap in analysis on what the future could hold for the Russian government's ability to recruit and retain a professional military force. Prior to its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military spent nearly 20 years trying to recruit, train, and retain a more proficient and more professional military. Yet images and stories from occupied Ukraine paint a bleak picture of indifference and cruelty to Russian military personnel by their own command while at war. The effect of these casualties and the combat trauma for those who survive will have acute and lasting effects on the Russian military's culture and ability to recruit and retain service personnel for years to come.

Genre: History / Europe / General (fancy, right?)