Russia aims to recruit over 400,000 soldiers in 2026, Ukraine's military intelligence chief says
Russia has fulfilled its mobilization goals in 2025 and has set its mobilization target to recruit 409,000 Russian soldiers in 2026, Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told Suspilne in a year-end interview.
Budanov told Suspilne in an interview published on Dec. 27 that Moscow fulfilled its 2025 mobilization target of 403,000 Russian soldiers at the start of December and will reach 103% of their target by the end of 2025.
Initially setting its goal of enlisting 343,000 people in 2025, the Kremlin increased its target half way through the year amid an uptick in recruitment.
The overwhelming majority of Russian recruits serve as contract soldiers, Budanov said, with reports of some recruits receiving upwards of 2 million rubles (approximately $25,000) as a first-time sign-on bonus.
"Money for all wars has been one of the main levers for recruiting people," Budanov added. "This is how they lure people into the army."
To avoid another large-scale draft following the deeply unpopular partial mobilization in 2022, Moscow has leaned on lucrative contracts and extensive recruitment campaigns, offering large signing bonuses and a generous benefits package.
In addition to contract soldiers, Russia is continuing to systematically recruit foreign nationals to fight in its war against Ukraine, officials from Ukraine's intelligence service said Dec. 26.
In December alone, more than 150 foreign nationals from 25 countries were identified as having been recruited into the Russian army, with about 200 more preparing to join, said Oleh Ivashchenko, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service.
As of October, Russia had mobilized more than 18,000 foreign nationals from 128 countries, according to Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. North Koreans account for the largest contingent of foreign fighters fighting for Russia, the agency said.
Russia has also resorted to enlisting hundreds of thousands of convicts and recruiting people with chronic medical conditions, including HIV and hepatitis.
Despite making progress along the front line in 2025, Russian soldiers face mass casualties amid Russia's lack of protective equipment, inadequate training, and Russia's "human wave" style of attacks, among other factors.
According to a joint investigation by BBC Russia and independent Russian media outlet Mediazona, over 156,000 Russian soldiers have been confirmed as casualties on the battlefield — although the totals are far higher.
As of Dec. 27, Russia has lost a total of 1,203,310 troops since the full-scale invasion began, Ukraine's General Staff reported. The estimate, which is broadly in-line with estimates made by Western intelligence agencies, likely includes those killed, captured, wounded, and missing.
