Putin's Regime Turns to Covert Recruitment of Sick and Impoverished Men

Human-rights advocates allege that Russian authorities have shifted to a covert, piecemeal mobilization, pressuring sick, indebted or alcoholic men to fight in Ukraine. One man in his late 50s with severe health issues was misled into signing enlistment paperwork and later disappeared, later listed as missing in action; another was taken while intoxicated, with his mother filmed saying goodbye before he entered a van, also later reported missing.

Military prosecutors claim the enlistments were voluntary, but families in the Penza region have recorded confrontations with recruiters, and officials in Ryazan have advertised payments ranging from about $590 to $3,500 for each new soldier. The strategy aims to replenish depleted forces without a broad, unpopular conscription, as previous mass call-ups sparked large exoduses. The story emerges amid Putin’s growing ties with Donald Trump, whose administration recently arranged a diesel purchase from Russia, influencing broader geopolitical dynamics.