Russia’s military recruitment fell by about 20 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to 2025, CNN reported.
The decline comes as Russian forces continue to suffer significant losses on the Ukrainian battlefield.
According to estimates cited by the US broadcaster, Moscow may be sustaining up to 35,000 casualties each month between killed and wounded personnel.
Moreover, the war is increasingly straining Russia’s labor market and public finances.
Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the military and defense sector are increasingly competing for workers from the same shrinking labor pool, as battlefield losses and emigration continue to reduce the available workforce.
The labor shortage has pushed wages higher and added to inflationary pressures, while defense factories continue to operate at elevated production rates.
At the same time, the economic impact extends to public finances, with military personnel and recruitment costs estimated to account for roughly 9.5 percent of the country’s federal budget and around 2 percent of GDP.
Expanding the Recruitment Pool
Moscow has increasingly relied on financial incentives and targeted recruitment campaigns to sustain troop numbers while avoiding another large-scale mobilization, which in 2022 triggered public backlash and prompted many military-age men to leave the country.
Under a recently introduced program, individuals who sign military contracts can have debts of up to 10 million rubles ($139,700) written off.
Recruitment efforts have also expanded to universities, which were reportedly instructed to help direct up to 76,000 students toward military service, targeting students facing academic debt or the possibility of expulsion.
Russia has also broadened recruitment beyond its domestic population, drawing on foreign nationals from several countries, including African states, as well as North Korean personnel deployed in support of the war effort.
