To divide
Former Russia Reveals Vladimir Putin’s Recruitment Strategy (Icon Image). © IMAGO/Gavriil Grigorov
It is known that Russia is looking for new recruits for the invasion of Ukraine. Trained soldiers should therefore earn less than civilians – reports a defector.
LONDON — The Russian army, as well as the Wagner mercenaries who acted as an extension of the former in the Ukraine war, are notoriously cruel to deserters. There were only a few Russian soldiers and officers who reported the war from the Russian side on the course of the war in Ukraine, which has been going on for more than a year. Now, however, a former Russian lieutenant has given an interview to the BBC.
Dmitry Mishov is a 26-year-old soldier from Russia. He is one of the few who managed to escape the Russian army and seek asylum in an EU country. According to Mischow, the Russian army is polarized. There are soldiers who support the war and soldiers who are against it. However, hardly anyone believes the story that Russia would be defended with this war.
War in Ukraine: Defector Interviewed About Russian Army
In an interview with the BBC, the former lieutenant sometimes describes how the Kremlin is desperately looking for new recruits. Months ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization, during which civilians were sometimes taken away by officials and forced into military service. In addition to these practices, Moscow also tries to convince new soldiers with money. As a trained professional soldier, Mischow continued to be paid during the war as before. Meanwhile, there were still new recruits who earned more than twice as much as he did.
There is also little trust in Russian state media reports on the army, including those supporting the war: “In the military, nobody believes the authorities. Everyone can see what’s really going on, after all, it’s not just civilians.” No one in the military believes the official reports, “because they just aren’t correct,” says Mischow.
War in Ukraine: “I don’t need to become an accomplice to a crime”
Mischow himself never fought in Ukraine, but only organized and carried out logistical operations in Belarus. Whether this is indeed the case cannot be confirmed. However, the soldier has a clear perspective on the war in Ukraine:
“I am a soldier, my duty is to protect my country from attack. But I don’t need to be an accomplice to a crime. Nobody told us why this war started in the first place and why we should attack Ukraine, destroy its cities.” (lp)