While Vladimir Putin claimed that Ukrainian forces stood no chance in their counter-offensive, the Russian Defense Ministry planned to pay its soldiers a bonus for every enemy tank neutralized.
1,100 euros per target shot. Russian soldiers receive a sum of money for each enemy target destroyed. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced this on Friday and also specified that the targets could be armored vehicles supplied by the United States to Ukraine or tanks manufactured in other NATO countries, such as the German Leopards battle tanks.
In addition, for the destruction of an armored vehicle, the soldier can receive 50,000 rubles or 546.62 euros.
More than 10,000 Russian soldiers have already received bonuses since the start of the war in Ukraine. This measure is therefore part of an extensive rewards program that is already in place. Air defense forces and military pilots received 300,000 rubles or 3,272.89 euros after shooting down a Ukrainian plane or helicopter.
An old practice
The practice of providing financial compensation for downed enemy military equipment has been around for decades. It was used by the Red Army during World War II after Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.
In addition to this announcement by the Russian Defense Ministry, President Vladimir Putin reiterated the dominance of the Russian armed forces during an economic forum in Saint Petersburg on Friday.
Ukrainian forces “used their so-called strategic reserves to breach Russian defenses, strengthen their own and advance, but none of these objectives were achieved,” he said.