Vladimir Putin is unlikely to hit his target for recruiting volunteers to the Russian army despite massively increasing their wages, according to UK intelligence.
On the eve of the invasion of Ukraine in February last year, a Russian lieutenant earned 81,200 rubles - around £672 - per month.
According to the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD), by October last year, even those ranked as privates were being paid 195,000 rubles - around £1,615 - a month as Putin tried to boost the numbers signing up to serve.
In their latest intelligence update on X, formerly Twitter, the MoD said some in the junior ranks of the Russian army are now on more than 200,000 rubles - £1,650 - a month
“This is over 2.7 times the Russian national average salary of 72,851 rubles,” they said. “By way of comparison, 2.7 times the average UK salary would equate to over £90,000 a year.
“It is highly likely that the salary and additional benefits are a strong incentive for personnel to join up, especially to those from the poorer areas of Russia.”
However, the MoD said Russia was still “unlikely to meet its targets for recruiting volunteers to the ranks” despite the massive boost in soldiers’ pay.
Russia is estimated to have suffered more than 200,000 casualties so far in the Ukraine war.
The MoD revealed last month that up to half of Russian fatalities in the war could also have been prevented “with proper first aid”, while crude battlefield medical treatment is causing a huge number of preventable fatalities and amputations.
At least half of the elite 30,000 Russian paratroopers deployed to Ukraine have probably been killed or wounded.