Russia is experiencing shortages in its workforce as a result of the Ukraine war, according to the UK.
The Ministry of Defence said Vladimir Putin wants to recruit 420,000 contract personnel to the Russian military by the end of 2023.
However, the MoD said Moscow’s conscription efforts “continue to have negative effects on its industry workforce”.
As an example, the country’s IT sector saw around 100,000 of its workers leave Russia in 2022 – 10% of the total.
That led to Putin increasing the age at which IT workers can be recruited to the army from 27 to 30.
“This shows that mobilisation and conscription within Russia has worsened non-defence workforce shortages,” the MoD said in its latest intelligence update on the war.
“In the run-up to the Russian presidential elections scheduled for March 2024, Russian authorities will likely seek to avoid further unpopular mobilisations.”
It emerged last week that Russia is trying to recruit troops from neighbouring countries in an attempt to replace those injured or killed on the front line in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, thousands of Russian troops are being prosecuted for refusing to return to fight in Ukraine amid plummeting morale.
Russia is also failing to hit its army recruitment targets despite a massive rise in forces’ pay.
The country is estimated to have suffered more than 200,000 casualties so far in the Ukraine war.