Russia claims that the concert hall attack near Moscow caused a jump in military recruitment

A significant jump has been seen in Russia in the number of people signing contracts to join the armed forces after last month’s bloody attack on a concert hall near Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday, as quoted by Reuters. reports Agerpres.

The ministry says in a statement that more than 100,000 people have signed contracts with the army since the beginning of the year, including about 16,000 in the last 10 days alone.

“During the interviews conducted last week at the selection points in Russian cities, most of the candidates indicated as the main reason for concluding a contract with the army the desire to avenge those killed in the tragedy that occurred on March 22, 2024 in the region Moscow”, claims the Russian defense institution.

At least 144 people were killed in an armed attack, followed by a fire, at the Crocus City Hall concert hall in a suburb of the Russian capital, an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

However, Russia – which has been waging a war in Ukraine for more than two years and which it calls a “special military operation” – claims that the attackers had ties to Ukraine, which Kiev has repeatedly strongly denied, and The US dismissed it as nonsense.

Russia is relying on a steady flow of new recruits to its armed forces to fight the war in Ukraine, which is now in its third year.

President Vladimir Putin has ordered a partial mobilization in an unpopular draft of 300,000 men in September 2022, but has said there is no need for a new mandatory mobilization as the number of those signing voluntary contracts is very high.

In the posters that litter the cities of Russia, the soldiers fighting in Ukraine are glorified as patriots and heroes, and many of those who enlist are attracted by the salaries much higher than what they can earn as civilians.

Russia has slowly advanced on the battlefield in the past two months after a Ukrainian counteroffensive last year failed to make significant gains.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last month that Moscow would strengthen its armed forces by adding two new armies and 30 new formations by the end of this year.