Crimea intensifies advertising of contact with the occupying army

In the temporarily occupied Crimea, since the beginning of January, a new wave of active advertising for contract service in the Russian army to participate in the war against Ukraine has been recorded. Referring to information from a Crimean human rights activist (who wished to remain anonymous), the occupation authorities have again begun to massively use outdoor advertising platforms, such as billboards and city lights, to attract mercenaries to the so-called 'SVE' zone.

This was reported by Krym.Realii.

According to the human rights activist, such activity is connected with the failure to fulfill the plan for recruiting contract soldiers, which the Russian Ministry of Defense has set for Crimea. Sources in the Russian military enlistment offices on the peninsula note that there is currently a seasonal drop in the number of people willing to serve. Due to the unusually cold winter in Crimea, many people prefer to wait out the cold at home rather than at the front.

Since the Russian military commissar and the head of the occupation authorities of Crimea are directly responsible for the mobilization rates, they coordinated their efforts and in January used all available outdoor advertising platforms to the maximum. The human rights activist also said that Russian military enlistment offices in Crimea use various manipulations to attract local residents. In particular, if a potential recruit hesitates, he is offered fictitious 'promotions' with additional payments, for example, promises of 200 thousand rubles if he signs a contract by a certain date.

In addition, those who have doubts are referred to psychologists for professional treatment. It often happens that a Crimean goes to a military enlistment office only for a consultation and leaves with a signed document. In such cases, repentance comes at home after talking to the family, but it is no longer possible to terminate the contract at this stage.

Катерина Глушко