Russia Is Scouring Homeless Shelters in Bid for New Recruits: Report
A charity organization in St. Petersburg sounded the alarm over the desperate new recruiting tactic.
AFP via Getty
An organization helping homeless people in St. Petersburg, Russia, has sounded the alarm over Russian officials apparently trying to recruit new troops from among the most vulnerable members of society. The local news outlet Rotonda reported Thursday that an official from the Frunzensky district administration tried to hang up military recruiting flyers at the Nochlezhka shelter. “He offered to put up leaflets about how they are calling people to serve under contract,” a source at the charity organization was quoted saying, adding that the official was not allowed to do so. According to Rotonda, a representative of the local administration confirmed the recruiting effort but insisted it was the personal initiative of officials, and not an order handed down from above. The news comes amid reports that Russia has already lost more than 900 members of elite military units since the start of the Feb. 24 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and following myriad reports in recent weeks that the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group has resorted to recruiting prison inmates for the war effort.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.