Thousands of Russians flock to the war with Ukraine. They want revenge for Krasnogorsk, the ministry explains

“Since the beginning of this year, over one hundred thousand people have joined the armed forces of the Russian Federation on the basis of a contract,” announced the Russian Ministry of Defense. It also claims that “interest has increased” following the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow.

According to the authorities, about 1,700 people report to recruitment centers in Moscow and Russian regions every day. “During the interviews, the majority of those present over the past week cited as their main motivation the quest to avenge those killed during the March 22 tragedy in the Moscow region,” Kommersant quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying.

Although the Islamic State has repeatedly claimed responsibility for the attack and all those accused of the attack are of Central Asian origin, the Kremlin and other Russian officials officially associate Ukraine with the terrorist act, which, on the other hand, declared that it had nothing to do with it. Since the attack on Crocus City Hall, according to the authorities, 16,000 people have signed up for the war in Ukraine, the Russian newspaper specified.

Even before the terror in Krasnogorsk, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced his intention to establish two additional all-military armies and thirty units, including 14 divisions and 16 brigades, within the Russian Armed Forces by the end of the year.

In addition, the country regularly recruits conscripts into the army twice a year, during this year’s spring conscription, the armed forces called up 150 thousand young men. According to the Ministry of Defense, they should not serve in Ukraine.

Ukraine is currently facing a shortage of soldiers. After many months, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed a law lowering the age limit for mobilization for war with Russia from 27 to 25. Last year, the Ukrainian army command demanded the mobilization of about half a million more soldiers, but in March, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyj announced that such high numbers would not be needed.

Putin signed a decree on spring conscription, 150,000 people will join the army

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