More than 422,000 people signed contracts with Russian army in 2025, a drop from the previous year

An exhibition of military hardware captured from Ukrainian forces, in Moscow

Russian army servicemen walk at an exhibition displaying armoured vehicles and equipment captured by the Russian army from Ukrainian forces in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, at Victory Park open-air museum on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow, Russia May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

Source: REUTERS

Russian Security Council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that 422,704 people had signed contracts with the Russian Armed Forces last year, state news agencies reported.

The number of sign-ups is lower than in 2024, when about 450,000 people signed contracts to join the Russian army.

Medvedev, a former Russian president, was speaking at a meeting of fellow security officials about drone technology in video shared by Russian news agencies.

President Vladimir Putin said in his end-of-year news conference in December that recruitment among drone operators was particularly strong in 2025.

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Some 32,000 people had also joined volunteer brigades and gone off to fight in Ukraine last year, Medvedev added on Friday, according to news agencies.

This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.

By Reuters