According to a US official, the Russian army is having such a tough time finding volunteers to join its battle in Ukraine that it has allowed inmates to be enlisted. The person noted that new recruits are frequently elderly, in poor physical shape, and untrained.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, issued an order this week to boost the size of the armed forces by 137,000 soldiers, or 10%, by January 2023.
It is unlikely that these attempts would be successful, a senior US Defense Department source told reporters while requesting anonymity, stressing that the Russian army has historically had difficulty meeting its recruitment targets.
US assessments indicate that the Russian army had 150,000 fewer soldiers at the start of its assault on Ukraine last February than Moscow had previously stated, or one million soldiers.
Moscow is having trouble finding volunteers for the Ukrainian war, according to Washington.
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