Russia recruits drunk villagers from the north as cannon fodder on the Ukrainian front

In several north Russian villages, men who are intoxicated or suffering from alcohol dependence are being massively recruited for the war. Some are deliberately served alcohol, and when getting drunk, forced to sign a contract. The Barents Observer has talked with relatives other sources in northern regions of Russia which all tell about systematical abduction.

In one case, a man was recruited for the war when he went to visit a friend in a neighbouring village. The friends went outside to smoke when the military drove up to them and offered alcohol. A few hours later, both friends were on their way to the assembly point in the capital of the region. The recruited man's wife, who called him that evening, claimed that her husband was very drunk.

A month after signing the contract, the man went missing on the battlefield in Ukraine. His wife believes that he is dead. According to her, he had never before served in the army for health reasons and never intended to participate in the invasion in Ukraine.

A resident of Karelia told about another case on the Vkontakte social network. She claimed that her father was abducted to be sent to war in Ukraine. The man was taken away from his home, allegedly to talk to the police, but a few days later his family found him on his way to a military unit in the Leningrad region.

As the Barents Observer learned, the man was taken from his home when he was drunk. This is confirmed by his wife and the neighbors who saw him on the day of disappearance. The man left his phone at home, taking only his passport.

The Barents Observer is aware of several other cases where intoxicated men, or men  suffering from chronic alcoholism, were recruited to the war in Ukraine. 

In addition, ambulance workers in one of the northern cities said that they regularly hospitalize recruits with withdrawal syndrome from the assembly point – this is a serious condition caused by the abrupt cessation of long-term alcohol intake.

Read the full version of the article in the Russian version of the Barents Observer about how the Ministry of Defense recruits drunks. 

By the end of the fourth year of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army is in dire need of soldiers. Authorities pay recruiters a lot of money to attract men to sign a contract. As the IStories have established, the reward for one soldier can reach half a million rubles. Police officers also receive money for recruitment, wrote Verstka.

According to Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, more than 400,000 Russians signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense in 2025. Kirill Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, considers that in 2026 Russia plans to attract the same number of soldiers to the war.