Medvedev: 185,000 people entered the Russian Armed Forces since the beginning of the year

Over 185,000 people have been admitted to the Armed Forces (AF) of Russia since the beginning of the year, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, said.

“According to the Ministry of Defense, from January 1 this year to July 4, more than 185,000 people were accepted into the ranks of the Armed Forces. Of these, there are about 109,000 people in the reserve, as well as other categories of citizens who are called up for service under the contract, ”Medvedev said at a meeting on the replenishment of the RF Armed Forces with contract servicemen, video of his speech published in my Telegram channel.

The deputy chairman added that the contract recruitment rate in June increased to 1,400 people a day, and also noted that the attempted armed rebellion “did not change the attitude of citizens to contract service in the special military operation zone.” Almost 10,000 people have signed contracts with the army over the past week, he said.

June 24 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing citizens with a criminal record to serve under a contract. As the authors of the draft law noted, Russia now allows conscription as part of the mobilization of persons with a criminal record, with the exception of those who have committed crimes against sexual integrity, convicted of terrorism, high treason, espionage and a number of other grave and especially grave crimes. A similar approach is proposed to be applied to citizens who have a criminal record and wish to enter military service under a contract, during mobilization, martial law or wartime. However, the law does not apply to those who have committed serious crimes.

On the same day, an attempted armed rebellion took place in Russia. Then the founder of Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, together with the company’s fighters, took control of Rostov-on-Don and sent their columns towards Moscow. By the end of the day, the Kremlin reported on the agreements reached with the founder of the PMC to de-escalate the situation. Prigozhin announced the return of fighters and equipment to field camps, and the criminal case initiated against him for a military mutiny was dropped.