Figure on 500,000 people who joined Russian army significantly inflated - British intelligence

It is highly likely that the figure on 500,000 people who joined the Russian armed forces in 2023 has been substantially inflated.

The UK Defense Ministry said this in a post on the X social media platform, Ukrinform reports.

On January 11, Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev claimed that 500,000 people had joined the Russian armed forces in 2023. At the same time, British intelligence believes that this figure has been significantly inflated.

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According to the ministry, in its efforts to meet recruitment targets, the Russian military has since April 2023 allowed school-leavers to sign contracts with the Russian army.

Recent data published by Mediazona and the BBC Russian Service suggest that at least five Russians born in 2005 have died in the war.

"It is highly likely that Russian military recruitment to sustain the war has disproportionately drawn from impoverished and rural regional communities of Russia," British intelligence concluded.