How many “prisoners” Russia has recruited and how much it is now paying them, Ukrainian intelligence explained.

Since 2022, Russia has recruited up to 180 thousand prisoners into the ranks of the occupation army.

As of November 2024, Russia recruited from 140 thousand to 180 thousand people serving sentences for crimes in Russian prisons to participate in the Russian-Ukrainian war. In total, there were about 300-350 thousand prisoners in Russian colonies and prisons as of 2024.

This is half as much as in 2014. The reason for the decrease is the Russian-Ukrainian war,” reports the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SVR).

The SVR interprets the abolition of one-time cash payments to prisoners from January 1 as evidence of a financial deficit in Russia.

Previously, prisoners received a one-time payment of $1,718 for the contract. In July 2024, the payment increased to $3,524. two to four times lower than that of other occupiers,” the SVR added.

Source: Racurs

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