MOSCOW: Thousands of young Russians have joined army in recent days to take revenge for the killing of their countrymen in a terrorist attack on a concert hall outside Moscow.
Defense Ministry of Russia said more than 100,000 people have signed up to fight as contract soldiers in the war against Ukraine so far this year.
“Over the past week and a half, recruitment points have seen a significant surge in the number of people signing contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry to take part in the special military operation,” the ministry said in a statement.
Around 16,000 citizens signed military contracts over the past 10 days alone saying they were motivated to “avenge those killed” in the Crocus City Hall attack.
Top Russian officials have accused Ukraine and its Western allies of being partly responsible for the March 22 attack outside of Moscow, which claimed the lives of more than 140 people and left hundreds more wounded.
Islamic State affiliate ISIS-K has said it was responsible for the massacre, while Kyiv and the West have denied any involvement.
Since the spring of 2023, Russia’s Armed Forces have carried out a mass campaign to promote contract service.
Experts described the drive as an attempt to cope with the military’s growing manpower shortage in Ukraine while also trying to avoid any public backlash.
The Kremlin intend to recruit 400,000 soldiers from across Russia in 2023, and Russian officials expect to recruit a similar number of contract soldiers this year.
In October, former president Dmitry Medvedev said 305,000 men had signed military contracts and 80,000 had enlisted as volunteer fighters.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last year that the military plans to recruit 745,000 contract soldiers in 2024.
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