Around 422,000 people signed contracts with the Russian military last year, a 6% drop from 2024, the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council said Friday.
The exact reasons for the slight decrease are unclear, although some Russian regions are reported to have cut the size of their military sign-up bonuses last year due to economic strain.
“A couple of words about the results from last year. The supreme commander-in-chief’s goal has been met: 422,704 people signed military contracts,” Dmitry Medvedev said in a video posted on his social media account.
The figure he gave for 2024 was around 450,000.
