Russians paying bribes to escape from war. Open proceedings include cases from Chasiv Yar – intel
Personnel problems are worsening in the Russian army: the number of those willing to leave the service and avoid death in the war waged against Ukraine is growing. Because of this, criminal proceedings are opened en masse in Russia, reported the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.
According to the DIU, such problems are evidenced, in particular, by the sharp outbreak of registered criminal proceedings over bribery in the Russian army.
As an example, intelligence officers cited the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces, where in five months of 2024, the number of open criminal cases for illegal dismissal from service due to health conditions and granting of illegal vacations tripled.
Almost half of such proceedings are being investigated against the soldiers of the 8th Combined Arms Army of Russia, the Defense Intelligence noted. Also, another 36% belongs to the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation, the commander of which was arrested in the spring of this year on corruption charges.
The intelligence noted that more than 100 proceedings opened against officials of the military units of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces relate to bribery for granting leave from the combat zone.
Including:
→ 38 cases concerning servicemen of the 102nd Motorized Rifle Regiment (conducting combat operations in the Chasiv Yar area);
→ 35 cases concerning the 71st Motorized Rifle Regiment (located on the border with Sumy Oblast);
→ 33 cases related to the 49th Brigade of the 49th Army.
Within another 43 proceedings, the fact of receiving bribes for recognizing the Russian soldiers as having limited fitness is being investigated.
"The level of corruption in the Russian army has always been high, however, earlier such cases of bribery were not paid attention to," the intelligence officers noted.
The DIU added that the recording of the relevant episodes may indicate an increase in the level of demoralization of the personnel of the occupying forces and a threatening tendency for Moscow to escape from the Russian army by any means.
On April 18, Bloomberg wrote that Russia is preparing to recruit more contractors to the Armed Forces in order to temporarily avoid mass mobilization, which could undermine support for the war among the population.
The article stated that the Russian Federation was using financial incentives to attract more people to the war. Since the beginning of 2024, regional payments to new contract servicemen have increased by 40%.
On July 26, a representative of Ukraine's military intelligence said that Russia is currently having serious difficulties with the implementation of the plan to recruit new contractors.