Russian recruiters are promising non-combat jobs. But they’re offering only standard military contracts — and one ad used a wounded soldier’s photo.
Recruiters in Russia are luring potential enlistees with promises they will not see combat — but the document they are asked to sign is a standard military contract.
Russian recruiters are enticing potential recruits with the promise of non-combat roles, but they are only offering standard military contracts. In August, the project Idite Lesom exposed an ad from Zashchitnik.rf that claimed to provide an "alternative service." The Moscow Metro featured photos of these ads from various organizations seeking to broker contracts with Russia's Defense Ministry.
One such ad, run by Zashchitniki-rodiny.rf, showcased a photo of Danil Astakhov, a wounded serviceman who participated in combat despite the ad's claims of non-combat roles. Astakhov, a 26-year-old pastry chef from Krasnoyarsk Krai, was initially drafted in 2022 and assigned to an air assault brigade. He served in a zone of active combat, was wounded, and returned to civilian life before returning to the front in early 2026.
Astakhov expressed his concern that these ads are scams, as the rear-support positions are already filled, and the individuals are being placed in combat zones. Another instance of misleading ads surfaced when recruiters from Rodina Geroev used a photo of the late opposition politician Alexey Navalny in social media promotions for contract military service. The posts were removed after journalists brought them to attention.
Written by urgent.news from Meduza (English)'s reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
