{
  "id": 3534188,
  "title": "Russian recruiters are promising non-combat jobs. But they’re offering only standard military contracts — and one ad used a wounded soldier’s photo.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/russian-recruiters-are-promising-non-combat-jobs-but-theyre-offering",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-26T15:46:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/08/26/russian-recruiters-are-promising-non-combat-jobs-but-they-re-offering-only-standard-military-contracts-and-one-ad-used-a-wounded-soldier-s-photo"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "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.",
  "key_points": [
    "Russian recruiters promise non-combat jobs, but offer standard military contracts.",
    "Ad by Zashchitnik.rf used photo of wounded soldier Danil Astakhov.",
    "Misleading ads used photos of Danil Astakhov and Alexey Navalny."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}