{"id":14115,"date":"2022-07-30T02:39:57","date_gmt":"2022-07-30T02:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/epradeshkhabar.com\/?p=14115"},"modified":"2022-07-30T02:40:01","modified_gmt":"2022-07-30T02:40:01","slug":"explosive-cocktail-the-russian-regions-recruiting-units-for-ukraine-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epradeshkhabar.com\/?p=14115","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Explosive Cocktail\u2019: The Russian Regions Recruiting Units for Ukraine War"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Few people in Russia\u2019s republic of Bashkortostan had heard of Alik Kamaletdinov before May, when he wrote a viral VKontakte post<\/a> calling on locals to sign up for a Bashkir battalion to take part in Russia\u2019s offensive in Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 800 Bashkirs aged between 18 and 50 expressed interest in joining in just two days,\u00a0according<\/a>\u00a0to Kamaletdinov.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur history inspired me,\u201d Kamaletdinov, 46, told The Moscow Times in a message exchange on social media site VKontakte, highlighting the story of a local cavalry unit that was formed during World War II. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the conflict in Ukraine enters its sixth month and Russia suffers from an increasingly acute manpower shortage<\/a>, units like the Bashkir battalion \u2014 made up of volunteers motivated by large salaries and provided with limited military training \u2014 appear to be part of the Kremlin\u2019s attempt to find a piecemeal solution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamaletdinov\u2019s idea was such a success that representatives of a Bashkir paratrooper veterans group announced<\/a> the formation of a second local battalion a month later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 14 other regions \u2014 including the republic of Tatarstan<\/a>, the Far Eastern Primorsky region<\/a> and the cities of Moscow<\/a> and St. Petersburg<\/a> \u2014 have since followed Bashkortostan\u2019s example and announced the formation of local units to be dispatched to Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\n\t\t\t\t\tAlik
Alik Kamaletdinov.Oleg Yarovikov \/ bashinform.ru<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Not only will these battalions be expensive to maintain, but they will be at risk of suffering significant casualties, according to military experts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis drive will likely produce \u2018soldiers\u2019 of lower quality than the normal conscripts in the Russian army at close to professional-soldier prices,\u201d the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, said in a\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0published last month.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the battalions from Bashkortostan are still waiting to be deployed, the only regional units currently fighting in Ukraine are from Russia\u2019s North Caucasus republics of North Ossetia and Chechnya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The example of units loyal to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, local observers believe, was the inspiration behind the Bashkir battalions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Bashkortostan head Radiy] Khabirov is jealous of Kadyrov\u2019s fame and influence,\u201d Bashkir opposition activist Ruslan Gabbasov told The Moscow Times. \u201cThis idea was spearheaded by Khabirov to get closer to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, to gain his trust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamaletdinov claimed that morale will be high in the Bashkir battalions because soldiers will be fighting alongside their compatriots. Soldiers in the unit have often been pictured wearing the blue, white and green Bashkortostan flag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But independent military analyst Pavel Luzin told The Moscow Times that this logic \u201cradically contradicts the entire tradition\u201d of Russia\u2019s Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the 19th century, recruits of the Russian army have been deliberately mixed to help ensure the loyalty of the servicemen to the imperial center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnits formed on the basis of shared origins are a bigger danger,\u201d said Luzin. \u201cWhen everyone is mixed, then disloyalty can be quelled by turning the entire unit against the disloyal [soldier] but here the entire unit could turn against the commander.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\n\t\t\t\t\tAn
An officer from a Chechen Interior Ministry unit takes part in a mop-up operation in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.Sergei Bobylev \/ TASS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite significant losses in Ukraine, the Kremlin remains unwilling to declare a broader mobilization and, instead, is apparently seeking to rush men to the front by reducing<\/a> training requirements, offering big sign-up bonuses and greenlighting initiatives like regional battalions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If each Russian region generates a battalion of about 400 men, that could mean as many as 34,000 more fighters heading to the frontlines in Ukraine.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with the broader Russian military drive for recruits, one of the main motivating factors for those joining regional battalions appears to be money, with soldiers being offered salaries that are many times larger than the local average. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those serving in the Bashkir battalions will be paid 220,000 rubles ($3,593) a month along with an active combat bonus of 8,000 rubles per day, according to a flier<\/a> posted on Kamaletdinov\u2019s page on Vkontakte. Bashkortostan officials have pledged to pay an additional sign-on bonus of 200,000 rubles and a daily top up of 2,000 rubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means soldiers under Kamaletdinov would earn a total of 520,000 rubles ($8,465) for a month of fighting in Ukraine \u2014 almost 13 times the average Bashkortostan salary.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the Bashkir recruits have participated in previous Russian military campaigns, regional news outlet Prufy reported<\/a> in June, citing Kamaletdinov. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was in the Syrian Arab Republic for three months in 2019,\u201d one unidentified Bashkir soldier said<\/a> in a YouTube interview in June, referring to Russia\u2019s military campaign in Syria that reportedly relied heavily on mercenary fighters.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite a prominent social media presence for the battalion, the identities of Bashkir soldiers serving in the unit are heavily protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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