Russian law enforcement officer are being provided money rewards for each detainee they recruit to fight in Ukraine, the banished news outlet Vyorstka reported Thursday.The bonus offers, rangingfrom 10,000 to 100,000 rubles ($130-1,300) per recruit depending on the region, were presented after Russia started needing officers to inform detainees in between ages 18 and 65 that enlisting in the armed force might enable them to avoid prosecution, Vyorstkas sources in the police said.In numerous cases, the recruitment pitch to detainees takes place before the first interrogation, anofficer in the southern Krasnodar region told Vyorstka.According to this officer, suspects are assured complete legal amnesty, salaries of over 200,000 rubles ($2,570) each month, household advantages and complimentary education for their children.Once a detainee agrees to sign a military agreement, the case is referred to a regional enlistment office.
If the agreement is signed, legal proceedings are suspended, pre-trial detention is lifted and the prosecution is halted.Investigators in St.
Petersburg, whose common regular monthly salaries range from 40,000 to 60,000 rubles ($510-770), can make an additional 35,000 rubles ($450) per hire sent to the front, a just recently dismissed police officer informed Vyorstka.In fact, an investigator can double their salary by recruiting just 2 individuals a month, the former officer said.Another source said that these benefits have actually increased since the beginning of the year.In St.
Petersburg, the reward is now 50,000 rubles ($640); in the wider Leningrad area, it is 100,000 rubles ($1,280).
In Moscow, officers receive 50,000 rubles ($640) per detainee hired, with the payment originating from a combination of city financing and money from an unnamed personal entity.In the Kaluga area, the benefit rose from 10,000 to 60,000 rubles ($130-$770) in 2024, a district officer told Vyorstka.
In the Bryansk region, where officer wages begin at 38,000 rubles ($490), the recruitment bonus is 20,000 to 30,000 rubles ($260-390).
According to Interior Ministry information examined by Vyorstka, 3,333 detainees across Russia were provided this option in June alone.
Of these, 2,200 refused to enlist, 392 concurred (nearly 12%) and 741 cases stayed unresolved.Among those who accepted the offer to enlist to fight, the largest share were suspected of theft (139 cases) followed by drug-related offenses (53 cases).
Some police sources expressed concern that the brand-new incentives are leading to abuses within the authorities force.In one case reported by Vyorstka, 3 officers in the Voronezh area apprehended a male in November 2024 for a minor violation.
The man declares he was beaten, surprised with a stun gun and pressured to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry.
He refused and filed a complaint.The 3 officers were detained on June 26, but no charges have been filed against them.