Russia’s Defence Ministry wants to reclaim part of the one-off payments made to contract soldiers who are later convicted of criminal offences, according to a draft law published on Monday, as the country faces increasing cases of domestic violence involving personnel fighting in the war against Ukraine.
Russia provides a minimum one-off payment of 400,000 roubles ($4,640) to soldiers who sign contracts of at least one year to fight in Ukraine, in what Moscow calls a “special military operation”. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
In practice, the payments can reach several million roubles per soldier, depending on the region, in addition to a monthly salary. The financial incentives form part of wider efforts to bolster army numbers, alongside measures including reduced prison sentences for people serving time who agree to sign up for the war.
The proposed changes come as Russia has seen a rise in domestic violence involving fighters returning home on leave. The Defence Ministry said it wants to reclaim part of the one-off payments “in order to increase the motivation of military personnel to comply with the law” when they commit criminal offences, according to the draft legislation.
Under the proposal, active contract service members found guilty of a criminal offence that does not result in a prison sentence would be required to repay part of their initial payment. The amount would be calculated according to the number of months remaining on their contract.
The measure would introduce a direct financial penalty for certain criminal conduct among contract personnel, linking part of the recruitment incentive to continued compliance with the law throughout their service.
The proposal also comes against the backdrop of growing concerns about violence committed by Russian soldiers and former soldiers. Russia does not publish official statistics on domestic violence committed by its military personnel, making the scale of the problem difficult to establish from government data.
Independent media, however, citing military court records, have reported hundreds of cases involving service personnel since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Those cases have included murders, highlighting the serious nature of some of the offences.
The government’s recruitment system has increasingly relied on financial and legal incentives to attract personnel to the war. Regional authorities can offer payments substantially higher than the national minimum, while monthly salaries provide an additional financial incentive for those entering contract service.
At the same time, Russia has offered other benefits to prospective recruits, including reductions in sentences for prisoners who agree to serve in the war. These measures reflect Moscow’s continuing efforts to maintain army numbers more than four years after the invasion began.
The proposed recovery of recruitment payments represents a further attempt to use financial incentives to influence the conduct of military personnel. Rather than simply offering bonuses to encourage enlistment, the Defence Ministry would seek to make part of those benefits conditional on compliance with the law.
The move also illustrates the difficulties created by the return of military personnel to civilian life. With official statistics unavailable, independent reports of hundreds of cases before military courts provide one of the few indications of the extent of criminal offences involving service personnel since the invasion.
For the Russian authorities, reclaiming recruitment bonuses would therefore serve both as a financial sanction and as an effort to deter criminal behaviour among contract soldiers. The proposal comes as Moscow continues to rely heavily on incentives to recruit and retain personnel for its war in Ukraine.
