• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Saturday to cancel the debt of certain recruits.
• It provides up to $96,000 in debt forgiveness to those who sign a contract of at least one year to fight in Ukraine.
• This comes as Russian combat losses soar.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law authorizing the cancellation of the debt of certain troops who enlist to fight in Ukraine.

Putin on Saturday approved a law that, starting December 1, allows recruits signing a contract for at least a year to fight in the war to write off up to 10 million rubles in debt arrears (about 96,000 dollars), reported the Russian news agency Interfax.

The legislation applies where debt recovery proceedings were opened before December 1, 2024, the report said.

The Russian State Duma approved the bill earlier this week.

The new law, which also extends to spouses of recruits, comes against a backdrop of growing Russian military losses in Ukraine.

Reply to news on XCarl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations and former Swedish prime minister, said the move showed that Russia’s attempts to replenish its losses were clearly becoming “increasingly difficult.”

“In addition to the huge amount of money being offered, there is now also debt forgiveness, not only for those who register but also for their families. This is eye-opening,” he wrote.

As Bildt alluded to, this would not be the first time that Russia has attempted to use financial incentives to increase its troop numbers.

In July, Russia started offering bonuses of 22 thousand dollars to military recruits in Moscow.

UK Chief of Defense Staff Tony Radakin said earlier this month that Russia had suffered a daily average of more than 1,500 dead or injured troops in October, which has so far been the month of conflict.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in late October that Russian forces had suffered more than 600,000 casualties or deaths since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

In an article published on Saturday on

The Russian forces were somewhat reinforced by the arrival of thousands of North Koreans troops in October.

The latest legislation follows President Joe Biden’s decision to authorize Ukraine to strike Russia with long-range missiles supplied by the United States.

The major U.S. policy shift comes as Biden seeks to provide increased support for Ukraine ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

Ukraine also reportedly fired long-range British-made Storm Shadow missiles for the first time this week at targets in Russia.