Russia plans to recruit 67 thousand people by 2026: regions of the most active recruitment named.

According to ТСН: Russia is preparing a significant replenishment of its military formations in 2026, planning to actively recruit not only citizens of the Russian Federation but also residents of temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.

Plans for military replenishment

This was reported by the spokesperson of the Southern Defense Forces, Vladislav Voloshin. He noted that these intentions mainly concern the so-called 'Southern Military District' of Russia.

According to our intelligence, the Russians are trying to recruit almost 67 thousand people under contract for replenishment of units and subdivisions of their 'Southern Military District' by 2026.

Voloshin emphasized that Russia intends to reinforce its armed forces, particularly at the expense of citizens from temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine, such as Donetsk and Luhansk, Crimea, Sevastopol, as well as parts of Zaporizhia and Kherson regions.

They have even set specific plans for themselves.

According to data, the Russians plan to contract approximately 530 people from the temporarily occupied part of the Zaporizhia region, about 300 from Kherson, over 3,500 from Crimea, and about 750 from Sevastopol.

Forced recruitment of Ukrainians

The spokesperson stressed that Russian invaders are conducting a campaign of forced or semi-forced recruitment of Ukrainians who remain in the occupied territories for service in the Russian army.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, in the first ten days of 2026, the Russians have already mobilized about 130 people from the occupied territories into their military. Earlier reports also mentioned new methods of recruiting youth in Russia, including through popular messaging apps for gamers.

Additionally, last year the Kremlin planned to recruit 400 thousand people into the occupying army, and this plan was essentially realized.

Therefore, Russia is actively expanding its military forces through conscription, using both its own citizens and residents of temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. This may lead to new security challenges in the region and escalate the conflict in the context of ongoing aggression against Ukraine.