Russia's strategy of finding enough "meat" to outlast Ukraine is faltering badly so they've turned to ever more aggressive methods to get Russian men to sign up for Putin's war.

Source: NBC News

Security guard, fitness trainer, taxi driver: All important jobs in peacetime but, in wartime Russia, these are not for “real men.”

That’s the message the Kremlin is hoping will help boost recruitment efforts and replenish forces depleted by more than a year of grueling conflict in Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry released a new advertising campaign this week centered on the idea, part of a broader push to entice military-age men to join the fight in large numbers and avoid the need for a new wave of conscription ahead of a widely expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.

A video that appeared across the ministry’s social networks Wednesday features three men going about their daily lives and working seemingly mundane jobs.

As dramatic music plays in the background, all three appear to ponder their life choices, imagining themselves instead in army uniforms, with an arm patch prominently featuring the letter “Z,” which has become the symbol of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
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“You are a real man. Be one,” a message on the screen tells viewers, before cutting to a graphic from the ministry that calls for men to sign up as contract soldiers with a promised monthly salary starting at 204,000 rubles (nearly $2,500) — a significant sum for most Russian families and more than triple the average salary, according to official statistics from 2021.

The Ukrainian version of the Russian ad is more closely connected to reality.

Meanwhile, the reality of their situation is much more dire than their fantasy advertising as they'll take anyone, able-bodied or not.