Medvedev announced almost 440 thousand Russians who signed a contract with the Defense Ministry over the year

About 440 thousand Russians have signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in 2024. This was announced by Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on December 24.

"The results of work for this year - they can already be assessed <...>. As of the current time, a total of almost 440 thousand people have already signed a contract," Medvedev said at a meeting during his working trip to the Volga Federal District.

He specified that this indicator is the result of the work of all regions and all subjects of the Russian Federation. Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council noted that Russia is proud of its military, the country is grateful to the fighters for their service and heroic fulfillment of military duty.

Earlier, on December 16, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said that this year the Russian Armed Forces (AF) recruited more than 427 thousand servicemen under contract. He also he noted that more than 1.2 thousand people conclude contracts on a daily basis.

Before that, on November 2, Colonel General Ivan Buvaltsev, head of the Russian Armed Forces' main combat training directorate, said that more than 300,000 military personnel had been trained in reserve regiments that prepare contract servicemen for participation in a special military operation (SMO). According to him, the training was adjusted taking into account the experience of the special military operation. The developed techniques and methods of combat operations were implemented promptly.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the worsening situation in the region.