Active Conflicts & News Megathread September 01, 2025

[u/AutoModerator]

The r/CredibleDefense daily megathread is for asking questions and posting submissions that would not fit the criteria of our post submissions. As such, submissions are less stringently moderated, but we still do keep an elevated guideline for comments.

Comment guidelines:

Please do:

* Be curious not judgmental, polite and civil,

* Link to the article or source of information that you are referring to,

* Clearly separate your opinion from what the source says. Minimize editorializing. Do _not_ cherry pick facts to support a preferred narrative,

* Read the articles before you comment, and comment on the content of the articles,

* Post only credible information

* Read our in depth rules https://reddit.com/r/CredibleDefense/wiki/rules

Please do not:

* Use memes, emojis, swear, foul imagery, acronyms like LOL, LMAO, WTF,

* Start fights with other commenters and make it personal,

* Try to push narratives, fight for a cause in the comment section, nor try to 'win the war,'

* Engage in baseless speculation, fear mongering, or anxiety posting. Question asking is welcome and encouraged, but questions should focus on tangible issues and not groundless hypothetical scenarios. Before asking a question ask yourself 'How likely is this thing to occur.' Questions, like other kinds of comments, should be supported by evidence and must maintain the burden of credibility.

[u/Awkward-Ad-5359]

Is Russia ever having problems to find more soldiers?

Russian meatwaves are relentless. If they start having problems to find soldiers it will (hopefully) give Ukrainians some time to rest by slowing down the meatwave tactic to some degree.

I'd appreciate it if you shared what you know about that.

[u/SuperBlaar → u/Awkward-Ad-5359]

Janis Kluge regularly posts about recruitment numbers insofar as they can be inferred from budget figures.

IIRC, last year's Q3 saw a notable drop in recruitment in spite of big raises in bonuses, which gave hope to some (including myself), but then an unprecedented surge happened in Nov/December (Trump victory effect?).

Overall it seems like recruitment figures can be maintained at the moment. The news shows a "positive" dynamic (Russia is advancing on the map, US is ambivalent on Ukraine, ..) and there's still some hope on a soon-to-be negotiated end to the war. I fear that if there are real economic problems and they impact the job market it will further fuel military recruitment (the strong job market led to rising wages and boosted confidence; lots of people took out loans (to buy houses, cars, etc) at high interest rates in 2023-2024, and now there's a lot of people with overdue debt).

[u/mr_f1end → u/SuperBlaar]

I fear that if there are real economic problems and they impact the job market it will further fuel military recruitment (the strong job market led to rising wages and boosted confidence; lots of people took out loans (to buy houses, cars, etc) at high interest rates in 2023-2024, and now there's a lot of people with overdue debt).

I just want to endorse this. I think a lot of people do not realize that as Russian economy gets worse, people would have even more reason to join the military. Volunteering comes with debt forgiveness. I think a lot of men would rather go to the front than have their family on the street.