Lauge Risom Koch 
Military offices in St. Petersburg are recruiting mobile air defense gunners with promises of salaries of about $2,350 per month and no deployment to Ukraine following recent drone strikes on the city.
Military recruitment offices in St. Petersburg have begun advertising positions in mobile air defense units following a series of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting oil refineries and military infrastructure around the city.
According to the Kyiv Post, citing independent Russian outlet Astra, the recruitment campaign offers a monthly salary of about 180,000 rubles (around $2,350) and states that recruits will not be deployed to the war in Ukraine.
Recruitment drive
The recruitment notices, published by military enlistment offices in the Admiralteysky and Kirovsky districts, emphasize that the positions are limited to protecting critical infrastructure within St. Petersburg.
“This vacancy does NOT involve service in the Special Military Operations Zone! Service takes place in specialized units for the protection and defense of critical infrastructure facilities within St. Petersburg (no travel outside the region),” one flyer states, according to Astra, as cited by the Kyiv Post.
The contracts reportedly last three years and are open to applicants aged 18 to 52 who meet military and medical requirements.
Protecting infrastructure
According to the Kyiv Post, mobile air defense groups typically operate machine guns and interceptor drones designed to shoot down incoming unmanned aerial vehicles.
The recruitment campaign follows several Ukrainian strikes on St. Petersburg, including attacks on oil infrastructure and naval facilities before the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, as well as another strike targeting port infrastructure and a military site in Kronstadt on July 4.
Questions over deployment
The Kyiv Post noted that while the advertisements promise no deployment to Ukraine, previous accounts from Russian conscripts, prisoners of war and foreign recruits have raised questions about whether such guarantees are always upheld.
The outlet cited reports from captured Russian and foreign fighters who said they were initially recruited for rear-area or civilian-related roles before later being sent to the front.
Sources: Kyiv Post, Astra
