The authorities in Irkutsk have invited local residents to "join the ranks of defenders of the Fatherland." These personal invitations to war were addressed to men, as the Telegram channel "Irkutsky Blog" reported on September 28.
Men living in Irkutsk have received personal messages with an invitation to join the war in Ukraine, framed as "a duty befitting a true man." The letter was signed by Deputy Mayor Elena Torokhova.
"Now many of our fellow countrymen are on the front lines. They are defending freedom and independence. <...> History has taught us that you can't beg peace from the Nazis. It can only be defended," the invitations say.
Photo by Irkutsky Blog channel: t.me
The city authorities began promoting contract-based military service in March 2023. In September, students at Irkutsk Medical University received appeals, presenting the opportunity to "address some of life's challenges" by considering a contractual service.
There are multiple methods that have been employed to encourage men to fight in Ukraine, including ads on employment service websites, streets, and buses. In the Nizhny Novgorod region, posters with the message "It's time, your homeland needs you" were displayed at a funeral home, while in a Krasnoyarsk school, an ad for contract service was placed on the blackboard in a classroom in front of the students.
