According to Russian media, the St. Petersburg authorities retroactively canceled a payment of 1.6 million rubles for participation in the 'special military operation' for volunteers. Several servicemen, who had not received the money and learned about the change after contacting district social protection agencies, terminated their contracts. This is a clear confirmation that the Russian Federation has very serious problems not only with replenishing its personnel, but primarily with financing the active phase of hostilities."The fact is that Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries on the territory of the Russian Federation have caused colossal damage to the Russian economy, which economists estimate at about $100 billion."In addition, I will note that 38% of oil refineries, according to the Russian Federation itself, have either partially or completely stopped their work as a result of Ukrainian UAV strikes. And Russia's budget is 30% dependent on the sale of oil and petroleum products.This is the peculiarity of the actions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces to reduce the ability of the Russian economy, first of all, to finance the active phase of hostilities in Ukraine. That is, we have found the Achilles' heel that will radically affect the ability to replenish the "cannon fodder."According to the Ukrainian intelligence community, problems with the recruitment of contract soldiers into the Kremlin's armed forces are observed primarily in the poorest regions of the Russian Federation, in particular in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).According to internal documents of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the low selection rates are due to insufficient regional payments and the reluctance of local authorities to promote the recruitment campaign.The average shortfall in the selection points of the region is about 40% of the norms established by Moscow.An additional factor in the failure is the significant losses among the local population, in particular representatives of certain ethnic groups - Yakuts, Evenks and Evens, who do not want to die for the interests of Moscow.A similar dynamic is observed in other Far Eastern regions of Russia."As for the "cannon fodder," I will note: the average life expectancy of a so-called Russian conscript, a stormtrooper who signed a contract, is only 12 days. The first day is the signing of the contract, 10 days are for training, and then, after 10 days, they are transferred directly to the combat zone."The first combat encounter - and the family received a kilogram of dumplings for their dead son or father.The lion's share of the losses of the Russian army are residents of the occupied territories of Ukraine, in particular from the east.The population density there is quite high, including the male population, who remained in the occupied territories. The occupation authorities are well aware that it is better to mobilize in the occupied territories than to carry out mobilization measures on the territory of the Russian Federation. Whether it is conscription or partial mobilization. In this way, the Russian Federation solves the issue of replenishing its personnel and reducing social tension directly in its own country due to colossal losses.Also, by involving residents of the captured regions in the Russian army, the occupiers are solving another of their tasks - replacing the population in these territories, securing the occupied territories for themselves, including by destroying the local population.There is a destruction of the male population, which is conditionally even considered Ukrainian, and its replacement at the expense of either guest workers - citizens of Central Asian states, or, accordingly, citizens of the Russian Federation in their classic sense. It should be noted that this is actually a colonial character of the war.Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry has expressed a strong protest in connection with the autumn conscription conducted by Russia in the occupied territories. The Ukrainian department noted that forcing people to serve in the Russian Armed Forces is a war crime.The Foreign Ministry believes that the Kremlin will definitely use the forcibly conscripted Ukrainians as "cannon fodder" in the war against Ukraine, which puts them in mortal danger. Therefore, the department called on residents of the occupied territories to avoid conscription in every possible way.As previously reported, despite the losses and the increasing shortage of personnel, the Russian Federation is trying to intensify its offensive actions at the front. In turn, the Kremlin wants to compensate for the lack of fighters with conscripts, reservists and mercenaries.Especially for EspresoAbout the author. Dmytro Sniehyrov, military expert, co-chairman of the Prava Sprava public initiative.The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of the blogs.