Some 490,000 people opted to join the army in 2024, including volunteers for the Ukraine conflict, the Security Council has said Russia recruited almost half a million people for military service in 2024, according to statistics reported by Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev on Friday. Some 450,000 people signed contracts with the Defense Ministry, while an additional 40,000 enrolled as volunteers for deployment in the Ukraine conflict, he said. The pace of enlistment – averaging