Russia Hired Extras To Attend Putin's Rally; Paid Them $7, Free Merch: Report

People were promised money, among other things, if they went to an event that was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, according to reports.

Advertisements that appeared on Russian Telegram channels and other social media pages recruited people to go to a rally in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium Wednesday.

The advertisements promised would-be attendees 500 rubles, or slightly less than $7, according to Russian news source Sirena.

People were promised merchandise as well, independent outlet Meduza reported.

Putin, celebrating Defender of the Fatherland Day, delivered a three-and-a-half-minute-long speech at the rally held in freezing temperatures.

Around 200,000 people gathered in Moscow to hear the Russian head of state, according to a report by Sky News.

"We were told to come and we're here," one spectator, a 23-year-old woman identified as Liuba, told the outlet.

When asked if she minded being instructed to come to an event that would be used as a patriotic moment on Russian state television, Liuba said it was just "politics."

"[W]e live in this kind of a country. They say one thing, but the reality is different. If someone isn't happy with that, they leave for another country," she explained.

There were also artists at the event, with some performing patriotic rap remixes, Business Insider reported.

Multiple propaganda montage videos of Russia's military in Ukraine were also played, according to the outlet.

The rally came a day after Putin announced in a state of the nation address that he intends to continue Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian public support for the war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, has been "falling significantly," the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed in an intelligence briefing from last December, citing data collected by Russia's own Federal Protective Service.

"With Russia unlikely to achieve major battlefield successes... maintaining even tacit approval of the war amongst the population is likely to be increasingly difficult for the Kremlin," the ministry said at the time.

Russian forces are likely to be under increasing political pressure as the first anniversary of the invasion draws near, according to the British MoD.

Meanwhile, members of the United Nations will vote on a resolution that would demand Russia to "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine. "

Ukraine hopes to garner the same amount of support it received last October when 143 countries voted to condemn Russia's annexation of several Ukrainian territories, The Guardian reported.