Russia is said to have drafted at least 300,000 reservists for the war in Ukraine since the end of September. Will hundreds of thousands more soon follow to the front? The indications of this are growing.
According to Ukrainian sources, Russia is preparing for a second wave of mobilization in January. A Russian opposition medium, citing insiders in the Kremlin, also reports that a new wave of partial mobilization may be planned for the beginning of the year. The government in Moscow, on the other hand, claims that it has no plans to call up more reservists.
Moscow plans to call up 500,000 to 700,000 reservists in January, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, said on Twitter. “The 300,000 who had previously drafted are already dead, wounded or demoralized,” he wrote. “The Russians are getting unhappy with the authorities – they cannot understand the losses in the promised army,” added Gerashchenko.
The opposition online medium “Verstka” also reported on the Kremlin’s possible plans to launch a second wave of mobilization, citing anonymous sources in the Russian parliament and the presidential administration. The government assumes that draftees will be much better prepared for the next wave, which could start after the turn of the year, than they were during the first wave. According to the report, they would also have precise lists of the people to be mobilized. During the previous mobilization there was always chaos. Several cases have been documented in which men were drafted despite health problems.
According to the report, new centers for recruits are being set up in Russia’s regions and military instructors are being trained. The authorities are also trying to “plug holes in the production and preparation of basic necessities for soldiers, as well as weapons and other equipment,” Verstka quoted a source in the Russian presidential administration as saying.
According to Russian news agencies, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov only claimed on Monday that there were “no discussions” in the government about a second wave of mobilization. According to its own statements, Russia had completed the mobilization of 300,000 reservists for the war in Ukraine at the end of October. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said back then that no new mobilization measures were planned.
