Putin declares partial military mobilization, calls up 300,000 reservists
Europe, News September 21, 2022 1 Comment on Putin declares partial military mobilization, calls up 300,000 reservistsIn a rare address to his nation on September 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced to accelerate his war efforts against Ukraine.
The Russian defense ministry would call up at least 300,000 reserve troops to join the active military, Russian President Putin said.
“In order to protect our Motherland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, ensure the security of our people and people on the liberated territories, I deem it necessary to support the proposal by the Defense Ministry and the General Staff on a partial mobilization in Russia,” the Russian leader said in a televised address, adding that he had already signed the corresponding decree for the ‘partial mobilization’.
Putin further elaborated that the mobilization would only call up Russian citizens “who are currently in the reserve and primarily those who served in the army and have particular military specialties.” The citizens called up for military services would undergo training before being dispatched to the military units.
During his speech, Putin also insisted that his top priority is to “liberate” Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. He also reaffirmed his support for a popular referendum to see if people from the Donbas region and other occupied Ukrainian territories want to become a part of Russia.
In a subsequent speech, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that around 300,000 people would be called for military services. He specified that only on those with some military experience would be called for their services. He further elaborated that students would not be called up. He also stated that enlisted individuals would not be dispatched to the “special operations zones”, or active war zones.
This is the first time that Russia has called up its reservists since the end of World War II. Russia’s act of military mobilization is expected to fuel the tensions even further between Russia and the West.
Russia is looking to stabilize its position in the occupied territories in Ukraine, especially after Ukrainian forces conducted counter-offensive operations in the Eastern and Northern parts of the country to claim back more than 8,000 square kilometers of the area from the Russian forces.
The current number of Russian troops in Ukraine, including the Russian-backed separatist and private security personnel, does not exceed 200,000. if Russia’s mobilization campaign is successful, the number of Russian troops for the Ukraine war would be doubled compared to the currently deployed personnel, making it easier for Russia to defend the captured territories. However, many defense analysts believe that although the high number of newly enlisted reservists looks good on paper, it does not make any substantial difference in the ground situation.
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[…] dramatic exchange was announced hours after Putin said he had ordered the mobilization of 300,000 military reservists to bolster Kremlin’s battlefield losses over the past seven […]