“There are no plans for additional mobilization”

The General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces has no plans for additional mobilization of citizens for the war in Ukraine. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced this on Tuesday.

According to Shoigu, the army now has enough servicemen to carry out the so-called special military operation.

The minister’s statement is atypical – as a rule, representatives of the Russian top leadership do not comment on the issue of possible mobilization.

Mobilization in Russia was announced on September 21, 2022 after a series of failures at the front. President Vladimir Putin then said that this was done on the recommendation of the General Staff. According to official data, 300,000 reserve men were drafted into the army. The decree on mobilization continues to operate. According to him, the mobilized will be able to return from the army only after the end of the so-called SVO, that is, the war in Ukraine.

According to Shoigu, 335 thousand people signed contracts with the army or volunteer units in the last hour, 50 thousand in the last month alone. It is impossible to independently confirm these figures.

In Russia, there is now an autumn conscription for military service. Last year, the start of conscription was postponed due to mobilization. Commentators noted that it would not be easy for the military department to organize two conscriptions at once – conscripts and mobilized, so the probability of a new wave of mobilization before the end of the fall conscription is considered by many to be low.

The authorities claim that conscript soldiers will not be sent to the front. However, starting this year, conscripts are allowed to conclude a contract with the Ministry of Defense from the first day of their service.