Russian authorities say 300,000 reservists will be mobilized, but local media say it might be many more.
The Kremlin has admitted that mistakes have been made in its effort to mobilize Russian army reservists to fight in Ukraine, amid a growing climate of opposition in the country.
“There are cases where the decree is violated,” said a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He added that those errors will be corrected.
Numerous reports have indicated that people with disabilities or age high have been calledasa rows.
The partial mobilization ordered last week has sparked widespread protests in Russia.
President Putin announced what he described as a partial mobilization on September 21, and his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said followingward that 300,000 reservists would be called up.
However, information published in the Russian media indicates that up to a million people might be called upand they underline that one of the paragraphs of the decree, the one that is believed to specify the exact number of reservists required, appears as classified in the version that the Russian government uploaded to its page.
Since the announcement of the mobilization, more than 2,000 people have been arrested in Russia.
It was Putin’s spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, who acknowledged that mistakes were being made.
He said that the governors of some regions “they are actively working to correct the situation”.
After various media raised the possibility that the government would order a border closure and the imposition of martial law to cut off those who fear being mobilized from leaving the country, Peskov said he was not aware of any such measures.
Since Putin announced the mobilization, many young Russians have tried to leave the country.
Satellite images showed long lines of cars at the border with Georgia.
On the Russian border with Georgia long lines of cars accumulated.
Opposition to the measure
This Monday, in the city of Ust-Llimsk, in Siberia, a man shot and seriously injured a recruitment officer.
Images shared on social media appear to show the attacker approaching the officer before opening fire on him. The aggressor then orders those present in the building to flee, which they do amid screams and scenes of panic.
The Russian republic of Dagestan, in the northern Caucasus, was the scene of clashes over the weekend between police and protesters opposed to the mobilization. More than 100 people were detained in the capital Makhachkala, according to IVD-Info, an independent organization that monitors the human rights situation.
Arson attacks once morest recruitment centers and other official buildings have also been reported in different parts of Russia.
In his announcement last week, Putin did not specify how many reservists would be called up.
In an intervention immediately following Putin’s, Minister Shoigu explained that 300,000 reservists, people with military experience or specialists, would be recruited.
He said that it was only 1% of the 25 million reservists that Russia has. The process would take several months.
The mobilization decree established age limits and exemptions for disabled people, but did not provide further details. It is believed that men between the ages of 18 and 60, or older in some cases, might be mobilized.
Several Russian analysts immediately questioned the official version and the government’s promises that the mobilization would be limited. Skeptics point out that the decree does not mention exceptions and suspect that the criteria in practice will be set by the regional governors.
On September 24, Putin signed a new decree delaying the recruitment of students.
Before launching its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia had concentrated around 190,000 troops on the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Western military experts believe that the mobilization announced by Putin last week is an indication of adverse developments for Russian interests in the war.
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