Slaidins: Risk of new mobilization in Russia may increase after State Duma elections
NBS Major Jānis Slaidiņš says that as volunteer numbers decline, Russia may conduct a new mobilization or rotation after the September 20 elections, but the Kremlin will likely avoid using the word because Putin has promised it won't be needed.
On TV24's program “Current on Warfare in Ukraine”, NBS Major and National Guard Staff Officer Jānis Slaidiņš discussed the possible developments regarding mobilization in Russia. He noted that the number of volunteers at the front is decreasing, and Russia is again using methods characteristic of the early war, such as recruiting prisoners, as Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner Group did.
Slaidiņš emphasized that Putin's regime has turned the war into a system where human life has little value. He recalled that in Russia, discussions about possible mobilization or at least rotation of soldiers mobilized in 2022 are becoming more frequent.
The State Duma elections will end on September 20, and September 21 will mark four years since the last mobilization decree. According to Slaidiņš, the Kremlin will most likely try to avoid using the word “mobilization” itself, as Vladimir Putin has publicly promised several times that it would no longer be necessary.
