WSJ: Russia may launch new mobilization after Duma elections
A US report says Moscow is considering a new mobilization wave after September elections due to a shortage of contract soldiers. Some Russians have already indicated they are unwilling to comply.
The Wall Street Journal, citing sources in the US administration, reports that Russian authorities are considering a new wave of mobilization after the State Duma elections scheduled for September. The publication says the main reason is a decline in the number of contract soldiers enlisting, which complicates the Kremlin’s plans to continue its offensive in Ukraine and seize the entire territories of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Unlike the first mobilization wave, the new draft could include Russians with minimal military training or even those who do not wish to take part in hostilities. Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Moscow Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said that if President Vladimir Putin does not abandon his goal of fully occupying Donbas, he may have no choice but to announce mobilization.
The WSJ also emphasizes that the political consequences of such a decision could be very painful for the Kremlin. Some Russian residents have already declared their readiness to resist mobilization. For example, 53-year-old reserve officer Dmitry Rogin said that if given a weapon, he would turn it against those who mobilized him.
These statements point to growing tension in Russian society, although it remains unclear whether the Kremlin will actually go ahead with the new mobilization and how the public would respond.
