Kremlin not planning new mass call-up despite troop shortages — Guardian

There are currently no indications that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has decided to order another large-scale call-up, the newspaper’s sources said.

An unnamed senior Western official also confirmed that there were no signs of preparations for an imminent new mobilization campaign.

Instead, the Kremlin appears to be relying on recruiting volunteers to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry in an effort to avoid the political risks associated with another compulsory mobilization.

“The problem for the Kremlin is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find people willing to fight, even for crazy amounts of money,” Russian human rights activist Alexei Tabalov told The Guardian.

An employee of a Russian recruitment agency described similar difficulties.

His company is required to recruit between 20 and 30 men each month to be sent to the war, he said. Employees receive bonuses for meeting recruitment targets and face penalties for failing to do so.

“Last year it was easier. Now it is getting harder and harder,” he said on condition of anonymity.

The employee said the possibility of another mobilization was being discussed within his organization, but there had been no official instructions or indications that a new call-up was imminent.

Ukraine warns Russia may mobilize after elections

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Aug. 11 that Russia was preparing an autumn mobilization campaign that would begin after what he described as simulated parliamentary elections, citing intelligence from Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence.

Zelenskyy said on Aug. 8 that Putin was looking for ways to conduct a covert mobilization campaign in Russia without formally announcing it.

The Kremlin also continues to involve North Korea in its war against Ukraine.

The Financial Times previously reported that Russia was becoming increasingly aggressive in recruiting people for military service as it sought to avoid another formal mobilization.

Police have conducted raids at workplaces and taken men from the streets to military recruitment offices, while officials have targeted debtors, students and even women with specialties needed by the military in efforts to secure new contracts.