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War in Ukraine: what is the "partial mobilization" decreed by Putin?

2022-09-21T08:21:08.743Z


FOCUS - During a long-awaited speech on Russian television, the head of the Kremlin announced the mobilization of the Russian reserve. In fact, only 300,000 men will be affected, said Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.


The Russian population feared general mobilization, Vladimir Putin drew partial mobilization.

During a long-awaited speech, which was to take place on the evening of Tuesday, September 20 but which was finally broadcast the following day, the head of the Kremlin "

considered it necessary to support the proposal of the Ministry of Defense for the partial mobilization of reserve citizens

".

To discover

  • Follow information on the war in Ukraine with the Figaro application

The Russian president said he was taking such a step to "

support

the referendum process"

initiated on Tuesday by the provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, which will be held from September 23 to 27.

"

The decree on partial mobilization is signed

" and will come into force from "

today

", said Vladimir Putin, insisting on the fact that "

we are only talking about partial mobilization

" and not general mobilization, as the population feared.

A notable difference between partial and general mobilization

The difference between the two measurements is indeed significant.

The general mobilization would have given Russia the possibility of mobilizing its two million reservists and its 250,000 conscripts, in addition to the 180 to 200,000 conventional forces deployed in Ukraine.

That is in theory up to 2.5 million men in total.

As a reminder, conscription refers to military service, compulsory in Russia and lasting one year, for young people aged 18 to 27.

Conversely, reservists are voluntarily enlisted.

Read alsoWar in Ukraine: why Russia wants to annex separatist territories

The partial mobilization precisely allows Russia to enroll only the latter, ie a potential total of two million men.

But in fact, Vladimir Putin indicated that only "

those who have already served (...) and who have relevant experience

" will be called.

During a televised interview, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu clarified the Russian President's announcement.

Only "

300,000 reservists will be called up

", less than a quarter of the Russian reserve.

An impact on the population

This measure was taken by decree, to be effective as soon as possible.

It will then have to be presented to the Russian Parliament, which will certainly vote for it.

In detail, the text indicates that called up reservists will have the same status and the same “

salary level

” as conventional troops.

Three cases can exempt conscripts: their age, their state of health or a prison sentence.

Read alsoPutin is betting on escalation by precipitating the annexation of Donbass by referendum

Be that as it may, the partial mobilization will undoubtedly be less complicated for the Russian population to take than a general mobilization, which they particularly dreaded.

Part of the Russian people was "

prepared to welcome

" such a measure, stimulated by warlike and anti-Western speeches.

Patriotism, the notion of sacrifice and the capacity for resilience would have been awakened

,” geopolitical scientist Carole Grimaud Potter recently estimated with Le

Figaro

.

At the same time, "

this Russian society, already so petrified, would experience major fractures: there is a whole section of the Russian population which says nothing but which does not approve

“, she added.

This partial mobilization could allow Vladimir Putin to massively raise troops without alienating his people.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-09-21

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