According to a Kremlin decree, Russian reservists are to be called up for longer training. Specialists fear that some of them will end up in Ukraine.
Moscow - In a decree issued on Wednesday (10 May), Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered training for Russian army reservists. Critical voices warn that the action could be used to put pressure on the reservists to enlist them as soldiers for the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the Kremlin-critical online newspaper The Moscow Times.
So far, sources close to the Kremlin have firmly assured the Russian state news agency TASS that the reservists called up for routine training will not be deployed in the Ukraine war. Their tasks are only to "remove military equipment from long-term storage", the operational capability of which they should check and restore, the newspaper quotes the Russian military expert Viktor Litovkin.
Putin orders reservist training: experts expect pressure on Russian soldiers
However, more critical media outlets have also spoken to lawyers who fear that the reservists could be presented with contracts and pressure built up during the two-month training period in Russia. For example, activist and legal expert Artyom Faizulin told The Moscow Times that anyone who had access to the defense authorities for two months could be "tempted" to sign a contract for military use.
Russian recruits in Balashikha. President Vladimir Putin also calls up reservists to training camps. © IMAGO/Sergei Karpukhin
Reports of situations in which the official announcements say that certain groups will not be sent to war have been accumulating since the beginning of the Russian invasion over a year ago. Initially, it was said, for example, that conscripts would not be sent to Ukraine, which was ultimately revoked, then it was said that the draftees from the mobilization action in the fall would only be used in the war after long training. For some, it has been proven to take only a few days.
Reservist training and mobilization wave: Possible scenarios for Russia's strategy
And this time, too, experts expect that the action could be a pretext to replace the many injured and fallen soldiers, especially since Ukraine has been expecting a counteroffensive for weeks. A new wave of mobilization also seems possible to insiders.
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According to information from the Moscow Times, anyone who evades the mandatory training camp will have to pay a fine of 3000,40 rubles (the equivalent of around <> US dollars). What does not emerge from the decree, according to the news site, is the number of reservists who will be called up for training by the decision. (saka)
