Ukraine war: Putin dismisses reports of new Russian mobilisation
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied plans for a fresh mobilisation of troops for the country’s war in Ukraine, saying there is currently no need to call up additional personnel. Speaking on Thursday at a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin described reports of another mobilisation as Ukrainian “disinformation” intended to influence Russia’s upcoming State Duma elections. He said Russia’s military recruitment was currently based on volunteers signing contracts and insisted there was no situation requiring mobilisation at present. Putin last ordered a partial mobilisation in 2022, after Russian forces suffered a series of battlefield setbacks in Ukraine. The Kremlin said the order applied to about 300,000 people from a population of roughly 140 million, but the move proved unpopular and led many draft-age men to leave the country. Since then, the Kremlin has repeatedly denied plans for another call-up. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, said in July that Moscow was preparing for a new mobilisation wave in the autumn, citing heavy Russian losses on the battlefield. Kyiv had not immediately responded to Putin’s latest comments.
Russia’s battlefield advances have slowed significantly this year, with extensive drone use on the front making rapid and large-scale troop movements more difficult. The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, said in July that Moscow appeared to be creating the conditions for another mobilisation, pointing to legislation recently passed to allow the army to recruit additional categories of convicts during wartime. The institute said mobilisation remained a highly personal decision for Putin and would ultimately depend on his assessment of the battlefield situation and the stability of the Kremlin. Both Russia and Ukraine have suffered heavy military casualties since the conflict began. Despite the competing assessments over Moscow’s future plans, Putin’s latest statement maintains that Russia currently has no need for another nationwide military call-up and that its forces will continue to rely on voluntary recruitment.
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