Further mobilization not on agenda – Kremlin
Russian authorities are not even remotely considering a new wave of mobilization in support of the Ukraine campaign, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has claimed.
In an interview with RIA Novosti on Saturday, Peskov dismissed the idea that Russia needed to resort to additional conscription measures when asked whether the military has enough soldiers.
”No one is talking about mobilization at all, it is not on the agenda,” the spokesman stressed.
Russia announced a partial mobilization in September 2022, several months into the Ukraine conflict, calling up about 300,000 soldiers. At the time, the Russian Defense Ministry said the move was necessary to man the length of the front line that had been established.
With rumors circulating in Western media that Russia might announce a second wave of mobilization, officials in Moscow have repeated that there is no need for a new draft campaign.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in June that Moscow has no plans for additional mobilization, as Russia is sticking to the tactic of gradually “pushing out” Ukrainian troops from the areas it seeks to establish control over. He added that the military enjoys a steady stream of patriotic volunteers.
Earlier this month, the Defense Ministry said that some 190,000 contract soldiers had joined in 2024 alone, and estimated that about 1,000 people were signing contracts every day. Last December, the ministry put the total number of contract soldiers at 640,000.
In June, Putin also revealed that some 700,000 soldiers were operating in the zone of the military operation.
