It’s time for mobilization in Russia, in the literal sense, after Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday, September 21 to resort to “partial” mobilization to strengthen the army in difficulty in Ukraine. Things are not dragging on since everywhere in the country go back information or images showing men being enlisted. Obviously the convocation letters had to leave even before the speech of the Russian president since on Thursday the first arrived in the mailboxes. Recruitment centers, the Voenkomat as we say in Russian, are beginning to welcome the mobilized. Men of all ages, showing up with their mail in hand.
TESTIMONY >> “I packed my bags and took the plane”: these Russians who leave their country to escape the war
Things are going very fast in Moscow. In front of a military police station in the center of the capital, some took the precaution of taking a few belongings. Many have a closed face, do not wish to express themselves. Yuri, a 35-year-old Muscovite father of two, looks quite relaxed. Son and grandson of soldiers, he leaves confident. “I received a summons, they told me it was mobilization, we are leaving for a training camp at 3 p.m., they did not tell us where”says the Muscovite.
“There is nothing to worry about, we have a commander-in-chief who decides. And then first of all, they will not send us without training. What is there to be afraid of? It’s fate. “
Yuri, mobilized Muscoviteat franceinfo
Youri did his military service 15 years ago but since then he has not touched a weapon. We see images from the Far East where the police came to pick up the students at their place of study in Buryatia, near Lake Baikal. On the island of Sakhalin, in the far east of the country, miners coming up from the pit after their night shift were expected, and some boarded the army bus directly. It seems that many mobilized come from remote and poor regions but not only, we also mobilize in Moscow or Kursk for example, in the west of the country very close to the Ukrainian border.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu assured in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s speech that only men who had served in the army, with a military specialty and with experience in the field would leave. In summary, former military or specialists. This is the case for Aeroflot pilots, some of whom seem to be starting to be called up. But in fact, we are beginning to see more testimonies of men who have very little military experience being called to Ukraine.
Kirill, a 22-year-old storekeeper who arrives at the office accompanied by his grandfather. “I did my military service but that’s allexplains the young man. It was a shock at first when it became clear that everyone would be mobilized. It was unexpected that it was so sudden. I haven’t called my mother yet, it’s going to be shit… If I call, she’s going to be hysterical.” A little later, Kirill breaks down in tears. Behind him, Vladislav, barely older, comes out relieved. He is category C and will not be called up right away.
We see on social networks images of buses leaving, with women, children crying in the parking lots. We still continue to hear of men fleeing the country. Moreover, it seems that certain regions have taken steps to prohibit all men who can be mobilized from leaving the territory. This is not the case in Moscow, but it is the case in the east of the country in particular.
The Russian power announces the figure of 300,000 mobilized, but there are doubts that have appeared in recent hours. These doubts come from the fact that it was discovered that there was an article of the presidential decree of mobilization which is classified and kept secret. The Kremlin confirmed this and explained that this point concerned the number of people who could be mobilized. The newspaper in exile Novaia Gazeta writes that a source within the Kremlin told him that this article provided that up to a million men could be mobilized. Difficult to know if it is an objective, or a theoretical maximum. In any case, the Kremlin denies this figure of one million which will be impossible to verify anyway.