Russia has no plans for an additional mobilisation of men to fight in Ukraine as more than 335,000 have signed up so far this year to fight in the armed forces or voluntary units, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.
Lots of comments seem to be missing the forest for the trees. Putin knows he has a draft-dodger problem. Whenever rumors of conscription go around, able-bodied young men flee the country in droves and that’s a big, salient problem. When the Defence Minister declares that they’re not planning another mobilisation, that is not propaganda aimed at making Russia look good for you or me. It’s propaganda aimed at making another draft seem unlikely to Russian citizens.
To that end, the Defence Minister just needs to tell the truth (albeit sanitized): “We vacuumed up a bunch of Wagner dropouts and made up the rest of the difference through selective impressment of people who won’t be missed”. That’s good enough for the average young Russian man going about his day: “Well, I wasn’t pressed into service and thanks to those other guys now I’m safe from getting drafted”. Nobody panics, nobody flees, and business as usual in Russia continues on.
Lots of comments seem to be missing the forest for the trees. Putin knows he has a draft-dodger problem. Whenever rumors of conscription go around, able-bodied young men flee the country in droves and that’s a big, salient problem. When the Defence Minister declares that they’re not planning another mobilisation, that is not propaganda aimed at making Russia look good for you or me. It’s propaganda aimed at making another draft seem unlikely to Russian citizens.
To that end, the Defence Minister just needs to tell the truth (albeit sanitized): “We vacuumed up a bunch of Wagner dropouts and made up the rest of the difference through selective impressment of people who won’t be missed”. That’s good enough for the average young Russian man going about his day: “Well, I wasn’t pressed into service and thanks to those other guys now I’m safe from getting drafted”. Nobody panics, nobody flees, and business as usual in Russia continues on.