A second mobilization?
An advisor to Ukraine’s Minister of Interior Affairs has publicly announced that Russia is preparing for a second wave of mobilization in the country.
500,000-700,000 more troops to be raised
“The plan,” Anton Gerashchenko (pictured) Tweeted, “is to draft 500,000-700,000,” since the original 300,000 drafted back in September were already killed, wounded, or demoralized.
Is this part of the information war?![]()
Gerashchenko’s announcement came at a time when distinguishing between fact and fiction has become almost impossible. The current information war between Russia and Ukraine has both sides working diligently to undermine support on the homefront.
There is some supporting evidence
But it does seem that there may be some evidence to support a renewed draft. Regional leaders in Russia wrote Putin last week demanding that he stop mobilizing reservists to fight in Ukraine.
Regional leaders say no to more drafts
Emilia Slabunova, a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia, posted a letter to her Telegram channel last week noting that current rumors of a renewed draft “affects the psychological state of society,” and is “a source of anxiety and increased anxiety in Russian families.”
Telegram is abuzz with rumors
Pro-Russian Telegram channels have also been abuzz with rumors of a second draft predicted to start in December or January.
Mid-January is the date
“There is no doubt that a new wave of mobilization will begin in mid-January,” wrote Kirill Goncharov, the deputy head of the Moscow branch of the Yabloko party on Telegram.
Call up papers are still being sent
“They are still sending out call-up papers, they are still preventing people from leaving the country,” Goncharov said.
The Kremlin says “no”
The Kremlin is not currently discussing the possibility of a second military mobilization in Russia according to Kremlin spokesperson Dimitri Peskov.
Dimitri Peskov’s comments
“There are no discussions about that,” Peskov told reporters in his weekly press call, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
