Russia’s “partial” military buildup would create additional forces but inefficiently and with high domestic social and political costs, a US think tank said on Monday. In the assessment of war.
President Vladimir Putin announced the initiative last week amid a counteroffensive in Ukraine that has pushed his forces back from thousands of miles of territory they had previously captured in the 7-month war. His defense ministry says the mobilization will add about 300,000 soldiers to the Russian army.
An assessment by the Institute for Combat Research says that forces created through partial mobilization are “unlikely to add significantly to the net combat power of the Russian military in 2022.” If the mobilization is to have a significant impact, even in the long term, Putin must address “fundamental deficiencies” in Russian military personnel and equipment systems, the assessment added.
Putin’s “actions so far show he is more concerned with rushing bodies to the battlefield than addressing these fundamental flaws,” the assessment said.
‘Disastrous consequences for Russia’:Top US official says if Putin uses nukes, consequences could be dire
Other developments:
►Voting closes Tuesday in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine, where the Kremlin has approved referendums to allow annexation of the land. “The Russians see the citizens’ fear and reluctance to vote, so they are forced to take people,” said Ivan Fedorov, the Ukrainian mayor of the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol. Ukraine, the US and many other countries have dismissed the referendums as “negotiations”.
►A ship carrying thousands of tons of corn and vegetable oil from Ukraine has arrived in northern Lebanon, the first since Russia’s invasion began seven months ago.
Six months into the war:The whole world loses. See where we go from here.
A man shot and killed the commander at the Russian invasion office
A man entered a military registration office in the Siberian city of Ust-Ilimsk on Monday and shot an army commander at close range, according to Russian media reports. The man, identified in the media as 25-year-old local resident Ruslan Zhinin, said “no one will go to fight” and “we will all go home now”.
Investigators of the Irkutsk Region “in hot pursuit, the suspect of the crime was detained by the National Guard” said in a statement.
Local officials said the army chief was in intensive care. Jinin is said to be upset that his best friend, who has no combat experience, was given a call-up notice. Military experience should be the primary criteria for the draft.
Contributed by: Associated Press
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