Reports of irregular calls to join the army are increasing in Russia. What are the main problems detected in the so-called “partial mobilization” ordered by Putin?
Retired, disabled, men without combat experience or who have not even served in the armed forces: Recruitment notifications are currently received in Russia also by people belonging to those categories, as analysts who study the work of Russian recruitment offices confirmed to Deutsche Welle.
A week after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech, in which he ordered what the regime called “partial mobilization,” thousands of men had already been recruited into the ranks of the army, which has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine since February.
And everything indicates that many of the recruited soldiers do not respond to the specifications of the Ministry of Defense itself.
age doesn’t matter
“On Sunday afternoon the notification arrived. My husband had to report to the recruiting office at 2:00 p.m. There they registered him, he had to hand over his papers and at 5:30 p.m. he left by bus for training, ”says Igor’s wife (39 years old).
It is worth mentioning that all the names mentioned in this report have been changed for security reasons.
Due to his age and status as a sergeant in the reserves, Igor, who lives in Moscow, Shouldn’t have been called because men over 35 years of age would not enter the so-called “partial mobilization”, according to the details provided by the Ministry of Defense after Putin’s speech. But Igor told his wife that there were at least 120 men in his group who were over that age limit.
This is not the only irregularity that Igor faced.
His wife assures that in the recruiting office there was no medical examination, despite the fact that the law requires it to determine the suitability of the soldier. Also, the job changed. “His military identification says that he is a cavalryman of the border troops, but now they gave him the job of artilleryman,” says the woman, who emphasizes that her husband will not complain, despite her inconsistencies.
Returned after complaining
But there are also cases where men who were poorly recruited were finally able to return home.
This is what happened, for example, to a reserve soldier with no combat experience who was recruited despite having 43 years. “This happens because the recruitment offices send notifications randomly. That was confirmed to me on the hotlines,” says Oksana, the wife of the soldier in question.
The woman, who lives in Moscow, complained in writing and then appeared in person at the office, after which her husband was sent back home. “Now he travels back from the city of Serpukhov,” she explains.
Whether that happened because of his claims or someone at the recruiting office caught on to the mistake, he doesn’t know.
More recruits than necessary
Konstantin, an actor from Chelyabinsk, also believes that recruiters can change his decisions.
He was called by the head of the town administration to inform him unofficially, and by phone, that he would receive a notification. But Konstantin has only been in the army for a year and has no combat experience.
A day later, he was told that he would not be called up. “As I understand it, they have enough people. A friend queued at the office, but was told that he was no longer needed,” says Konstantin.
In recent days, several Russian governors, and even Putin himself, have admitted errors on the part of the conscription offices, and have promised to quickly solve the corresponding cases.
In Magadan, in northeastern Russia, for example, the military commissar Serguei Baranovsky has already been fired for “errors in partial mobilization.” This was reported by Governor Serguei Nosov. At his request, the military district command sent a new experienced officer, “who restored order in the recruiting office,” Nosov noted.