The Kremlin places its pawns. This Friday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced, during a televised exchange with President Vladimir Putin, that 41,000 Russian reservists are already deployed in military units in Ukraine.
During this same exchange, Sergei Shoigu also clarified that the partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists announced by Vladimir Putin last September was completed in just over a month. “The task of recruiting 300,000 people has been accomplished,” he assured Russian television, while the Russian president praised the “patriotism” of these soldiers.
218,000 reservists in training
In detail, the minister noted that 218,000 reservists are being trained at Russian military bases, 41,000 are deployed in military units fighting in Ukraine, and another 41,000 are in the conflict zone but are still undergoing training.
The Russian president, like his minister, once again recognized the failures of this mobilization, which included many people who were not eligible and the lack of equipment. But Sergei Shoigu assured on Friday that all the team’s problems had already been “resolved”.
“No additional tasks are planned,” he said, indicating that Russia does not plan to mobilize additional reservists, civilians, in the immediate future. He added, however, that Russia continued to recruit volunteers and contract soldiers.
If the figures have never been confirmed by the Russian authorities, it is estimated that on February 24, the day the “special military operation” began, 190,000 soldiers were deployed on the border with Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
