New military mobilization in Ukraine is a matter of life and death

Kiev wants to recruit about 300,000 people over the next six months. The list of those subject to mobilization is expanding.

A bill is being prepared that would prohibit teenagers from leaving the country for 16 years old. The Netherlands, Denmark and Norway have all promised to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Kiev.

The West has begun to complain about the slowness of deliveries of weapons to Ukraine, especially after the counteroffensive faltered and Russian forces held out on its fronts. It is expected that after examining the profiles, many decisions will be reviewed, and people who previously avoided conscription will be sent.

The Russian newspaper Izvestia revealed that preparations are underway in Ukraine to carry out a new wave of military mobilization, as Kiev wants to recruit tens of thousands in the coming months, and to this end, the authorities are working on changing legislation, and making a radical change in the leadership of military recruitment offices.

Izvestia said the rhetoric of Ukrainian leaders has also changed: if earlier they promised a quick defeat for Russia, they are now preparing society for a long-term confrontation.

According to the Russian newspaper, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refused to talk of a truce and rejected a proposal to discuss giving up part of Ukrainian territory in exchange for joining NATO.

Recruitment

The report quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying Kiev authorities wanted to recruit about 300,000 people over the next six months.

In the middle of this month, Zelensky dismissed all the regional military commissioners and replaced them with military personnel with combat experience who, in Ukraine, are considered more zealous and less corrupt, meaning that it will make it harder to evade recruitment.

Izvestia said that Ukrainian security forces a few days ago raided military registration and recruitment offices across the country to conduct inspections, and it was reported that 200 investigations were carried out to uncover any corruption that affected the recruitment file.

She added that recruitment center were known to have the highest percentage of "white tickets", i.e. draft-evaders. It is expected that after examining the profiles, many decisions will be reviewed, and people who previously avoided conscription will be sent to the front.

The list of those subject to mobilization is expanding, many exemptions have been abolished, and a bill is being prepared for consideration that would prohibit teenagers from leaving the country for 16 years old.

Ukrainian military registration and recruitment offices are also expected to be able in the fall to access the electronic databases of Ukrainian departments, including data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Border Service, which will allow tracking the movements of recruits and sending summons via SMS and email.

Russian political expert Mikhail Pavlev said that during the current wave of mobilization in Ukraine, they will "recruit those who could not have been involved before."

Andrei Koshkin, head of the Department of Political Science and Sociology at Russia's Plekhanov University, was also quoted as saying that the West already wants to reduce the volume of aid, explaining that the bet will be on large-scale mobilization.

Change of discourse

In winter and spring, they expected a quick defeat for Russia during the counteroffensive, but now they are trying to convince the public to the opposite, with Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk saying that the military confrontation will continue for a long time.

Izvestia noted that in addition to reviewing the recruitment method and confronting the corruption of preparing military mobilization files, Kiev is struggling to receive equipment, weapons and ammunition from the West. The Netherlands, Denmark and Norway have all promised to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Kiev.

The Western allies also promised to send several weapons to Ukraine, including tanks of various types, missiles and military vehicles.

There are a lot of worrying signals for Kiev coming from the West regarding armaments, as it has begun to complain about the slowness, while its Western allies seemed less enthusiastic than before to deliver the weapons it wants to Ukraine, especially after the counteroffensive faltered and Russian forces held out on its fronts.

SOURCE