Putin announced a partial mobilization on September 21, some time after the Ukrainian counter-offensive. According to analysts, the head of the Kremlin even consulted with Russian military commanders about the positions of the Russian Armed Forces on the battlefield.
The autumn counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “shocked” Russian President Vladimir Putin and served as a pretext for declaring “partial mobilization” at the end of last year. This was reported by the analytical center “Institute for the Study of War” in a summary for February 26.
“Ukraine’s rapid counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region between September 6 and 11 shocked Putin and made him realize that he needed a forced mobilization of the reserve. Putin announced a partial mobilization some time after the Ukrainian counter-offensive on September 21,” the military researchers report says.
The head of the Kremlin presumably came to the conclusion that irregular volunteer formations would not be enough to hold the positions captured by the Russian Armed Forces or to carry out successful offensive operations.
According to analysts, Putin even consulted with Russian military commanders about the positions of the Russian Armed Forces on the battlefield. Perhaps it was these bloggers who expressed their concerns.
Gian Gentile, deputy head of the RAND Arroyo center, said the Russian mobilization had been formally successful in the sense that the required number of soldiers had been raised.
But at the same time, this did not allow Putin to achieve his goals in Ukraine. The line of contact has not changed significantly.
“They didn’t even come close to achieving the goals that Putin set for his forces in Ukraine a few months ago. And in this respect, I think it was a failure for them,” the expert explained.
According to ISW, Putin may soon face a shortage of recruits. An increase in the mobilization reserve will lead to the fact that physically unfit Russians will be sent to the war in Ukraine, which will also affect the economy.
Earlier, Focus reported that Putin is transferring control of the Russian army in Ukraine to Shoigu. The army corps of the so-called “DPR” and “LPR” are actively integrating into the Russian army.
