Russian authorities are preparing to call up thousands of reservists for active military service—while insisting they will not be sent to Ukraine to fight. Navy Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyanskiy, deputy chief of the Main Organizational & Mobilization Directorate of the General Staff, announced Oct. 21 that he has issued orders that men who had been drafted and served in the military will be subject to mandatory "mobilization" for the purpose of "safeguarding strategically important facilities."

With the lines in Ukraine largely frozen in a war of attrition, and heavy losses on both sides, the move would free up President Vladimir Putin to expand the Russian force for the "special military operation," which is numbered at some 700,000 troops—mostly reservists who have signed contracts with the Defense Ministry. General conscripts are not sent to Ukraine, and the last call-up of reserves for the war, in September 2022, sparked a flight of young men from Russia to neighboring countries, and even scattered protests. The denial that the new mobilization is for the Ukraine war seems aimed at appeasing popular discontent, even while freeing up other soldiers to expand the invasion force. 

Estimates put the tally of Russian dead and wounded since the start of the all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 at more than 1 million. Total Russian military reserve forces are thought to number some 2 million. (Kyiv Post, Reuters, RFE/RL)