Across Russia, volunteer battalions are being formed to deploy to the war in Ukraine, joining the so-called “special military operation” declared by President Vladimir Putin in February.
From Murmansk in the Arctic Circle to Perm in the Urals and Primorsky Krai in the Russian Far East, the call was sent, appealing to both patriotism and Russian wallets. Relevant military experience is not always required.
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Altogether, analysts estimate that more than 30,000 volunteers could be mobilized to supplement Russian ranks exhausted by five months of fighting – between a quarter and a third of the force deployed to conquer the eastern region of Donbas, where most volunteers are likely to be. Sent.
Last week, Richard Moore, head of MI6, the UK’s secret intelligence service, said that “the Russians will find it increasingly difficult to provide manpower and material in the coming weeks”.
Putin has long resisted the idea of a general mobilization in Russia, and this spring’s call was similar to the one in 2021. These battalions are a way to increase Russia’s military strength without such a drastic measure. They also seem to be focusing on poorer, more isolated regions, using the lure of quick money.
What impact these battalions might have is an open question. Chechen volunteer units played an outsized role in the Donbas campaign, especially in Mariupol. But they are relatively well equipped and have extensive military experience. Battalions gathered elsewhere clearly did not.
Kateryna Stepanenko, a Russian researcher at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, says: “Some battalions will participate exclusively in combat support and combat support operations (such as logistics or signal battalions), while others will reinforce pre-existing military units. or form combat battalions.”
But she adds, “Short-term training is unlikely to turn volunteers with no prior experience into effective soldiers in any unit.”
Stepanenko says the process is being conducted from Moscow. “The Kremlin reportedly ordered all 85 Russian federal subjects (regions of the Russian Federation plus occupied Crimea and Sevastopol) to recruit volunteer battalions to avoid declaring partial or full mobilization in Russia.”
But regions are expected to help fund recruitment, which, she says, “puts a strong strain on regional budgets.” Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, for example, had to set aside about $2 million for the project, Stepanenko said.
The qualifications required for entry vary from place to place. An online brochure in Kazan, Tatarstan said: “We invite men under 49 years old who have previously served in the armed forces and offer a 4-month contract in their military specialization.”
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