Top official: Russia has no need for mobilisation

Russia has no need to carry out a mobilisation, Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has said, dismissing reports of a possible new call-up.

Medvedev described the reports as a provocation by the Ukrainian authorities, which he said were facing a severe shortage of manpower.

In an interview with Vedomosti, he said the personnel requirements of the Russian Armed Forces were being met through contract soldiers and volunteers.

He also accused Ukraine of using disinformation and false reports in an effort to prevent Russia from achieving the objectives of its “special military operation”.

President Vladimir Putin last ordered a mobilisation in September 2022, when a series of significant battlefield setbacks led the Kremlin to call up 300,000 reservists to reinforce Russian forces at the front.

Since then, Moscow has refrained from another widely unpopular mobilisation, instead relying primarily on lucrative contracts to recruit personnel.

The strategy has brought around 1.3 million contract soldiers into the Russian military.

By Aghakazim Guliyev