Putin’s supporters complain that old Russians are being sent to war

Allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin complained on state television about the struggle to send former Russians to Ukraine after proposing a partial mobilization of the army last week.

The Russian commander ordered the mobilization last Wednesday after his navy struggled to achieve key goals in Ukraine’s “special naval operation” launched on February 24. Ukraine encountered Russian soldiers with stronger than expected defenses and launched a counteroffensive to retake the occupied territories. Current weeks.

As casualties mounted, Putin turned to partial mobilization, transporting 300,000 reserve troops to Ukraine’s entrance. Conscription is only available to non-public military personnel under the age of 35, junior officers under the age of 50 and senior officers under the age of 55.

However, Russian state TV host Vladimir Solovyov and state media company RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonian said some soldiers in their 60s were killed on Russian state TV Monday night. Called fighting in Ukraine. BBC correspondent Francis Scarr tweeted a clip of their conversation.

Notably, neither Solovyov nor Simonyan accused Putin of blaming older Russians for responsibility, but rather lower-level recruiting officials.

“We all know that the first wave will include privates, sergeants and warrant officers under the age of 35. But I have to point out, how many draft documents were distributed to privates who were 45 or 43?” Simonyan asked , Solovyov intervened, saying he noticed a 62-year-old man was accused of being responsible.

Simonyan went on to say: “Mainly, one thing has to be done. We shouldn’t provoke individuals.”

Solovyov suggested capturing the conscription officers who recruited the old Russians, or sending them themselves to fight in the European countries of Japan, although Simonyan said she opposed the capture of these officers.

“I just pulled them out publicly, just some of these Navy recruiting operations,” Solovyov said. “Especially the smart guy from Novosibirsk. Catch that recruiter’s ear and send him to the entrance of Donbass.”

It’s unclear who Solovyov’s chosen recruiting officer was in Novosibirsk, a Siberian metropolis of more than 1.5 million people that has been the site of protests in response to mobilization.

Russia boycotts Putin’s mobilization

Dissent in Russia is uncommon, as the Kremlin cracked down on free speech in the first weeks of the fight. Last week, however, protests against the mobilization took place in cities across the country, with hundreds of people risking persecution to voice their opposition to the struggle.

According to OVD-Information, a company that tracks the arrests of anti-war protesters in Russia, 2,365 Russians were arrested throughout the reactionary protests from September 21 to 25.

All of Putin’s conscripts are seen as not doing much for his mission. A 63-year-old man with diabetes and severe mental damage has been called to fight after doctors told him he was capable of taking responsibility.

At the same time, the video also captures different applicants who give the impression of being drunk. Someone was seen staggering down the airport runway before boarding, while others had been sleeping or refusing to enter traces.

Information week Contact the Russian International Department for comment.