Prominent figures on Russian state television, who cheered Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in the first few months, have adopted a more consequential tone on troop mobilization.
Russia’s president announced on Wednesday that he would appoint reservists to stop his losses in Ukraine, but was met with waves of protests, arrests and a decision by a large number of Russians to leave the country to avoid conscription.
Alexander Nemenov/Getty Images
Recruitment was plagued by chaotic scenes of drunken soldiers, complaints about poor conditions and equipment, and most importantly, mistakes in recruiting people under decree who couldn’t be called superior in the first place.
The mobilization targeted base soldiers under 35, junior officers under 50 and senior officers under 55, but media representatives cited flaws in the process without immediately criticizing Putin.
Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of state media RT, said on her social media channel Telegram that her workplace was flooded with complaints about mobilization “violations” and that many people over the age limit were referred to services.
Among them were a 56-year-old from the Vladimir region who received most cancer treatments, a 49-year-old from the Volgograd region with diabetes, and a 48-year-old from Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan weighing 330 kg, and is also dealing with diabetes.
“We are dealing with a distortion of mobilization. We now have entire departments — including myself — that may drop everything, suspend our joint work, and try to get justice for everyone who has been wrongly mobilized,” Simonyan wrote. road.
She expressed her dissatisfaction with the “Russia One” program on the radio. Vladimir Solovyov nightThroughout the process, she instructed the host: “One thing has to be achieved about this. We shouldn’t anger individuals.”
Solovyov mentioned that recruiters who named seniors should all be shot or sent to Ukraine to fight themselves.
host Roman Babayan Pravda (One’s Fact) also expressed its dissatisfaction with the mobilization process on national broadcaster NTV, telling viewers on Saturday: “Do you understand what I’m afraid of? I want people who really want to mobilize.”
He mentioned that recruiters “are rounding up a group of people without being transparent about whether the person is currently wanted by the state” and “whether he is of any use”.
Babayan also required the troops to have the right skills and equipment, “only then can we expect to make some adjustments to the entrance”.
Russian observer Julia Davis tweeted his feedback on the video, while a film circulating on social media showed the army complaining about poor conditions and worn-out equipment.
The American Institute for Resistance (ISW) said on Monday that the Kremlin blamed a “responsible failed bureaucracy” for the mobilization failure.
The ISW mentioned that while the Kremlin was trying to “extricate itself from its anger”, “its narrative is unlikely to appease the Russians who can see the actual wrongs around them”.
Contrary to what will be heavily publicized about Russia’s defeat in Ukraine, there are so many violations in name that they are passed on by word of mouth.
“The Kremlin is facing a horrific process to mobilize enough men to fight while trying to appease the Russians,” the ISW said. It added that Putin faced a battle to fix or appear to fix the form of mobilization in 11 time zones for which he had set quotas for mobilization for rallies.
“These imperatives are more likely to become mutually unique in a short period of time,” ISW said.
Information week Russia’s Ministry of Protection has been asked for comment.
Russian state media slams military for failing to mobilize