Mobilization in Russia for November 26-27, volunteer summary
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claims that a new wave of covert mobilization will start in Russia from December 10. “According to the available information, preparatory measures are underway to conduct the next wave of covert mobilization into the ranks of the Russian occupation forces in Russia and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine from December 10 of this year,” the General Staff of Ukraine reports in its sitrep.
Vladimir Mikhailov, a Deputy of the Kostroma Duma [the regional parliament of the Kostroma region], asked Vladimir Putin to issue a decree to stop the "partial" mobilization. He believes that the decree will reduce tension in society and allow potential draftees "to plan ahead confidently."
In the much talked-of interview of Andrey Kelin, Ambassador of Russia to the UK, for the BBC, the topic of mobilization was also touched upon. When asked by a journalist whether his son is fighting in Ukraine, the ambassador replied that his son is not fighting, because he is already an adult, has a family and does not have the appropriate training. At the same time, the ambassador did not rule out the possibility of his son being mobilized, noting that now there is no need for mobilization.
The mobilization brought down Sergei Shoigu's [Russia’s Minister of Defense] approval rating, the Sirena Telegram channel believes. In May 2022, almost 51% of respondents spoke positively about the Minister of Defense, and in October – only 38%. Thus, society blames him for the poor provisioning and training of the army.
The Prosecutor General's Office has blocked the "Council of Mothers and Wives" group on the VKontakte social network. This is an association of mobilized soldiers’ relatives who were not allowed to meet with Putin. At the same time, the Council continues to post appeals of women to the government on its Telegram channel. It should be noted that the Council itself is an organization within the “All-People’s Union for the Revival of Russia” by Svetlana Peunova, a.k.a. the leader of the “Citizens of the USSR”, the Volya [Will] party liquidated for extremist activity, and the Lada-Rus religious sect named after her.
Mothers of conscripts and mobilized soldiers requested to return their sons home. On Mother's Day, a group of women, together with the Feminist Anti-War Resistance, published an open letter to the State Duma and the Federation Council [two chambers the Russian Parliament], as well as a petition demanding the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Ukraine.
Alexander Avdeev, the Governor of the Vladimir region, went to the unit to meet mobilized soldiers. In a video that he posted on his official Telegram channel, the Governor said that “the relatives of fighters are exaggerating.” He added, “Little by little, they are moving away from the stress experienced in battle, they understand that more than a thousand of their fellow soldiers are fighting in the same difficult conditions. I'm sure they can adapt, too. Some of them need psychological and medical help.”
Mobilized soldiers were robbed in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region, while they were at a roll-call. Unknown people cut open their tent and took the things necessary for their service. Several people from Ivanovo became victims of the robbery.
The number of casualties among mobilized soldiers is increasing. Anton Getman, 19, a resident of the Rostov region, was killed at the front on November 10. He was called up for the war on September 23 after returning from mandatory 12-month military service. Valery Krotov from the village of Kamenny, Volgograd region, born in 1983,, was killed on November 19. Several reports have been received regarding the casualties among mobilized residents of the Sverdlovsk region: Alexey Voronin from Tavda, born in 1984, was killed on November 18, Vladimir Morgun from Krasnoufimsk, born in 1979, was killed near Lyman on November 10, and Denis Kuzminykh from Artemovsky, born in 1994, was killed in the Luhansk region. In a Novisibirsk training center, a mobilized soldier shot himself in the leg to avoid being sent to the front line.
Russia's Ministry of Defense continues to provide updates on draftees' combat training. Mobilized mechanics serve in the repair units of the Central Military District and perform scheduled maintenance and restoration of armored vehicles. From the Vladimir region, another group of mobilized residents was sent to the combat zone. Some of the draftees are promoted to the rank of officers "for the completion of combat training, and acquiring higher education and authority among service members." The head of the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School, Major General Sergei Markovchin, handed lieutenant shoulder straps to several mobilized servicemen.
The Federal Siberian Clinical Research Center located in Krasnoyarsk will purchase bulletproof vests. The price of each set of body armor, according to the publicly disclosed contract, is 120,000 rubles.
The Business Mobilization project was presented at the Festival of Youth Entrepreneurship in Moscow last Friday. The Sinergia corporation and the All-Russia People's Front [an NGO headed by Vladimir Putin] founded the initiative. The owner of a cafe in Lyubertsy, Moscow region, who "provides free meals for the family of a mobilized soldier of three" became one of the winners of the award "For Contribution to Helping the Families of Mobilized Servicemen".
Telegram channels in the city of Kursk ask for donations of dog fur for knitting socks for draftees. Tatarstan sent its mobilized soldiers 350 “mother’s pies” and 200 kg of meat dumplings. Women from the Pestrichinsky and Aksubaevsky districts baked the pies as part of the “Mother’s pies” movement. The first batch of patches was sewn for the specially-named Yugra battalion formed out of newly mobilized soldiers. The patches depict a bear and the flag of Yugra [the region to the east of the northern Ural Mountains]. Students in Krasnoyarsk produced a batch of mini-stoves for soldiers. They also made demining devices referred to as “tactical catspaws”. The collection of items for New Year's packages for servicemen has started in Moscow. The announcements at entrances in the Alekseevsky district of the capital list candy, pretzels, cigarettes, vitamin C, and toilet paper among gift suggestions. They will be distributed among Russian Naval infantrymen of the Pacific Fleet. t.
Governor of the Kemerovo region Sergei Tsivilyov organized a Mother’s Day concert for mobilized and volunteer soldiers from the region held at the base of a motorized rifle unit. On the eve of Mother’s Day, the head of the Lgov district of the Kursk region Sergei Korostelev met with mothers of servicemen killed in the war in Ukraine and presented each grieving mother a cake and a towel set. The heads of rural settlements in the Nizhnekamsk district of Tatarstan also sent Mother’s Day greetings to the mothers of draftees.