Russia has taken a key legal step that effectively allows the Kremlin to deploy troops abroad without needing to formally declare war or order a mobilization. On October 13, the State Duma approved a bill authorizing the active, even in peacetime, to combat zones, even outside Russian territory.
This reform affects the citizens who have signed contracts as volunteer reservistsa group that, according to Russian authorities, amounts to about two million people. The chairman of the Duma Defense Committee, Andrei Kartopolovconfirmed that the new regulations allow these reservists to be deployed in areas such as Sumi y Járkovnortheastern regions of Ukraine currently in dispute.
Although the Kremlin avoids using the term “mobilization,” this law represents “practically a mobilization.” “The change in the law will probably will allow the Kremlin to send active reservists into combat more quickly than under the previous mechanism, which required an official declaration of war or a mobilization order“he explains.
The measure seems designed to circumvent the political and social trauma that left the which caused protests and one of citizens Russians. “The emphasis on the ‘voluntary’ nature of the active reserve and the hesitation to declare formal war on Ukraine suggest that the Kremlin is still trying to avoid openly asking the Russian people for greater sacrifices“, apointa el ISW.
“High political risk” for Putin
The security analyst Rainer Sachs what legal change aims to “deceive Russian soldiers”. According to him, the measure would allow the Kremlin to maintain its military offensive with lower political costbut it can also have negative consequences to Vladimir Putin. “The Russian president is assuming a high political risk by getting involved in such fraud,” he wrote.
Despite the Kremlin’s attempts to present these recruitments as voluntary, there are reports, including by the ISW, that some members of irregular forces have been pressured to sign “voluntary” service contracts.
From the ISW point of view, the challenge will be to convince citizens. “Mandatory military service remains unattractive and controversialand Putin could face greater political risks at home if the Kremlin fails to convince the Russian people that the mobilized reservists killed in Ukraine went to Ukraine ‘voluntarily.'”
For now, The law does not affect men included in the so-called passive reservewhich is part of a dual reserve system operating in Russia, and whose members can only be mobilized by more formal mechanisms.
