President Vladimir Putin has made an announcement of a “partial mobilization” that will draft citizens of Russia to join the fight in Ukraine, this is leading to social unrest that risks weakening Putin’s grip on the Russian population.
Over 2,000 people have been arrested for protesting the decision, according to Washington Post figures.
“There’s a growing discontent among the Russian people with Putin’s policies,” Rebeka Koffler, a DIA intelligence officer, and the author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s secret plan to defeat America,” told Fox News Digital.
Putin’s announcement came after Ukrainian forces launched a largely successful counteroffensive that put the Russian military on its heels in several regions, another setback in a war that has rarely gone according to the script for Moscow.
Announcing the decision, Putin’s conscription would help address “the threats we face, namely to protect our homeland” and “ensure the security of people and people in liberated territories” of Ukraine, assuring Russians that the mobilization would be limited to reservists and military veterans in certain specialties.
According to the Washington Post, many of those called to serve have no prior military experience, while others were either too old or had health issues that would prevent them from going into combat.
Even more troublesome, most of those enlisted to serve have been among the nation’s poorest demographics, including minorities, while those who are pursuing a college education have been exempted from being drafted.
Over 5,000 vehicles have been backed up at Russia’s border with Georgia as a result of men trying to flee the country. Leaving the country is the only option for men as Russia announced that if any troops surrender to the Ukrainian forces, a stiff penalty will be faced when returned to Russia, and those who escape from captivity will be spared.
Koffler stated, “misconception in the West that if only Putin was gone, all our problems with Russia would be gone,” noting Russia’s long history of anti-western and anti-US foreign policy and its consistent tendency to slip into totalitarianism rule.