The Kremlin’s decision will make the war real for thousands of Russian families, and shows it is failing to hold the frontline
In his speech on Wednesday, Vladimir Putin announced that the Kremlin would be mobilising 300,000 military reservists to serve in Ukraine. He insisted that Russia was merely defending itself and its territories – and that the west did not want to see peace in Ukraine. Paradoxically, the response of many Ukrainians to Putin’s speech was relief – and even hope.
For all these months, the Kremlin has wanted Russian people to remain distanced from the military campaign; the state will leave you alone so long as you stay away from politics and demonstrate indifference towards the war. The mobilisation might change this. Some 300,000 more families will start to feel the war personally. The move also confirms that Russia will be unable to defend territories it has occupied without more personnel. The Russian army desperately needs more troops to hold a frontline that stretches for 1,500 miles.
Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist specialising in foreign affairs and conflict reporting, and author of Lost Island: Tales from the Occupied Crimea
