Russian Armed Forces Not Like Modern Professional Armies
That doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened in Ukraine before, certainly it has happened and Ukrainian forces have captured such soldiers. Reserve troops have also participated in the war, although largely voluntarily. The Russian armed forces are not like most modern professional armies. The diversity of its troops is a reminder of the country’s Soviet past. There is nothing inherently wrong with using a variety of troops, and many nations do it effectively. In the case of Russia, it has failed to modernize its flawed and deeply unpopular recruitment model, which has cost it. Public spending is reduced in exchange for the illusion of power. This new partial mobilization campaign helps Russia to call up its reserve personnel, which it will select from a large section of its former soldiers to replenish its dwindling forces in Ukraine.
In short, Russia will no longer have to rely on volunteers. This is, of course, a tacit acknowledgment that Russia is not conducting a ‘special military operation’, but is engaging in a full-scale war. Along with allowing more troops to be deployed, this mobilization seeks to instil a sense of patriotism by linking the current conflict to its experience in World War II. This makes him feel that perhaps there will be support within the country, although in reality it is having the opposite effect. Although support for the war is high in Russia, the general public is generally largely untouched by the realities of the conflict. But this mobilization, whether partial or otherwise, could change that. The performance of the Russian army in Ukraine has not been good. Estimates from UK military sources put casualties as high as 50,000 so far, with many more victims of recent war events.
Only 6,000 people feared casualties in the war
Russia is hiding such massive casualties from its people and only 6,000 casualties are said to have been lost in the war, because it doesn’t really matter how many people are sent into the war. . Most of the Russian military consists, rather than elite units, of poor people from rural areas and ethnic minorities with some other potential, attracted by the relatively high salaries available to contract soldiers. It is alleged that the number of casualties in Ukraine so far is high. While it is unclear exactly where Russia will find its additional troops, mobilization could draw more ethnic Russians into the conflict, bringing the reality of the war closer to population centers such as St Petersburg and Moscow. Over time this could erode Putin’s popular support among relatively affluent urban Russians.
Alternatively, Russia could continue to outsource most of the fighting to the Chechens, who have a strong independence movement, and the Buryats, who are native to Siberia. Of course, this threatens to escalate tensions between Moscow and some of its frontier provinces, which could lead to a different kind of domestic instability. The biggest challenge, of course, may be finding enough healthy men to replenish their army. A secondary consideration with these problems. Wherever Russia gets its new troops, they are unlikely to make much of an impact on the conflict.
Russia really needs professional soldiers
Reserve forces are generally placed on low readiness, and are likely to be less capable, in terms of training and equipment, than the forces deployed by Russia in its initial offensive. They will also take time to be fully trained, giving the Ukrainian side time to consolidate their recent gains and prepare for an impending Russian attack. Russia really needs professional, well-equipped soldiers who are hard to meet. If these new troops fail to make meaningful progress in Ukraine – and they probably will – Putin may consider some more desperate options for Russia’s future.
(Christopher Morris, University of Portsmouth)