Putin har innkalt 135.000 vernepliktige, men sier at de ikke skal til Ukraina. Det lyder ikke overbevisende. Den russiske hæren har lidd store tap og moralen er lav.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree ordering 134,500 new conscripts into the army as part of Russia’s annual spring draft, but the defence ministry said the call-up had nothing to do with the war in Ukraine.

The order came five weeks into Russia’s invasion, which has run into fierce Ukrainian resistance. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that none of those called up would be sent to any «hot spots».

Grunnen til at disse forsikringene ikke blir trodd er at myndighetene sa det samme om invasjonen. Putin gjentok flere ganger at det ikke ble sendt vernepliktige. Da det viste seg at så var tilfelle ble det oppstuss og nå varsles en undersøkelse.

Svært lite av det russerne har sagt, har stemt.

The issue of conscripts’ involvement in the war is highly sensitive. On March 9, the defence ministry acknowledged that some had been sent to Ukraine after Putin had denied this on various occasions, saying only professional soldiers and officers had been sent in. read more

Putin’s spokesman said at the time that the president had ordered military prosecutors to investigate and punish the officials responsible for disobeying his instructions to exclude conscripts.

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