The mobilization of reservists in Russia for the war in Ukraine has been completed, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Russian attacks have left about four million people without electricity in Ukraine.
According to Shoigu, 82,000 reservists were sent to Ukraine to strengthen Russian army units there. The other 218,000 are still in combat training, he told her.
According to Shoigu, there are no plans to call in additional reservists in the future for the “special military operation”, as the Russians call the war in Ukraine. The recruitment of professional volunteers and soldiers is said to be still in full swing.
It is unknown if the announcement means that Russian reservists should no longer expect a call. You should also take the quoted numbers with a grain of salt, as the Kremlin is considered to be very unreliable in this regard.
Ukraine doubts that Russia now has enough troops under arms to compensate for the poor performance of the Russian army in the invaded neighboring country.
The mobilization in Russia has been very chaotic in recent weeks, as has the training of new troops. Russian reservists often report receiving little training or equipment and not having decent housing and food.
Furthermore, Russia is struggling with reservists who do not want to join the army. Some go abroad or hide from the authorities to avoid being sent to Ukraine.
Russia completes the transfer of Ukrainians to Kherson
According to the Russians, a new battle with the Ukrainians is imminent in the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine. The transfer of tens of thousands of civilians to that region has been completed, a governor installed by the occupation forces said Friday.
According to Ukraine, civilians are forced to move to other areas under Russian control. The country talks about deportations.
Kherson is one of four partially occupied regions that Russia illegally annexed last month. Crimea was annexed in 2014.
According to Kiev, the counter-offensive in the south of the country is hampered by the landscape and bad weather. This makes it more difficult to recapture the areas there than in the north.
Russian attacks have affected the nutrition of Ukrainian citizens
According to President Zelensky, around four million people in Ukraine are without electricity due to Russian air strikes. Every effort is made to resolve problems as quickly as possible, he said in his daily speech on Friday.
In recent weeks, Russia has bombed its neighboring country almost daily with missiles and drones. The attacks are mainly directed at the (energy) infrastructure. As a result, Ukraine has less capacity to generate electricity and electricity has been cut in some areas.
