The author writes:

• “Since April-May, nominally ‘volunteer’ battalions have been formed across Russia’s regions. ... Having failed to solve the problem, the center once again (as was the case, for instance, with the pandemic, when the Kremlin gave regional authorities wide powers) pushed it onto the regions, at the same time demanding that they present the matter as a public initiative.”
• “Launched in the spring, the large-scale program to form volunteer battalions across Russia’s regions seeks to accomplish several tasks.”
  • “First, it is the replenishment of the Russian army that has gotten stuck in Ukraine through a limited mobilization on a ‘voluntary,’ commercial basis.”
  • “Second, it is an attempt to turn the imperialist war into a ‘patriotic’ war, to create a sense of attachment to the war across the entire country, especially in ethnic regions.”
• “Overall, this long-term project of regularly replenishing the army fighting in Ukraine testifies not only to the serious problems faced by the Kremlin due to large losses in manpower, but also to the fact that the authorities are considering the prospect of a long-term positional war. It is Russia’s answer to the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces.” 

Read the full article at Russia.Post.

This item is part of Russia Matters’ “Clues from Russian Views” series, in which we share what newsmakers in/from Russia are saying on Russia-related issues that impact key U.S. national interests so that RM readers can glean clues about their thinking.

The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author. Photo by the Russian Defense Ministry shared under a Creative Commons license.