'Fabricated stories' — Kremlin accuses Ukraine of spreading false mobilization claims

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed on Aug. 25 that Ukrainian authorities were spreading false claims about a potential new Russian mobilization in order to destabilize the situation in Russia. Peskov made these accusations in an interview with Russian media outlet RTVI, stating that these reports were deliberately fabricated by Ukrainian authorities.

He emphasized that speculation about another Russian mobilization had been intensifying in recent months as Russia's battlefield gains slowed and its voluntary recruitment system faltered. However, President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously stated on Aug. 23 that Russia planned to mobilize around 300,000 people after the September State Duma elections, limiting the mobilization to peripheral areas to minimize public backlash.

Russia had repeatedly denied any plans for mobilization since 2022, with Peskov asserting that neither full nor partial mobilization was on the agenda in September 2022. The announcement of a partial mobilization in September 2022 led to widespread protests and mass exodus of Russians from the country, causing a decline in Putin's approval ratings.

Analysts argue that Russia would only resort to another mobilization under extreme pressure, such as an imminent collapse on the front lines, due to the significant political risks associated with such a move. Moscow had also dismissed warnings of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine in the months leading up to the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.