Putin insists a new military draft is out of the question. The Kremlin said the exact same thing before the 2022 mobilization.

Russian President Vladimir Putin firmly denied the possibility of a new military draft, insisting that there is no scenario at this point requiring mobilization. He described this as an information campaign by adversaries ahead of the State Duma elections, aimed at influencing the outcome. Putin acknowledged the difficulties of warfare and the arising problems, but emphasized that having enough troops is not one of them.

This denial was the second time in a short span that Putin dismissed plans for a new mobilization, following his comments at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on September 1, where he labeled such talks as "utter nonsense" and "an information attack on Russia."

Reports from early summer indicated that officials were considering a fresh round of mobilization, driven by concerns over a dwindling number of volunteers in the armed forces and mounting Russian military losses. The Wall Street Journal, citing Western intelligence, reported that the Russian military was practicing mobilization procedures, but stressed that these actions were merely routine preparations and did not signal a decision on mobilization.

Multiple officials, including Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vitaly Nebenzya, and former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, have also firmly denied mobilization plans.

The last major mobilization took place in September 2022, shortly after officials had publicly denied the possibility of such a move. That mobilization remains officially in effect, although large-scale mobilization efforts concluded within weeks in 2022. Meduza, the source of this report, adheres to strict editorial standards and employs AI to ensure timely and accurate English-language coverage.