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Navalny’s team phones son of Kremlin spokesman Peskov inviting him to come to conscription office. He refused citing ‘political nuances’

Russian journalist Dmitry Nizovtsev has called Nikolay Peskov, the son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, during a livestream of Popular Politics, a YouTube project set up by Alexey Navalny’s team. Nizovtsev introduced himself as a military commissar.

The reporter told Nikolay Peskov that he should have received a call-up paper and asked him whether Nikolay would come to the conscription office tomorrow at 10 a.m.

“Naturally, I won’t come at 10 a.m. tomorrow. If you know that I am Mr. Peskov, you should understand that it is not quite right for me to be there. I will be resolving this matter on a different level,” Nikolay Peskov said.

The spokesman’s son stated that he “needs to understand what is going on” and “what rights he has”.

“I don’t have a problem with defending my homeland, but I need to understand whether it is appropriate for me to be there, I’m talking about certain political nuances,” Nikolay stated.

The team of Popular Politics has stated that the conversation took place live on air, so they could not edit anything out. The Kremlin spokesman himself confirmed that the reporters were indeed talking to his son, however, he added that a chunk of the conversation had been edited out.

“Ask them to post the entire conversation first. I have no doubts in his choice, the only right choice. And he has no doubts either,” Peskov told Podyom news outlet.

Earlier today, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation of troops in Russia. According to the presidential order, those who previously served in the Armed Forces, have certain military occupational specialties and the corresponding experience are eligible for mobilisation. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that a total of 300,000 reservists would be drafted.