When he said this, the defence minister obviously knew that practically all men aged 18 to 55 are considered reservists in Russia; and in some cases, people are discharged at 70. The reality turned out to be different from what Putin and Shoigu said on TV. Right after the “partial mobilisation” was announced, the draft offices started handing call-up papers to just about anyone, even people who never served in the army and have never held a weapon in their hands. What is more, on 30 September, the so-called “people’s militia” of the self-proclaimed Donetsk “people’s republic” (“DPR”), reported that the first batch of Russian draftees had arrived in the “DPR”, whose entire territory is considered a combat zone.
The Defence Ministry and the government website set up to explain the mobilisation process published a list of people who would not be eligible for the draft: