According to the Russian Defence Ministry estimates, 830,000 people have been exempt from mobilisation, Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed during an extended session of the Defence Ministry Board.
Photo: Sergei Shoigu / TASS live stream
Shoigu said that over 830,000 citizens who work at defence industry enterprises and other socially important fields were given exemptions during mobilisation. According to him, over 20,000 people enlisted as volunteers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that 300,000 people had been mobilised in total.
“150,000 people are undergoing training at military campgrounds, it’s a sufficient reserve for the conduction of the [special military] operation,” Putin claimed.
Furthermore, both Shoigu and Putin admitted that the system was not completely prepared to handle mobilisation and that problems [in the system] were identified during the mobilisation proceedings.
On 23 September, the Ministry of Defence posted an order exempting several categories of draft-age men from mobilisation. Among the included categories, there were different kinds of IT specialists and employees of companies connected to the IT sector, as well as employees of the banking and mobile operators fields and state media.
The president still has not signed the decree that would officially end mobilisation in Russia. Russian senator and Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction, Andrey Klishas, said that the president’s words about mobilisation having ended are enough of a confirmation.
