KEY POINTS
- It is unclear how many Ukrainian civilians in Mariupol have been mobilized by Russian forces
- Russia’s mobilization efforts come amid its winter counteroffensives in eastern Ukraine
- Russia has lost over 140,000 military personnel in the war in Ukraine
The Russian army is now mobilizing homeless Ukrainians to join the war and fight against their own country, according to an intelligence report.
Some Ukrainian citizens living in the temporarily occupied city of Mariupol, specifically alcohol or drug addicts, are also being mobilized by the Russian army to join its forces, per an intelligence report posted Thursday by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF).
“In Mariupol, temporarily occupied by the enemy, Russian invaders are taking measures to ‘mobilize’ certain members of society. From now on, homeless people, as well as alcohol or drug addicts are being taken to the enemy’s army,” the report read.
It did not specify how many Ukrainian civilians in Mariupol have been mobilized.
🇬🇧 АНГЛІЙСЬКА ВЕРСІЯ
Situation update as of 6 p.m., February 16, 2023Glory to Ukraine! Day 358 of the russian full-scale invasion continues.During the day of February 16, the adversary launched…
Apart from mobilizing Ukrainians, a previous report published earlier this week said Russia is also recruiting leading scientists among the staff of the Polyus Scientific Research Institute to join the army. The institute develops laser technology for military and civilian applications.
“Agitation work on mobilization of scientists has begun in Moscow. In particular, with the staff of the research institute ‘Polyus’, which is Russia’s leading scientific center in the field of laser technologies, explanatory work was carried out about social guarantees and benefits of mobilized persons,” the UAF General Staff stated.
Russia’s mobilization efforts come as Moscow begins sending tens of thousands of new Russian conscripts into Ukrainian territory in what NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said is the start of the long-feared winter counteroffensives.
However, John Spencer, a retired Army major and chairman of urban warfare studies at the Madison Policy Forum, warned that Russia has yet to launch another full-scale offensive. He added that the operation in eastern Ukraine is likely in its early phase and pointed to similarities to when Russia positioned its troops near the Ukrainian border in January of last year.
“I don’t think this is the big thing that we’re all waiting for,” Spender told The Hill. “Although some units are advancing along the line or pushing forward, they haven’t shown the capability to conduct coordinated large-scale operations.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 2022. Since then, Moscow has lost a total of 140,460 military personnel, including 690 who were killed over the previous day, per estimates from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
