Russia admits to draft problems as anger flares into violence

The Kremlin acknowledged on Monday that its new military draft to reinforce the Russian assault on Ukraine has been rife with problems. The admission occurred the same day that a man, apparently draught over the mobilization, shot and seriously wounded a recruitment officer at a draft office in Siberia.
Since President Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization” last week to call up 300,000 people with military experience to joint the fight, there have been widespread reports of conscription in rural regions that has swept up ethnic minorities and, it appears, people unfit for duty.
Protests have erupted in far-flung cities, recruitment centers have been the target of arson, and thousands of military-age men have packed planes and vehicles to flee across Russia’s borders.

The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, acknowledged Monday that there had been irregularities in the call-up, but he tried to shift blame to the local authorities carrying out the mobilization among resant civilians across the country.
“There are cases when the decree has been violated,” Peskov told reporters.
Peskov said the problems were being addressed.
Analysts say because of Russia’s supply problems and heavy casualties in the war, the Kremlin will most likely struggle to train and equip the new recruits.
“The lack of military trainers, and the haste with which Russia has started the mobilization, suggests that many of the drafted troops will deploy to the front line with minimal relevant preparation,” Britain’s defense intelligence agency said Monday. “They are likely to suffer a high attrition rate.”

In another acceleration of the incursion into Ukraine, Moscow and its proxies in four occupied Ukrainian regions began staging referendums last week on becoming part of Russia. Much of the world has condemned the vote as a sham.
The results of the staged vote across the four regions are expected to be announced on Tuesday. The Kremlin is then expected to formally announce the annexation of the regions, a move, analysts say, that may give Moscow another pretext to escalate the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that the annexation would allow Putin to claim that he is fighting a defensive war.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.