Ukrainian intelligence officials claim Russia to mobilize 500,000 additional conscripts

The war between Russia and Ukraine is nowhere close to an end after raging for almost 12 months, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence, which has said that Moscow is on the verge of announcing the mobilization of 500,000 additional conscripts in January after the 300,000 it enlisted earlier in October.

According to The Guardian, Ukraine’s deputy military intelligence chief Vadym Skibitsky said that the country is anticipating that the new conscripts will be used by Russia to carry out offensive operations against Ukraine over the course of spring and summer. 

However, Russia has rejected that it is planning to mobilize troops yet again, as per a statement by President Vladimir Putin last month that it was “pointless” to assume a new call-up as the previous one had only half of the troops sent to Ukraine. Prior to announcing the partial mobilization in September, Putin and multiple Russian officials had denied reports of a mobilization being in the works. 

How crucial could the new mobilization be? 

Ukrainian intel estimates that the troops being mobilized this time around will be much higher than the ones in September. Skibitsky said that Russia will require at least two months to formulate military procedures and any victory on the frontline will depend on the amount of training and equipment received by the conscripts.

“If Russia loses this time around, then Putin will collapse,” he said, calling the next six to eight months as the final straw. He also said that Ukraine is expecting the mobilization to be declared in mid-January as Russia concludes its winter holiday season. “They are putting their emphasis on numbers of men and equipment and hoping to overwhelm our side,” he said.

On the other hand, retired Russian colonel general and Duma deputy Andrey Gurulyov said on Wednesday that there were “no reasons or conditions” for Russia to go ahead with another round of mobilization at least in the next six months. “Not everyone who was mobilised earlier has been sent to the battle,” he told Russian media, talking about the thousands of conscripts who had undergone rigorous military training after getting enlisted.