“According to information from the Moscow military commissar, the partial mobilization has been fully completed based on the presidential decree and the instructions of the Ministry of Defense,” the Moscow official said.
Sobianin explained that the collection points for those mobilized were closed today at 14:00 local time (12:00 in Lisbon). “Notifications sent to residences and institutions during the mobilization process are no longer valid,” Russian news agency Interfax quoted him as saying.
Last week, Russian officials confirmed that 220,000 people had been recruited under the “partial mobilization” enacted in the country, with an initial target of 300,000 mobilized.
The “partial mobilization” ordered by Putin led to demonstrations in other Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, despite warnings from authorities.
In parallel, the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced today that Russia will send 170 tanks, 200 armored fighting vehicles and 100 artillery and mortar pieces to Belarus’ southern border, which separates the country from Ukraine.
Earlier, the defense revealed that the Belarusian army today took over the protection of critical infrastructure along Ukraine’s border, including bridges, railways and road crossings, to avoid “sabotages and provocations”, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said.
“To avoid vandalism and provocations, bridges, crossings, railway lines were secured and checkpoints were established with light weapons and military equipment,” the ministry said in a statement on its Telegram account.
Minsk is awaiting the arrival of at least 9,000 Russian soldiers who will join the joint military force of Russia and the State Union of Belarus, and faces rising tensions in neighboring Ukraine, which Moscow invaded last February.
The Deputy Minister of Defense and International Military Cooperation of Belarus, Colonel Valery Revenko, explained today that 19 foreign troops are joining the measures to guarantee the security of the country “in the current political-military situation”.
Revenko argued that the high level of tension surrounding Belarus necessitated the adoption of a set of additional strategic containment measures aimed at “preventing destabilization of the situation and provoking military aggression.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 this year, igniting a war Europe is seeing as its worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The number of civilian and military casualties is unknown, but many sources, including the UN, agree it could be significantly higher.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”