Russian President Vladimir Putin clashes with the partial mobilization for the war in Ukraine, according to Western military experts to major structural defects. The arrangement would free up additional forces, but in an inefficient manner and with high social and political costs domestically, writes the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in its new situation report. It is very unlikely that the mobilization will significantly increase the net combat capability of Russian troops this year.
“Putin must correct fundamental deficiencies in the Russian military’s personnel and equipment system if the mobilization itself is to have any significant effect in the long term,” it said. However, the way he has acted so far suggests that that he was anxious to send soldiers to the battlefield quickly, instead of solving these problems. Since at least 2008, Russian forces have failed to create the conditions for effective large-scale mobilization, nor for the type of reserve forces needed for short-term mobilization with immediate effect on the battlefield.