Russian police detain a woman during a protest against Vladimir Putin’s “partial mobilization”, Moscow, September 24, 2022 (AP)

Saturday’s Coverage: Russian Concerns Rise Over Putin’s “Partial Mobilization”

Source: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1811 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has confirmed that Ukraine has received advanced surface-to-air defense missiles from the US.

In an interview with the American outlet CBS, Zelensky confirmed a Pentagon statement that two systems are being delivered, but he added:

Believe me, it’s not even nearly enough to cover the civilian infrastructure, schools, hospitals, universities, homes of Ukrainians.

Why do we need this? We need the security in order to attract our Ukrainians to come back home. If it’s safe, they will come, settle, work here and will pay taxes and then we won’t have a deficit of $5 billion in our budget. So it will be a positive for everybody.

UPDATE 1552 GMT:

Video from Dagestan in southern Russia of protests against Vladimir Putin’s “partial mobilization”:

UPDATE 0927 GMT:

Another pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician has been assassinated in the occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine./p>

Oleksiy Zhuravko fled Ukraine in 2015 and returned after the start of the Russian invasion and takeover of parts of the south.

Russian media said the Ukrainian military fired a rocket on the hotel in Kherson city where Zhuravko was staying at 5:30 am. The reports claimed two people were killed.

Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the occupation adminstration for Kherson, said, “Yes, Zhuravko died, unfortunately. We talked with him only yesterday.”

UPDATE 0919 GMT:

Russia’s two highest-ranking legislators have joined the complaints over Vladimir Putin’s “partial mobilization”.

Valentina Matviyenko, the chairwoman of Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, said of the call-up of men who should be exempt or ineligible: “Such excesses are absolutely unacceptable. And, I consider it absolutely right that they are triggering a sharp reaction in society.”

She wrote Russia’s regional governors, “Ensure the implementation of partial mobilisation is carried out in full and absolute compliance with the outlined criteria. Without a single mistake.”

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Duma, Russia’s lower chamber, posted: “Complaints are being received. If a mistake is made, it is necessary to correct it….Authorities at every level should understand their responsibilities.”

UPDATE 0720 GMT:

Russia has again attacked the port city of Odesa in southern Ukraine with Iranian-made “kamikaze drones”.

Serhii Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the Odesa military administration, said the administrative building in the city center was hit three times early Sunday. One Russian drone was shot down by air defense.

No casualties have been reported so far.

On Friday, Ukraine has downgraded diplomatic ties over Iran’s supply of hundreds of drones to Russia, stripping the Iranian ambassador of his accreditation.

UPDATE 0718 GMT:

The latest Russian attacks across the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine have killed two civilians and injured eight.

UPDATE 0706 GMT:

The US-based Institute for the Study of War warns, “Russian forces may be preparing to forcibly mobilize Ukrainian prisoners of war (to fight for Russia, which would constitute a violation of the Geneva Convention.”

ISW cites reports in Russian State media that Ukrainian POWs, detained at the Olenivka prison camp, “requested” the authorities of the Russian proxy “Donetsk People’s Republic” authorities to allow them to fight in the “Bohdan Khmelnitsky” Cossack Battalion.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Voldoymyr Zelenskiy has called on Russians to resist Vladimir Putin’s mobilization which is seeking to save Moscow’s troubled invasion.

In his nightly address to the nation on Saturday, Zelenskiy said in Russian:

It was no coincidence that the criminal mobilization declared by Russia was immediately called a “mobilization to graves” by the citizens of Russia themselves. Mobilization to graves. The Russian authorities are well aware that they are sending their citizens to death — there are no other options.

Russian commanders do not care about the lives of Russians — they just need to replenish the empty spaces left by the dead, wounded, those who fled or the Russian soldiers that were captured.

He then asked for resistance:

It is better not to take a conscription letter than to die in a foreign land as a war criminal.

It is better to run away from criminal mobilization than to be crippled and then bear responsibility in the court for participating in the war of aggression.

It is better to surrender to Ukrainian captivity than to be killed by the strikes of our weapons, absolutely fair strikes, as Ukraine defends itself in this war. We defend the brightest — we defend our lives, our children, our freedom.

What is Russia fighting for? Every citizen of Russia knows — even if many do not admit it, they know for sure – that it is Russia that brings evil.

Zelenskiy offers assurances to any Russian soldier who surrenders: 1) Treatment “in a civilized manner, in accordance with all conventions”; 2) No revelation to Russian officials of a voluntary surrender; 3) Protection against exchange and return to Russia.

Criticism Rises Within Russia About Mobilization

Even Kremlin officials have begun to criticize the haphazard, wide-ranging implementation of Putin’s order.

While Defense Minister Sergey Shoygy said up to 300,000 reservists would be called up, Russian authorities have been sweeping up people of all backgrounds, including those with no military service, in positions which are supposed to exempt such as university study or IT specialists, and even those who have serious medical conditions.

The head of the Kremlin’s Human Rights Council, Valery Fadeyev, said he wrote Shoygu with a request to “urgently resolve” problems.

Fadeyev criticized how exemptions were being applied, as well as inappropriate enlistment such as nurses and midwives with no military experience: “Some [recruiters] hand over the call-up papers at 2 am, as if they think we’re all draft dodgers.”

Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of Russia Today and a diehard Putin loyalist, wrote on Telegram: “They’re infuriating people, as if on purpose, as if out of spite. As if they’d been sent by Kyiv.”

Almost 800 people have been detained over protests since Putin’s statement last Tuesday.

The independent OVD-Info protest monitoring group recorded 798 arrests in 33 cities, from Moscow to St Petersburg to Siberia.

More than 2,000 protesters have been detained during the invasion.