Russia is not planning to declare a mass national draft for the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin said Tuesday.
The denial comes amid growing speculation that Russia may be looking to reverse its flagging fortunes in its six-month invasion of Ukraine by declaring mass mobilization and shoring up its apparent military manpower shortage.
“Not at this point. No, we are not discussing that,” the state-run TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying to reporters.
Peskov declined to answer additional questions about the sweeping Ukrainian advance that saw Kyiv’s forces retake swathes of northeastern Ukraine previously controlled by Russia.
“This [question] is for the Defense Ministry. I simply do not have accurate information," said Peskov.
Lawmaker Mikhail Sheremet, a member of the State Duma’s Security Committee and the ruling United Russia party, spoke out in favor of general mobilization on Monday, according to the URA.ru news agency.
“Without full mobilization, [without] switching to the war mode, including the economy, we will not achieve the desired results,” the agency quoted Sheremet as saying.
“I am talking about the fact that today society should be consolidated as much as possible and aim for victory,” said the deputy.
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