Russia may send first mobilized troops to front in October, Ukrainian commander says
Photo: Robert "Madyar" Brovdi (Getty Images)
According to him, Russian leader Vladimir Putin will try to act as quickly as possible and send mobilized troops to the front lines without proper training. While Russian forces previously relied mainly on contract soldiers recruited for money, the covert mobilization is now moving into a legal and open phase.
"The mobilization that has already begun as of today, but in a covert form, will gain legal status starting tomorrow, and Putin will take advantage of it because he will no longer have any obstacles limiting him from taking aggressive action," Madyar said.
He believes Russia will begin forcibly loading unprepared Russians onto trains to send them to the front.
"We expect a significant surge in enemy manpower along the front line starting as early as next month," Brovdi said.
Threat assessment and the readiness of Ukraine’s Defense Forces
The military commander stressed that bringing in such a large number of people would be a serious challenge for Ukraine. At the same time, he said Ukrainian forces had been preparing for such a development and had no illusions about the fighting being easy.
"We have no rose-colored glasses about this; it isn't going to be a walk in the park. It is a challenge. But we have understood this for quite some time," the commander said.
He added that due to the lack of training among new recruits, enemy losses would only increase, while units of the Unmanned Systems Forces would have more work to do on the battlefield.
Madyar noted that Putin is rushing to implement his plans because of his stated intention to seize Donbas and is not taking seasonal factors into account. He explained that, according to conventional military principles, advancing when there is no foliage is more difficult.
Russia has tightened restrictions on foreign travel for military reservists. There has been a known case of a reservist being barred from leaving the country because of a mobilization order in his documents.
In addition, Russians have begun receiving "mobilization orders" at military recruitment offices. This could allow authorities to quickly summon hundreds of thousands of men to assembly points.
