Russia has launched its largest military draft in 14 years, with reports indicating that Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning a spring offensive on Ukraine despite ongoing peace talks to end the three-year conflict.
Putin has called up 160,000 men as part of Russia’s bi-annual conscription drive to strengthen its military ranks.
According to the legislation, citizens aged 18 to 30 will be called up for mandatory military service until June15. The spring draft is the largest conscription campaign since spring 2011, when 200,000 men were called up to serve. Last year, 150,000 men were called, with 134,500 expected in 2022.
Russia has launched its largest military draft in 14 years, with reports indicating that Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning a spring offensive on Ukraine despite ongoing peace talks to end the three-year conflict.
Putin has called up 160,000 men as part of Russia’s bi-annual conscription drive to strengthen its military ranks.
According to the legislation, citizens aged 18 to 30 will be called up for mandatory military service until June 15. The spring draft is the largest conscription campaign since spring 2011, when 200,000 men were called up to serve. Last year, 150,000 men were called, with 134,500 expected in 2022.
Late last year, Putin stated that Russia’s total military strength should be increased to nearly 2.39 million, with 1.5 million active service members.
According to The New Voice of Ukraine, the Kremlin is planning a six- to nine-month offensive across the Ukrainian front that could cover more than 1,000 kilometers. Potential targets include the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhya oblasts, as well as the Kursk Oblast, where they have recently achieved success.
The offensive is also intended to increase pressure on Ukraine and strengthen Russia’s negotiating position in cease-fire talks, according to Ukrainian government and military analysts.
Meanwhile, US-led talks to broker a cease-fire agreement appear to have stalled. The US has struggled to secure an immediate 30-day ceasefire, despite Moscow’s statement that it agreed to a truce “in principle.”
Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer who specializes in Russia’s warfighting strategy and Putin’s thinking, told Fox News Digital that Putin’s conscription drive aims to prolong the fighting.
“There is no cease-fire or peace plan between Russia and Ukraine,” said Koffler, author of the best-selling book “Putin’s Playbook.” “What President Trump desires is, regrettably, unattainable. Putin’s goal is to keep fighting until Ukraine capitulates.”
Trump is attempting to secure a peace treaty and a deal for rare earth minerals, and the president stated on Sunday that he does not believe Putin will back down on his promise of a partial ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Koffler stated that the latest conscription numbers are intended to maintain Russia’s advantage in terms of forces on the battlefield and in reserves.
“Now that Germany and France are considering to deploy reassurance forces into Ukraine, Putin is factoring in those numbers, so he is increasing his force’s posture, to deter such a deployment or failing to prevent it by force.”
“Putin has prepared Russia for a long, protracted conflict, in which he wants the Russian forces to be ready to fight till the last Ukrainian and the last missile in the NATO arsenal,” Koffler told reporters.
She also stated that Putin is considering a direct kinetic war with NATO if NATO decides to deploy forces into the Ukrainian theater.
“So, he intends for these mobilization numbers as a deterrence value and battlefield utility, if it comes to that.”
