Russians fear fresh conscription drive as Duma election draws near
Following the recent Duma vote, many Russians worry a new recruitment push is being prepared quietly by the Kremlin.
The latest Duma election resulted in a decisive win for the Kremlin-backed party, though independent observers and exiled opposition allege vote-rigging. In the aftermath, the Kremlin is reportedly establishing a covert digital system to call up reservists and blocking common exit routes, even as President Putin rejects claims of a new mobilization. Annual recruitment needs of about 400,000 troops are increasingly met with cash incentives, but the pool of volunteers appears to be drying up.
Consequently, a growing number of Russian men are traveling to neighboring Georgia and Armenia to evade conscription. Political commentators warn that the election could cement a "Duma of the war" and further entrench Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
Why it matters
The potential new conscription effort could intensify Russia's war capacity and trigger more civilian flight.
How this story developed
- Sep 1 Russia multiplies jet-powered Shahed drone strikes fivefold in one month
- Sep 4 A Russian drone hit central Kyiv, destroying the Zavertailo restaurant beside St. Sophia’s Cathedral and setting an adjacent building ablaze.
- Sep 6 Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine have killed civilians and injured dozens in several oblasts.
- Sep 8 The three‑day pause on attacks ended and Russian strikes on Kyiv resumed.
- Sep 8 Casualty toll rises to as many as three dead and sixteen injured.
- Sep 10 Ukraine has started an offensive operation in the north of the Donetsk region, according to Brigadier-General Andrii Biletskyi.
- Sep 12 Russia has broadened deployment of jet‑propelled drones, prompting Kyiv to trial quicker, low‑cost interceptors.
- Sep 15 Ukrainian troops repelled a Russian assault on Lyman.
- Sep 16 A new drone attack on a bus has increased the civilian death toll in the latest wave of strikes.
- Sep 20 Power supplies were cut for thousands of households in the Odessa region after the latest missile and drone barrage.
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