ISW: First deaths of mobilized Russian troops spark renewed criticism of Russian military command
The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest report that pro-war Russian military bloggers claim that the number of dead and wounded among newly mobilized servicemen is likely higher than official figures due to a lack of promised training, equipment, unit cohesion, and commanders.
Russian media reported that five mobilized men from Chelyabinsk have already died in combat in Ukraine just three weeks after Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s declaration of partial mobilization on Sept. 21. One of the bloggers wrote on Oct. 13, that the haphazard deployment of those troops to Ukraine will "lead to 10,000 deaths and 40,000 injuries among them by February 2023."
Those and other complaints about Russia's Defense Ministry support the ISW’s assessment that the mobilization campaign will not produce enough combat-ready Russian personnel to affect the course of the war in the short term. The experts also note that the Kremlin continued its general pattern of temporarily appeasing the nationalist communities by conducting retaliatory missile strikes on Ukraine in an effort to "deflect from persistent mobilization problems."
