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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Andrew Roth in Moscow

‘It’s a 100% mobilisation’: day one of Russia’s drive to build its army

Emotional scenes in the eastern Siberian republic of Buryatia as drafted men say goodbye to their families.
There were emotional scenes in the eastern Siberian republic of Buryatia as drafted men said goodbye to their families. Photograph: Ayuna Shagdurova

Summons delivered to eligible men at midnight. Schoolteachers pressed into handing out draft notices. Men given an hour to pack their things and appear at draft centres. Women sobbing as they sent their husbands and sons off to fight in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The first full day of Russia’s first mobilisation since the second world war produced emotional showdowns at draft centres and even signs of protest, while it appears Russia could be considering far more than the 300,000 new conscripts claimed by the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu.

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