Russia's Defense Minister Calls Russian Partial Mobilization Done, 82 Thousand People Sent To Conflict Field

Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu with President Vladimir Putin. (Source: Kremlin.ru)

JAKARTA - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday said partial mobilization of 300,000 reserve troops to fight in Ukraine announced by Russia in September had been completed.

Speaking at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin broadcast on state television, Shoigu told Putin: "The task you have set for (mobilizing) 300,000 people has been completed. No further action has been planned," reported Reuters Oct. 28.

Minister Shoigu further said, of the 300,000 mobilized recruits, 218.000 remain in training. Meanwhile, 82.000 people have been deployed to the conflict zone, with 41.000 of them assigned to their units.

He explained that in the future recruitment for Ukraine's campaign will be based on professional volunteers and soldiers, rather than mobilizing more than several million Russian reserve troops.

President Putin declared "partial mobilization" of 300,000 reserve troops on September 21, after a series of military defeats sent Russian troops being beaten from the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine and under increasing pressure in the southern Kherson region.

The move sparked the exodus of a military-age man from Russia, with tens of thousands heading for countries including Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan, which allowed Russians to enter without visas.

More than 2,000 people have been arrested in anti-mobilization protests across Russia. There have been public protests over cases of men being mobilized despite a medical exemption or a lack of military experience.

Responding to Shoigu, President Putin acknowledged the issue with mobilization, said they were "irresistant" and said they needed to make "corrections" on the development of the Russian armed forces.