The Commander Does Not Allow Mobilized Soldiers to 'Turn Right', Politicians Ask President Putin to Issue Termination Decision

JAKARTA - Representatives of opposition politicians from Russia's five regional councils have sent an urgent request to President Vladimir Putin, for a decision to end the partial military mobilization he announced in September over Moscow's increased invasion force in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defense announced the end of the mobilization of 300.000 reservists on October 31, after weeks of chaos in which hundreds of thousands of Russians fled the country and reports surfaced of the wrong people being recruited.

The Kremlin said at the time that no formal decision was needed to cancel the mobilization.

Emilia Slabunova, an opposition council member in Karelia in northern Russia, said the absence of such a decree means those who have been recruited cannot 'turn right' on leaving the armed forces.

The commander refused to release them, and appeals against such denial in court yielded no results, he said. The court sided with the commanders, citing the fact that Putin's September mobilization decision still has the force of law.

Military lawyers confirmed to Reuters this had happened in at least two court cases, one near Moscow and another in Chita, Siberia.

"We, as members of the council, represent our constituents and this call from us is the result of many calls from citizens," said Slabunova.

Reuters saw similar calls from opposition deputies in the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Pskov and Veliky Novgorod. All of them are members of the liberal opposition party Yabloko.

Asked whether the Kremlin was aware of the regional councilors' initiative, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that it "already clarified everything" on the topic of mobilization, so there is nothing new to say on the matter.

It is rare, and risky, for an elected official to publicly challenge the Kremlin over the conduct of the war in Ukraine. Following the February 24 invasion, Russia introduced laws stipulating long prison terms for "discrediting" the armed forces or spreading "fake news" about them.

The councilors' plea said the absence of a decree ending mobilization "created legal uncertainty", allowed "citizens to continue to be drafted into the army" and "allowed military commanders to refuse citizens exempt from service".

"I am aware of a case where our military enlistment office issued the January and February subpoenas already today," said Boris Vishnevsky, a councilor of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly. Petersburg, who also signed the petition to the President of Russia.

This, he said, was due to the "legal vacuum" created by the absence of such a decree, "opening up opportunities for legal chaos". Reuters could not confirm the case it alluded to.

Vishnevsky said he and his colleagues in other regions are not afraid of reprisals.

"We are the only political force in the country that is openly opposing (President) Putin. We are trying to do something, so there is still hope," he said.