Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation in the morning hours on Wednesday. Soon after, the Minister of Defense announced that 300,000 reservists could be called up for the war in Ukraine. It happens shortly after Ukrainian forces liberated large parts of the eastern part of the country. Professor Sven Holtsmark at the Norwegian Defense Academy believes that the content of Putin’s speech shows how hard he is under pressure. – This is clearly a sign of the great desperation in Russia. This war was launched as a so-called “special military operation”. It is an expression that in itself means nothing, but it gives the impression of not being a war, of being something limited and small. That rhetoric will now have to change, says Holtsmark. Russian soldiers carry equipment during the Vostok 2022 exercise in eastern Russia. Photo: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP – Still missing equipment Although the new mobilization the Russian president announces in his speech represents a large increase in the number of soldiers in Ukraine, Holtsmark does not think Russia’s problems have now been solved. – It is not a given that this will solve Russia’s problems in Ukraine. We have seen that Russia is not only struggling with a lack of personnel, but also a lack of equipment. There must be a balance between these two, he says, and elaborates: – If the increase in personnel cannot be followed up with a corresponding increase in equipment, it is not at all a given that this mobilization will have any significance at all. Russian military officers take part in the Vostok 2022 exercise in Ussuriysk in eastern Russia. Photo: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP – Needs training Also Russia expert at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute, Una Hakvåg, says there are a number of obstacles to overcome for the Russian defence. – Russia has no standing reserve army, and they have not systematically trained their reserves. The vast majority of these soldiers will need training, and that takes time. In general, it has taken at least three months to get everyone in, says Hakvåg. She says it can be a challenge to find enough officers to train the reserve forces. – At most there have been perhaps 200,000 Russian soldiers in Ukraine. Now they are going to call in 300,000, so that is quite a large increase. The question then is who will train them. They need officers for this, but we know that Russia has lost quite a few officers, says Hakvåg.
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