Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of 300,000 soldiers for the continuation of the war in Ukraine. Today (Thursday), Yair Navot, a commentator on Russian affairs, spoke with Ben Caspit and Aryeh Eldad on 103FM in order to address the issue and said that “the conscription has caused unrest, crowds are trying to leave Russia in order not to be conscripted”.
At the beginning of his remarks, Navot explained that “it is very interesting to follow what is happening right now within Russia itself, within Russia there is a kind of unrest. There are dozens of cities throughout Russia where demonstrations against this recruitment are taking place, including arrests. This step is very, very unpopular within Russia. One of the consequences His may be for Putin a form of public unrest. We have to wait and see how serious the consequences of this step can be.”
“Russia has a huge army, there is not exactly conscription, there is a large army of people who receive money, but at the same time there is also a type of reserve soldiers. Although it is not a reserve like ours, it is actually all people who once fought in a combat setting, they can be called up again but they are not Train like our reserve army on a regular basis. Therefore, on the face of it, the decision to recruit 300,000 people sounds like something very scary and has consequences, but they need to be trained and trained. It’s a very long process and it’s happening at the same time that really, really big crowds are trying to get out of Russia these days so as not to be part of it From those people who were recruited. The flights to all the countries that don’t need a visa are full, the prices are sky high, people just run away,” the commentator claimed.
According to him, anyone who leaves Russia will likely be considered a deserter: “It is likely that anyone who leaves the country and is currently of draft age according to Putin’s decision will likely be considered a deserter. One of the steps taken by the lower house of the parliament was actually to pass a law that increased the penalties, this is a type of move which could create a very large internal unrest, we are already seeing it today.”
To the question of whether he thought there would ever be a situation where Putin would have to find solutions to the difficult situation in Ukraine, Navot replied: “I, like many others, thought that this scenario was quite imaginary, but there were those who believed from the first moment that Ukraine could stand up to the Russians, but not many believed and estimated that the Ukrainians would be able to hold out for a period of time So long. Maybe they just didn’t fully understand how bad the condition of the Russian army is. It is one of the reasons we are in the situation we are in, Putin has his back against the wall at the moment and he is acting out of distress.”
“I think that under the current circumstances and the way things look, this possibility cannot be ruled out completely, but there are many people who claim that if and when Putin vacates the place, things will fall into place peacefully, so it is not at all certain. A lot depends on the question of who will replace him, what his perception is. It is completely unscientific that even if Putin disappears tomorrow morning we are facing a positive change,” he concluded.