"Fragile forces": experts named the consequences of violent conscription of Ukrainians to Putin's army
The publication writes that partial mobilization, declared by President Vladimir Putin in September, provoked fierce resistance from Russian citizens who went outside in protest against the conscription and hundreds of thousands fled from the country in just a few weeks. Experts believe that if Russia calls for Ukrainians living in the occupied territories, it will cause strong resistance.
Yes, Henry Hale, Professor of Political Science and International Relations at George Washington University, told Newsweek journalists that only a small minority, tuned by the Russian passports, could only be a small minority. According to him, most others probably approved passports for "opportunistic reasons", such as access to the Russian market, and some may have even done it under pressure.
"I really think that by trying to attract such people, they will increase the risk of desertion, rebellion. Thus, they will weaken the already sufficiently demoralized and fragile occupation forces," the expert said.
The newspaper writes that Russia has already provided a simplified certification process for Ukrainians in the Eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions in 2019, but in a new decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin spread the simplified scheme to the Zaporizhzhya and Kherson region of Ukraine.
William Pomerantz, director of Kennan Kennan Wilson Center, who deals with Russia and Eurasia, said Newsweek that there is a chance that Ukrainians who have received Russian passports will not want to fight against the Armed Forces. "I think they will just unfold and escape," he said.
Sean Spunts, a veteran of the US Navy and the editor -in -chief of the Special Operations Forces (SOFREP), also told reporters that he was expecting "mass desertion" by Ukrainians called to fight on the side of Russia. On the other hand, it is reported that Russia has paramilitary formations acting in the rear of "unreliable units" to prevent them from running away. Earlier, Focus reported that hundreds of people were detained by Russian invaders, many disappeared in Kherson.
Researchers also found 12 places of detention and interrogations in Kherson and Crimea. Witnesses said they were tortured by electric shock, imitation of execution and beating. We will also remind that in a month, 23,000 prisoners were disappeared from the Russian prisons, which were recruited to the Wagner group.