Russia will be able to deploy members of its active reserve to fight in Ukraine under new amendments backed by the Defense Ministry.
The proposed changes comes as Russia continues to suffer massive losses in Ukraine. Western estimates put the tally of dead and wounded since the onset of the all-out invasion in February 2022 at more than 1 million.
The changes, which are likely to be approved by parliament, would also allow President Vladimir Putin to avoid another mobilization. A partial mobilization he announced in September 2022 was widely unpopular.
The changes would also give Russia a way to expand its forces that is cheaper than the current use of huge financial incentives to volunteers who sign contracts, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank.
There are currently around 2 million members of the active reserve, according to Russian lawmakers.
Russia’s existing recruiting system is likely “hitting diminishing returns and is forcing the Kremlin to adopt a different approach using rolling compulsory mobilization of reservists to sustain its manpower in the face of its continuing high casualty rate in Ukraine,” the institute said.
The reservists, who undergo annual military training and receive pay for being in the active reserve, would get paid extra if summoned under the new terms and conditions set out in the amendments.
"Until now it has only been possible to use this potential during periods of martial law or mobilization. We are engaged in very real and large-scale combat operations…but officially, war has not been declared," said Aleksei Zhuravlev, deputy chairman of the parliament’s Defense Committee.
In addition to avoiding another mobilization, the Kremlin has also avoided calling its Ukraine invasion a "war," instead using the euphemism "special military operation."
Once the amendments are approved, the Kremlin will likely conduct a rolling partial mobilization without formally declaring war or formally announcing a partial involuntary call up, the institute said.
Putin will also be able deploy the reservists outside Russian territory, including to Ukraine's Sumy and Kharkiv regions, said Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the Defense Committee.
Russia been augmenting its forces in Ukraine by using foreign fighters from North Korea and has used recruitment ads on social media to recruit people in desperate need of money from Cuba.
