Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has accused Ukrainian authorities of deliberately planting "fabricated stories" in the information space to "ideologically destabilize the situation" in Russia. Peskov made these remarks in an interview with RTVI on Aug. 25, responding to questions about potential new Russian mobilization announcements.
Speculation regarding another Russian mobilization has grown in recent months, fueled by slowing battlefield gains and difficulties in compensating for losses through voluntary recruitment. President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Aug. 23 that Russia intends to mobilize approximately 300,000 people after the State Duma elections in September, largely avoiding major cities to mitigate public backlash. He characterized this as a "peripheral mobilization."
Russia has consistently denied plans for further mobilization, echoing denials made in 2022 before President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of around 300,000 reservists on Sept. 22, 2022. That move triggered protests and led hundreds of thousands of Russians to flee the country, while also impacting Putin's approval ratings. Since then, Russia has primarily relied on contract soldiers and has explored various recruitment methods, including targeting university students.
Analysts suggest that Moscow would likely only resort to another large-scale mobilization under extreme duress, such as an imminent collapse on the front lines, due to the significant political risks involved. The Kremlin also previously dismissed warnings of an impending invasion of Ukraine in the lead-up to the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, with Peskov describing Western concerns as "Western hysteria" at the time.
