Mobilization mafia gangland strife: October newsletter

Zelensky's Golgotha, failed mobilization targets, mobilizing the youth, education, 1/25 mobilized troops motivated to fight, 30 women v 1 minibus, get your legs broken at a competitive price

Oleksandr Kharebin, a Ukrainian political commentator, had this to say about the current moment:

[If Zelensky’s victory plan doesn’t work], It will be Golgotha. He will be crucified. It will be his personal Golgotha if everything in the plan doesn't come to pass," he believes…

"The situation has now reached a limit, beyond which there will either be collapse, or the cross, or civil war. Or victory.

The past week’s events make it clear why it is that Zelensky is so desperate to show some kind of victory in this war - the alternative is to blamed for the reality of it.

Younger, faster

On October 19, defense minister Umerov gave an optimistic interview to Fox News. According to him:

Since the mobilization law was passed this spring, we have increased mobilization rates by 2.5 times. Now, 12% of service members are voluntarily joining the ranks of the army thanks to the new recruitment system.

But not everyone is so optimistic. On the same day, the army admitted that mobilization tempos haven’t increased. General staff representative Vasily Rumak stated in a press conference that only 20,000 mobilized people are currently undergoing training - several months ago, this figure apparently stood at around 35,000.

There’s been especially constant talk lately of the need to mobilize those younger than 25. On August 5, parliament approved a law banning the mobilization of those aged under 25. Why that needs a separate law is unclear, though it becomes somewhat clearer when one remembers that mobilization officers don’t respect the 25 year age limit in practice.

Nevertheless, the law ‘banning’ mobilization of those under 25 still hasn’t been approved by the president. On October 10, parliamentary speaker Stefanchuk stated that those aged 18-25 but already in the army would not be demobilized until their replacements could be found. Clearly, quite a few youth have already been mobilized.

This is Stefanchuk. I won’t even start