Russia launches autumn military draft amid expert warnings

On Monday, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a decree initiating the autumn military draft. According to the document published by the Kremlin, from October to the end of December, 133,000 people will join the ranks of the Russian army.

Before the decree was announced, Vice-Admiral Vladimir Tsymlyanski, deputy head of the Main Directorate of Organization and Mobilization of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, stated that during the autumn draft campaign, "it will be possible to appeal the commission's decision, including through government services".

This is also supposed to be the first such "privilege" for draftees. A feature of the upcoming draft campaign will be the ability of draftees to appeal the decisions of the draft commissions during the preparatory proceedings. Currently, a complaint to the draft commission of an entity that is part of the Russian Federation can be filed electronically through government services - said the vice admiral at the briefing.

Moreover, according to him, "this can be done through a multi-functional center for providing state and municipal services in writing during a personal appearance."

Russian authorities also assure that those mobilized will not be sent to the front lines and will not participate in combat. This same promise was earlier made to draftees by dictator Putin himself. When Kyiv decided to invade the Kursk region, it turned out that the Russian territory was defended by inexperienced teenage draftees who were captured en masse by Ukrainian forces.

Russian human rights defenders are sounding the alarm. The assertion that draftees will be able to appeal the commission's decisions is just empty words meant to calm the public, says Sergei Krivvenko, director of the human rights group "Citizen.Army.Law."

In an interview with The Insider, he recalls that under current Russian law, "military personnel can be sent to war and take part in hostilities on the territory of the Russian Federation or another country after four months from the draft."

This claim about a possible pre-trial appeal of the commission's decision is just words from the general staff meant to calm the public. So far, the Russian government has determined that draftees should not be sent en masse to fight in Ukraine. But this attitude can change at any time, warns Krivvenko.