The Kremlin said it has not set an end date for President Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization order, despite as many as 40 regions having fulfilled their military draft quota as of Tuesday.
The Russian Ministry of Defense sets the quota for each region which needs to be completed, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
However, the fulfilment of the quota in these regions does not mean that mobilization is over. It can only end with a presidential decree.
“There have been no such decisions on the end of mobilization,” Peskov said when asked about it, adding that “there can be no question” on surpassing the targeted figure of 300,000 soldiers “under current decree.”
On Monday, Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced the fulfilment of the quota in the Russian capital.
But Russian human rights group Agora said that Sobyanin’s statement does not mean partial mobilization is over.
“As long as the partial mobilization is not completed by the official who announced it, its legality is preserved. That is, you need to wait for the presidential decree,” Russian human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov said on Telegram.
Putin has defended his partial mobilization of Russians that began in September, telling reporters on Friday that it is expected to end in two weeks. Some 222,000 troops out of the planned 300,000 Russians have been drafted so far, he added.
