The challenge of mobilization in Russian-occupied Donbass

Even before the invasion, the separatist authorities in Lugansk and Donetsk had imposed general recruitment. The men are trying hard to avoid conscription. The subsidies promised to them by Putin never arrived. In the event of death in combat, the families receive less than 200 euros in compensation.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - In recent weeks the Russian offensive in Ukraine has focused on the Donbass, trying to secure at least this region in order to somehow proclaim victory in the "special military operation". So far, Russia has occupied almost a quarter of the territory of the entire Ukraine. Controlled in part by pro-Kremlin separatists since 2014, the Lugansk and Donetsk oblasts are, however, not completely under Moscow's occupation, which is why the able-bodied men of war in these areas have been called to general mobilisation.

In Russia, resistance to getting involved in the Ukrainian conflict is very strong, and the authorities cannot press any further, as a state of war has not been formally declared. In the Donbass, on the other hand, the conditions are explicit, and refusal to enlist is not allowed, but the men try hard to evade it, sticking to the 'sit down and shut up' rule, hoping not to be noticed and forcibly involved.

Even those already deployed in the Russian-separatist army are beginning to show signs of impatience, after 100 uninterrupted days of military action, and are increasingly demanding to be sent home. The general mobilisation in the separatist areas of the Donbass had started even earlier on 19 February, before the invasion. The local authorities had imposed it on the basis of documents from condominium services, workers in mines, metallurgical factories and other separatist-controlled facilities, down to lists of general practitioners. All had been told that mobilisation was for 90 days' service, now well overdue.

The mass of enlisted soldiers, almost all of whom had little or no military training, were held for weeks at assembly points in Makeevka and Dokučaev, using them 'for digging', which in military jargon means the construction of trenches and war infrastructure. They are usually not sent to the front line, and are armed with makeshift equipment dating back to even the First World War, at most with a few new optical pointers.

Among the 'mobilised' are musicians from philharmonic societies, employees of the prosecution services, students from the last university courses and other categories of people who had no way of escaping. When an attempt was made to throw them into the Severodonetsk 'butchery' after their 90-day contract, protests broke out, accompanied by videos and messages to friends and acquaintances seeking support outside the army. In particular, the mothers, wives and girlfriends of the improvised soldiers made themselves heard, demanding their return.

The separatist administrations had given them Russian passports with an accelerated procedure, but in fact their citizenship turned out to be incomplete, and the social subsidies promised by Putin, especially to the families of the fallen, distributed only to Russians living in the Federation, did not arrive either. The mobilised in the Donbass are only guaranteed a free funeral in case of death in combat, with compensation to the families of 5-10 thousand roubles (less than 200 euro). There had been talk of subsidies of up to three million per fallen soldier, but in some cases the bodies of dead soldiers were returned to their families in sealed coffins, marked 'cause of death: Covid-19'. Only the families of metalworkers were granted sums of up to one million.

Most of the men in Donetsk, Lugansk and other Donbass cities are locked in their homes, barricading themselves with metal doors that cannot be opened from the outside, and guard dogs to warn of the arrival of strangers.  Survival is barely ensured by wives and parents, who pass food from hidden drawers. Living conditions, after all, are not easy for anyone in the occupied cities; in Donetsk, running water is practically only guaranteed to members of the separatist government, and the others have to get it by dragging cisterns from the countryside. And these are the great Russian patriots of the Donbass.

• russia
• ucraina
• donbass
• guerra
• invasione
• arruolamento