Here's what Ukrainian intelligence leaked about Putin's plans
Russian authorities may be planning a new wave of mobilization that will specifically target the country’s full-time students according to leaked documents shared by Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence and reported on by Insider's Chris Panella.
Preparing for mass mobilization
"Russia is preparing to draft college students to the front lines in its war in Ukraine," wrote Panella, who was citing a statement released by Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence on Telegram which read: "The Russian Federation is preparing for a mass mobilization of full-time students.”
Building up Russia's capacity
“Measures are being taken in Russia to ensure the next wave of mobilization,” the Telegram post added. “Currently, they are actively building up capabilities to ensure the mass mobilization of students from higher education institutions,” the statement added.
Special notification centers
Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate also noted that Russia was setting up “notification stations” to help the country's military enlistment centers deliver recruitment notices to those selected.
Students will be forced to assist in the draft
Russia’s new notification centers will be tasked with providing assistance to the country’s "military commissars" as they go about "serving summonses to full-time students," according to the Telegram post.
Russian universities will be required to allocate help
Authorities at several Russian universities were also issued orders from the government, requiring them to allocate a certain number of their students and employees to staff Russia’s notification stations.
Being done without the consent of the students and employees
“Citizens who are not officially subject to mobilization are planned to be involved in this work,” the Telegram post stated, pointing out that this was being done “without the consent... of students and employees."
Higher management will run Russia's new mobilization districts
Officials involved in the "higher management educational institutions" in Russia have been tasked with setting up and managing the country’s new mobilization districts, which may indicate a much larger recruitment effort is going to take place.
Skirting Russia's recruitment laws
Russian officials have allegedly planned this latest round of recruitment as a way to skirt the country’s strict draft laws and “involve citizens who are not officially subject to mobilization,” wrote journalists from Ukrainska Pravda.
Ukraine's supporting documents
Ukrainian intelligence published three supporting documents from the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation which ordered Tomsk State Pedagogical University to use its staff and students to "organize work to ensure the fulfillment of tasks of notifying citizens about conscription for military service on mobilization assigned to the university," which may indicate that students will be tasked with delivering mobilization notices to their peers.