Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, said Russia has no plans for mobilization.
At a briefing, a journalist asked Nebenzya whether he knew that thousands of Russian men are now “fleeing” to Georgia. Russian authorities stated earlier that 20,000 people crossed the Verkhny Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border in a single day. The journalist tied the exodus to expectations in Russia of a new mobilization wave after the September elections.
“Don’t worry about mobilization in Russia. I think this has already been said officially many times: we don’t need mass mobilization right now, and it is not planned or expected, as far as I know,” Nebenzya said.
“But let’s see what happens after the elections: who among us will be right and who won’t,” he added.
Russia carried out a “partial mobilization” in September 2022, just after officials had insisted no mobilization was coming. The Defense Ministry declared the “partial mobilization” complete in late October 2022, but the Russian president never signed the decree that would have formally ended it. Russian authorities have repeatedly stated since then that a new mobilization isn’t necessary, though its official conclusion has never actually been documented.
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