Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday put the current number of mobilized reservists in combat zones in Ukraine at 49,000, about one-sixth of the total who joined the ranks during the state of «partial mobilization» decreed by the president, which ended last week, and whose number is increasing thanks to the addition of new «volunteers».
In fact, Putin has assured that almost 20,000 more citizens have joined the ranks since the end of this period last Friday, bringing the total number of Russian citizens ready for combat in Ukraine to 318,000.
The figure declared by the Russian president is lower than the 87,000 combat reservists confirmed just three days ago by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
«The flow of volunteers to the Russian Armed Forces does not stop and the number of mobilized has already exceeded 300,000,» the Russian president declared from Moscow’s Red Square in front of the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, heroes of the expulsion of the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania in the early 17th century.
«Why more than 300,000? Because the number of volunteers has not stopped growing,» explained the Russian president on the increase of the initial limit announced during the 37 days of mobilization, before thanking the new recruits for their support to the families of the mobilized.
In his appearance, the Russian President made special emphasis on what is happening in the Ukrainian region of Kherson, incorporated by Russia, and for weeks the scene of a major offensive by the Ukrainian forces which has led Moscow to organize a major evacuation of the population to the other bank of the Dnieper river.
«Right now the residents living in Kherson must be evacuated from the most dangerous areas. The civilian population should not be subjected to shelling, offensives, counterattacks or other measures related to military operations,» he said during his appearance, reported by the TASS agency.
A first phase of the evacuation ended last Friday, as announced at the time by the governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov. However, last Tuesday the pro-Russian governor of Moscow, Vladimir Saldo, decided to extend the evacuation perimeter by another 15 additional kilometers and ordered another forced evacuation process starting next Sunday.
