Russia expects that its mobilization of reservists will be complete in less than two weeks. This timeline was announced by President Putin at a summit he attended in Kazakhstan on October 14th. There are 222,000 troops that have already been mobilized. The target that was set during September was 300,000 troops.
When the call up of reservists was announced in September, it was immediately obvious that this was not a popular decision. In Russia, almost every man under the age of 65 is required to enlist as a reserve. Thousands of men attempted to leave the country when the mobilization was announced, and anti-war protests and demonstrations were held across the country.
It was believed at first that those who would be the first to be drafted in would be those with military experience. However, it soon became clear that this may not be the case, as even those who were ineligible for service on medical grounds were contacted. 16,000 of those that were called up are currently serving in Ukraine, but it is expected that these numbers will grow as Russia is currently struggling to maintain the territory it has gained during the invasion. A further 33,000 reservists have also been deployed to military units, although it is not clear whether they have been sent to the front line yet.
