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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies on state TV complained about old Russians being sent to fight in the Ukraine war following his announcement of a partial mobilization of troops last week.
The Russian leader ordered the mobilization last Wednesday after his military struggled to achieve any substantial goals in the Ukraine “special military operation,” which was launched on February 24. Ukraine met Russian soldiers with a stronger-than-expected defense and in recent weeks launched counteroffensives to reclaim occupied territory.
As losses piled up, Putin turned to the partial mobilization to send 300,000 reservist troops to the front lines of Ukraine. Conscription was only supposed to affect rank-and-file soldiers up to 35 years old, junior officers up to 50 years old and senior officers up to 55 years old.
However, Vladimir Solovyov, Russian-state television host and Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of state-media outlet RT, said that some privates in their 60s have been summoned to fight in Ukraine on Russian-state television Monday night. A clip of their discussion was posted to Twitter by BBC journalist Francis Scarr.
Last night Kremlin mouthpieces Vladimir Solovyov and Margarita Simonyan tried to find scapegoats for Russia’s chaotic mobilisation, with Solovyov even calling for overzealous recruitment officers to be shot
I don’t think this morning’s attack in Siberia was what he had in mind pic.twitter.com/bXw4X7eMzr
— Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) September 26, 2022
Notably, neither Solovyov or Simonyan blamed Putin for older Russians being called to serve, instead casting blame on lower-level recruitment officers.
“We all read that the first wave would consist of privates, sergeants and warrant officers up to the age of 35. But do I need to show you how many call-up papers are being distributed to 45 or 43-year-old privates?” asked Simonyan, with Solovyov chiming in that he saw a 62-year-old being called to serve.
Simonyan then continued: “Basically, something needs to be done about it. And we shouldn’t be upsetting people.”
Solovyov suggested recruitment officers who are recruiting older Russians should either be shot or sent to fight in the Eastern European country themselves, though Simonyan said she opposed to shooting the officers.
Contributor/Getty Images
“I’d simply drag them out publicly, a couple of those military recruitment offices,” Solovyov said. “Especially that smarta** in Novosibirsk. Grab that recruitment officer by the ear and send him to the frontline in Donbas.”
It was not immediately clear who the recruitment officer in Novosibirsk—a city of more than 1.5 million people in Siberia that in recent days saw protests in response to the mobilization—singled out by Solovyov was.
Russian Resistance to Putin’s Mobilization
Dissent in Russia is rare, as the Kremlin cracked down on free speech in the early weeks of the war. But protests resisting the mobilization dotted cities across the country last week as thousands risked persecution to voice their opposition to the war.
From September 21 to September 25, 2,365 Russians have been detained at protests against the mobilization, according to OVD-Info, an organization that tracks the arrests of anti-war protesters in Russia.
Not all of Putin’s conscripts have been viewed as particularly helpful to his mission either. One 63-year-old man who has diabetes and a severe brain injury was among those called to fight after doctors told him he was fit for service.
Meanwhile, other conscripts were caught on video appearing to be drunk. One man was seen staggering on an airport tarmac before boarding a mobilization flight, while others were seen falling asleep or refusing to form ranks.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
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