On Friday, the Kremlin again denied any plans to launch a second mobilization campaign to send people to Ukraine in response to reports of students being drafted into the army, writes AFP.

Russian soldiers in uniform at a training center for mobilizationPhoto: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

“There is no talk of any wave of mobilization in the Kremlin,” the press secretary of the president, Dmytro Peskov, told reporters.

About this, he answered a question about the reports of the Russian mass media about the recruitment of students in Moscow and other cities of Russia.

“To be honest, this is the first time I’ve heard about it,” Peskov said. “What quotes? I don’t even know what it’s about, he insisted.

In September 2022, the Kremlin announced the mobilization of several hundred thousand adult males to give new impetus to its ongoing offensive in Ukraine.

Since then, there have been rumors of a new wave of challenges, especially after Vladimir Putin last week signed a hastily passed law in parliament that eases mobilization.

According to the new law, a reservist can now also be mobilized online, through the Russian civil service portal or by order of a third party.

Previously, the summons had to be delivered to the mobilized personally, which enabled many men to avoid the first September wave, in particular by fleeing abroad or hiding with relatives.

From now on, the refusal of the registration service deprives them of the opportunity to work as an entrepreneur or self-employed person, to receive loans or to have a house and a car at their disposal.

Authorities, which had already denied any signs of mobilization before the first wave was suddenly announced last year, passed the new law at a time when Kyiv’s forces say they are preparing a major counteroffensive in Ukraine.

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