Putin risks 'triggering economic collapse' and protest as desperation hits new heights

Vladimir Putin is plotting a new round of mobilisation to bolster Russia’s military in Ukraine amid a fall in new recruits and heavy losses, it is claimed. The Kremlin could make the move after the State Duma elections in September, according to Russian media.

The West and Ukraine estimates Russia is suffering more than 30,000 casualties each month, with the Kremlin under increasing pressure to make improved progress in its full-scale invasion and strengthen its forces. It comes as Moscow has been left humiliated by Ukraine’s devastating campaign against Russian oil infrastructure. The repeated strikes from long-range drones has seen Russia facing a deepening fuel shortage.

Restrictions on fuel sales are in place in regions across Russia amid soaring prices and long queues at filling stations.

Earlier this week, Mr Putin accused Ukraine of using the strikes to “destabilise society”, while insisting he is “ready” for peace talks.

However, it is claimed he is now considering Russia’s first mobilisation since 2022 — Moscow’s only previous mobilisation during the war.

This was reported by independent Russian outlets, Verstka and Vazhnyye Istorii, citing eight sources inside the presidential administration and military enlistment apparatus.

Mr Putin is thought to be reluctant to reintroduce mobilisation.

Other sources told Verstka and Vazhnyye Istorii that due to political risks, it is believed to be more likely the Kremlin would opt for alternative measures like calling up reservists.

Speaking to Verstka, a source close to the Kremlin said: “Things are not unfolding entirely as planned, and those involved in the process have started to get creative.

“It is unclear what mobilisation would fundamentally change, other than mobilising protest and triggering an economic collapse.”

Internet searches for terms linked to ‘mobilisation’ more than quadrupled in Russia between January and April, The Telegraph reports.

Russian forces, despite suffering heavy casualties, are making progress in their attempt to take control of Kostyantynivka in Ukraine’s so-called fortress belt in the Donbas.

Seizing the stronghold would be considered a strategic breakthrough and potentially allow Russian troops to advance on the three other cities that make up the fortress belt spanning around 31 miles.

Last month, GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler said almost 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the war began.

One Russian soldier serving on the Kharkiv frontline told Verstka: We’ve been fighting for about 300sq metres since January – constant artillery ping-pong, lots of killed and wounded… We’re short of everything: manpower, shells, drones. We’re eating livestock feed.”

Ukraine is believed to have taken more territory than it has lost in recent months.

The Reuters news agency reports Russian hardliners are urging Mr Putin to escalate the war amid a breakdown in US-led peace talks and Ukraine’s battering of Russian oil infrastructure, including a major oil refinery in Moscow last week.

The attacks are said to have intensified calls for measures including full mobilisation and the assassination of President Volodymyr Zelensky.