It is estimated that more than 170,000 Russian citizens have fled their country in just seven days after Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists, British defense chiefs said Thursday.
The chiefs of defense emphasized that among these citizens there were also people with a high educational level and a high socioeconomic status.
It should be remembered that the partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists has provoked protests in Russian cities, such as that of a young man who shot a soldier at close range in an enlistment office, an attack that reflects resistance to the Russian president’s efforts to continue the war.
There have also been reports that some men who should not be called, for their age or because they are not reservists, they have been enlisted in the Russian army.
Some Russians also fear that Putin may soon order a broader mobilization.
In his latest update intelligence, the Ministry of Defense in London said: “In the seven days since President Putin announced the ‘partial mobilization’ there has been a considerable exodus of Russians seeking to evade the call.”
“While the exact numbers are unclear, it is likely to exceed the size of the total invasion force Russia deployed in February 2022” , they assured. Estimates of the invasion force ranged from 80, Y 190,000.
The report added: “The better off and the better educated are overrepresented among those trying to leave Russia.”
“When combined with reservists being mobilized, the domestic economic impact of reduced labor availability and accelerating ‘brain drain’ is likely to ‘ become increasingly significant”, they added.
UK military chiefs have also emphasized that many of the new troops will have had little training before being sent to the front lines and will therefore suffer a high casualty rate.
It is estimated that more than 29,000 russian soldiers have died , wounded, incapacitated, deserted, or missing since the beginning of the invasion on 24 February.
Ukrainian forces have also suffered heavy losses, with thousands of civilians killed, some by Russian soldiers who committed war crimes.
Britain, the United States, Ukraine and their allies are waging an information war against Russia, so their reports should be treated with caution, but they are far more credible than the propaganda and outright denials often put out by the Kremlin.
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