Russia will unlikely conduct new wave of mobilization before presidential election – UK intel

The UK Defense Ministry said this in an intelligence update posted on the social platform X, Ukrinform reports.

According to the UK intelligence, there is speculation that Putin’s election campaign will begin informally in November 2023. While elections in Russia are subject to interference and control by the Kremlin, they remain a core tool of political legitimisation.

“It is almost certain that Putin’s election campaign will focus on the theme of Russia as a separate civilisation in need of defence from external enemies – a narrative frequently used to justify the state’s actions and Putin’s consolidation of power,” the report reads.

According to the UK intelligence, in the build-up to the election, the Kremlin will almost certainly seek to minimise unpopular policy moves. It is therefore highly unlikely that any further mobilisation wave will be implemented before the March 2024 presidential election.

As reported by Ukrinform, the UK intelligence in its previous report said that Iranian military aid to Moscow in its war against Ukraine included hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles and artillery munitions, with Iranian kamikaze drones being a key element of the Russian war.