Moscow Mayor Says Mobilization In Russian Capital Is Over

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has announced that the military mobilization for the war in Ukraine is over for the Russian capital region.

Sobyanin said in a statement on October 17 that "all goals related to the mobilization have been met," adding that enlistment centers in Moscow were closed down during the afternoon.

"Conscription notices distributed during the mobilization to residences and work places are no longer valid," Sobyanin's statement said.

He did not say how many Moscow residents had been mobilized during the campaign, which President Vladimir Putin announced on September 21 amid major setbacks on battlefields in Ukraine.

Media reports in recent days said police and enlistment officers in Moscow and the country's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, raided subway stations, hostels, and dormitories to catch men and hand them conscription notices.

Andrei Klishas, an influential member of parliament's upper chamber, the Federation Council, called for an investigation into the reported raids and demanded each such case be pursued to "legally evaluate the activities of officials who sanctioned such raids."

Several Russian regions have announced the end of mobilization, even though many of those called up for service continued to be sent to Ukraine.

Putin said that only Russians who served in the army and had combat experience would be mobilized.

However, numerous cases have been reported where men who had never served in the army were sent to the front line in Ukraine without any training.