27 September 2022, Tuesday, 10:33 442

RF preparing for annexation and forced sending of Ukrainians to war – ISW

Редактор: Roman Vaniyan

Russia may announce the annexation of the occupied territories of Ukraine around October 1 in order to forcibly send Ukrainian citizens to war on the side of the occupiers as part of the fall conscription campaign.

This follows from a statement by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Thus, analysts assume that the Kremlin, after announcing the annexation of the occupied territories, will probably order the Russian Ministry of Defense to include Ukrainian civilians in the occupied and recently annexed Ukrainian territories in the Russian conscription cycle, expanding forced mobilization to fight against Ukraine.

The Institute also notes that the Kremlin's efforts to calm the Russian population in connection with the "partial" mobilization have not been successful yet, as protests took place in at least 35 localities on September 25 and in at least 10 localities on September 26.

The Kremlin is conducting the declared reserve partial mobilization as if it were a partial military service, increasing public discontent, analysts emphasize.

Ukrainian forces could destroy a Russian drone command and training center, possibly killing Iranian instructors.

Ukrainian troops continued their offensive north of Lyman and on the eastern bank of the Oskil River.

Ukrainian forces continued to strike Russian ground communications as part of a counteroffensive campaign in the south.

Russian troops continued to conduct offensive operations in the Bakhmut region and west of Donetsk.

The Kremlin may be considering formally closing its borders or formally restricting the movement of men of military age within the country to better facilitate partial mobilization.

The Russian occupation authorities began announcing the results of their bogus "referendums" on annexation, citing grossly falsified turnout data.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, LPR and DNR declared that the "referendum" took place and "figured" the turnout to be 77%.

Previously, the Security Service of Ukraine published intercepted conversations of residents of the occupied territories, in which it is said that the invaders knew the results of the "referendums" as early as the beginning of September.