On 21 September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "partial mobilization" of military reservists in Russia. The decision was made a day after the announcement of referendums on the accession of the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.[1][2]
With this, Putin escalated Russia's military efforts in the war with Ukraine. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Russia had a "huge mobilization reserve" and planned to mobilize 300,000 in reserve.[3]
As of 11 October 2022,[update] 38 Russian regions have announced that they had completed the mobilization.[4] On 14 October 2022, Putin claimed that the partial mobilization would be completed “in about two weeks”.[5]