Kremlin thinks about mobilizing residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia

The Kremlin is considering the possibility of mobilizing not only Russian citizens, but also citizens of the self-proclaimed republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia for the war in Ukraine, a source close to the Russian president’s administration told Meduza.

According to this source, a few thousand people from Abkhazia and South Ossetia may be forcibly conscripted.

• Most countries in the world consider Abkhazia and South Ossetia part of Georgia. Russia officially recognized their independence after the 2008 war with Georgia; the administration of these republics is controlled by the Kremlin. In 2022 the president of South Ossetia announced “legal steps” for “unification” with Russia.
• The Ukrainian press has written about South Ossetian soldiers’ participation in the war. In March they reported that a group of South Ossetian contract soldiers refused to fight and returned home.
• On September 21, against the background of a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russia announced a mobilization. Russian authorities revealed a plan to conscript 300,000 military service members; according to unofficial sources, more than 1 million may be called up. At the same time “referendums about joining Russia” are ongoing in occupied Ukrainian territories; according to unconfirmed reports, the formal annexations of those territories may occur by the end of September.