Sergey Sobyanin announces mobilization in Moscow has ended

Russia’s mobilization campaign in Moscow is over, according to Mayor Sergey Sobyanin. All mobilization centers in the city will reportedly close at 2:00 pm on September 17.

“The summonses sent to residences and businesses as part of mobilization will cease to apply,” read Sobyanin’s statement. He also said that all of the tasks of Moscow’s mobilization effort have been “completed in full.”

• In recent days, Russian media outlets have reported multiple round-ups of alleged draft evaders in Moscow metro stations, hostels, and hotels. Moscow’s military commissariat officially denied the reports.
• On October 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin reported that mobilization will officially come to a close within two weeks.

To flee or not to flee

• In September, Meduza’s Lilia Yapparova asked Russian soldiers who have already fought in Ukraine what, in their view, awaits the people being conscripted now. The veterans painted a harrowing picture of a losing war.