SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Russian officer suspended after thousands called up in error
Moscow, Oct 3 (AFP) Oct 03, 2022
An enlistment officer in a far eastern Russian region has been suspended and transferred after thousands of people were mistakenly called up to fight in Ukraine, officials said Monday.

"The military commissar of the Khabarovsk region, Yuri Laiko, has been suspended. This will have no impact on the fulfilment of the tasks that the president has set for us," the region's governor, Mikhail Degtyaryov, said in a Telegram video.

He did not specify the reason for the dismissal but referred to a series of mistakes in the recruitment process.

"Out of several thousand compatriots who received a summons and arrived at military enlistment offices in the past 10 days, around half were sent back home for failing to meet the selection criteria," Degtyaryov said.

"Partial mobilisation should only apply to the categories that have been approved by the ministry of defence and the president. Any abuse must be stopped," he also said.

Laiko was transferred to the nearby region of Magadan, a military spokesman told state news agency RIA Novosti.

The previous military commissar there had also been removed from the post for mistakes in the mobilisation drive, according to RIA Novosti.

In Russia's East Siberian region of Yakutia around 300 men were sent back home after being wrongfully called up, according to a local official cited by Russian news agency TASS.

President Vladimir Putin on September 21 ordered a mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of Russians to fight in Ukraine, sparking protests and an exodus of eligible men from the country.

Authorities said they would call up 300,000 people with "relevant" skills or military experience.

But there have been outbursts of frustration after people who were not eligible, including students and elderly or infirm people, received summons.

Last week Putin said officials should "correct all mistakes" made during the recruitment drive.

Protests broke out across Russia including Dagestan, an impoverished region in the Caucasus that has seen more men killed in the offensive than any other parts of the country, according to a tally made by independent media of death notices published online.

The military commissar of the town of Derbent in Dagestan apologised in a statement late last week after footage circulated on social media showing official cars with loudspeakers driving around calling all men to mobilisation offices.

Commissar Farid Musaev said the employees responsible for issuing the "incorrect" calls would be "held accountable".


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
NASA raises chance for asteroid to hit moon
Tidal forces from the Sun may have shaped Mercury's tectonic features
Thick Martian clays may have formed in stable ancient lakebeds

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Israeli army says struck ' inactive nuclear reactor' in Iran's Arak
New Zealand targets leadership in superconducting space tech with new research alliance
ICEYE radar imaging added to SkyFi satellite data platform

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Axient joins Space Force STEP 20 initiative to drive next generation orbital tech
Trump 'Golden Dome' plan tricky and expensive: experts
Can NATO keep Trump on-message about Russia threat?

24/7 News Coverage
NASA scientists find ties between Earth's oxygen and magnetic field
How did life survive 'Snowball Earth'? In ponds, study suggests
Arctic warming spurs growth of carbon-soaking peatlands



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.