‘We Need to Train Our Men’ – Russian Official Urges Mobilization Prep, Warns of War With the West by 2028

Alexey Zhuravlev, deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma’s defense committee, has urged Russia to prepare its male population “for potential mobilization,” claiming Western nations could be ready to attack Russia within the next three to four years.

“Europe is telling us that by 2028-29, they’ll be ready to fight Russia. We need to train our men now and defend the Motherland,” Zhuravlev said in an interview with the Abzats media outlet.

He said that it was crucial to form a mobilization reserve and improve military enlistment processes to address what he described as “long-term threats from the West.”

While Zhuravlev claimed Russia currently “has enough volunteers,” he said the country must plan for the future, citing NATO’s increasing military preparations and continued support for Ukraine.

Zhuravlev has previously made controversial statements. Recently, he responded to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda’s remarks about Kaliningrad being historically linked to Lithuania by suggesting that the Baltic States should belong to Russia, as they did during the Russian Empire.

He called Lithuania’s army “one of the weakest in the world” and claimed it would not withstand a conflict with Russia for even a day.

Meanwhile, NATO leaders have called for heightened military readiness. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, speaking at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, Jan. 15, said the alliance must adopt a “military mindset” to deter war and pledged continued support for Ukraine.

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Sharp decline in recruitment

The Russian military is struggling with a significant drop in the recruitment of contract soldiers and volunteers for its ongoing war, despite offering increased financial incentives and benefits, including promises to forgive loan debts.

Janis Kluge, a researcher at Germany’s Institute for International Security Affairs, estimated in December that in the third quarter of 2024, the Russian army attracted around 700 new recruits daily, based on federal budget data.

This marks a nearly 30% decline compared to the second quarter, during which an average of 1,020 people signed up each day, totaling about 92,900 recruits over three months.

To boost enlistment, Russian President Vladimir Putin increased the signing bonus for recruits from 195,000 to 400,000 rubles ($1,950 to $4,000). The average annual payments also rose significantly, reaching an average of 900,000 rubles ($9,000) annually – five times higher than previous rates.

However, despite the boost of signing bonuses, budget expenditures on these incentives dropped from 18.1 billion rubles ($181 million) in the second quarter to 16.1 billion ($116 million) in the third, a 12% reduction signalling a decrease in volunteers willing to sign a contract.