Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the demobilization of students from the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics who were drafted before their annexation by Moscow, the Kremlin said this Sunday.
“Putin ordered the demobilization of students and arrangements for their return to school,” said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian president, quoted by the EFE news agency.
Peskov added that the militias in Donetsk and Lugansk were included in the Russian Armed Forces after these formations were annexed to the Russian Federation on September 30.
Pro-Moscow officials in these so-called people’s republics announced a general mobilization on February 19, five days before Russia launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
On this occasion, all men aged 18 to 27 were summoned, and men under 55 were forbidden to leave the territory of the separatist entities.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have returned some of the territory they lost to Russia after the invasion of their country launched on February 24 this year.
To this end, they are conducting a counter-offensive in the south and east of Ukraine, made possible by the weapons they received from their Western allies.
The liberation of the city of Kherson (south) on Friday after the withdrawal of thousands of Russian troops was another success of the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
The war, initiated by Russia, plunged Europe into the most serious security crisis since World War II (1930-1945). In addition to unspecified casualties and destruction in many parts of Ukraine, the war and sanctions imposed on Russia have disrupted many sectors around the world, especially in energy and food markets. This crisis comes at a time when the global economy is still trying to recover from disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, issues that will be discussed at the G20.
