Supreme Court: Mobilized and contract soldiers were sent to Ukraine until the end of the war

The plenum of the Supreme Court in mid-May adopted a resolution that confirmed that the mobilization in Russia continues, despite Vladimir Putin’s statement about its end, and that the mobilized and contracted soldiers sent to the war in Ukraine are there indefinitely – until the presidential decree on demobilization.

“Periods of mobilization (general and partial) or martial law (introduced on the territory of the Russian Federation or in its individual areas) begin with the date and time of the commencement of mobilization (martial law), which is determined by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on the declaration of mobilization (imposition of martial law) ) and ends with the date and time of cancellation (end) of mobilization (martial law)” – we read in the document of the Supreme Court.

“Persons mobilized as military personnel perform military service until one of the grounds for demobilization occurs or the end of mobilization is announced,” Vladimir Trignin, chairman of the Moscow Military Bar Association, told The Moscow Times.

The procedure for the release of military personnel performing military service for mobilization is determined by the presidential decree on its promulgation, reminds Trignin. The decree says that mobilized persons can only be dismissed from service for three reasons:

– Reaching the age limit (for privates it is up to 50 years, and for junior officers – 60 years);

– Recognition as unfit for health reasons;

– In connection with the entry into force of the court judgment on the deprivation of liberty of the mobilized.

High-ranking Russian officials had not directly commented on the timing of the mobilization earlier. A year after the start of the war – in February 2023 – Vladimir Putin promised to establish a 14-day holiday every six months for mobilized people, not counting the road. “The special operation comes with a colossal workload,” the president explained.

Regional media wrote that those mobilized do not always get leave on time, and some do not get it at all. – We were promised leave at the end of April, now it has been postponed to the end of June. And it’s not all accurate, ”said a resident of Nizhny Tagil in tagilcity.

“If there’s a war going on, you won’t be able to get leave right away. If there are any interruptions, restoration of combat readiness, then a vacation will be provided in this case. The crew of the tank – three people. Send anyone on vacation, and the tank is not combat-ready, ”commented the situation with the holidays for the mobilized State Duma deputy Andrei Gurulev. He also noted that all those mobilized had indefinite contracts and would act “until victory”. One day, the leader of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a conversation with members of the terrorist defense of the Belgorod region, said that “the mobilized were shaved into the army as for the tsar-father for 25 years.”

Putin announced mobilization on September 21, 2022 after a series of successful counterattacks by the Ukrainian army in the summer. The number that was to be mobilized in Putin’s decree has been classified. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said he plans to mobilize 300,000. people. A month later, on October 28, Shoigu informed Putin about the implementation of the plan. In November, Putin himself claimed that the mobilization was “finished, the end is done.”