Putin is afraid to announce large-scale mobilization — military expert Zgurets

He expressed this opinion on the Espreso TV channel.

"It is not a surprise to us that Russia aims for a long-term war against Ukraine. All foreign intelligence data indicate that Russia can continue fighting in the same format as it is doing today for at least another two to three years. This affects our defense planning. If we are talking about what will happen now after the elections that took place in Russia, the main issue is the announcement of mobilization in Russia," said Zgurets.

The analyst believes that the announcement of mobilization could lead to increased discontent among the Russian population.

"According to various estimates, Russia mobilizes more than 20,000 people monthly. This is quite enough to maintain the current pace of hostilities, but not enough to form reserves. We understand that so far Russia is replenishing the forces of the occupation army through the existing mobilization format. As for a larger-scale mobilization in Russia, it is difficult to predict. However, it is worth noting that Putin is afraid to take such a step, even despite the, albeit falsified, election ratings. After all, he realizes that announcing a greater mobilization could lead to an increase in internal tension among the Russian population," he added.

• The Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin was predictably "elected" to a new term in Russia in the so-called presidential elections that took place on March 15-17. He has already been congratulated on his "victory" by the leaders of the DPRK, China, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, India, Syria, Pakistan, Qatar, and Turkey.