2022 mobilization in the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic

Previous events Mobilization in the DPR and LPR was announced after the aggravation of the situation on the line of contact in mid-February – 5 days before the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The chain of events began on 15 February 2022, when the State Duma of the Russian Federation supported appeals to the president for immediate recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics to ensure "protection against external threats." On 16 February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that despite public statements about the withdrawal of troops, Russia is building up a grouping on the border with Ukraine. Starting in the evening of the same day, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine recorded a multiple increase in the number of explosions in the area of the line of contact. At a meeting of the UN Security Council on 17 February, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Russia was preparing a subtext for an attack on Ukraine, and the next day, US President Joe Biden suggested that Vladimir Putin had decided to start a war and invade Ukraine in the coming days. On the evening of 18 February, the authorities of the DPR and LPR published appeals by Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, who announced the mass evacuation of civilians to Russia due to the allegedly expected invasion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces into territories not controlled by Ukraine at any moment. Investigators from Bellingcat noted that the appeals were actually recorded on 16 February – even before the escalation began. At the same time, Pushilin himself focuses on the date on the video recording: “from today, 18 February. The next day, 19 February, general mobilization was announced in both republics, and men aged 18–55 were forbidden to leave the DPR and LPR. Armed formations The Minsk agreements signed in 2015 contained clauses on the withdrawal of all foreign armed formations and military equipment, as well as the "disarmament of all illegal groups" in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The DPR and LPR had their own armed forces – the so-called "people's militias", which were armed with heavy armored vehicles and artillery. The journalists noted that the Russian military was engaged in their creation, and the Ukrainian authorities even called them Russian army corps under the command of the leadership of the Southern Military District and emphasized that the "people's militia" had a structure, charters and uniforms identical to those in the Russian army. In the absence of conscription for military service in the DPR and LPR in 2015–2022, the "people's militias" were formed on a contract basis. On 29 January 2015, the chief of Ukraine's General Military Staff Viktor Muzhenko said 'the Ukrainian army is not engaged in combat operations against Russian regular units,' but that he had information about Russian civilian and military individuals fighting alongside 'illegal armed groups in combat activities.' According to the RAND Corporation, "Russia has armed, trained, and led the separatist forces. But even by Kyiv's own estimates, the vast majority of rebel forces consist of locals—not soldiers of the regular Russian military." As of February 2018, the number of separatist forces were estimated at 31,000 out of which 80% (25,000) were Donbas residents, 15% (≈5,000) were military contractors from Russia and other countries and 3% (900–1,000) were regular Russian armed forces personnel. According to Ukrainian intelligence, up to a quarter of the personnel were regular Russian military, 40% were "volunteers" from Russia. BBC journalists noted that those who could not sign a contract in their homeland due to criminal records or debts were accepted into the armed formations of the DPR and LPR. However, neither independent journalists nor employees of the Russian state media had detailed information about what was happening in the armed forces of the republics. Three days after the start of mobilization, by decrees of the heads of the DPR and LPR, compulsory conscription was extended to all men aged 18–27, regardless of military experience. Public and private enterprises were ordered to provide lists of military-age employees for mobilization. == Progress of mobilization ==

According to the Eastern Human Rights Group, as of mid-June, about 140,000 people were forcibly mobilized in the DPR and LPR, of which from 48,000 to 96,000 were sent to the front, and the rest to logistics support. The only legal way to avoid mobilization in the DPR and LPR is a "reservation" from an employer or educational institution, however, there are cases of conscripting people without regard for its presence. Among the illegal methods are bribing patrolmen on the street to avoid being taken to the military registration and enlistment office, for leaving the territory of Russia (about 100 thousand rubles) or sending them to the rear services (from 1 thousand dollars). Holders of Russian passports who until February 2022 were issued under a simplified procedure for two months are not subject to mobilization. == Aftermath ==

Losses As Radio Liberty reported, due to the huge number of dead and missing in Donetsk and Makiivka, local residents call the mobilization “mogilization (grave-ization)”. Der Spiegel reported that forcibly recruited men from Donbas were used as cannon fodder. According to DPR officials, more than 3,000 were killed and over 13,000 wounded, "a casualty rate of 80 percent of the initial fighting force." In the "Eastern Human Rights Group", involved in helping the mobilized, the death toll in both republics was estimated at 30,000 people at the end of August 2022. Risk of mining problems After the start of mobilization, 27 mines that remained after 2014–2015 in the territories controlled by the DPR and LPR went into idle time due to a lack of workers. Since the outbreak of hostilities, Ukraine became unable to participate in the maintenance of mines and the pumping out of mine waters. These events created the risk of a man-made problem in the region. The leadership of the republic ignored the demands of the women. The Russian television channel NTV illustrated a story about the spread of "fake news" by a girl allegedly recruited by the special services of Ukraine. At the same time, employees of the “Ministry of State Security” of the LPR began to put pressure on the participants in the chat rooms dedicated to the mobilization and look for those who were dissatisfied. This stopped any attempts to hold street actions in Luhansk. == Legal assessment ==

Lawyers interviewed by Radio Liberty noted that from the point of view of international law, statements about the independence of the DPR and LPR are insignificant, as is the status of the passports of the "republics" issued to citizens of Ukraine in the occupied territories. By conducting forced mobilization, Russia directly violated Article 51 IV of the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilian Population in Time of War of 1949, which expressly prohibits forced service in the armed or auxiliary forces and propaganda of voluntary participation in the war on the side of the occupying country. Russia also violated Article 51 of the 1907 Hague Convention, which prohibits the involvement of civilians in activities related to the fight against the army of their native article. In accordance with Articles 146–147 IV of the Geneva Convention, forced mobilization is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and involves personal criminal liability for those involved. At the same time, according to Ukrainian laws, these crimes do not imply amnesty. == See also ==