Russian conscripts will fight as long as Putin wants. There is a message from the Kremlin.

Mobilized Russians will fight on the front lines in Ukraine as long as Putin wants. This stems from a letter received in response to an inquiry made by a liberal Russian politician. Kremlin officials wrote that conscripts will not be able to return from the war as long as it continues.

The administration of the President of the Russian Federation sent Boris Vishnevsky, deputy chairman of the liberal Yabloko party and deputy from St. Petersburg, a response to his appeal to Vladimir Putin calling for a decree to complete "partial mobilization." The document indicated that mobilized Russians would only be able to return home after the "circumstances warranting the conscription" have ended—meaning after the war in Ukraine concludes. This information is reported on the Russian portal Nowaja Gazieta.

A Russian deputy asked the Kremlin about demobilization

"The release from military service of military personnel serving on a contract basis, as well as citizens of the Russian Federation called up for military service after mobilization into the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, is possible in accordance with applicable regulations, as well as after the cessation of circumstances warranting the conscription of citizens into military service," reads the document received by the Russian politician from Kremlin officials.

The document indicates that besides mobilized contract soldiers, they also cannot leave the service until the end of the war. The response also states that military personnel are regularly sent to the rear for rest. "This means that the mobilized will continue to serve, the call of their wives will not be heard. Those sentenced and signed a contract receive a pardon from the president and return home after six months. Those who were called up for 'partial mobilization' serve for a year and a half," said Boris Vishnevsky.

Earlier, a Russian politician from the liberal party had addressed the Russian Ministry of Defense. "When I contacted the Ministry of National Defense, I was told that the mobilized would serve until the president issued a decree to complete partial mobilization," he said.

Russians with record losses in Ukraine

According to a report from the British Ministry of Defense, citing intelligence data, in February 2024, the average daily losses of Russian troops in Ukraine were the highest since the start of the full-scale war. British intelligence claims that the average daily number of casualties in the Russian army (killed and wounded) in Ukraine in February 2024 was the highest in two years of full-scale war. In February, Russians were losing an average of 983 people per day from the battlefield.

The report indicated that the increase in the average daily casualty rate likely reflects Russia's engagement in a war of attrition tactic. "Although it is costly in terms of human life, it increases pressure on Ukraine's positions along the entire front line," they say in British intelligence.