Russia is calling up reservists to protect critical infrastructure.

Ukrainian drone attacks are forcing Vladimir Putin to strengthen security of critical infrastructure. Civilian reservists will be deployed for this purpose, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

According to the agency, Russian authorities are working on amending the regulations regarding civilian reservists who have signed agreements to undergo regular defense training in peacetime.

The bill submitted to the State Duma on Thursday will allow them to be called upon for "special missions" under a presidential decree and used to defend "critically important" facilities, including oil refineries and other energy facilities, transport links and industrial enterprises, Bloomberg reports.

The Defense Ministry is trying to alleviate public concern over this decision. Reservists will not be subjected to "conscription into military service, deployment to a special military operation zone, or travel outside the country," Vladimir Tsimlyansky, deputy head of the Main Organizational and Mobilization Directorate of the Russian General Staff, said on television.

Data on the number of reservists who might be affected by this decision is not available. Alexei Zhuravlyov of the Defense Committee of the Russian State Duma has reported to the media that the number could reach 2 million.

Bloomberg emphasized that such a move would potentially allow the Russian army to relieve some soldiers of these duties and send them to Ukraine. Putin would thus be able to send larger forces to the front without announcing conscription. Bloomberg believes this demonstrates that the Russian army, which suffered massive losses during the invasion of Ukraine, is struggling with manpower pressure.

Since the beginning of August, Ukraine, which has intensified attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, has launched at least 30 strikes against refineries and defense-related factories. Kyiv is attempting to weaken the Kremlin's war machine.

From Washington, Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP)

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