Russia Deploys Even Martial Artists to Ukraine War... "Volunteers, Not Conscripts"

100 Russian Martial Arts Federation Athletes to Training Center
"All Volunteers, No Forced Mobilization"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] According to local media reports, Russia, suffering from a severe shortage of troops in the Ukraine war, plans to deploy volunteer soldiers composed of martial arts fighters to the front lines. This is interpreted as a strategy to boost the morale of military units amid expectations of a second mobilization order to replenish troops.

On the 27th, according to Russian local media PrimaMedia, about 100 martial arts fighters affiliated with the Russian Martial Arts Union (RUMA) are undergoing military training at a special forces university located in Gudermes, Chechen Republic, southwestern Russia. The Russian Martial Arts Union is the largest martial arts organization with branches in 79 regions across Russia, and it includes famous fighters both inside and outside Russia.

PrimaMedia reported that Russian authorities emphasize that these martial arts fighters are volunteers, not conscripted soldiers. Among the volunteers from western Moscow, central Tatarstan Republic, and the Far East regions such as Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai, there are fighters well known not only in Russia but also abroad, having won numerous awards in international competitions in disciplines like karate and kickboxing.

The volunteers are receiving training under instructors with extensive combat experience, including live-fire exercises and drone operation, until January 5 next year, after which they will be deployed to defend the Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts) in eastern Ukraine.

Sergey Uvitsky, participating in the training, said in an interview with PrimaMedia, "Everyone receiving military education volunteered, and no one was forced. Most people were looking for an opportunity to participate in the special military operation."

Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Presidential Administration, who recently visited the training site, emphasized, "People of various ethnicities that make up our country, including Russians, Chechens, and Bashkirs, are together in the same trenches to defend the motherland."

With the possibility of a second mobilization order being raised, this is interpreted as a strategy to boost the morale of the Russian military, which is facing a worsening shortage of troops. Earlier in October, Russia had once discussed recruiting elite domestic athletes willing to volunteer for the special military operation in Ukraine.

According to The New York Times (NYT), among the 300,000 reservists conscripted under the partial mobilization order in September, more than 150,000 were deployed to the Ukrainian front lines. However, the shortage of troops in the Russian military has been worsening due to a significant increase in casualties. It is reported that the Russian military has suffered over 100,000 casualties since the outbreak of the war in February. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military is reported to have about 700,000 troops, including regular forces and those secured through wartime conscription.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.