Russia. Uzbeks mobilized to participate in the war in Ukraine. The authorities in Tashkent intervened

The city of Orzel in the west Russia sent a new batch of mobilization notices this week, including 50 to workers at the EcoCity waste treatment plant.

Half of the workers, however, are Uzbek citizens, the Reuters agency reported, citing the video of Istoka television, which shows a group of men presenting their Uzbek passports and asking for the president’s intervention Uzbekistan Shawkata Mirziyoyev.

The Uzbek embassy in Russia said on Thursday that the notices were delivered to 26 Uzbeks by mistake and the case was resolved, as were other cases where Uzbeks were called to Russian conscription points.

Uzbekistan also warns its citizens against joining foreign armies, which is classified as a crime under Uzbek law.

This issue was also addressed in the latest report by the American Institute for War Studies (ISW). “From a legal point of view, these persons, as citizens of another country, are not subject to the mobilization obligation. The Uzbek Embassy in Moscow issued a statement that the summons were due to a ‘technical error’ and were canceled after the intervention of Uzbek diplomacy,” it said.

The HEI also drew attention to possible work aimed at increasing the air attack potential of the Wagner group – the Russian mercenary formation. According to the institute’s analysts, the group is directing more advanced missile systems to the front, which it operates independently of the Russian army. “The use (by mercenaries – ed.) Of combat aircraft was not registered in this phase of the war, but this cannot be ruled out due to the increasing dependence of Russian forces on Ukraine from the Wagnerists “- it was written.

Citing Russian and British BBC sources, the ISW recalled that in May 2022 mercenaries deployed at least one unit operating the Su-25 attack aircraft in eastern Ukraine. In 2021, the Wagnerites allegedly used French transport helicopters on their missions in the Central African Republic.

Vladimir Putin issued on September 21 a decree on partial mobilization on war in Ukraine. According to official reports from the Kremlin, the conscription includes around 300,000 reservists, but Medusa believes that mobilization may involve up to 1.2 million men, mainly from outside large cities.

Prisoners are also recruited to participate in the war. Recruitment in prisons in Russia was personally conducted, according to independent Russian media, by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessman who is believed to finance the Wagner group.