00:00Russia closes border crossings as Kremlin prepares for 100,000 troop mobilization.
00:06Moscow, July 1st.
00:08The Russian government has ordered the temporary closure of several railway border crossings
00:13with Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, effective July 1st, as Moscow reportedly prepares to
00:19mobilize up to 100,000 additional troops for the war in Ukraine.
00:23Border crossings suspended.
00:25The government decree, signed on June 30th, suspends the movement of people, vehicles,
00:31goods, and cargo through seven railway checkpoints along Russia's northwestern border.
00:36The affected crossings include five on the Finnish border—Vyborg, Svetogorsk, Vartsella,
00:42Luta, and St. Petersburg-Finlianski, as well as Pechory-Pskowski on the Estonian border
00:48and Petalovo on the Latvian border.
00:50The government order does not specify when the restrictions will end or give a direct
00:55reason for the closures.
00:57The Russian foreign ministry has been instructed to formally notify Tallinn, Riga, and Helsinki
01:02of the decision.
01:04Finnish officials, however, told Yale-E that they learned about the closures from media reports
01:09rather than through official notification from Moscow.
01:13Mobilization plans loom.
01:14The border closures come as Ukraine's military intelligence warns that Russia is preparing
01:20to mobilize up to 100,000 additional troops.
01:23Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that Ukraine has obtained information
01:28about these plans, and that Moscow is tightening control over the information space in preparation.
01:33Andrei Youssov, a representative of Ukraine's defense intelligence, confirmed that recruitment
01:39campaigns and mobilization efforts in Russia have continued uninterrupted since the start
01:44of the full-scale invasion.
01:46The scale of recruitment barely covers losses on the battlefield, he said, adding that this
01:52crisis for Putin is growing, and it is obvious that they will take additional measures.
01:58Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Sersky has noted that Russia's losses now exceed
02:03the pace of recruitment, with recruitment rates insufficient to offset battlefield casualties.
02:09Zelensky has warned that after the parliamentary elections scheduled for September 18-20,
02:142026, Moscow may announce an additional military deployment.
02:19Recruitment crisis deepens.
02:22The need for new troops comes as Russia faces a growing recruitment crisis.
02:27Volunteer recruitment in the first quarter of 2026 fell by 20% compared to 2025.
02:32In Moscow, contract soldier numbers sent to the front dropped to 1,708 in April and 1,378
02:41in May, about 1,000 fewer than in the same period of 2025.
02:45A source in the Moscow mayor's office told the independent Russian outlet Verstka that
02:50the situation continues to deteriorate.
02:52Few people are coming in, and even fewer are motivated.
02:56The Kremlin has been forced to expand its recruitment pool.
03:00Authorities are reportedly targeting debtors, students, and convicts,
03:04offering suspended sentences in exchange for military service.
03:07Some units are operating at just 30-40% of their authorized strength.
03:12Everything is stably terrible with us, one soldier told Verstka,
03:17adding that new contract soldiers do not live longer than a month on the front lines.
03:21Another soldier described the situation bluntly.
03:24We have no people here.
03:26The fools willing to go for money have run out.
03:29So it's either mobilization or a deal with loss of face.
03:33In mid-June, mass raids on men were witnessed in Penza and other cities,
03:38with Russian security forces stopping cars and public transport vehicles,
03:42forcing detained men to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense.
03:46Putin acknowledges challenges.
03:49Speaking at a ceremony in Moscow,
03:51President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the hardships the war has brought on Russia.
03:55We see the problems.
03:57We know they will be.
03:58We are responding to them, he told members of his ruling United Russia Party,
04:02adding that Russia will overcome all the challenges that are currently facing us.
04:07Russia also faces another crisis,
04:10fuel shortages due to Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries.
04:14Putin has admitted that Ukraine's attacks have caused a certain shortage of fuel.
04:19The authorities in Russian-annexed Crimea have declared an emergency situation
04:23over fuel shortages and power cuts,
04:25triggered by attacks on its logistics chains and oil facilities.
04:29Battlefield losses.
04:31The recruitment crisis is compounded by mounting losses.
04:35Western intelligence reports estimate that nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers have died
04:40since the invasion began.
04:42Sersky has claimed that Ukraine's drone operators are killing or wounding more soldiers
04:46than Russia can recruit.
04:48Russia is estimated to be losing 30,000 to 35,000 personnel per month on the front lines.
04:54U.S.
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04:54The
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