Russia to ask reservists to defend refineries after Ukrainian attacks

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MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s army top brass said on Wednesday it would seek to use reservists to defend civilian infrastructure such as oil refineries after a sharp rise in Ukrainian drone attacks deep into Russia over recent months.

Amid a confrontation with the West over Russia’s war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has ordered the size of the regular army to swell to 1.5 active servicemen, making it the second largest army in the world after China’s.

Putin has said that at least 700,000 men are fighting in Ukraine and Russian lawmakers say there are about another 2 million men in the active reserve – those who have signed a reservist contract but do not usually actively serve.

Russian Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky, deputy head of the General Staff’s main organisational and mobilisation directorate, said Ukraine’s use of long-range drones had increased the threat to critical national infrastructure and residential areas.

“To increase the security of critical facilities and other facilities important for the well-being of citizens, it was decided to involve the most trained and patriotic citizens in the implementation of measures to protect civilian facilities deep in Russia,” he said.

If Russia deployed more reservists to the rear to defend infrastructure, Moscow could potentially free up more of its regular troops for the battlefield in what has become a deadly war of attrition.

Tsimlyansky said the proposed changes did not amount to some sort of mobilisation.

Russia’s defence ministry was also explicit that the reservists would not be involved in what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine and nor would they be used outside Russia’s borders. The reservists would serve in their own region, according to the defence ministry.

(Reporting by Guy FaulconbridgeEditing by Andrew Osborn)