Ukraine's large-scale counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region from September 6 to 11, as suggested by the Institute for the Study of War, shocked Putin. Then he realized that he needed to give the order to call to the reserve.

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When he announced partial mobilization shortly after the Ukrainian counter-offensive, he probably realized that volunteer irregulars were not enough to defend Russian positions or carry out successful offensive operations..

Units of the BARS (Combat Army Reserve of the country, they were secretly mobilized - ed.. ), for example, were responsible for maintaining a new front line in Kremenna after losing positions in Izyum, and the Kremlin immediately reinforced these positions with newly mobilized personnel.

Bloomberg reported that Putin even consulted with Kremlin-affiliated military observers on the situation on the ground..

Probably, the latter expressed concern about the ability of the volunteer forces to hold the front line..

Putin, apparently, recognized that the forced conscription into the reserve would not be able to close the gap between the needs of the Russian forces and the available manpower in a timely manner, and therefore gave the so-called Wagner group (whose representatives only yesterday decreased by 200 soldiers)? space to expand prisoner recruitment and operations. on the front line to the mass arrival of mobilized.