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President Vladimir Putin declared Russia's first call-up since
World War Two on Sept. 21, after a series of military defeats.
The announcement triggered an exodus of draft-age men, with
hundreds of thousands heading for countries including Georgia,
Armenia and Kazakhstan, while more than 2,000 people were
detained at anti-mobilisation protests.
Russia had already said it had recruited the 300,000 reservists
it needed in just over a month, and that no more were required.
But the Kremlin's refusal to issue a formal decree ending
recruitment may increase concern among Russians that the
mobilisations could still be restarted.
Putin had said on Monday he would consult with legal experts to
see if a new presidential order was necessary.
"A decree is not needed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told
reporters on Tuesday.
"The Presidential Administration's legal department has reached
its conclusion ... partial mobilisation has been completed. The
relevant telegrams were sent from the Defence Ministry to
military enlistment offices to end the despatch of draft
papers."
The part of Putin's mobilisation decree outlining how many would
be called up was classified and never made public, adding to
fears that the enlistment campaign could resume.
But Peskov said this was untrue.
"Included [in the decree] was a certain number: up to 300,000
people. Accordingly, this decree has been executed."
Asked if the original decree remained in force, he said "No".
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said 87,000 of the 300,000
mobilised soldiers had already been deployed to the conflict
zone.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Jake Cordell; Editing by
Kevin LiffeyEditing by Peter Graff)
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