• Thousands of Russians mobilised for military service in Ukraine sent home.
• Latest setback to President Vladimir Putin’s conscription of 300,000 servicemen.
• Russia’s first call to arms since World War II led to widespread discontent and drove thousands of men to flee abroad.

Thousands of Russians who had been mobilised for military service in Ukraine have been sent home after being deemed unfit for duty, the latest setback to President Vladimir Putin’s 300,000-man conscription plan.

The governor of Russia’s far east, Mikhail Degtyarev, said several thousand men had reported for enlistment in 10 days, but many were ineligible.

“About half of them we returned home as they did not meet the selection criteria for entering the military service,” Degtyarev said in a video post on the Telegram messaging app.

He stated that the military commissar in Russia’s Khabarovsk region had been removed, but that his removal would have no effect on the mobilisation.

Russia’s first call to arms since World War II, issued on September 21, sparked widespread outrage and drove thousands of men abroad.

The plan was to recruit people with military experience.

Meanwhile, domestic opposition to Putin’s war in Ukraine has grown.

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Approximately 2,000 people were arrested during anti-war protests in over 30 towns and cities, according to independent news outlets, with some detainees being served summonses to report to military enlistment offices.

In a rare display of dissent, Russian officials who are usually supportive of the president expressed outrage over the mobilisation move.

Valentina Matviyenko, the chairwoman of Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, was among those who said mistakes in sending call-up papers were “absolutely unacceptable.”

On Monday, the Russian military appeared to be in disarray after suffering a stinging setback in its strategic rail hub of Lyman, in the Donetsk region.

Ukrainian forces claimed that the recapture of the major bastion paved the way for further advances, which could cut off thousands of Russian troops from all supplies as winter approaches.

Ukraine’s lightning counteroffensive in September called Russia’s ability to control the Donbas into question.

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