Military Expert Warns New Mobilization Needed if Conflict Spreads
Konstantin Sivkov says Russia may need to mobilize over one million troops if NATO expands the conflict beyond Ukraine, warning escalation could trigger nuclear doctrine.
Military expert, Doctor of Military Sciences and retired Navy Captain Konstantin Sivkov stated that if the conflict expands to other territories — for example, Moldova — Russia will require a new wave of mobilization.
Sivkov explained that the current composition of Russia’s Armed Forces, having already undergone partial mobilization, is optimized for waging a localized war, which is what is happening in Ukraine in terms of the scale of hostilities.
He stressed that if NATO attempts to expand the conflict to other regions, the Russian army will need additional mobilization. If a new conflict matches Ukraine in territorial scale, Sivkov estimated that Russia would have to mobilize no fewer than one million people.
He added that if the conflict continues to expand beyond that, under Russian military doctrine it could become grounds for the use of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
It is worth recalling that partial mobilization was carried out in Russia three years ago. By presidential decree, one percent of the country’s total mobilization resource — 300,000 people — was called up into active service.