Russia announces plan to muster reservists to combat Ukrainian drones

Moscow intends to use a new draft law to muster reservists to help protect critical infrastructure from drones, the Russian military announced on October 22. This measure comes in response to a Ukrainian deep-strike campaign that has hounded Russian energy infrastructure.

Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff’s Main Organizational-Mobilization Directorate, made the announcement in a briefing published by the Ministry of Defense (MOD). Pointing to the growing threat from Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAS) strikes, he said Moscow had decided to use reservists to defend energy and transportation infrastructure and other critical facilities.

Ukraine has conducted dozens of strikes against Russian energy infrastructure over the last few months, particularly oil refineries. Mainly employing their workhorse FP-1 and Liutyi one-way attack drones, the Ukrainians have struck nearly half of Russia’s oil refineries since August, hitting some multiple times. The campaign has caused fuel shortages and a spike in prices.

Tsimlyansky said the counter-UAS initiative will utilize new draft legislation proposed by the MOD. The Russian government’s legislative commission approved the bill in mid-October, and it was submitted to the State Duma on October 23.

Under Russian law, the reserve (zapas) is divided into two categories. The largest is the “mobilization human resource,” comprising a broad swathe of men eligible for military service, known as “zapasniki.” The second, narrower category is the “mobilization human reserve.” These “rezervisty” sign a voluntary contract and can be mustered more frequently for training and readiness checks during peacetime.

The new bill allows rezervisty to be summoned for “special musters” to protect critical infrastructure and other key facilities absent a formal declaration of war or mobilization. These musters are supposed to involve extra pay and last no more than two months.

How many rezervisty Moscow has available is unclear. Over the past couple of years, Russian lawmakers have claimed there are two million, but this figure strains credulity. While Moscow began experimenting with the idea of forming a ready reserve more than a decade ago, it only got off the ground in 2021 with the creation of BARS (Combat Army Reserve of the Country). Despite their name, BARS units have fought in Ukraine alongside regular formations since 2022.

The MOD may hope that Tsimlyansky’s briefing will encourage more men to sign up to be rezervisty. The admiral sought to quell fears that Moscow would exploit the new law as a backdoor to deploy men to Ukraine, as the head of the State Duma’s defense committee had unwisely suggested. Tsimlyansky insisted the reservists will legally remain civilians, will not have to fight in Russia’s so-called “special military operation,” will serve only in their home regions, and will retain their ordinary jobs and salaries. He reiterated Moscow’s oft-repeated line that it has no plans for a further involuntary mobilization of troops to fight in Ukraine.

Tsimlyansky indicated that the reservists will be assigned to so-called “mobile fire teams” tasked with counter-UAS. Russia, borrowing from the Ukrainian experience, has been forming these units as a cost-effective means of combating relatively inexpensive drones. They are typically equipped with truck-mounted machine guns, rifles, and shotguns, as well as drone detectors and other gear. Tsimlyansky pointed to recent examples in which enterprises in some Russian regions supposedly were protected by mobile fire teams composed of reservists from those same companies.

Forming more of these teams with reservists could allow for greater saturation or free up regular troops for other tasks. The admiral said that before beginning their missions, the reservists will receive training from military instructors.

Whether this initiative will blunt Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign remains to be seen. But the fact that Russia is resorting to this extraordinary measure shows the extent to which the Ukrainian drone threat has caused alarm in Moscow.

John Hardie is the deputy director of FDD’s Russia Program and a contributor to FDD’s Long War Journal.