500 New Russian Conscripts Surrender Without Fighting As Polls Reveal Russians "Horrified" By Mobilization

As many as 500 new Russian conscripts sent to the Lyman front without training reportedly surrendered without fighting to Ukrainian troops. 

This confirms analyses which suggested sending untrained and reluctant troops to front line positions would not contribute much to Russian combat capabilities, especially as widespread concern about the mobilization order grows amidst popular realization the invasion is not going well. JL   

RFE/RL reports:

A new Russian opinion poll shows President Vladimir Putin's popularity has plunged and Russians feel "anxious, scared, horrified" after a partial military mobilization. Russians thinking the "special military operation in Ukraine" is going "according to plan" decreased from 73% in May to 53% in September. 47% said they were anxious, scared, or horrified by the mobilization. 23% were "shocked" and 13% said they are angry and exasperated by the move.

A new Russian opinion poll shows that President Vladimir Putin's popularity has plunged and Russians feel "anxious, scared, horrified" after a partial military mobilization was announced last week.

The Levada Center said in a survey released on September 29 that the number of Russians thinking that what the Kremlin calls a "special military operation in Ukraine" is going "according to the plan" decreased from 73 percent in May to 53 percent in September.

Some 1,631 respondents from Russia's 50 regions took part in the poll.

A total of 47 percent of the respondents said they were anxious, scared, or horrified by the government's decision to decree the partial mobilization, while 23 percent said they were shocked by the move.

Another 13 percent said they are angry and exasperated by the mobilization. Some 23 percent said they feel proud of Russia.

A total of 66 percent said they expected that the partial mobilization will be followed by a full mobilization. At the beginning of Russia's invasion in late February, 28 percent of Russians said they expected a nationwide mobilization.

Almost one-third (31 percent) of Russians see the special military operation in Ukraine as unsuccessful.

The number of those who support the Russian armed forces decreased from 76 percent in August to 72 percent in September, while the percentage of those who do not support the war increased from 17 percent in August to 21 percent in September.

The majority of those who support the war in Ukraine -- 81 percent -- are men and women older than 55.

Putin's approval rate also went down from 83 percent in May-August to 77 percent in September, while the number of those who do not support his actions increased from 15 percent in August to 21 percent in September.The mobilization announced by Putin last week has been met with countrywide protests and a mass exodus of men potentially eligible for military duty from Russia.

Police have detained protesters in Russian towns and cities who challenged the mobilization, while several military enlistment centers and other administrative buildings in the country have been targeted in arson attacks in recent days.