Russia's digital tools could block citizens from fleeing mobilization: ex-ambassador

Russia has created digital capabilities that could prevent citizens from leaving the country during future military mobilizations, according to Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, the former German ambassador to Moscow. He considers a new round of conscription a likely scenario, enabled by an enhanced digital system that can block potential draftees from fleeing Russia. Lambsdorff, now Germany's ambassador to Israel, stated in a recent interview that the technical conditions for mobilization are significantly better than in 2022.

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The technical conditions for its implementation are significantly better than in 2022. The entire system for registering persons subject to military service has been digitized. This means that a young man receives a message on his phone: 'You have been mobilized.' At the same time, this message goes to all border guard posts across the country, making it impossible to leave Russia.

The digitized military conscription registry allows for immediate notification of individuals summoned for service via their phones. Simultaneously, this information is transmitted to all border guard posts nationwide, effectively preventing individuals from leaving Russia. Lambsdorff noted that Russian propaganda often lacks internal consistency, simultaneously portraying Germany as a threat and then as economically ruined.

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The most striking thing about Russian propaganda is that it does not care about consistency or internal logic at all.

He also commented on Ukrainian attacks deep within Russian territory, suggesting that strikes on refineries and fuel shortages have brought the war closer to Moscow. Lambsdorff observed that Russia's vast size, once considered a strategic advantage, now poses a disadvantage for its air defense capabilities. Moscow itself is heavily monitored by cameras and facial recognition systems, with facial images analyzed by software at every metro station entrance.

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You cannot enter any metro station without your face being registered by a camera and the image analyzed by facial recognition software.