A gunman apparently distraught over Russia’s chaotic military mobilisation opened fire at a draft office in Siberia on Monday, seriously wounding a recruitment officer, as the Kremlin for the first time acknowledged errors in the call-up of hundreds of thousands of civilians to bolster Russia’s struggling army in Ukraine.

The authorities in the far eastern region of Irkutsk arrested the assailant, identifying him as Ruslan Zinin, who is in his mid-20s. The suspect’s mother, Marina Zinina, told a local news outlet that her son’s close friend had received a draft summons despite having never served in the army, after Russia’s defence minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, pledged last week that only men with military experience and specialisation would be called up.

“Ruslan was very upset because of this because his friend did not serve in the army,” Zinina was quoted as saying. “They said that there would be partial mobilization, but it turns out that they are taking everyone.”

The shooting, in the town of Ust-Ilimsk, was the latest attack on a military recruitment centre in Russia since Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, and is believed to be the first to have resulted in serious injury. It came as large numbers of civilians — especially ethnic minorities and people in farflung parts of Russia and territories it controls — are being swept up in the Kremlin’s conscription drive, even as serious questions persist over Moscow’s ability to adequately train and equip the recruits before deploying them to the front lines.

There have been numerous reports of people who are unfit for service being summoned to report for duty, prompting criticism of the mobilization process across the country— and rare admissions from Russian officials that mistakes have been made.

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, acknowledged on Monday that there had been irregularities in the call-up, but sought to shift blame to local authorities implementing the mobilisation. With Putin having in effect outlawed dissent against the war, attacks against draft offices have risen since Russia’s invasion began.

At least 54 recruitment centres have been set on fire since then, according to Mediazona. Seventeen attacks have occurred since the call-up was announced last Wednesday.

New York Times News Service