The military commissar of the Khabarovsk region of Russia was removed as thousands of mobilised Russians have been sent back home, according to a report from Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest move of mobilising 300,000 soldiers through ‘partial mobilisation’ has hit a jam as thousands of the men from the country’s far east were considered ineligible, the governor of the Khabarovsk, Mikhail Degtyarev, said in a video posted on Telegram. 

As the Ukraine-Russia war slowly moves into its eighth month, Putin’s forces have suffered a blow on the battlefield. Ukrainian forces recently took control of Lyman, Russia’s eastern logistics hub.

Degtyarev said that roughly half of the men who had appeared to be enlisted in the mobilisation programme had been sent home as they did not meet the selection criteria for the service. He added that while the military commissar had been removed, enlistment efforts would not be thwarted. 

Ukraine’s takeover of Lyman is significant and likely to increase concerns for the Russian army as their supply lines slowly dwindle to a single route. It is likely to affect morale as well, especially considering Putin’s recent proclamation of the annexation of four regions of Ukraine. Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Donetsk were officially declared part of Russia last week in a move widely condemned by the West and Ukraine. The regions make up a total of 15% of Ukraine’s territory. 

Lyman is being reported as the largest loss for Russia, ever since Ukraine began an offensive early in September that has been steamrolling the northeast Kharkiv region. As it stands the capture of Lyman now means that Ukrainian forces will begin moving towards a second north-south route in an attempt to disrupt a second supply line. 

In other news, Ukraine’s military released a statement early on Monday saying that 35 settlements had been attacked by the Russian forces using missiles, artillery strikes and air strikes in the last 24 hours.