“A Danish intelligence agency has for the first time described the US as a potential security risk, signaling a shift in the Nordic country’s view of its close ally amid geopolitical frictions over Greenland.”  archive.ph/zc0vr#selection-1…

— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) Dec 10, 2025

Key Takeaway: Russia’s resources are not endless, as Putin is trying to assert, and Putin currently appears to be facing difficult decision points regarding the strategic sustainment of Russian force generation.

Putin is very likely preparing to attempt to offset Russia’s near-exhaustion of voluntary recruitment in 2026 by mobilizing elements of Russia’s strategic reserve to sustain combat operations in Ukraine. The Kremlin remains unlikely to undertake a single large-scale mobilization at this time, however, and is most likely to persistently recruit reservists on a rolling basis.

The December 8 decree will likely allow the Kremlin to covertly mobilize members of its strategic inactive reserve. The December 8 decree notably does not impose any restrictions on the use of inactive reservists in combat operations, however, allowing the Kremlin to call up and determine the use of inactive reservists during or after the military assemblies.

The December 8 decree marks a notable departure from the Kremlin’s social contract with the Russian people via its volunteer recruitment campaign, through which the Kremlin aimed to avoid deeply unpopular compulsory reserve call-ups.Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar)MORE: Russia’s cognitive warfare effort aims to push Ukraine and the West to cede this heavily defended territory to Russia without a fight, allowing Russia to avoid spending significant amounts of time and resources to try to seize it on the battlefield. Ceding Donetsk Oblast to Russia would also notably set conditions for Russia to renew its aggression against Ukraine from more advantageous positions at a time of its choosing, particularly as Putin and other Kremlin officials continue to indicate that their longer-term strategic goal of controlling all of Ukraine – not only its southern and eastern regions – remains unchanged.—  https://x.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1998603584955666911

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) Dec 10, 2025