Russia will mobilize 300,000 reservists to bolster its military campaign in Ukraine, Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu said in televised remarks on Wednesday.

Shoigu stated that 5,397 Russian soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the conflict, marking the first update on death counts from Moscow in nearly six months.

In an early-morning television broadcast, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's first mobilization since World Fight II, stating that additional troops were required to win a war against both Ukraine and its Western sponsors.

Shoigu refuted claims by Kyiv and the West that Russia had sustained high casualties during its seven-month battle, stating that 90 percent of wounded Russian soldiers had returned to the frontline.

It was the first official death toll since March 25, when Russia reported 1,351 service members had perished.

In August, the US Department of Defense assessed that between 70,000 and 80,000 Russian service members had been killed or wounded, compared to a July estimate of roughly 15,000.

Shoigu stated that Russia had access to 25 million prospective fighters.

The decision issued on the Kremlin website stated that only reservists with prior military experience would be mobilized.

Shoigu stated that this equated to almost 300,000 men. He stated that they will receive additional training before being sent to Ukraine and that no students nor conscripts would be included.

Shoigu stated that the mobilization will assist Russia in "consolidate" the regions it holds behind the 600-mile-long (1,100-kilometer) Ukrainian frontier.

Moscow claims to be conducting a "special operation" to demilitarize and purge its neighbor of dangerous nationalists.

Kyiv and the West assert that Russia is launching an imperialist drive to reconquer a pro-Western neighbor that emancipated itself from Soviet domination in 1991.