ANKARA (AA) – President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia on Wednesday.

According to the decree published on the Kremlin website, the Russian citizens from 18 and 50 fall under the partial military mobilization, they will be paid as the military personnel serving under contract and will have the same status.

The contracts of the professional military personnel will be automatically extended till the end of the mobilization.

People working at the defense enterprises producing weapons are free from conscription.

The mobilization is being carried out to control “already liberated territories,” said Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Some 300,000 reservists will be called up for the partial mobilization, he said.

After training, the reserve servicemen who have already completed theirs military services will be called up. They, as well as Donbas volunteers, will be given the same guarantees as contract servicemen.

According to the decree, the Russian government will finance partial mobilization activities and take the necessary measures to meet the needs of the Russian army.

The regional governors were instructed to ensure conscription for military service in such a volume and within such terms determined by the Defense Ministry for each territory.

The mobilization announcement came a day after Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions announced referendums on Sept. 23-27 on joining Russia, as its war with Ukraine has gone on for seven months.