Russian government officials are reportedly quitting in droves after a colleague who was conscripted as part of President Vladimir Putin‘s mobilization decree died in Ukraine.

Russian journalist Roman Super, citing Kremlin sources, said on his Telegram channel that Moscow government employees are handing in their notices following the killing of Aleksey Martynov, the head of a department within the Moscow city government.

A resident of Moscow, Vladislav Vodopyanov
A resident of Moscow, Vladislav Vodopyanov, 21 says goodbye to his girlfriend Nastya during his sending to the military unit at the mobilization center, October 6, 2022 in Moscow, Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on September 21 a mobilization of hundreds of thousands of men to reinforce Russian army in Ukraine.CONTRIBUTOR/GETTY IMAGES

Martynov, 28, was reportedly conscripted on September 23 as part of President Vladimir Putin‘s mobilization decree, despite having no combat experience. He was killed on October 10 while fighting in Ukraine.

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“We have a mass exodus—employees leave, leaving notes in the nightstands. IT people, advertisers, marketers, PR people, and ordinary civil servants. A real mass exodus,” a government source told Super.

“Let me remind you that yesterday it became known about the death of a mobilized employee of the Moscow government Aleksey Martynov,” Super wrote.

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Natalya Loseva, the deputy editorial director at RT, a Russian-state media broadcaster, said on her Telegram channel that Martynov was killed in Ukraine just days after joining Putin’s army.

“In his youth he served in the Semyonovsky Regiment,” she said. “He had no combat experience. He was sent to the front after basically a few days. He died heroically on October 10.”Ads by:

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According to Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian language independent news outlet, the Semyonovsky Regiment provides security to the Russian president and the Kremlin.

Putin’s September 21 mobilization order was, according to defense officials, meant to apply to 300,000 reservists and ex-military personnel with “certain military specialties and relevant experience.”

However, since the decree was announced, multiple reports have emerged of ineligible men being called up for military service.

“Military leaders, now is not the time to lie. You can’t lie at all, and now it’s a crime,” Loseva wrote, describing Martynov as a “warrior” and a “friend and colleague” of her close friends.

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In the weeks since Putin’s mobilization decree was announced, multiple conscripted Russians have died before reaching the battlefield, while others have died shortly after being deployed in Ukraine.

BBC’s Russian service cited fellow service members as saying that new recruits are being sent to fight in Ukraine without prior training.

Russian authorities confirmed on Thursday that five newly mobilized troops from the Chelyabinsk region had been killed in action in Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S. think tank, assessed on Friday that public reports of the first deaths of ill-prepared mobilized Russian troops in Ukraine have sparked renewed criticism of the Russian military command.

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Newsweek has contacted Russia’s foreign ministry for comment.