NEW YORK - A Kremlin spokesman yesterday acknowledged irregularities in Russia’s effort to mobilize 300,000 people to join the war in Ukraine, but sought to shift blame to local authorities, according to the New York Times.

The admission came amid growing domestic opposition to the “partial mobilization” that was announced by Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president. Last week, the country’s defense minister pledged that only men with military experience and specialization would be called up. There have been numerous reports of people who have never served in the military receiving orders.

In a sign of growing frustration, a gunman, apparently distraught over the chaotic mobilization, opened fire at a draft office in Siberia yesterday, seriously wounding a recruitment officer. The authorities arrested a suspect, who is in his mid-20s. His mother told a local news outlet that his close friend had received a draft summons despite having never served in the military.

The shooting came after protests against forced conscription and rumors that the authorities could close Russia’s borders. An estimated 261,000 men fled Russia between Wednesday and Saturday, according to the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.