“ The alternative to, say, stripping away ship’s crews might be a nationwide draft, which would be politically risky for the regime of Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin.”
So according to the writer, grounding 1,500 sailors to help replace the 30,000 monthly casualties is an alternative to a nationwide draft.
AI won’t improve stupidity.
It’s not necessarily stupid, the Russians are looking for manpower everywhere they can find it (including by hiring foreign mercenaries), but it’s not exactly a sign that things are going well.