“If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will use all available means to protect our people – this is not bluff,” Putin said in a televised address to the nation, stressing that Russia had “many weapons to respond.” .
The Russian Defense Ministry said the partial mobilization will entail the call for 300,000 reservists and that will apply to those who have previous military experience.
The partial mobilization significantly intensifies the conflict over Ukraine and comes at a time when Russia is facing a ukrainian counteroffensive which has forced its troops to withdraw and surrender part of the occupied territory.
Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mikhailo Podoliaktold Reuters that the Russian mobilization was a predictable step that would prove extremely unpopular and that it showed that the war was not proceeding according to Vladimir Putin’s plan.
Putin said the partial military mobilization of his 2 million reservists was to defend Russia and its territories, arguing that the West did not want peace in Ukraine.
I affirm that USA, United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) were pressuring Ukraine to “transfer military operations to our territory” with the aim of “completely plunder our country.”
The Ukrainian military has sporadically attacked targets inside Russia throughout the conflict, using Western-supplied long-range weapons.
“It has also been used nuclear blackmail“Vladimir Putin said, citing the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, the largest in Europe. Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of endangering the plant in the fighting.
He accused high officials of the main nations of the NATO to make statements about “the possibility and relevance of use weapons of mass destruction against Russia: nuclear weapons”.
“To those who allow such statements regarding Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction and in some components more modern than those of NATO countries,” warned the Russian president.
Sign of weakness for Ukraine and the EU
Rostislav Smirnovadviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, said on Wednesday that Russia “has shot itself in the foot” with the announcement of a “partial mobilization.”
“I would say that, from a certain point of view, it is positive news. It is a powerful shot in the foot by Russia. We have to understand that we are living a historic moment when Russia begins to recognize its losses in the east“, he pointed.
“This process will provoke a huge wave of negativity directly in Russia, which can lead to very serious events. In the near future we will see the consequences of this process,” explained Smirnov, who also pointed to a division within decision-making decisions in the Kremlin regarding the situation in the war.
The European Union pointed out, for its part, that the Russian decision to decree a “partial mobilization” shows that it wants an “escalation” of the conflict and it is about a sign of Russia’s “desperation”.
“This is just another proof that Putin is not interested in peace, but in escalating his war of aggression,” EU Foreign Affairs spokesman Peter Stano said at a press conference from Brussels.
Likewise, the spokesman for the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, said that the negative consequences of the war are felt throughout the world and that the Russian president’s announcement only contributes to deepening the crisis.
“The aggression also has consequences for the Russian population and is not only an attack against Ukraine, but against the principles of the international community and the countries that subscribe to the principles of sovereignty and integrity recognized by the United Nations,” he stressed.
Source: Ambito
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