Russian President Vladimir Putin, already considered the beginning of one of the most dangerous phases of the war in Ukraine in diplomatic circles, escalated tensions in Russia on Wednesday by declaring a partial military mobilization in the country for the first time. II. War. Despite the opening of the UN General Assembly (United Nations), the Kremlin has returned to flirting with the nuclear option, saying that Putin will use “all possible means” in the face of what he calls the West’s attempt to “destroy our country”. “.
In a statement broadcast on national television, the Russian president once again accused Western countries of starting a proxy war with Russia. Minutes after Putin’s speech, the Russian high command stated that in addition to the increase in funding to increase Russian arms production, the country’s mobilization could include 300,000 soldiers.
Some Western military leaders have said such a gesture by the Kremlin shows the “failure” of the invasion of Ukraine, and that the measures taken this weekend, including a referendum to annex Russian territory in the occupied territories, will be evidence of Russia’s annexation. Challenges facing Moscow.
More than seven months into the war, the Putin government has never disclosed how many of its soldiers died in the war.
Now new military reservists will be called up for active duty, but Putin has made it clear that this is not yet a broader recruitment of war-age Russian men.
“I repeat, we are talking about partial mobilization, meaning that only citizens who are currently in the reserve will be conscripted, and above all those who have served in the armed forces will have a certain military expertise and relevant experience.” said.
Putin’s speech prompted Western diplomats to try to understand what a partial mobilization would mean in practice. But governments like Britain have warned that the Kremlin’s threats must be taken seriously.
“Obviously this is something we have to take very seriously because, you know, we’re not in control – I’m not even sure he’s in control.” This is clearly an escalation, British Foreign Secretary Gillian Keegan told Sky News.
The Chinese government, an ally of Putin, also issued a statement, calling for the crisis to be resolved through “dialogue”. However, in his speech, Putin made it clear that the West has crossed important lines in its relations with Moscow by financing the Ukrainian resistance, and therefore the operation would endanger Russian security anyway.
By declaring the country’s mobilization, Moscow may be moving in a direction where Russian companies and citizens should contribute more to the war effort. Although Russia began the invasion in February, it has not yet declared war on Ukraine. To this day, Moscow calls the actions a “special military operation”, and even the word “war” has been banned in the local press.
nuclear option
In his pre-recorded speech, Putin also claimed that responsibility for the war lay with the West for alleged “nuclear blackmail” on Russia. The Kremlin chief insisted the country had “many weapons to deal with” and sent a clear message: “This is not a bluff”.
“I would like to remind those who allow such statements about Russia, that our country also has various methods of destruction, that it has more separate and more modern components than NATO countries, and that our country’s territorial integrity is under threat. We will definitely use it,” he said.
Putin has flirted with the nuclear option at various times throughout the war. But Western diplomats believe that such a course would be nothing more than a strategy of intimidation, as resorting to such weapons would mean a third world war and the destruction of the Russian government.
But Moscow has also made it clear that it will use such weapons only when its territory is threatened.
The point, according to the negotiators, is that the new threat comes at a time when representatives of the Kremlin set up in the occupied areas of Ukraine announced their plans to hold a referendum immediately on the accession of these regions to Russia.
The votes scheduled for this weekend in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia will allow the Kremlin to claim, albeit falsely, that it is “defending” its territory and its citizens.
This would justify the mobilization of new troops and would also increase nuclear threats as they would now speak of “national” territory.
Putin has made it clear that Russia will support referendums that the West finds “highly dubious”. In the assessment of European governments, repeating the scenario of the annexation of Crimea by the Russians in 2014, the possibility of a fraud with a positive outcome for Moscow is practically certain.
But Putin insists that the mobilization is “fully appropriate to the threats we face, namely to protect our homeland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to ensure the safety of our people and the peoples in the liberated areas.”
For Ukrainians, the referendum is a way to secure territories that are now beginning to be retaken by Kyiv, thanks to Western funds and weapons.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy downplayed the organization of the vote, saying such resolutions would not be recognized and the international community would not accept annexation.
But Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian Security Council, warned that once Russia enters its territory, such places where voting will take place will become an “irreversible” part of the country. As a result, Moscow can use “any means” to defend them.
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source: Noticias
