Factor | News Getty Images | Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced a partial military mobilization in Russia, putting the country’s people and economy on a wartime footing as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues. In a rare pre-recorded televised address, Putin said the West “wants to destroy our country” and claimed the West tried to “turn the Ukrainian people into cannon fodder,” in comments translated by Reuters, echoing earlier allegations to which he had accused. Western nations to start a proxy war with Russia. Putin said “mobilization demonstrations” would begin on Wednesday without giving many more details, except that he had ordered an increase in funding to boost Russia’s arms production. Partial mobilization is a nebulous concept, but it could mean that Russian businesses and civilians must contribute more to the war effort. Russia has not yet declared war on Ukraine, despite its invasion in February, and calls its invasion a “special military operation.” In what was immediately hailed as a escalating speech, Putin also accused the West of engaging in nuclear blackmail against Russia and warned again that the country has “many weapons to respond” to what he said were Western threats — adding that no bluff Putin has referred to Russia’s nuclear weapons at various points during the conflict with Ukraine, but there are doubts whether Moscow will actually resort to developing such a weapon, with analysts saying it could amount to the start of a third world war. British Foreign Secretary Gillian Keegan told Sky News immediately after the speech that Putin’s comments should not be taken lightly. “It’s clearly something that we have to take very seriously because, you know, we’re not in control — I’m not sure he is in control, really. This is obviously an escalation,” she said.
Russia under pressure
Putin’s comments come as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in late February, heads into the winter season with momentum appearing to be on Ukraine’s side after it launched blitzkriegs in the northeast and south to retake lost territory. Speculation intensified on Tuesday that Putin could announce a full or partial mobilization of the Russian economy and society, paving the way for a possible conscription of Russian men of combat age, after Moscow-installed officials in the occupied territories of Ukraine announced plans to direct referendums on joining Russia. The votes — due to be held in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia this weekend and with results widely expected to be rigged in favor of joining Russia — will allow the Kremlin to claim, albeit falsely, that it was “defending » his own. territory and citizens. Plans to hold such votes were widely condemned by Ukraine and its Western allies, who said they would not recognize the ballots and efforts to annex more of Ukraine, as Russia did with Crimea in 2014. Putin on Wednesday repeated earlier claims from Moscow that Russia’s goal is to “liberate” Donbas, a region in eastern Ukraine that hosts two self-proclaimed, pro-Russian republics, and said he had ordered the government to give legal status to volunteers who are fighting in Donbass, Reuters reported.
