The total number of reservists called up in the partial mobilization is 300,000, officials said. The Russian leader’s televised address to the nation comes a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes to become an integral part of Russia. Kremlin-backed efforts to gobble up four regions could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war after Ukrainian successes. Referendums, expected to be held since the first months of the war that began on February 24, will begin on Friday in the regions of Luhansk, Kherson and the partly Russian-controlled regions of Zaporizhia and Donetsk. Putin accused the West of engaging in “nuclear blackmail” and noted “statements by some high-ranking representatives of leading NATO states about the possibility of using nuclear weapons of mass destruction against Russia.” A man drives a motorcycle in front of damaged houses in Shiversk, Donetsk region, Ukraine. On Tuesday, Donetsk and three other regions of eastern and southern Ukraine controlled by Russia announced plans to hold referendums on joining Russia in the coming days. (Juan Barretto/AFP/Getty Images) “To those who allow themselves such statements about Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for separate elements and more modern than those of NATO countries and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened , protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal,” Putin said. He added: “It’s not a bluff.” Putin said he signed a decree on the partial mobilization, which is set to begin on Wednesday. “We are talking about partial conscription, that is, only citizens who are currently in the reserve will be subject to conscription, and mainly those who served in the armed forces have a specific military specialty and relevant experience,” Putin said. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a televised interview on Wednesday that conscripts and students would not be mobilized – only those with relevant combat and service experience would be mobilized. WATCHES | Referendums to be held in 4 regions of occupied Ukraine:
Russia is moving to annex occupied parts of Ukraine
Russian proxies announce they are holding referendums in four regions of occupied Ukraine to annex the territories and bring them fully under Russian control, a move that will further escalate the war. He said 5,937 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine so far. Western estimates of Russian military casualties run into the tens of thousands. Shoigu’s update on Russian casualties is the third time the Russian military has offered casualty numbers to the public. The latest update came in late March, when the Ministry of Defense claimed that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed in Ukraine. Putin said the decision on partial mobilization was “fully sufficient for the threats we face, that is, to protect our homeland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to ensure the safety of our people and people in the liberated territories.” . Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Russian plans to hold referendums in occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine as “noise” and thanked Ukraine’s allies for condemning the votes scheduled to start on Friday. Ukrainian soldiers drive over a self-propelled artillery vehicle in the newly recaptured Dolyna district in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on September 14. (Evgeniy Maloletka/The Associated Press) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council under Putin, said referendums folding the regions into Russia itself would make the redrawn borders “irreversible” and allow Moscow to use “any means” to defend them. In his late-night speech, Zelensky said there were many questions surrounding the announcements, but stressed they would not change Ukraine’s commitment to recapture areas seized by Russian forces. “The situation on the front lines clearly shows that the initiative belongs to Ukraine,” he said. “Our positions are not changing because of the noise or any announcements somewhere. And we enjoy the full support of our partners in this.”
Zelensky calls referendums ‘fake’
The upcoming votes in Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhia and Donetsk regions are sure to go Moscow’s way. But they were quickly dismissed as illegitimate by Western leaders who have backed Kyiv with military and other support that has helped its forces gain momentum on battlefields in the east and south. “I thank all friends and partners of Ukraine for today’s massive and strong condemnation of Russia’s efforts to hold new fake referendums,” Zelensky said. In another signal that Russia is digging in for a protracted and possibly escalating conflict, the Kremlin-controlled lower house of parliament voted on Tuesday to tighten laws against desertion, surrender and looting by Russian troops. Lawmakers also voted to introduce possible 10-year prison sentences for soldiers who refuse to fight. If approved, as expected, by the upper house and then signed by Putin, the legislation would strengthen the hands of commanders against declining morale among soldiers. WATCHES | Could Ukraine’s Gains Push Putin to Escalate the War?
Battlefield losses in Ukraine put pressure on Putin’s war effort
As Ukraine’s counteroffensive continues, there are concerns that the war could enter a more dangerous phase as Vladimir Putin becomes more desperate to win. In the Russian-held town of Enerhodar, shelling continued around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Ukrainian energy operator Energoatom said Russian shelling again damaged infrastructure at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and briefly forced workers to start two diesel generators to provide emergency power to the cooling pumps of one of the reactors. Such pumps are necessary to prevent a meltdown at a nuclear facility, even though all six of the plant’s reactors have been shut down. Energoatom said the generators were later switched off as mains power was restored. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been the focus of concern for months over fears that the bombing could lead to a radioactive leak. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the bombings
