President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of reservists on Wednesday, seven months after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has recently suffered setbacks.
He also threatened to use nuclear weapons in the conflict, a serious escalation that has blamed Putin for Western attempts to “destroy” the country.
Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24 and made gains from the start. Despite having suffered losses on the battlefield, the Kremlin claims that “everything is going according to plan”.
The Russians abandoned efforts to take the capital Kiev in the first few months and decided to focus instead on the eastern region of Donbas.
But earlier this month, Ukrainian forces launched a counter-offensive to the east and south, retaking several towns and villages that had been under Russian control for months.
Now Putin’s allies are showing signs of impatience.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week told Putin it was “no time for war” and the Russian leader admitted his “boundless” ally Beijing had “questions” and “concerns” about the war.
Putin “got a signal from non-Western countries to end (the war) as soon as possible and stop speaking on behalf of the non-Western world,” political analyst Alexander Baunov said.
As Ukraine retakes parts of the east, the Russian-occupied territories made surprising announcements that they would hold referendums this week on integration with Russia.
The referenda – reminiscent of a vote in 2014 that led to Ukraine’s annexation of Crimea by Russia – will be held for five days from Friday and have already been condemned by the West.
Russia’s annexation of the four territories would allow Moscow to accuse the Ukrainian armed forces of attacking Russian territory and give it a pretext to use nuclear weapons.
In Russian military doctrine, tactical nuclear weapons can be used to force an opponent to retreat.
The director of the Russian state media group RT Margarita Simonyan said a new chapter in the conflict was beginning and that it was “the eve of our imminent victory or the eve of nuclear war”.
Putin also accused the West of “nuclear blackmail” on Wednesday, saying Russia would use “all means at our disposal” to protect its territory.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the “partial” mobilization would call in 300,000 reservists, mostly those with combat experience.
Few details have been released, except that priority is given to men with certain military skills – but the list is kept secret.
Students and recruits, officials said, will not be affected by the mobilization.
No implementation schedule has been announced, but the mobilization decree came into effect this Wednesday.
Andrei Kartapolov, head of the parliament’s defense committee, said most reservists and non-commissioned officers under the age of 35 will be drafted, as well as non-commissioned officers under the age of 45.
Shoigu says the mobilization is needed to “protect” areas close to or on the 1,000-kilometer front line in Ukraine.
Analysts say the Kremlin’s nuclear threat is an attempt to force Ukraine’s surrender.
“It is an absolutely unequivocal ultimatum from Russia to Ukraine and the West: either Ukraine pulls out or there is nuclear war,” political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya told Telegram on Tuesday.
Putin insisted the threat was “not a bluff”.
Britain, which is among the countries that support Ukraine militarily and financially, said the subpoena and the nuclear threat are proof that Putin’s “invasion” has failed.
It is unclear how and whether the mobilization will affect developments on the ground.
The challenge of training, arming and sending 300,000 men to the front lines is enormous, especially since Russia has already put the most experienced soldiers and the best equipment on the scene.
On Wednesday, Russia admitted a rare admission of military losses in Ukraine and said 5,937 of the soldiers were killed. The number is believed to be much higher.
“Almost nothing has gone as planned since the start of the military operation,” Stanovaya said.
Source: DN
