If there were any doubts, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, tried to clarify them. The question he was asked was very direct: would Russia have reasons to use nuclear weapons to defend the annexed regions? Lavrov was clear. Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporyjia, the four regions where the “referendums” will be held, will be “fully protected” by Russia if they are annexed. And the statement is simple: “All the laws, doctrines, concepts and strategies of the Russian Federation must be applied throughout the territory”.
Lavrov reinforced the idea by emphasizing that Russian territory – including the “most entrenched” area in the Russian constitution in the future – “is under the full protection of the state”.
The rhetoric of war is mounting, and this was made even more apparent in the words of White House security adviser Jack Sullivan in statements to CBS, reinforcing what had already been said by Joe Biden, the US president, and emphasizing the idea of ” catastrophic consequences” for Moscow if Putin orders the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
“We have communicated directly, privately and at a very high level from the Kremlin that any use of nuclear weapons will have consequences for Russia, that the United States and its allies will respond decisively. And we have been clear and specific about what that means, the that this will meanhe claimed.
Sullivan underlined the warning that the “possible use of nuclear weapons for the first time since World War II is a matter of extreme seriousness”.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss yesterday defended that “we must continue to impose sanctions on Russia” and not listen to the “sound of the saber and false threats”.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, would say moments later in an interview with CBS that he was not sure whether Putin was bluffing. “Maybe it was yesterday. Now it could really be a reality. He wants to scare.”
The White House security adviser, who assured that the Russian president’s nuclear threats will not hinder military and political support for Ukraine, considers Putin a “dangerous enemy capable of great brutality” that could destroy even the nuclear power plant. of Zaporijia as a weapon. “, referring to Russia’s “constant insinuations” that “there may be some kind of accident”.
Is there a military collapse of Russian troops on the ground? Sullivan is careful. “It’s too early for predictions. What we see are signs of fighting between the Russians, the soldiers don’t want to fight. But who can blame them for not wanting to participate in Putin’s war in Ukraine?”
Recent information about the “escape” of thousands of Russians, refusing to be recruited, and crossing the border into Georgia, Finland, Mongolia and Kazakhstan has left dozens of kilometers of queues. In a border area in Mongolia, Altanbulag, more than 3,000 Russians have already managed to escape partial mobilization, but there are still “long lines of cars”. In Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, in addition to the protests – more than 2,000 people were arrested in all across Russia – roads have been blocked because the area borders Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Putin’s “call” has already led Valentina Matviyenko, Speaker of the Upper House, Federation Council, to criticize “the absolutely unacceptable excesses” of recruitment that provoke “a strong response from society”. In a message to the regional governors, it demanded that “the implementation of the mobilization be carried out completely and absolutely in accordance with the criteria described. Without a single error”.
Vyacheslav Volodin, spokesman for the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, said he received “complaints” and that “the errors must be corrected. Authorities at all levels must understand their responsibilities.”
The partial mobilization announced by Putin has already resulted in the elderly and the sick being drafted and forced to volunteer for military training. In the Volgograd region, for example, a 63-year-old ex-serviceman was sent to an army training camp despite health problems, including brain problems.
On the battlefield, with the arrival of autumn and the first rains, an additional difficulty now arises. Muddy roads hinder the advance of tanks and heavy weapons, limiting the Ukrainian counteroffensive. What affects one side affects the other, because with the arrival of winter the “battlefields will freeze”. According to the Institute for the Study of War, there is a race against time on both sides as combat conditions will soon get much worse.
And yesterday, the day the German government proposed, as part of the next package of European sanctions against Moscow, to ban European citizens from holding positions in Russian state-owned companies, the case of Stefan Schaller, director of Energie Waldeck-Frankenberg (EWF) , who had been invited by Putin to “observe” the referendums, prompted Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany to ask the company’s administrator to “evict Stefan Schaller”.
Putin’s guest, who was already an “observer” at Komi (in 2021), said he was “impressed by the transparency of the process” and that “people are not forced to vote by force of arms. Well organized and the population is enthusiastic about the vote”.
Given the scale of the protests on social media and the dismay of the local political community, the company has issued a statement condemning the stance of Stefan Schaller, who can be removed from office today.
“Russia’s forced referendums in Ukraine are hypocritical and contrary to international law and a pretext for the appropriation of the occupied territories. We strongly condemn this illegal annexation,” wrote EWF President Jürgen van der Horst.
Source: DN
