Russian President Vladimir Putin.Photo: Sergei Guneyev/TASS/Getty
Russian PresidentVladimir Putinon Wednesday called for a partial mobilization of Russian citizens amid his ongoing invasion of Ukraine, making veiled threats that have raised fears the autocrat could turn to nuclear weapons.
“When the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people. It’s not a bluff,” Putin said, pera Reuters report.
Reuters reports that flights out of Russia sold out quickly following Putin’s announcement, which marked the county’s first military mobilization since World War II.
CNN reports that the mobilization will see Russian citizens in the military reserve or those with military experience being called to active duty. While it is unclear exactly who will be impacted, Russian Defense Secretary Sergei Shoigu said 300,000 people will be mobilized, in addition to those soldiers who are currently active.
Elsewhere in his Wednesday remarks, Putin announced a referendum to annex four Ukrainian regions: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Speaking to Reuters, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called Putin’s remarks “dangerous and reckless rhetoric” that demonstrate “that the war is not going according to his plans.”
U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink echoed those claims, writing on Twitter: “Sham referenda and mobilization are signs of weakness, of Russian failure. The United States will never recognize Russia’s claim to purportedly annexed Ukrainian territory, and we will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Hours after Putin’s speech, PresidentJoe Bidendeliveredhis own remarksat the United Nations General Assembly, saying: “This war is about extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state and Ukrainians' right to exist as a people. That should make your blood run cold.”
Recent reports have claimed that Russian soldiers aresuffering from exhaustionand alack of resources, though U.S. officials have been cautious about suggesting Putin could withdraw from the region.
Asked earlier this month if the recentliberation of key Ukrainian citiesor apparentshortcomings on the battlefieldmark a turning point in Russia’s invasion, Biden said the question was “unanswerable,” adding: “It’s clear the Ukrainians have made significant progress, but I think it’s going to be a long haul.”
“They clearly still have a military capable of inflicting great damage and casualties. And we’ve seen that, sadly, to some effect in Ukraine,” he said. “It’s still a very large and very powerful military, and Mr. Putin still has an awful lot of military capacity left at his disposal — not just to be used in Ukraine, but potentially elsewhere.”
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Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues after the country invaded in late February, with forces moving from the north, south and east.
JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty
Putin has insisted Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the interest of so-called “peacekeeping.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said earlier this year that Putin was willing to use “whatever tools he can” in escalating his invasion of Ukraine.
“Putin has tried every means possible to actually put fear in the world in terms of his action, and it just means that we have to ramp up our efforts here at the United Nations and elsewhere to hold him accountable,“Thomas-Greenfield told CBS News' Margaret Brennanduring an interview onFace the Nationin February. “Certainly nothing is off the table with this guy. He’s willing to use whatever tools he can to intimidate Ukrainians and the world.”
source: people.com
