First mobilisation since World War II, Putin says the partial military mobilisation is to defend Russia
\nKYIV
\nPresident Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered Russia\u2019s first mobilisation since World War Two, warning the West that if it continued what he called its \u201cnuclear blackmail\u201d that Moscow would respond with the might of all its vast arsenal.
\n\u201cIf the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will use all available means to protect our people – this is not a bluff,\u201d Putin said in a televised address to the nation, adding Russia had \u201clots of weapons to reply\u201d.
\nRussia\u2019s defence minister said the partial mobilisation will see 300,000 reserves called and up would apply to those with previous military experience.
\nPutin\u2019s partial mobilisation significantly escalates the conflict over Ukraine and comes as Russia battles a Ukrainian counter-offensive that has forced its troops to retreat and surrender some occupied territory.
\nPutin said the partial military mobilisation of its 2 million-strong military reserves was to defend Russia and its territories, claiming the West did not want peace in Ukraine.
\nPutin\u2019s speech was a worrying escalation and the threats he made in it must be taken seriously, British foreign office minister Gillian Keegan told Sky News.
\n\u201cClearly it\u2019s something that we should take very seriously because, you know, we\u2019re not in control – I\u2019m not sure he\u2019s in control either, really. This is obviously an escalation,\u201d she said.
\nRussia\u2019s rouble fell and global oil prices surged after Putin\u2019s comments. The war has already caused a spike in fuel and food prices around the world.
\n\u2018Liberate Ukraine\u2019
\nPutin restated his aim was to \u201cliberate\u201d east Ukraine\u2019s Donbas industrial heartland region and that most people in the region did not want to return to what he called the \u201cyoke\u201d of Ukraine.
\nRussia already considers Luhansk and Donetsk, which together make up the Donbas region Moscow partially occupied in 2014, to be independent states. Ukraine and the West consider all parts of Ukraine held by Russian forces to be illegally occupied.
\nRussia now holds about 60% of Donetsk and had captured nearly all of Luhansk by July after slow advances during months of intense fighting.
\nThose gains are now under threat after Russian forces were driven from neighbouring Kharkiv province this month, losing control of their main supply lines for much of the Donetsk and Luhansk front lines.
\nAhead of Putin\u2019s speech, in an apparently coordinated move on Tuesday, Moscow-installed leaders in occupied areas of four Ukrainian regions announced plans to hold referendums on joining Russia in coming days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
First mobilisation since World War II, Putin says the partial military mobilisation is to defend Russia KYIV President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered Russia\u2019s first mobilisation since World War Two, warning the West that if it continued what he called its \u201cnuclear blackmail\u201d that Moscow would respond with the might of all its vast arsenal. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-284851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n