Moscow: In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia as the war in Ukraine reaches nearly seven months.
Putin said he has signed a decree on the partial mobilization, which is due to start on Wednesday.
“We are talking about partial mobilization, that is, only citizens who are currently in the reserve will be subject to conscription, and above all, those who served in the armed forces have a certain military specialty and relevant experience,” Putin said.
Putin’s address to the nation comes a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes on becoming integral parts of Russia.
In a televised address, Putin said his aim was to “liberate” east Ukraine’s Donbas region in which there are two self-proclaimed, pro-Russian republics, and said he had ordered the government to give legal status to volunteers fighting in the Donbas. Most people in the region who do not want to return to what he called the “yoke” of Ukraine.
He additionally accused the West of engaging in nuclear blackmail against Russia. Putin said that Russia had “lots of weapons to reply” to what he called Western threats and said that he was not bluffing.
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