Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a “partial mobilization” in Russia and threatened nuclear retaliation against the west, saying that Russia had “lots of weapons to reply” to what he called western threats on Russian territory, adding that he was not bluffing.
In a highly anticipated televised address, Putin said the move was a direct response to the dangers posed by the west, which “wants to destroy our country”, and claimed the west had tried to “turn Ukraine’s people into cannon fodder,” The Guardian reports.
“To those who allow themselves such statements regarding Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for separate components and more modern than those of Nato countries and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal,” Putin said before adding: “It’s not a bluff.”
Putin also said he would support the votes scheduled for this weekend to join Russia in the parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions that are under its control.
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In response, Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, slammed Russian plans to stage referendums in the occupied regions as a “noise” and thanked Ukraine’s allies for denouncing the votes. “I thank all friends and partners of Ukraine for today’s mass principled firm condemnation of Russia’s attempts to stage new sham referenda,” Zelenskiy said.
Western leaders also slammed the votes as illegitimate and have vouched to continue their military support of Ukraine.
