Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on partial mobilization in Russia, the Kremlin said Wednesday.
The president said in a televised address that a partial mobilization is necessary to defend Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
According to the decree, the partial mobilization in the Russian Federation will begin on Wednesday.
“… To protect our motherland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to ensure the security of our people and people in the liberated territories, I consider it necessary to support the proposal of the defense ministry and the general staff on the conduct of partial mobilization in the Russian Federation,” Putin said.
“… Citizens of the Russian Federation called up for military service by mobilization have the status of military personnel serving in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation under a contract,” said the decree.
According to the president, only citizens in military reserve will be subject to prescription, and they will undergo additional training.
Putin also accused the West of engaging in nuclear blackmail against Russia and warned again that the country had “lots of weapons to reply” to what he said were Western threats — adding that he was not bluffing.
China’s Foreign Ministry called on all parties to engage in dialogue to find a way to address their security concerns, while British Foreign Office Minister Gillian Keegan told Sky News that Putin’s comments should not be taken lightly.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Putin’s partial troop mobilization plan an “act of desperation” that will make “everything much worse.”
“Russia cannot win this criminal war,” Scholz said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Scholz said that Putin had “completely underestimated” the situation in Ukraine from the beginning, referring to “the resistance and the will of the Ukrainians to resist” and “the unity and determination” of Ukraine’s friends.
Also on Wednesday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that the Ukrainian side continued to shell the city of Energodar and the area around the Zaporozhzhia nuclear power plant.
“The shelling damaged a pipe in the technical water supply system of the fifth power plant, and hit the power supply line of it,” he claimed.
Ukrainian firepower was suppressed by Russian artillery, he said, adding that the radiation levels at the nuclear facility remained normal.
