Moscow: Wednesday saw the first Russian mobilisation since World War II, as President Vladimir Putin issued a warning to the West that if it continued its "nuclear blackmail," Moscow would retaliate with the full force of its vast arsenal.
In a televised address to the nation, Putin stated: "If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will use all available means to protect our people - this is not a bluff." He also stated that Russia had "lots of weapons to reply."
According to the Russian defence minister, 300,000 reservists will be called up as part of the partial mobilisation, and those with prior military experience will be given preference.
The conflict over Ukraine has been significantly escalated by Putin's partial mobilisation, which comes as Russia fights off a Ukrainian counteroffensive that has compelled its troops to retreat and give up some of the territory they had occupied.
China's foreign ministry urged all parties to hold talks and consultations in Beijing in order to allay their security concerns.
At a routine media briefing on Wednesday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, stated that China's position on Ukraine is consistent and clear.
Putin's speech, according to British Foreign Office Minister Gillian Keegan, was a worrying escalation, and the threats he made need to be taken seriously.
It is terrifying. Although it is a serious threat, it has been levelled before, she said.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser for Ukraine, emphasised that the war was not going according to Moscow's plan by describing Russia's mobilisation as a predictable action that would prove to be incredibly unpopular.
The lower house of parliament, which is under the control of the Kremlin, voted on Tuesday to toughen the laws against Russian troops deserting, surrendering, and looting, sending another message that the country is preparing for a protracted and possibly escalated conflict.
Additionally, lawmakers approved the introduction of potential 10-year prison terms for soldiers who refuse to fight.
The legislation would give commanders more power to combat reports of low soldier morale if the upper house approves it as expected and Putin signs it into law.
Putin claimed that the 2 million military reservists in Russia were partially mobilised to defend Russia and its territories because the West did not want peace in Ukraine.
He claimed that in order to "completely plunder our country," Washington, London, and Brussels were pressuring Kyiv to "transfer military operations to our territory."
Throughout the conflict, the military of Ukraine has occasionally used long-range weapons supplied by the West to attack targets inside Russia.
Putin referred to Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporozhzhia, saying that "nuclear blackmail has also been used." Russia and Ukraine have both accused one another of putting the plant in danger during the conflict.
He charged statements about "the possibility and admissibility of using weapons of mass destruction against Russia — nuclear weapons" by senior Nato officials.
"To those who allow themselves to say such things about Russia, I want to remind you that our nation also has various means of destruction, some of which are more advanced than those of the Nato countries," he said.
Putin reaffirmed that his goal was to "liberate" the industrial hub of east Ukraine's Donbas region and that the majority of its residents did not want to return to what he called the "yoke" of Ukraine.
Prior to Putin's speech, world leaders gathered in New York at the UN denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine and plans to hold elections in four occupied regions soon.
Pro-Russian figures announced referendums for September 23–27 in the provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, which together make up about 15% of Ukrainian territory and are roughly the size of Hungary.
Luhansk and Donetsk, which together make up the Donbas region Moscow partially occupied in 2014, are already regarded as independent states in Russia. All of Ukraine's territory held by Russian forces is regarded as illegally occupied by both Ukraine and the West.
After making slow gains during months of fierce fighting, Russia now controls roughly 60% of Donetsk and nearly all of Luhansk by the end of July.
These accomplishments are now in jeopardy as a result of Russian forces' expulsion from the neighbouring Kharkiv province this month, which resulted in the loss of their main supply routes for a large portion of the Donetsk and Luhansk front lines.
Whatever the Russians want to do, they can. At the United Nations, where leaders were en route to a General Assembly meeting that was likely to be dominated by the conflict in Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, responded to questions from reporters on Tuesday, "It won't change anything.
"Ukraine has every right to liberate its territories and will keep liberating them regardless of what Russia says," he continued in a tweet.
Prior to the UN assembly in New York, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that the referendum plan "wouldn't be so tragic; it would be funny."
Putin gave the order for what he refers to as a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24 in order to purge the nation of dangerous nationalists and "denazify" it. In the former Soviet republic, the war has killed thousands of people, destroyed cities, and forced millions to flee their homes.
Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, claimed that if Putin admits he cannot win the war, he will abandon his "imperial ambitions" that threaten to destroy both Russia and Ukraine.
In his opening remarks to the General Assembly, Scholz stated, "This is why we will not accept any peace dictated by Russia and this is why Ukraine must be able to fend off Russia's attack."
Both US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
In a preview of the president's speech, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Biden would "offer a firm rebuke of Russia's unjust war in Ukraine and make a call to the world to continue to stand against the naked aggression that we've seen these past several months."
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