The world saw Putin's fury, the West worried about the new announcement
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continued to threaten to retake territory after Russian occupation, Russian President Vladimir Putin remained virtually silent. However, breaking the silence, he showed intense anger. For the first time since World War II, Putin has announced 'military mobilization', or an increase in the size of the military. He said that this process will start from Wednesday (September 21).
"If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will use all available means to protect our people," Putin said in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday. Reuters news.
Alleging that Europe is threatening Russia with nuclear weapons, he added, 'The West wants to destroy our country. Western countries have started a shadow war with Russia. If this continues, Moscow will respond with all the force of its vast arsenal. And Russia has enough weapons to respond.
Following Putin's announcement, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the partial mobilization would initially include about 300,000 people with prior military experience.
Analysts say that this partial integration of Russia is a vague idea. It could mean, however, that Russian businessmen and citizens would have to contribute more to the war effort. In addition, Russia has not yet declared 'war' against Ukraine despite its invasion of Ukraine last February. Moscow is calling this attack a 'special military operation'.
However, after Putin's new announcement, an official declaration of war may come, and in that case, it is feared that the level of conflict will increase.
Meanwhile, after Putin's announcement, the westerners are also shaken. In an immediate response to Putin's speech, British Minister Gillian Keegan told Sky News, 'Putin's comments should not be taken lightly. Clearly this is a threat we should take very seriously. Because, just as we are not in control, I am sure he (Putin) is not in control either.'
Earlier, Putin signed a directive (decree) to increase 1 lakh 37 thousand members in the Russian military. Currently, the total number of members of the Russian military is more than 1 million military personnel. There are about 9 lakh civilian workers.
According to Putin's directive, "the number of members of the armed forces of the Russian Federation is set to increase to 2039 thousand people, of which 1150 thousand 628 will be military members."
