Russia has announced the mobilisation of 300,000 troops in a major development in the ongoing war with Ukraine. In an address, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the country is to mobilise 300,000 reservists, roughly 1% of the mobilisation resource available. He added that students will not be enlisted, but only reservists and those with military experience will be conscripted.
Shoigu also stated that Russia is not exactly at war with Ukraine, but is fighting the collective West and NATO on Ukrainian soil.
⚡️Defence Minister Shoigu Breaks Down Military Mobilization:
— RT (@RT_com) September 21, 2022
– 300,000 reservists will be called up – roughly 1% of the mobilisation resource available
– 70 military and 200+ civilian satellites, entire NATO alliance, working in the interests of Kiev pic.twitter.com/Xf37O25Jbe
Shoigu further added that 70 military and 200+ civilian satellites and the entire NATO alliance are engaged in the war, working for the Ukrainian government and aiding in the fight against Russia. He claimed that Ukraine has lost over half of its entire army and Russia has lost only 5937 personnel so far, a claim that is being called dubious by several reports.
Russia’s announcement is seen as a major development because despite 6 months of the war in Ukraine, so far the Russian government had termed it only as a ‘special military operation’. President Vladimir Putin in his address stated that Russia is going to use ‘all available means’ in the fight. Putin also referred to the threat of nuclear war, saying that Russia has a ‘lot of weapons to reply’.
The LPR and DPR regions have announced that they are going to hold a formal referendum for officially joining Russia from 23 to 27 September. If that happens, the Donbas region will officially be recognised as Russian territory and will give further legal and constitutional legitimacy to Russia’s actions in the area for Putin’s government. Also, any bombing and shelling of these regions by Ukrainian forces will be termed an attack on Russia, providing ground for stronger military retaliation.
Russian-appointed occupation officials in #Luhansk, #Donetsk, #Kherson, and #Zaporizhia oblasts announced on September 20 that they will hold a “referendum” on acceding to #Russia, with a vote taking place from September 23-27.https://t.co/cUJ0smp95O pic.twitter.com/rZrBfIBUN7
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) September 21, 2022
The USA has reacted sharply stating they will never acknowledge the referendum.
Russia’s move comes after a major Ukrainian counter-offensive in some areas
As per reports, in the last few weeks, Ukrainian troops have dealt a heavy blow to the Russian military and have taken back over 10% of the regions that were under Russian control. This is seen as the worst loss so far suffered by the Russians in the war.
