Russia: Vladimir Putin orders partial mobilisation of citizens, threatens nuclear retaliation

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced a partial mobilisation in Russia as the war in Ukraine reaches nearly seven months and Moscow loses ground on the battlefieldPutins address to the nation comes a day after Russiancontrolled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes on becoming integral parts of Russia The Kremlinbacked efforts to swallow up four regions could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war following Ukrainian successesPutin said he has signed a decree on the partial mobilisation which is due to start on WednesdayWe are talking about partial mobilisation that is only citizens who are currently in the reserve will be subject to conscription and above all those who served in the armed forces have a certain military specialty and relevant experience Putin saidThe referendums which have been expected to take place since the first months of the war will start Friday in the Luhansk Kherson and partly Russiancontrolled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regionsAlso Read Putins limo attacked in assassination attempt ReportPutin said the decision to partially mobilise was fully adequate to the threats we face namely to protect our homeland its sovereignty and territorial integrity to ensure the security of our people and people in the liberated territoriesEarlier Wednesday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday dismissed Russian plans to stage referendums in occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine as a noise and thanked Ukraines allies for condemning the votes scheduled to start FridayFour Russiancontrolled regions announced plans Tuesday to start voting this week to become integral parts of Russia which could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war following Ukrainian successes on the battlefieldFormer President Dmitry Medvedev the deputy head of Russias Security Council chaired by Putin said referendums that fold regions into Russia itself would make redrawn frontiers irreversible and enable Moscow to use any means to defend themIn his nightly address Zelenskyy said there were lots of questions surrounding the announcements but stressed that they would not change Ukraines commitment to retake areas occupied by Russian forcesThe situation on the front line clearly indicates that the initiative belongs to Ukraine he saidOur positions do not change because of the noise or any announcements somewhere And we enjoy the full support of our partners in thisThe upcoming votes in the Luhansk Kherson Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions are all but certain to go Moscows way But they were quickly dismissed as illegitimate by Western leaders who are backing Kyiv with military and other support that has helped its forces seize momentum on battlefields in the east and southI thank all friends and partners of Ukraine for todays mass principled firm condemnation of Russias attempts to stage new sham referenda Zelenskyy saidIn another signal that Russia is digging in for a protracted and possibly rampedup conflict the Kremlincontrolled lower of house of parliament voted Tuesday to toughen laws against desertion surrender and looting by Russian troops Lawmakers also voted to introduce possible 10year prison terms for soldiers refusing to fightIf approved as expected by the upper house and then signed by Putin the legislation would strengthen commanders hands against failing morale reported among soldiersIn the Russianoccupied city of Enerhodar shelling continued around Europes largest nuclear power plant Ukrainian energy operator Energoatom said Russian shelling again damaged infrastructure at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and briefly forced workers to start two diesel generators for emergency power to the cooling pumps for one of the reactorsSuch pumps are essential for avoiding a meltdown at a nuclear facility even though all six of the plants reactors have been shut down Energoatom said the generators were later switched off as main power weas restoredThe Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been a focus for concern for months because of fears that shelling could lead to a radiation leak Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the shellingThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever