Putin call-up order sparks protests
Russian leader hints at nuclear stockpile in address to nation
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists Wednesday, taking a risky and deeply unpopular step that follows humiliating setbacks for his troops nearly seven months after invading Ukraine.
The first such call-up in Russia since World War II heightened tensions with the Western backers of Ukraine, who derided it as an act of weakness and desperation. The move also sent some Russians scrambling to buy plane tickets out of the country, and nearly 1,200 people were arrested at anti-war demonstrations across the country.
In a 14-minute nationally televised address, Putin also warned the West that he isn’t bluffing over using everything at his disposal to protect Russia — an apparent reference to his nuclear arsenal. He has previously told the West not to back Russia against the wall and has rebuked NATO countries for supplying weapons to Ukraine.
The Kremlin has struggled to replenish its troops in Ukraine, reaching out for volunteers. There have even been reports of widespread recruitment in prisons.
The total number of reservists to be called up could be as high as 300,000, officials said. However, Putin’s decree authorizing the partial mobilization, which took effect immediately, offered few details, raising suspicions the draft
could be broadened at any moment. Notably, one clause was kept secret.
Despite Russia’s harsh laws against criticizing the military and the war, there were protests across the country. Nearly 1,200 Russians were arrested in anti-war protests in 37 Russian cities, according to the independent Russian human rights group OVD-Info.
Associated Press journalists in Moscow witnessed at least a dozen arrests in the first 15 minutes of a nighttime protest in the capital,
with police in body armor tackling demonstrators in front of Moscow shops, hauling some away as they chanted, “No to war!”
“I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid of anything. The most valuable thing that they can take from us is the life of our children. I won’t give them life of my child,” said one Muscovite, who declined to give her name.
As protest calls circulated online, the Moscow prosecutor’s office warned that organizing or participating in such actions could lead to up to 15 years in prison.
Authorities issued similar warnings ahead of other protests recently. Wednesday’s were the first nationwide anti-war protests since the war began Feb. 24.
The state communication watchdog Roskomnadzor also warned media that access to their websites would be blocked for transmitting “false information” about the mobilization. It was unclear exactly what that meant.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked what had changed since he and others previously said no
mobilization was planned, said Russia is effectively fighting NATO because the alliance’s members have supplied weapons to Kyiv.
Western leaders said the mobilization was in response to Russia’s recent battlefield losses in Ukraine.
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Putin’s speech is “definitely a sign that he’s struggling, and we know that.”
The partial mobilization order came a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern
Ukraine announced plans for referendums on becoming integral parts of Russia.
The referendums are scheduled to start Friday in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.
The balloting is all but certain to go Moscow’s way. Foreign leaders are already calling the votes illegitimate and nonbinding. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they were a “sham” and “noise” to distract the public.
Kirby told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Russia has suffered tens of thousands of casualties, has command and control issues, terrible troop morale, desertion problems and is “forcing the wounded back (into) the fight.”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who also spoke Wednesday on Russian TV, said 5,937 Russian soldiers have died in the conflict, far less than Western estimates.
Shoigu said only those with relevant combat and service experience will be mobilized, adding that about 25 million people fit this criteria but only about 1% of them will be mobilized.
Meanwhile, Ukraine announced early Thursday it had won freedom from Russian custody of 215 Ukrainian and foreign citizens, including fighters who defended a besieged steel plant in the city of Mariupol for months.
Zelenskyy posted a video showing an official briefing him on the freeing of the citizens, in exchange for pro-Russian opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk and 55 others held by Ukraine.