The White House warned that Putin is preparing for an escalation of the war in Ukraine. Putin’s calling up troops in a partial mobilization and warns that he will use all weapons at his disposal if he has to.
Putin will replenish his forces in Ukraine with 300,000 of his two million reservists as he prepares for a referendum to allow four regions in Donbas to join the Russian Federation.
Leonid Slutsky, a senior lawmaker and head of the Russian Liberal-Democratic Party, stated on Wednesday that Ukraine had reached the “point of no return” in negotiations.
“Kiev has violated all possible agreements… The point of no return in the negotiation process has long passed,” Slutsky was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
#BREAKING: Russian President Vladimir Putin declares a partial mobilization, which will allow Russia to replenish its fighting force in Ukraine by drawing upon its estimated two million military reservists. pic.twitter.com/Cg1g5ycRep
— Dimitri Alexander Simes (@DimitriASimes) September 21, 2022
WHAT ABOUT ESCALATION?
There was a peace agreement in April until the UK and US stepped in and halted it. The US and UK have engaged in escalation. Russia’s invasion and attack on Ukraine’s power grid were escalations.
US sanctions, intel sharing, and sending of more serious weapons to Ukraine to kill Russians are also escalations. We’re not commenting on the wisdom or necessity of it.
MOBILIZATION AND NOT JOKING ABOUT NUKES
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It’s the first mobilization in Russia since World War II.
In a seven-minute televised address to the nation aired on Wednesday morning, the Russian leader warned the West that he isn’t bluffing over using all the means at his disposal to protect Russia’s territory, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to Russia’s nuclear capability. Putin has previously warned the West not to back Russia against the wall and has rebuked NATO countries for supplying weapons to help Ukraine.
Putin’s announcement of escalation came during the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 has been the target of broad international criticism that has kept up intense diplomatic pressure on Moscow.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky will address the gathering in a prerecorded address.
Some say escalation is a sign of failure on Russia’s part. However, Putin’s about to absorb a huge and important land and sea area into Russia while talking about nukes and beefing up his army with 300,000 troops. It doesn’t really sound like failure. Another word might be appropriate.
US sends longer and longer range missiles: not an escalation.
US operationally coordinates major Ukraine counter-offensive: not an escalation.
Russia plans to annex several provinces: escalation?
Or maybe… all three of these events are in fact part of the same escalatory spiral.
BIDEN TO ADDRESS THE ESCALATION AT THE UN
According to Jake Sullivan, when Biden speaks before the UN today, “He’ll 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.”
Biden’s not even running the country. We don’t know who is running it.
“He will underscore the importance of strengthening the United Nations and reaffirm core tenets of its charter at a time when a permanent member of the Security Council has struck at the very heart of the charter by challenging the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Sullivan added.
UKRAINE’S “DEMOCRACY” RESPONDS TO THE REFERENDUM
Ukrainian citizens may face lengthy prison terms if they participate in public referendums on whether to join Russia. The voting is to be held in the Donbas republics and Russian-controlled Ukrainian regions, Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk told local media on Tuesday.
Vereshchuk is also in charge of the “reintegration of temporarily occupied territories.”
Speaking to the Ukrainian outlet Strana, she urged local residents not to take part in the referendums by threatening them with up to ten years in prison. She said they will also be barred from employment in some positions and certain activities for up to 15 years. They will lose all their assets.
The US has been guilty of escalation also and what they’ve done has been ineffective.
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