September 21, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Russia will call up 300,000 reservists as part of its partial mobilization, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Russian television Wednesday morning.

He also reiterated that no conscripts (who serve mandatory military service; not those in the reserves) would be sent to “the zone of a special military operation,” as the Russian government refers to its war in Ukraine. (The Ministry of Defense has in the past admitted that Russian conscripts have mistakenly, it claims, been sent to fight in Ukraine.)

“There is no question of any mobilization of university students and there will be none under (any) circumstances. No one will call them up.”

“Like those who serve under conscription, they are not subject to being sent to the zone of a special military operation; our conscripts continue to serve on the territory of the Russian Federation.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement on Wednesday of a partial mobilization appears to contradict his claim earlier this year that no more reservists would be called up.

Putin said Wednesday the "partial mobilization" would apply to "only those citizens who are in the reserve and, above all, those who served in the armed forces, have certain military specialties and relevant experience."

However, during a televised address in March, Putin had said "there will be no additional call-up of reservists." 

A top Ukrainian official on Wednesday responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech announcing a partial mobilization of Russian citizens, saying “Life has a great sense of humor.”

“210th day of the ‘three-day war,’” Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said on Twitter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made clear reference on Wednesday to his potential use of nuclear weapons, saying “those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the prevailing winds can turn in their direction.”

Announcing a partial mobilization of citizens to bolster the war in Ukraine, he emphasized that Russia has access to "various means of destruction."

“I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction and in some components more modern than those of the NATO countries,” he said. “And if the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people.”

In a 60 Minutes interview earlier this week, US President Joe Biden addressed concerns that Russia would resort to using its nuclear stockpile in Ukraine.

Asked by a reporter what he would say to the Russian leader regarding the use of chemical or tactical nuclear weapons, Biden said "Don't. Don't. Don't."

"You will change the face of war unlike anything since World War II," Biden said, adding that the US response to such actions would be "consequential."

Germany's Economy Minister has denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of partial mobilization on Wednesday morning. 

The move is a "bad and a wrong development," Economy Minister Robert Habeck told journalists in Berlin.

The US Ambassador in Kyiv has dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement Wednesday morning as a sign of failure and vowed the United States would continue to support Ukraine’s resistance towards Russian aggression.

“The United States will never recognize Russia's claim to purportedly annexed Ukrainian territory, and we will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Brink added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilization follows moves Tuesday by Moscow's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, to amend the law on military service, toughening the punishment for violation of military service duties — such as desertion and evasion from service — according to state news agency TASS.

The bill sets a jail term of up to 15 years for resistance related to military service or coercion to violate an official military order, involving violence or the threat of it, during the period of mobilization or martial law.

State Duma deputies and senators have also prepared amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, proposing to introduce liability of up to five years of jail time for the destruction or negligent damage of weapons and military equipment during wartime, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Deputies in the State Duma have introduced concepts of “mobilization,” “martial law,” “wartime,” and “armed conflict” into the Criminal Code of Russia, which will now be regarded as aggravating factors in criminal sentencing.

Though Putin’s announcement Wednesday stops short of a full large-scale draft, as some had predicted, it marks a significant movement in the conflict and provides Russia with broad powers to conscript its citizens with previous military experience.

It's not clear how many people with this background have already been mobilized.

Some context: Analysts have said Russia's military faces significant shortages of manpower.

In July, CNN reported that the call had gone out across Russia for more than 30,000 volunteers to join the war effort in Ukraine. The lure was big cash bonuses and no experience was necessary.

Russia is launching a partial mobilization of its citizens, President Vladimir Putin announced during a highly anticipated speech to the nation on Wednesday morning.

Efforts to begin partial mobilization will begin today, on Wednesday, Putin announced. He said that a decree on partial mobilization has already been signed.

“After the Kyiv regime actually publicly refused a peaceful solution to the Donbas problem today and, moreover, announced its claim to nuclear weapons, it became absolutely clear that a new next large-scale offensive in the Donbas, as it had already happened twice before, was inevitable.”

It is unclear what Putin is referring to with his mention of nuclear weapons.

At the start of a highly anticipated speech to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning said that Western countries are seeking to destroy Russia.