'It's not a bluff': President Putin threatens the WEST, sets partial mobilisation in Russia after losing ground in Ukraine war

Russia-Ukraine war: President Vladimir Putin's televised address to the nation comes a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes on becoming integral parts of Russia.

Kyiv: 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 battlefield. Putin also warned the West that "it's not a bluff" and that Russia would use all the means at its disposal to protect its territory. The total number of reservists drafted in the partial mobilisation is 300,000, officials said. The Russian leader's televised address to the nation comes a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes on becoming integral parts of Russia. The Kremlin-backed efforts to swallow up four regions could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war following Ukrainian successes.

The referendums, which have been expected to take place since the first months of the war that began on Feb. 24, will start Friday in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. Putin accused the West of engaging in "nuclear blackmail" and noted "statements of some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO states about the possibility of using nuclear weapons of mass destruction against Russia."

"To those who allow themselves such statements regarding Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for separate components and more modern than those of NATO countries and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal," Putin said. He added: "It's not a bluff."

Putin said he has signed a decree on the partial mobilisation, which is due to start on Wednesday. "We 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 speciality and relevant experience," Putin said.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a televised interview Wednesday that conscripts and students won't be mobilized - only those with relevant combat and service experience will be. He said that 5,937 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine so far. Western estimates of Russian military losses stand at tens of thousands.

Shoigu's update on Russian losses is the third time the Russian military offered death toll numbers to the public. The last update came in late March when the Defense Ministry claimed 1,351 Russian soldiers were killed in Ukraine.

Putin 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 territories."

Zelenskyy dismisses Russian plans to stage referendums in occupied regions 

Earlier Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Russian plans to stage referendums in occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine as a "noise" and thanked Ukraine's allies for condemning the votes scheduled to start Friday.

Four Russian-controlled 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 battlefield.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's 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 them.

In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said there were lots of questions surrounding the announcements but stressed that they would not change Ukraine's commitment to retake areas occupied by Russian forces. "The situation on the front line clearly indicates that the initiative belongs to Ukraine," he said. 

"Our positions do not change because of the noise or any announcements somewhere. And we enjoy the full support of our partners in this."