Putin plans to mobilise 500,000 troops and a chilling message to Europe - London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness. com
EPN/Newscom/Newscom/AvalonVladimir Putin could be preparing to mobilise as many as 500,000 additional fighters in the coming weeks, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, raising the prospect of. . .
EPN/Newscom/Newscom/AvalonVladimir Putin could be preparing to mobilise as many as 500,000 additional fighters in the coming weeks, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, raising the prospect of a fresh escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine and a deliberate attempt to intimidate Europe. Zelensky said Moscow could announce a mass mobilisation after Russia’s parliamentary elections on September 18-20, while avoiding a formal declaration that would expose the political cost of another large-scale call-up. He alleged that Russian authorities could lure men into signing contracts for supposedly safe employment before transferring them to the front, while tightening restrictions on military-age men seeking to leave the country. The significance, Zelensky argued, extendsbeyond the battlefield. A vastly expanded Russian force could be used to reinforce pressure on Ukraine while signalling to NATO governments that continued militarysupport carries the riskof a wider confrontation. “He needs to sell a victory,” Zelensky said, arguing thatPutin remains determined to seize the Donbasdespite failing to achieve a decisive breakthrough. Ukraine also claimsRussia is seeking up to 50,000 North Koreanfighters, potentially adding another source of manpower to Moscow’s war machine. Thewarning comesas Russia continues to pound Ukrainian cities. Overnightstrikes hitan apartment building in Kharkiv, killing at least two people and injuring 13, according to local authorities. For Europe, the danger is not simply the size of any future Russian mobilisation. It is the possibility that Moscow is increasingly treating manpower, escalation and the threat of awider waras instruments of strategic coercion. If Zelensky’s intelligence is accurate, thenext phase of the warmay be designed as much to frighten Europe as to defeat Ukraine. Leave a Comment