Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a partial military mobilization in the country during a delayed televised address on Wednesday.
"... To protect our motherland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to ensure the security of our people and people in the liberated territories, I consider it necessary to support the proposal of the defense ministry and the general staff on the conduct of partial mobilization in the Russian Federation," Putin said.
Some senior officials in NATO states have even suggested that using tactical nuclear weapons against Russian troops would be justified, according to Putin. The president stressed that Moscow would not hesitate to retaliate to such an attack with its own nuclear weapons.
Partial mobilization is a term for when specific groups of people will be called up to serve in Russia’s armed forces. It is different from a general mobilization, which involves drafting from the general population, refocusing the entire economy and essentially setting the whole country on a warpath, hitting a pause on normalcy.
In a televised address minutes after Putin had finished speaking, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that 300,000 Russian reservists will be called up for service as part of the "partial" mobilization. Shoigu claimed: "Those who have served and have a military specialty are almost 25 million."
“China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. We call on the parties concerned to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation and find a solution that accommodates all parties’ legitimate security concerns. We also hope the international community will create conditions and space for that.”
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