In the wake of humiliating military setbacks in northeastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin implicitly threatens the West with nuclear blackmail and calls up 300,000 reservists to replenish his depleted troops on the battlefield.
Moscow meanwhile is also holding sham referendums in four occupied provinces in easterrn Ukraine, with plans to annex them into Russia.
Is it a sign of desperation? Or a turning point in the war? On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Jeff Mankoff, a Distinguished Research Fellow at National Defense University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies and author of the recently published book Empires of Eurasia: How Imperial Legacies Shape International Security to unpack the latest developments.
[Jeff Mankoff’s views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the NDU or the Department of Defense.]
SHOW NOTES
The audio opening the program and the second segment came from a speech by Vladimir Putin on September 21, 2022.
Translation of clip opening show:
“I would like to remind those who make such statements regarding Russia that our country has different kinds of weapons as well, and some are more modern than the weapons NATO countries have. In the event of a threat to the territorial integrity of our country and to defend Russia and our people, we will certainly make use of all weapons systems available to us. This is not a bluff.”
Translation of clip opening second half:
“More precisely, 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 Ministry of Defense and General Staff to conduct a partial mobilization in the Russian Federation.”
Hot takes from Atlantic Council experts (including from Power Vertical host Brian Whitmore) on Putin’s speech, the mobilization, and other issues discussed in this episode can be found here.