Moscow: President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that any further mobilisation would depend on what Russia wanted to achieve in the war in Ukraine, adding that he faced a question only he could answer – should Russia try to take Kyiv again?
Putin last September announced what he said was a “partial mobilisation” of 300,000 reservists, triggering an exodus. Asked about another mobilisation at a meeting with Russian war correspondents, Putin said: “There is no such need today.” He, though, was less than definitive, saying it depended on what Moscow wanted to achieve and pointing out that some public figures thought Russia needed to get 1 million or 2 million extra men mobilised.
While Putin said that the defence ministry saw no need for another wave of call-ups, he also raised what he said was a rhetorical question. “Should we return there (Kyiv) or not? …It is clear that there is simply no answer to this – I can only answer it myself.”
Russia, Putin said, had reached “almost the whole of Novorossiya” (New Russia), a significant part of Donetsk region with access to the Sea of Azov and port of Mariupol, and almost the whole of the Luhansk region. Russia’s future plans, he said, would be decided once the Ukrainian counteroffensive was over.
Putin last September announced what he said was a “partial mobilisation” of 300,000 reservists, triggering an exodus. Asked about another mobilisation at a meeting with Russian war correspondents, Putin said: “There is no such need today.” He, though, was less than definitive, saying it depended on what Moscow wanted to achieve and pointing out that some public figures thought Russia needed to get 1 million or 2 million extra men mobilised.
While Putin said that the defence ministry saw no need for another wave of call-ups, he also raised what he said was a rhetorical question. “Should we return there (Kyiv) or not? …It is clear that there is simply no answer to this – I can only answer it myself.”
Russia, Putin said, had reached “almost the whole of Novorossiya” (New Russia), a significant part of Donetsk region with access to the Sea of Azov and port of Mariupol, and almost the whole of the Luhansk region. Russia’s future plans, he said, would be decided once the Ukrainian counteroffensive was over.