Putin’s Ukraine war speech: What to know as Russia begins partial mobilization

Putin's military call-up and possible nuclear threat comes days after the Ukrainian army pulled off a surprise counteroffensive to recapture territory around Kharkiv.

Speaking from a wood-paneled operation room, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued another stern warning to the West on Wednesday after his country’s military suffered a series of embarrassing setbacks in Ukraine.

Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists that could raise available troop numbers by up to 300,000 and delivered a thinly-veiled threat of Moscow’s willingness to use nuclear weapons.

Here’s a look at key takeaways from that speech and the West’s reaction to it.

Putin’s military call-up and possible nuclear threat comes days after the Ukrainian army pulled off a surprise counteroffensive to recapture territory around its second-largest city, Kharkiv, in the east.

“I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction … 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 in the televised address, adding with a lingering stare at the camera: “It’s not a bluff.”

But his seven-minute address was also broadcast as Russia prepares to hold referendums in Ukrainian regions it now occupies, including areas taken over by Moscow-backed separatist forces after fighting broke out in 2014. The votes start Friday and have already been dismissed as illegitimate by Ukraine and its Western allies.

President Joe Biden led Western condemnation of Putin’s remarks at the United Nations General assembly, arguing that Moscow’s aggression should be met with continued resolve by Western nations to support Ukraine.

“We will stand in solidarity against Russia’s aggression. Period,” he said, denouncing Moscow’s plans to hold “sham” referendums in Ukraine as well as Putin’s “overt nuclear threats against Europe.”