The partial mobilization of Russian reservists demonstrates the will of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to continue in ” climbing “ of the war against Ukraine and is “a new sign of his distress”said Wednesday, September 21, the spokesman for the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
European Commission spokesman Peter Stano added:
The announcement of the partial mobilization of the reservists and the confirmation of the referendums [dans des régions occupées en Ukraine] are a clear signal to the international community during the week of the United Nations General Assembly of its will to continue its destructive war, which has negative consequences all over the world.
“This action will have consequences on our part. Member States of the European Union [UE] have already held a coordination meeting on the sidelines of the general assembly in New York”, he specified. Peter Stano, however, did not wish to elaborate, saying that the details of the discussions were “confidential”.
“An act of desperation”
“The Kremlin announces the mobilization on the day of the [journée internationale de la paix] while at [l’Assemblée générale des Nations unies], countries work for cooperation, security and prosperity. In this war, there is only one aggressor, Russia, and only one attacked country, Ukraine., has, for his part, commented on Twitter Charles Michel, President of the European Council.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Wednesday a“act of desperation” the recent decisions of the Russian President. ” [Vladimir] Putin only makes things worse. From the start, he completely underestimated the situation, and the Ukrainians’ will to resist.”said the German Chancellor in a short statement on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. “Russia cannot win this murderous war”he added.
China called on Wednesday “the parties concerned to establish a ceasefire through dialogue and consultation, and to find a solution that addresses the legitimate security concerns of all parties as soon as possible”said a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin, during a press conference.
The partial mobilization announced by Vladimir Putin will lead to “a huge tragedy”imprisoned opponent Alexei Navalny denounced Wednesday during a hearing at one of his many trials, according to a video shared by Russian media.
“It is clear that the criminal war that is currently unfolding is getting worse and bigger, and Putin is trying to involve as many people as possible in it”deplored Mr. Navalny, using a formula banned by the Kremlin which calls its assault in Ukraine “special military operation”.
According to him, the Russian president, by involving 300,000 reservists to reinforce the troops in Moscow, wants “smear with blood [les mains] hundreds of thousands of people”. “Everything is done so that one man retains his power (…) and prolong it”deplored the main opponent of the Kremlin, imprisoned since January 2021 for cases which he considers trumped up.
“War has entered every home”
The Russian movement Vesna, which speaks openly against the war in Ukraine despite the risk of imprisonment, called on Russians to demonstrate this Wednesday against the mobilization of 300,000 reservists announced by Vladimir Putin.
“It means that thousands of Russian men – our fathers, our brothers and our husbands – are going to be thrown into the meat grinder of war”commented the group of activists calling for demonstrations in the streets of major cities. “Now the war has entered every home and every family. »
The EU has already adopted six sets of economic sanctions against Russia, but tensions have arisen between member states, and Hungary has expressed its opposition to new European measures. Unanimity is required for EU sanctions.
“The occupied territories are part of Ukraine, which has every right to restore its authority there and the EU is ready to continue its support in the military field”added Peter Stano.
EU states must decide on the allocation of new funding for the continuation of their military assistance to Ukraine. They have already released 2.5 billion euros from the European Peace Facility, a fund managed intergovernmentally outside the common budget, and the new tranche under discussion should be 500 million, according to information obtained by the Agency. France-Presse. Peter Stano has not confirmed this amount.
EU leaders are meeting for an informal summit on October 6-7 in Prague. A meeting of foreign ministers will follow on October 17 and a meeting of defense ministers from the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are scheduled for October 13 and 14 in Brussels.