In an unpopular response to the retreat of Russian forces in the Ukraine war, President Vladimir Putin ordered the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists. Putin’s order essentially doubled down on a warfighting strategy characterized by high levels of attrition and widespread damage to Ukrainian forces and infrastructure. Russian strikes, actions, and retaliations have caused over $108 billion in damage to Ukrainian infrastructure and left 3.4 million people homeless. Shortly after issuing the mobilization order, Putin signed four treaties to annex Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine following sham referendums orchestrated at gunpoint to join Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that “any attack by Ukraine on the territories incorporated into the Russian Federation would be viewed as an attack on Russia.” In a televised speech, Putin also hinted at his willingness to use nuclear weapons: “We will protect our lands with every means we have at our disposal.” He noted that the United States was the only nation to use nuclear weapons and claimed that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki “set a precedent.”
This seems a tad optimistic, granted never discount an enemy.
