ISW: Putin’s announcement of ‘partial mobilization' reflects many problems Russia faces in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of "partial mobilization” on September 21 reflected many problems Russia faces in its faltering invasion of Ukraine that Moscow is unlikely to be able to resolve in the coming months, the Institute for the Study of War wrote on its website.

"Putin emphatically did not say that the Russian nuclear umbrella would cover annexed areas of Ukraine, nor did he tie mobilization to the annexation. He addressed partial mobilization, annexation referenda in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, and the possibility of nuclear war in his speech—but as separate topics rather than a coherent whole. The fact that he mentioned all three topics in a single speech was clearly meant to suggest a linkage, but he went out of his way to avoid making any such linkage explicit.

"Putin framed his comments about the possibility of Russian nuclear weapons use in the context of supposed Western threats to use nuclear weapons against Russia. The formal Kremlin position has long been that NATO was pushing Ukraine to war with Russia, that NATO was preparing to give Ukraine nuclear weapons, and that NATO forces were taking up or preparing to take up positions in Ukraine. Putin’s and Shoigu’s repetitions of that line do not reflect an escalation in their rhetoric,” the Institute said.

According to the ISW, Russian forces conducted airstrikes against infrastructure facilities in Bakhmut, indicating that the Ukrainian troops still hold fortified positions in the city: "Russian forces did not conduct any ground assaults in western Zaporizhia Oblast. Official Ukrainian sources reported that Russian forces struck unspecified infrastructure facilities in Zaporizhzhia City. Russian and Ukrainian sources reported explosions in the Black Sea near Sevastopol, Crimea on September 21.”

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