Putin asked by Soldiers’ Widows Group to mobilise for major war in Ukraine
Guy Faulconbridge
MOSCOW, (Reuters) – A tiny patriotic group supporting the widows Russian soldiers calls on President Vladimir Putin for a massive mobilisation of millions and closing the borders to ensure victory over Ukraine.
Putin, Russia’s 70 year-old supreme leader, is being pressured to win victory in Ukraine. This comes more than 10 years after he sent troops to eastern Ukraine as part of an operation that he claims was meant to protect Russians.
“We request our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin that the Russian Army conduct a large scale mobilisation,” the Soldiers’ Widows of Russia group stated in a Telegram post.
“We ask our President to interdict the departure from Russia of men of military age. This is a morally right thing. Our husbands died to protect these men. But who will help us if they flee?
Following what he described as a “partial mobilisation”, Russia’s first since World War Two on Sept. 21, around 300,000. However, hundreds of thousands more Russians fled to Europe to avoid being called up.
The Kremlin didn’t immediately respond to a request by the widows group for comment about the appeal. Putin declared last month that no additional mobilization was necessary.
A representative from the widows’ group stated to Reuters that all Russian men should be mobilized to defend the Motherland.
She told Reuters that the coming war would require totally different resources: economic, psychological, and human. Protecting the Motherland is a responsibility.
GEOPOLITICAL SHOWDOWN
Putin has long been describing the war as part a wider historical struggle between Russia’s West and Russia. This is what the Kremlin chief wants to do, he said.
Western powers deny that they seek to destroy Russia.
Putin promised victory in Ukraine and stated that defending the Motherland is the sacred duty of all Russians.
The West and Ukraine both claim that Putin is not justified in waging an imperial-style occupation war.
According to its representative, the widows group was established in order to help the wives of the soldiers who were killed in Ukraine two months ago.
“We are in constant communication with the presidential administration and, if required, we transmit requests it in order for it to receive this support,” said the representative.
The group invoked Josef Stalin, the Soviet leader, to say that it was time to take tough measures against the evil forces that were gathering around Russia’s borders.
“Today all the evils of the world have united against Russia – The entire West has turned against Us,” said the group. “It’s either them or us, there’s no other choice.”
Stalin issued Order No. 227 in 1942. The “Not a Step Back” order 227 was issued by Stalin in 1942. Although it was intended to enforce discipline in the Red Army, thousands of Soviet troops were killed for their alleged cowardice.
According to the group, Stalin “didn’t think about ratings and dissatisfaction among dissidents: He thought only of victory.” “Now is not a time to be cowardly.”
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne