Russia engaged in war with collective West & NATO rather than Ukraine, avers Sergey Shoigu

After Kremlin head Vladimir Putin issued a fresh warning to the West amid the ongoing war in Eastern Europe, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu has asserted that Russia is at war with the collective West and NATO rather than Ukraine. In his address to the nation on 21 September, Shoigu said that Russia's war with the collective West and NATO implies the military equipment and information processing system sent to Ukraine, Sputnik reported. He stated that Western states and NATO have been supplying "huge" amounts of military equipment to Ukraine. 

"In reality, we are fighting the collective West plus NATO. When we speak about it, we mean not only the weapons being supplied (in Kiev) in huge  batches, but also about systems of communication and information processing systemns," Sergey Shoigu said.

Shoigu accused Ukrainian forces of using Western weapons to strike at civilian infrastructure, including hospitals. According to the Russian Defence Minister, more than 70 military satellites and 200 civilian satellites are working to help Ukraine. He further claimed that around 150 Western military specialists have been deployed in Kyiv and they are leading Ukrainian troops. Speaking about the Ukrainian armed forces' losses in the ongoing conflict, he said that Kyiv has lost over 1,00,000 soldiers, which includes 61,207 deaths, as per the Sputnik report. On Russia's plans of partial mobilization, Shoigu said that the decision is necessary to hold a "1000-kilometre wide line of control and the liberated regions." 

Shoigu explains partial mobilization plan

He explained that only 1% out of Russia's 25 million military reserves will be involved in partial mobilization, adding that the reserve servicemen who have experience in military and combat will be mobilized. The students of Russia will not be involved in partial mobilization, he clarified. According to Russia, its armed forces have full control over Luhansk and partially control Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and were advancing in Donetsk.

West aims to 'weaken, divide & destroy Russia': Putin

On September 21, Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia, a day after Moscow-occupied regions in Ukraine announced their plans to hold a referendum on joining Russia. In his address to the nation, the Russian President stated that he has signed a decree on the partial mobilization in Russia and the mobilization will start on 21 September. The Kremlin leader stressed that the decision was "fully adequate to the threats" faced by Russia and to protect their territory and to ensure the security of people in Russia and liberated regions. 

Putin accused West of launching a "nuclear war" against Russia. Issuing a stern warning to West, Putin said that Russia will use "all the means" to protect its territory and asserted that "it's not a bluff." He accused West of aiming to "weaken, divide and eventually destroy" Russia. Putin said, "In its aggressive anti-Russian policy, the West has crossed every line." He further said, "I emphasize this again, with all the means at our disposal. And those who are trying to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the wind rose can also turn in their direction."

"The purpose of this West is to weaken, divide and ultimately destroy our country. They are already directly saying that in 1991 they were able to split the Soviet Union, and now the time has come for Russia itself, that it should break up into many mortally hostile regions and regions," Putin said. 

Image: AP