'Not sure he's in control...': UK minister on Putin's 'we have weapons' warning
Russia-Ukraine war: Vladimir Putin, in a televised address to the nation, said he had 'lots of weapons to reply' to the West's ‘threats’.
Russian president Vladimir Putin's speech Wednesday - in which he announced partial military mobilisation to prolong the war in Ukraine, accused the West of nuclear blackmail, and spoke of 'lots of weapons' to counter 'threats' to Russia - must be taken seriously, British foreign minister Gillian Keegan said.
"Clearly it's something we should take very seriously... we're not in control - I'm not sure he's in control either, really. This is obviously an escalation," she said.
Ukraine's response was more scathing, calling the partial military mobilisation 'predictable' and an indication of Moscow's failing war effort.
Minutes earlier Putin said Russia would use 'all available means' to protect its territory and accused the West of looking to 'destroy' the country.
READ | Putin announces partial mobilisation in Russia, warns 'have weapons…'
"When the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people. This is not a bluff," Putin - whose dreams of a quick victory in Ukraine have long disappeared - said, claiming also that the West wanted to "weaken (and) divide' Russia.
Putin also referred to 'statements (by) some high-ranking representatives of leading NATO states about the possibility of using nuclear weapons of mass destruction against Russia' and called it 'nuclear blackmail'.
READ | Russia minister on mobilisation, a rare admission of Moscow's losses
"To those who allow themselves such statements regarding Russia, I want to remind you our country also has various means of destruction," he said.
On partial military mobilisation the Russian leader said it would only apply to "citizens currently in the reserves… and those who served in the armed forces (and) have certain military, specialty and relevant experience…"
Putin's declarations on 'nuclear blackmail' and military mobilisation come as the war in Ukraine rumbles towards an eighth month and shows no sign of ending; indeed, Moscow appears to be losing ground on the battlefield.
The address comes a day after Moscow-held regions in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine announced plans to hold referendums on joining Russia.
Russia already considers Luhansk and Donetsk - the Donbas region Moscow partially occupied in 2014 - to be independent states.
Ukraine and the West consider all parts held by Russia to be illegally occupied.
With input from AP, Reuters
