<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists Wednesday to bolster his forces in Ukraine, a deeply unpopular move that sparked rare protests across the country and led to almost 1,200 arrests.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The risky order follows humiliating setbacks for Putin’s troops nearly seven months after they invaded Ukraine. The first such call-up in Russia since World War II heightened tensions with Ukraine’s Western backers, who derided it as an act of weakness and desperation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The move also sent some Russians scrambling to buy plane tickets to flee the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his 14-minute nationally televised address, Putin also warned the West that he isn’t bluffing about using everything at his disposal to protect Russia — an apparent reference to his nuclear arsenal. He has previously rebuked NATO countries for supplying weapons to Ukraine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Confronted with steep battlefield losses, expanding front lines and a conflict that has raged longer than expected, the Kremlin has struggled to replenish its troops in Ukraine, reportedly even resorting to widespread recruitment in prisons.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The total number of reservists to be called up could be as high as 300,000, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, Putin’s decree authorizing the partial mobilization, which took effect immediately, offered few details, raising suspicions that the draft could be broadened at any moment. Notably, one clause was kept secret. Source: AP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>