Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilisation of the country’s military on Wednesday, as the war in Ukraine has been drawn out into its seventh month. 

Putin’s address to the nation comes a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes on becoming integral parts of Russia. The Kremlin-backed efforts to swallow up four regions could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war following Ukrainian successes on the battlefield.

Also Read | US President Joe Biden’s UN speech will target Russia, White House says

The referendums, which have been expected to take since the first months of the war, will start Friday in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.

Putin said he has signed a decree on the partial mobilization, which is due to start on Wednesday.

“We are talking about partial mobilization, that is, only citizens who are currently in the reserve will be subject to conscription, and above all, those who served in the armed forces have a certain military specialty and relevant experience,” Putin stressed.

During his address, Putin stressed that Ukraine would see nuclear retaliation should its armies try to reclaim the Russia-controlled territories that recently announced referendums to become a part of Russia. 

Also Read | Russia’s Vladimir Putin announces ‘partial mobilisation’: What it means

Shortly after Putin’s address, the country’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu said that 300,000 reservists would be called up to fight in the war. He went on to say that only those with relevant combat and service experience would be mobilised. Additionally, the decree contained another clause which states that professional soldiers can no longer terminate their contracts and leave the service until the partial mobilisation order is declared over. 

Thus far, Putin had resisted calls from nationalists and pro-military interventionists for a general mobilisation decree ever since he launched the invasion into Ukraine on February 24 earlier this year.