Review of the reaction of the French media to Putin's appeal and referendums in Eastern Ukraine French journalists were surprised by Putin's statement about partial mobilization in Russia.
Some write that the head of state "spoke harshly." According to others, referendums in Eastern Ukraine are a clear signal to Kiev and the West.
Atlantico: Vladimir Putin is retreating, advancing!The Russian authorities are trying to give legitimacy to their actions.
At the beginning, they said they just wanted to "denazify" Ukraine and would not "occupy" any of its territories forever. But by holding referendums, they are trying to send a signal: the Russian-speaking population no longer wants to be integrated into Ukraine. It wants to live in Russia. But this completely changes the picture from the point of view of international law.
As for the decision to strengthen the army, it is clear that Putin made this decision because of a shortage of soldiers. Russia has a bad week behind it. Russia is winning, but it gets the victory with great difficulty, it suffers significant losses of soldiers and equipment.
Recently, Turkish President Erdogan said that Putin wants peace, but at what price? Ukraine's capitulation is not even visible on the horizon at the moment. Ukrainians are in a strong position, so their leadership is not interested in negotiations. We are at a strategic impasse.
As for China, Xi Jinping will have to report to the next congress of the Communist Party of China. He will certainly say a few words against the United States and its allies, but China's support for Russia will not be direct. China is interested in maintaining economic relations with the United States at the proper level.
Le Parisien: What should be remembered from Putin's speechVladimir Putin delivered an address from Moscow at a time when the UN General Assembly is being held in New York.
He made several announcements, in particular, about supporting referendums that Russia wants to organize quickly in some regions of Ukraine, as well as about mobilizing part of the population to continue what he still calls a "special operation." At a time when the United States does not hide its support for Ukrainian forces with the help of reconnaissance satellites, and Europe is carrying weapons to Ukraine, the military confrontation with NATO is less and less consistent with the term SVO.
One of the long-awaited statements of the President of Russia is the announcement that he signed a decree declaring partial mobilization. Only those citizens who are currently in the reserve, and above all those who have served in the ranks of the armed forces and have a military specialty, will be subject to conscription.
Le Monde: how to understand Putin's speech? Answers to the most frequent questionsContrary to popular claims, Putin did not mention a word about chemical weapons in his address this morning.
He only said, "We will use all the means at our disposal."… So the danger that Putin will unleash a nuclear strike on Ukraine exists only theoretically. And when analyzing the facts, this danger disappears altogether, because now no one is interested in such a blow. After all, in the case of the use of such weapons, radioactive fallout may fall on Russia. In addition, it is very likely that the regimes that now support Moscow and its special operation (China and Belarus first of all) will look at any frivolity with nuclear weapons very askance. So Russia will not be the first to use weapons of mass destruction (WMD). But the very irresponsible talk on this topic, the easy use of nuclear blackmail, these things are very dangerous.
But international law with the holding of the referendums planned by Russia may receive a heavy blow.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: "It is absolutely clear that these fictitious referendums are unacceptable and that they do not fall under the protection of international law... All this is just an attempt at imperialist actions against another country. And they are trying to disguise these actions," the chancellor said, calling on Russia to withdraw its troops.
As for the mobilization, you should not rush to conclusions. The number of 300 thousand people is preliminary. And the Defense Minister explained that the best will be chosen from a reserve of 35 million people. But many in Moscow were impressed by the news of the mobilization as a "cold shower."
Le Figaro: China calls for "truce through dialogue" after Putin's speechChina called for a truce immediately after the announcement of partial mobilization: "We call on all parties involved after the truce to find a solution as soon as possible that would resolve all legitimate concerns about their own security expressed about this conflict," the representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement at a press conference.
And China seems sincere in its desire to "play a constructive role in defusing the current situation."
Here it is worth quoting the main points from Putin's speech. He believes that "in its aggressive anti-Russian policy, the West has crossed all boundaries." From Putin's point of view, they even talked about striking the Crimea and other territories of Russia. "Western countries are pushing Ukraine to be even more aggressive towards Russia," Putin says. Allegedly, the goal of the West is to split Russia, as the Soviet Union was split. Nuclear blackmail was also used. But Russia also has various means of destruction. If Russia's interests are ever threatened, Putin said, "we will use all the means at our disposal."
As we can see, Putin spoke harshly.
However, the reaction of the West is no less harsh. New British Prime Minister Liz Truss said she intends to call on UN members to "stand up for freedom and democracy" in the face of escalation in Ukraine.
"This is a turning point in British history, in the history of this organization and in the history of freedom," she said, according to the press service of the Prime Minister's office in Downing Street, a few hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of Russians to participate in hostilities in Ukraine.
