Russia's referendums Referendums expected to be held since the first months of the war will start on Friday, September 23 in the far eastern regions of Luhansk, Kherson, and the partially Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.

Map of Ukraine and regions 

Earlier Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected Russia's plans to hold a referendum in occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine and thanked Ukraine's allies for denouncing the vote, which was scheduled to begin on Friday.

The four Russian-controlled regions announced on Tuesday their plans to begin voting this week to become an integral part of Russia, which could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war after Ukraine's successes on the battlefield.

What will he do?  Former President Dmitry Medvedev, vice-president of the Russian Security Council, chaired by Putin, said referendums that included the regions in Russia would make the redrawn borders "irreversible" and ensure Moscow would use "every means" to defend them.

Zelenskyy emphasized that there are many questions about the announcements, but they will not change Ukraine's commitment to retake the territories occupied by Russian forces.

Following Zelenskyy's statement, this means that Ukraine is compelled to "occupy" the said areas. This will lead to full-scale retaliation on the Russian side, as they say, using every possible means to defend.

In addition, Putin said that he signed a decree on partial mobilization, which will begin on Wednesday. "We are talking about partial mobilization, that is, only citizens who are currently in reserve will be subject to conscription, and above all those who serve in the armed forces have a certain military expertise and relevant experience," Putin said. said.

Western reactions and potential reaction  The upcoming votes in Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions are certain to follow Moscow's path. However, these votes were quickly rejected by Western leaders, who supported Kiev with military and other support, helping their forces gain momentum on the battlefields to the east and south.

As noted above, Ukraine will not stop until the complete reorganization of its original territory, including Crimea, which was annexed in 2014. For now, on the battlefield, “The situation at the front clearly shows that the initiative belongs to Ukraine. And in this, Ukraine enjoys the full support of its partners.”

The only problem is that the West is dealing with psychopathic leaders who can actually resort to weapons of mass destruction if they lose ground on "their" soil.

Three days ago, US President Joe Biden urged Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use tactical nuclear or chemical weapons after a series of military losses in Ukraine.

Asked what an American reporter would say to Putin if he thought of using such weapons, Biden replied, "Don't. Don't. Don't. It will change the face of the war, unlike anything since World War II."

Biden said the US response would be "consequential" - but declined to give details.

“[Russia] will become more pariah in the world than ever before,” Biden said. "Depending on the extent of what he's done will determine what reaction he will have." Therefore, if Russia presses the red button, we can expect nuclear bombs to fly on both sides of the world.

The use of Russian missiles and weapons of mass destruction… Putin accused the West of "nuclear blackmail" and drew attention to the statements of some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO states regarding the possibility of using nuclear weapons of mass destruction against Russia:

"I would like to remind those who allow such statements about Russia, that our country also has various methods of destruction, and for components that are more modern and separate than those of NATO countries, and in cases where our country's territorial integrity is threatened, our country's territorial integrity is under threat. We will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people," said Putin.

Under Moscow's doctrine, nuclear weapons can be used after "an attack on Russia or its ally using weapons of mass destruction" or "when the existence of the state is threatened".

Erdogan's statements about Putin and the end of the war  President of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should return all the lands occupied by Russia, including Crimea.

Speaking to PBS NewsHour on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Erdogan said the Black Sea peninsula "should be returned to its rightful owners" and made comments that could spark anger in Moscow.

Erdogan told PBS that during a meeting with Putin in Uzbekistan last week, the Russian president gave him the impression that he was "willing to put an end to this as soon as possible". Erdogan also said that 200 hostages will be exchanged between Ukraine and Russia.

In the interview, Erdogan continued to present Turkey, which is a NATO member in the Russia-Ukraine war, as neutral, and said that "taking sides" would not lead to a conclusion in hostilities. However, he also said that Russia's "invasion cannot be justified".

Conclusion?  After heavy casualties in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine, Putin appears to have taken the military decision to quickly annex the now Russian-occupied territory to justify the use of weapons of mass destruction.

After the Ukrainian counterattack, Putin was widely blamed for the defeat of the region in question. Even state television publicly criticized its military decisions, while justifying the defeat by saying that Russia, meanwhile, was defending itself against an entire western military coalition in Ukraine.

Russia's accusations against the West are untrue and are purely fabricated to perpetuate anti-Western propaganda to motivate Russians to enroll in the army and raise the morale of the army.

The only thing that is true is that Ukraine will not stop its counterattacks until all of Ukraine is returned to its rightful owner. The annexation will sooner or later lead to the "occupation" of its territory by Ukrainian troops, leading to brutal retaliation from Russia.

Russia could use weapons of mass destruction, but it is logically unlikely, as Biden implied that this would result in both sides bombing each other, leading to a third world war and no winners.

Another alternative, which started partially, is the use of total mobilization for the Russian army through conscription. Even if this is a politically negative blow to Putin's popularity, it would give Russia the necessary forces to invade all of Ukraine.

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