Soldiers’ Widows of Russia group calls on President Putin to adopt “tough measures” as anger mounts over 89 troops killed by Ukraine strike.
A patriotic group
which supports the widows of Russian soldiers has called on
President Vladimir Putin to order a large-scale mobilisation of
millions of men and to close the borders to ensure victory in
Ukraine.
The call came as mourners voiced grief and anger on Tuesday at a rare public commemoration in Russia for 89 soldiers killed by a Ukrainian strike on New Year’s Eve in Makiivka, a town in the eastern region of Donetsk partially held by separatists since 2014.
Moscow late on Tuesday revised the death toll from the initial 63 to 89.
“We ask our President, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, to
allow the Russian Army to carry out a large-scale mobilisation,”
the Soldiers’ Widows of Russia group said in a post on Telegram.
“We ask our President, our Supreme Commander-in-Chief, to
prohibit the departure of men of military age from Russia. And
we have a full moral right to do this: our husbands died
protecting these men, but who will protect us if they run away?”
After ordering what he cast as a “partial mobilisation” on
September 21, Russia’s first since World War Two, around 300,000
additional men were drafted, though several hundred thousand
more Russian men fled abroad to avoid being called up.
Putin said last
month that there was no need for additional mobilisation.
A representative of the widows’ group told the Reuters news agency that all
fit Russian men should be mobilised to defend the Motherland.
“The coming war will require completely different resources:
human, psychological, economic,” she told Reuters.
“Protecting
the Motherland is a duty.”
READ MORE: Live blog: Use of cellphones by Russian troops ‘main reason’ for 89 losses
READ MORE: Russian FM: West directly involved in Ukraine conflict
There are hundreds of groups just like the “Soldiers’ Widows of Russia.” They pop into existence, bombard their users with posts, hope something goes viral, then disappear. It’s (probably) fake, but it gives grieving – angry – Russians a place to gather their thoughts & feelings.
— Dr. Ian Garner (@irgarner) January 3, 2023
‘Now is not the time to be cowardly’
Putin has for months been casting the conflict as part of a much
wider historical struggle between Russia and the West, which the
Kremlin chief says wants to carve up and destroy Russia.
Western powers deny they aim to destroy Russia.
In a grim New Year’s Eve message, Putin said that defending
the motherland was the sacred duty of all Russians and promised
victory in Ukraine.
Ukraine and the West say Putin has no justification for what
they cast as an imperial-style war of occupation.
The widows group began work about two months ago to assist
the wives of soldiers killed in Ukraine and has contacts with
the Kremlin administration, its representative said.
“We are in constant contact with the presidential
administration, and if necessary, we transmit requests to it in
order to receive this or that support,” the representative said.
Invoking Soviet leader Josef Stalin, the group said that now
was the time for tough measures to defend against the evil
forces coalescing around Russia’s borders.
“Today, all the world’s evil has united against Russia — the
entire Western world has turned against us,” the group said.
“It’s either us or them, there is no other choice.”
Stalin, in 1942 issued Order No. 227, which became known as
the “Not a step back” order.
It was an attempt to establish
discipline within the Red Army though thousands of Soviet troops
were shot by their own side for alleged cowardice.
Stalin “did not think about ratings or dissatisfaction among dissidents: he thought only of victory,” the group said. “Now is not the time to be cowardly.”
READ MORE:
Can Putin’s ‘partial mobilisation’ achieve Russian objectives in Ukraine?
Source: Reuters
Widows of troops urge Putin to order ‘large-scale mobilisation’ for Ukraine
Source: News Achor Trending
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