Ukraine reaches war footing, asks citizens to leave Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was ready for talks but praised the readiness of Russia’s armed forces, which he said had been modernized and intensified by the exercises.

“Weapons that have no equal in the world are now on combat duty,” he said in a televised address to mark Russia’s Veterans Day on Wednesday. “The safety of our citizens is unconditional to us.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has banned mobilization of troops and other emergency measures, fearing further damage to Ukraine’s battered economy. But in a televised address in Kiev on Tuesday, he said Russian threats to Ukraine’s sovereignty forced him to recall contract military personnel to active duty and mobilize members of the newly created regional defense brigade for exercises. He said Ukraine would not conduct general mobilization of citizens, urging them to continue normal life.

“We are sure of ourselves, we are sure of our country, we are sure of our victory. We are here to overcome, not to cry,” he said. Mr. Zelensky’s national security adviser, Oleksiy Danilov, said the reservists’ call-up would initially include 36,000 service members with combat experience. The country’s permanent military strength is approximately 200,000 uniformed soldiers.

“I expect there won’t be a huge escalation. I hope our forces will be enough to hold Russia in the eastern part of the country,” said Oleksiy Radzievsky, a 39-year-old reservist who normally drives an Uber and is a farmer. Studies for a degree, and is now waiting to be called for his tank unit. “Of course, my wife is not happy with it, but what can we do? This is our land, this is our home.”

Russia has deployed some 190,000 troops to Ukraine’s borders. Mr Putin earlier this week recognized two Russian-controlled statelets in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions across borders, which include major Ukrainian-held cities such as Mariupol. The Russian parliament voted unanimously to allow him to send Russian troops into the country after Mr Putin’s speech questioned Mr Putin’s right to exist as a sovereign nation.

Russian state television has followed his speech with suggestions that Russia may soon annex Ukraine, closing sections folded by Soviet and Tsarist rulers into a cauldron state. Only a small part of Ukraine—including Kiev—was historically marked as Ukrainian.