Early Wednesday morning AlertsUSA subscribers were notified of an announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin of the mobilization of at least 300,000 additional troops for the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, as well as his threat to use nuclear weapons if Russia is attacked.

Speaking in a rare, televised address, Putin promised to ensure the security of upcoming “referendums” in four occupied Ukrainian territories in the southeast of the country and declared Russia would conduct a “partial mobilization” of the armed forces, beginning immediately.

The Russian leader accused the United States and its allies of efforts “to weaken, divide and ultimately destroy Russia" and said that high-ranking officials from NATO states had made statements about the possibility of “using nuclear weapons of mass destruction against Russia,” though he did not elaborate.

Ultimately Putin justified his war in Ukraine as “necessary and the only option” and plans to liberate the entirety of Ukraine’s Donbas region. He noted Russian-installed authorities in the occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions had already announced plans for public referendums on joining Russia, which were set to be held this weekend.

This was followed by a warning:

“Our country also has various means of destruction and in some components more modern than those of the NATO countries. If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people."

Also on Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Russian television that the country will call up 300,000 reservists. “These are not some people who have never heard of the army,” Shoigu said. “These are those who have served, have a military registration specialty, have had military experience.”

The general thinking among western analysts is once the results of the referendums are in, which will magically all be in favor of annexation, that the threat of retaliation would then extend to attacks on the four newly acquired oblasts, and thus deter further Ukrainian advances.

On Thursday, adding even more clarity to Russia's threat, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council Dimitry Medvedev stated that any weapons in Moscow's arsenal, including strategic nuclear weapons, could be used to defend territories incorporated in Russia from Ukraine.

Related Resource

Russia’s Nuclear Weapons: Doctrine, Forces, and Modernization
Congressional Research Service, 4/2022, PDF

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AlertsUSA continues to monitor the domestic and international threat environment around the clock and will immediately notify service subscribers, via SMS messages to their mobile devices, of new alerts, warnings and advisories or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens as events warrant.

Ukrainian forces continue with their impressive counteroffensive that has reclaimed approximately 3,700 square miles of Russian-occupied territory. Ukrainian forces, with help of Western nations, have effectively blended combined arms operations, innovation, intelligence collection, and denial and deception tactics with devastating results.

Russia continues to struggle with poor command structure (such as no NCOs), supply disruption, low morale, and ultimately, weak battlefield performance. The approach of winter must be of significant concern to every poorly trained and equipped Russian soldier on the ground.

According UK Ministry of Defense:

On 21 and 22 September 2022, Russia struck the Pechenihy dam on the Siverskyy Donets River using short range ballistic missiles or similar weapons. This follows a strike on the Karachunivske Dam near Krivyy Rih in central Ukraine on 15 September 2022.

Ukrainian forces are advancing further downstream along both rivers. As Russian commanders become increasingly concerned about their operational set-backs, they are probably attempting to strike the sluice gates of dams, in order to flood Ukrainian military crossing points.

The attacks are unlikely to have caused significant disruption to Ukrainian operations due to the distance between the damaged dams and the combat zones.

Iran Acquires 2.5 Million Acres of Venezuela

The land grant will ostensibly be used to grow staple crops... allowing water-starved Iran to better feed its population... Iran's current use of Venezuela, however... combined with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), raise the possibility that Iran and its surrogate terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, might be using the vast acreage for military and terrorist operations.

~ READ MORE HERE (Gatestone Institute) ~

Defeat China’s Navy, Defeat China’s War Plan

Recent wargames, like their predecessors, demonstrate the United States needs a better plan for defeating an attack on Taiwan. This means forces and concepts that match U.S. competitive advantages against China’s weaknesses while minimizing the number of forces U.S. commanders will have to position within range of China’s firepower.

Fortunately, a better matchup exists, one that focuses the U.S. bomber force against China’s navy and other maritime assets. China cannot take Taiwan, the Senkakus, or other territories in the region if its maritime power is destroyed.

~ READ MORE HERE (War on the Rocks) ~

Five Myths About China - And Why They Will Get Us Killed

The America of 1973 couldn’t beat the Soviet Union. But America turned itself into a different country by 1982. To meet the Chinese challenge, we must reinvent ourselves again. Unless we think in trillions, not billions, we are wasting our time.

~ READ MORE HERE (American Mind) ~

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of Sept 19, 2022 based on U.S. Navy, public data provided by the U.S. Naval Institute, and open source reporting. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.

AMERICAS

Scientists at America’s top nuclear lab were recruited by China
Air Force Academy blasted for holding woke 'diversity and inclusion' summit
Air Force Academy tells cadets to use woke labels, drop 'mom and dad'
US ends reports on military costs, arms transfers
CIA's first podcast disses Russia as a 'declining' power
With fresh firepower, brutal bank thieves blitz small-town Brazil
Sask. stabbing suspect who died in custody had no signs of trauma
U.S.-China tensions fuels return of Chinese scientists from U.S. universities
America's Christian majority could end by 2070
Fat Leonard: Fugitive U.S. defense contractor arrested in Venezuela
TX Gov issues EO declaring Mexican drug cartels as terrorist orgs

EUROPE

Putin announces partial mobilization in Ukraine war escalation
West condemns Russian plans for 'sham' Ukraine vote
KI pills handed out in Poland over Putin's nuclear threats
Russians scrambling for flights out of country after mobilizaation begins
Russian police arrested more than 1,300 people at protests
Long lines of vehicles at a border crossing between Russia and Georgia
Russians flee to Mongolia to escape Putin’s call up
Germany signals willingness to take in Russians fleeing conscription
Estonian PM tells nation to prepare for blackouts if Russia flips switch
Estonia grid connected to Europe 'in 12 hours' in event of Russia blackout
Russians living in Estonia to have guns forcibly confiscated by the gov
Putin ally's son refused to fight in Ukraine, prank callers say
Team Putin begs rich Russians to help save his failing war
Where are flights leaving Russia going?

MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Pro-government rallies held in Iran amid mass protests
Israel to supply air defence system to the UAE
Mali: Hundreds march against UN peacekeepers
Niger warns that Islamic State will likely take control of Ménaka, Mali
The UAE can now enforce UK court rulings, altering Dubai's 'safe haven' status
Former UK ambassador to Yemen warns of more ISIS jailbreak attempts
ECOWAS leaders to slap gradual sanctions on Guinea's junta
Algeria expels over 650 migrants to Northern Niger
Saudi mediation leads to successful prisoner swap between Russia, Ukraine
Iranians see widespread internet blackout amid mass protests
Iranian suicide drones becoming a ‘big headache’ for Ukraine
Ukraine asks Israel to share intel on Iranian support to Russian military
Iran's Raisi says he cannot trust Americans, calls sanctions "tyrannical"
U.S. calls Iranian demand to end nuclear probes 'unreasonable'
Nigeria is experiencing the worst flooding in decades

ASIA

N. Korean nuclear test possible during Harris' visit to Japan, S. Korea
DPRK: Possible preparations for new ballistic missile submarine launch
China’s military told to ‘resolutely do what the party asks it to do’
Former adviser sees influence by Xi Jinping in Putin's recent decisions
USS Ronald Reagan carrier arrives in South Korea for military drills
Blinken and Chinese FM have 'direct and honest exchange' on Taiwan
US warns China over Russia’s war in Ukraine
China brings cash to former Soviet republics in bid to win favour
Nuclear war fears skyrocket as DPRK to launch new missile submarine
Possible preparations for new DPRK submarine launch
USS Ronald Reagan arrives in S. Korea in apparent warning to N. Korea
U.S. stands by earlier intel on Russian request for N. Korean ammo
S. Korean president overheard insulting U.S. Congress as ‘idiots’