NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia’s first mobilization since World War Two would escalate the conflict and cost more lives. Putin announced he would call up 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine and backed a plan to annex parts of the country. Putin’s speech followed mounting casualties and battlefield setbacks for Russian forces, who have been driven from areas they had captured in northeast Ukraine in a Ukrainian counter-offensive this month. NATO was prepared for a “long haul” in dealing with Putin, it was in close dialogue with the defense industry to build back its stocks of materiel.Read Long Article
