"This is not a bluff": Vladimir Putin announces 'partial mobilisation' in Ukraine invasion and accuses the West of engaging in 'nuclear blackmail'

Vladimir Putin has warned Russia will 'use all means we have' to protect its territory, accusing the West of 'nuclear blackmail' and saying: "This is not a bluff."

The Russian President today announced a 'partial mobilisation' in Russia as the war in Ukraine approaches the seven-month mark - a move said to mean that as many as 300,000 reservists and people with past military experience are expected to be called up.

He also accused the West of engaging in 'nuclear blackmail' and noted 'statements of some high-ranking representatives of the leading Nato states about the possibility of using nuclear weapons of mass destruction against Russia'.

Putin added: "To those who allow themselves such statements regarding Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for separate components and more modern than those of Nato countries, and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal."

Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, later said 300,000 reservists will be mobilised. His address to the nation comes a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes on becoming integral parts of Russia.

The Kremlin-backed efforts to swallow up four regions could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war following recent Ukrainian successes on the battlefield. The referendums will start on Friday in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk areas.

Mr Putin said he has signed a decree on the partial mobilisation, which is due to start on Wednesday.

He said: "We are talking about partial mobilisation, that is, only