Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Dazhi Image Associated Press/China Government Network (New Head and Shell Synthesis)
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a “partial mobilization order”, which is expected to recruit 300,000 citizens who have served in the military and have certain military expertise and related experience from the 21st. Andrei Illarionov, a former adviser to Putin, said in a recent interview that the decision was influenced by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The Russian-Ukrainian war was at a stalemate, and Putin announced a call for 300,000 reservists. According to a report by Deutsche Welle on the 24th, Illarionov pointed out that the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kharkiv was not the reason for Putin to change his policy. All these decisions were made on Wednesday, September 19-21. Announced within days, on behalf of the Kremlin at least a day or two before the decision, which is September 17 and 18.
Illarionov believes Putin’s previous participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan and his exchanges with Xi may force him to reverse his attitude towards war and change his previous plans for referendums, conscription and nuclear blackmail.
Illarionov said bluntly that he did not rule out the possibility that Xi Jinping suggested Putin to end the war as soon as possible. With the 20th Congress approaching, Russia has joined the war for more than seven months without a victory, embarrassing Xi and making him appear weak in the most important thing in his life.
Illarionov said Putin was set for a protracted war of attrition that could take years if necessary. But the decisions of the past few days signify a fundamental change in his strategy, not a sign of his weakness or failure, but of his reliance on Xi.
Furthermore, when Ilarionov was asked about the possibility of a Russian defeat, he asserted that “Sooner or later Putin will be defeated, it’s just that we don’t know when and at what cost.”