Saturday 19 November 2022 11:47 AM Putin 'will announce massive new mobilisation and martial law' in desperate move trends now

Saturday 19 November 2022 11:47 AM Putin 'will announce massive new mobilisation and martial law' in desperate move trends now
Saturday 19 November 2022 11:47 AM Putin 'will announce massive new mobilisation and martial law' in desperate move trends now

Saturday 19 November 2022 11:47 AM Putin 'will announce massive new mobilisation and martial law' in desperate move trends now

A desperate Vladimir Putin will seek to massively boost mobilisation by sending more troops to fight in Ukraine, and impose martial law in many Russian cities, it was forecast today.

Yet the draconian moves could trigger a coup from within the elite even before his 'poor health' incapacitates him, says one expert.

And he is now using body doubles who are so like him, it is impossible to tell the difference, it is claimed.

The 70-year-old Kremlin leader - who is believed to be suffering from cancer and possibly other ailments - is actively discussing a new forced enlistment to swell yet further the size of the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.

Putin's new scheme comes as Russian troops were forced to pull back from the strategic stronghold of Kherson last week as Ukrainian forces reentered to liberate the city.

Vladimir Putin is set to massively boost mobilisation by sending more troops to fight in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin is set to massively boost mobilisation by sending more troops to fight in Ukraine

Putin has already drafted 360,000 on top of his one million strong regular army. The leader is pictured in 2019

Putin has already drafted 360,000 on top of his one million strong regular army. The leader is pictured in 2019

Putin's new scheme comes as Russian troops were forced to pull back from the strategic stronghold of Kherson last week. He is pictured at a Russian security council meeting on November 18

Putin's new scheme comes as Russian troops were forced to pull back from the strategic stronghold of Kherson last week. He is pictured at a Russian security council meeting on November 18

The Russian president has already drafted 360,000 on top of his one million strong regular army, yet the results have remained poor.

But the New Year is likely to see another massive call-up as he raids offices and factories for what critics see as cannon fodder.

One theory is that he will want to persuade Russians they are fighting a 'popular war' to protect their country's existence against a threat from the West.

Putin-watcher Valery Solovey, a former professor at Moscow's prestigious Institute of International Relations [MGIMO], a training school for spies and diplomats, said: 'With a high degree of probability, the second stage of mobilisation will be announced after the New Year celebrations…'

It will be 'more comprehensive than the first.'

Martial law is also set to be imposed more widely than the areas of Ukraine annexed by Putin where it currently applies.

General SVR Telegram channel stated a 'second wave' of mobilisation may be imposed 'simultaneously with the declaration of martial law in Moscow, that is, the second half of January or February.'

While the timing is not agreed, when it happens the borders would be closed to those facing mobilisation 'including women who fall into this category', preventing people fleeing to exile.

Putin thinks that by a mass draft Russians will see it as a popular 'people's war', an idea floated by ex-premier Sergei Kiriyenko, 60, his deputy chief of staff, who is seen as a candidate for the future presidency.

Sergei Kiriyenko (left) is Putin's deputy chief of staff, and is seen as a candidate for the future presidency

Sergei Kiriyenko (left) is Putin's deputy chief of staff, and is seen as a candidate for the future presidency

Solovey said Putin's tactics amid huge war losses can trigger a putsch.

'The main driving force of the coup will not be the opposition, but in the elites,' he said in a YouTube broadcast.

For Putin 'the horizon is getting closer, the term of his legal capacity is very limited.

'He and his entourage know that.

'He himself knows it…and his entourage might speed up this process, although it doesn't make sense to them.

'Still, part of his entourage will start thinking about it as military actions escalate….'

He claimed that Putin's use of body doubles as stand-ins at events is now so common that 'when you watch a video or look at a photo, you don't know whether it's Vladimir Putin or his double.

'I'm not kidding.

'But the double is not necessarily ill with what the Russian president is sick

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