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Vladimir Putin prepares to escalate the war in Ukraine by sending up to 400,000 additional troops to the battlefield

Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to send up to 400,000 additional soldiers to the battlefield to escalate the war against Ukraine. Sources close to the Kremlin indicate that Putin believes ending the war without capturing all of Donbas could threaten his personal survival, reportedly telling those around him, "They will hang me." To achieve these goals, the administration may delegate recruitment to regional authorities to meet quotas while preventing local anger from spreading. This push for escalation comes as the military has failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough despite years of fighting. While the Kremlin officially dismissed reports of a new mobilization wave as fabrications, Western intelligence services noted that Russia conducted mobilization readiness exercises in the Kaliningrad region. The administration also plans to widen its hybrid campaign against Ukraine's Western allies, potentially targeting European factories that produce military equipment. Despite growing unease among Russia's elite regarding the time wasted during the conflict, Putin's position remains secure as he maintains the resources and repressive apparatus needed to keep fighting.

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