Putin’s conscripts won’t win his war but may drag it out

Phased recruitment will be more about rebuilding capability and rotating exhausted combat troops than providing a fresh force capable of throwing Ukraine back on the defensive, analysts say

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons has made the US hesitate about supplying Ukraine with ATACMS rockets and aircraft. Picture: Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/AFP

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s drafting of 300,000 reservists to reinforce his troops in Ukraine is likely to extend the war, but not influence its outcome.

Still, it could buy him time to execute a wider strategy — including exacerbating Europe’s energy crisis and threatening a nuclear strike on unspecified targets — to undermine foreign military and financial support for Kyiv’s war effort.