British ambassador on Putin’s address: “He still refuses to understand Ukraine”

The partial mobilization announcement, made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, September 21, testifies to his failure to understand Ukraine and his own essential weakness.

That’s according to Melinda Simmons, Britain’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

“Watched Putin’s speech. He still refuses to understand Ukraine. Partial mobilisation and sham referenda don’t change that essential weakness,” Ambassador Simmons tweeted.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Vyacheslav Volodin, the head of Russia’s legislature, the State Duma, spoke in favor of Russia accepting the temporarily captured territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. Russian mass media report that the occupying administrations decided to hold in the temporarily captured territories of Kherson and Zaporizhia regions "referenda on accession to Russia."

Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 21 signed a decree on partial mobilization in Russia.