Putin ups the ante

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly assured Russians his invasion of Ukraine is going just as he planned, even as his forces have failed [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly assured Russians his invasion of Ukraine is going just as he planned, even as his forces have failed to deliver on the ground. That narrative cracked today as he announced he would draft reservists into his war machine with immediate effect. Russia is fighting not only Ukraine but the entire “collective West” that wants to destroy it, Putin said in a speech explaining the decision on national television. He again threatened to use all available means including nuclear weapons to defend territory. “This is not a bluff,” he said. Key reading: - [Putin Mobilizes More Troops, Renews Nuclear Threat Over Ukraine]( - [Russia Moves to Cement Grip on Occupied Ukraine, Ups Stakes]( - [How the UN Became a Bystander to the World’s Biggest Flashpoint]( - [NATO’s Stoltenberg Decries ‘Sham’ Referendums in Ukraine]( - Follow our rolling coverage of the UN General Assembly [here](. - Follow our rolling coverage of the war in Ukraine [here](. Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said 300,000 reservists are being called up. That compares to the approximately 180,000 troops the US estimated Russia gathered for its invasion in February, a tacit admission the war is going badly after Ukrainian forces unleashed a counteroffensive in recent weeks that quickly regained areas in the east. The mobilization moves the war closer to home for Russians, something Putin has carefully limited to avoid any potential backlash. While Shoigu stressed that students and others without military experience would be exempted, the rising toll of Russian casualties will be harder to conceal. Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling comes after occupation authorities in four areas of Ukraine announced “referendums” starting as soon as Friday on absorbing the territories into Russia. It’s a repeat of Putin’s annexation playbook in Crimea in 2014. Then, Ukraine’s army was in no shape to resist and the US and Europe restricted their responses to sanctions. Now, Ukraine has around 700,000 troops in action and the West continues to supply it with weapons from tanks and artillery to long-range missiles. Putin still refuses to call his “special military operation” a war. But as Russia’s battlefield losses mount, it’s harder to portray his offensive as a winning one. Ukrainian soldiers ride on infantry fighting vehicles in Novoselivka, on Saturday. Photographer: Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images Click [here]( to sign up for our Equality Newsletter running tomorrow, and if you’re enjoying this newsletter, click [here]( to sign up for Balance of Power. Global Headlines Avoiding collapse | Germany’s unprecedented bailout of natural gas giant Uniper probably won’t be Europe’s last power-sector [rescue]( amid the crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine. The [epicenter]( of the energy woes in Europe’s biggest economy, Uniper’s massive gas contracts with Russia exposed it to the Kremlin’s moves to slash supplies in retaliation for sanctions. - Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he asked the European Union to bring forward changes to state aid rules so France can [support]( companies hit by surging energy prices this winter. - The British government unveiled a multibillion-pound [bailout]( to help companies defray their energy bills. ‘Strategic composure’ | Beijing said it has the [patience]( to someday bring Taiwan under its control, partly because “compatriots” there want it to happen — a view that contrasts with polling showing skeptical views of China in the democratically governed island. The comments by a top official came after US President Joe Biden’s pledge on Sunday to defend Taiwan with military force in the event of an “unprecedented attack” by China. Beijing’s focus on political goals like Covid Zero over economic objectives is making the world’s second-biggest economy [less appealing]( for investment, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said, with the country now seen as “less predictable, less reliable and less efficient.” ‘Declassification’ argument | The third-party “special master” whom former President Donald Trump requested to review documents the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate [pushed back]( yesterday against arguments by his lawyers that they didn’t need to detail any alleged declassification of sensitive records. District Judge Raymond Dearie’s skepticism was in keeping with his reputation for not tolerating nonsense in court. - New York advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who in 2019 sued Trump for defamation after he denied raping her two decades ago, intends to [renew]( a bid to depose him. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Why Putin Can’t Tap Fascism’s Big Strength: Leonid Bershidsky]( - [Truss Faces Four Hurdles to Spur Growth in UK: Mohamed El-Eria]( - [Latin America’s Incoming ‘Pink Tide’ Suffers From Rosy Nostalgia]( Climate warning | Pakistan’s worst-ever floods, record heat in China, and never-seen-before wildfires in Europe mean 2022 will go down as a year when climate change took on [biblical proportions](, said former US Vice President Al Gore. Still, he noted grounds for optimism, such as the acceleration of policies to support renewable energy in response to the conflict in Ukraine, and the passage of the US Inflation Reduction Act. - Biden will miss a UN meeting on climate action today, [stoking concern]( that other Group of Seven leaders will skip the session meant to pave the way for international negotiations on global warming later this year. A woman carries a bundle of fodder in a flooded area in Sindh province, Pakistan, on Sept. 10. Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg Explainers you can use - [Why Ukraine’s Donbas Region Matters to Putin]( - [The Conflict Testing Ethiopia’s Nobel-Winning Leader]( - [Investors Push UK’s Truss to Maintain Course on Net-Zero Goal]( Covid alert | China has built a massive Covid-19 [isolation center]( over a vast expanse in the south, as officials continue to treat the virus as a threat that needs to be stamped out. Drone footage shared on Douyin, TikTok’s twin service in the country, shows scores of what appear to be pre-fabricated structures lined up in a clearing surrounded by forest. Tune in at 8am ET for our weekly Twitter Space with reporters around the world as the UN General Assembly meets this week in New York. If the UN couldn’t stop the numerous clashes that have happened since its formation, most recently Russia’s attack on Ukraine — then what is its purpose? [You can listen via this link](, which will also be available afterward. News to Note - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis [was sued]( for sending plane loads of immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, with the migrants claiming they were promised vouchers for free fast food and given pledges of employment and housing. - South Africa’s government is struggling to find ways to end the most severe [blackouts]( in the country’s history, after a succession of action plans since 2008 failed to resolve its energy crisis. - A House committee investigating the US Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021 is seeking to reclaim some of the [spotlight]( lost to other blockbuster legal developments around Trump with what could be its final hearing next week. - The southern African nation of Mozambique is [at risk]( of more financial restrictions by being added to the global list of countries not doing enough to prevent money laundering and terrorist funding. - Biden plans to meet his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. tomorrow, a source says, as the nations look to [rebuild]( a longstanding alliance undermined in recent years. And finally … As Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva inches closer to pulling off a stunning political comeback in Brazil — polls have him in front of the nationalist incumbent Jair Bolsonaro before the first-round vote on Oct. 2 — investors [are split]( between locals who loathe him and foreigners who welcome his return. [Felipe Marques]( and [Vinicius Andrade]( unpack the curious dichotomy. Lula delivers a speech in Sao Paulo on Sept. 14. Photographer: Miguel Schincariol/AFP/Getty Images Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022