Video of Russian police arresting anti-mobilization protesters in the cities of Yekaterinburg and Tomsk has surfaced just a short period of time after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilization for all Russian reserve components.

At least 1,252 protesters were detained in Russia today as Russian citizens took to the streets in small numbers throughout 38 different cities to show their disapproval of the “partial mobilization” policy announced by President Vladimir V. Putin on Wednesday morning. The mobilization order, which will put at least 300,000 Russians into service, was part of a speech given by Mr. Putin in which he also made veiled threats about the use of Nuclear Weapons as a direct response to Western support of Ukraine.

The address by Mr. Putin, which was video-taped prior to it's release to Russian state media outlets, stopped short of calling it a full national draft, and instead chose to call it a "partial mobilization." He outlined the mobilization as only impacting former service members who are still fit for duty, reserve troops that are currently still under contract with the Russian military, and anyone with specific military specializations that could assist in the completion of Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Mr. Putin also accused both the United States and Europe of engaging in "nuclear blackmail" against Russia, while reasserting that Russia also has a sizeable arsenal of similar equipment at the ready. “To those who allow themselves such statements about Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and some components are more modern than those of the NATO countries,” he said in the video where he also claimed that territory currently controlled by Russia may be annexed into the nation of Russia as soon as next week.

Should that annexation happen, Pro-Kremlin analysts have stated that any further movements by Ukrainian troops into annexed territory could be considered as an attack against Russia itself. While Putin himself did not make that claim, he warned that he was in fact ready to use all of the weapons in Russia’s arsenal to protect what they consider to be Russian territory. “If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people,” he said. “This is not a bluff.”