President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to mobilize 400,000 additional troops, despite mounting monthly losses, in an interview published Tuesday, March 3.
Speaking to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Zelensky said Russia is losing up to 35,000 soldiers per month.
“It is a gigantic number,” Zelensky said, adding that “now Putin is about to mobilize 400,000 new soldiers.”
However, he argued that Russia’s army “has stopped growing,” as losses are roughly equal to the number of new recruits.
“They are immobilized, close to crisis,” Zelensky said. “Serious negotiations will begin when his army starts to shrink.”
Responding to a question about Russia’s larger population and continued attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Zelensky said Ukraine is seeking both diplomatic and military resilience.
“We seek dialogue, we want peace. In parallel, however, we try to be strong. We produce technical resources and more drones that compensate for the shortage of soldiers,” he said.
He added that Ukraine is diversifying its methods of warfare to offset demographic challenges and manpower constraints.
“We are not losing, and Russia is not satisfied,” Zelensky said.