Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to mobilize between 300,000 and 500,000 people, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, citing Ukrainian intelligence.
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Zelensky said the Kremlin could begin expanding mobilization in late September or early October as Russia seeks additional manpower to continue its war against Ukraine.
“Putin is not ready to stop this war. Our intelligence reports that he is preparing for mobilization.”
Russia is scheduled to hold elections to the State Duma on Sept. 21. Zelensky said Putin was delaying the mobilization drive until after the vote and would likely avoid announcing it as an open, nationwide campaign because of concerns about public opposition.
“He wants to strengthen mobilization, not openly, because he is afraid of his society, but he will do it at the beginning of October,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president said the scale of the potential call-up could reach between 300,000 and 500,000 people.
Zelensky said recruiting such a large number would create internal difficulties for the Kremlin because many Russians oppose another mobilization campaign, even though a significant part of the population continues to support Putin.
The president warned that Russia would not be able to prepare the recruits quickly and could send many of them into combat with little or no training.
“He will throw poorly trained and mostly untrained people onto the battlefield,” Zelensky said. “This will mean heavy losses. But it is his choice whether to do this or not.”
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Zelensky urged Ukraine’s partners to increase economic pressure on Moscow before the Kremlin can launch the reported mobilization drive. He called for stronger sanctions and measures targeting the logistical and financial foundations of Russia’s war.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine will continue its long-range strike campaign against facilities supporting Russian military operations. He said disrupting Russia’s fuel supplies, weapons production and transportation networks could make it more difficult for Moscow to equip and deploy hundreds of thousands of new recruits.
Putin could proceed with the mobilization “if we do not create problems for him with logistics, weapons, gasoline and diesel, and if our partners do not impose total sanctions for his aggression,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky also warned that Russia could receive further personnel and weapons from its foreign partners. He said North Korea was preparing to send an additional 30,000 troops to Russia. Zelensky previously said preparations to receive the soldiers had been underway in Russia’s Voronezh region since June.
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