Zelenskiy warns Russia plans to conscript 300,000 additional soldiers
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Russia intends to draft another 300,000 troops ahead of its September parliamentary elections.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Russia is planning to enlist an extra 300,000 personnel, moving toward a total target of 500,000 troops. He described the effort as a "peripheral mobilisation" likely to draw recruits from distant parts of the country rather than its central urban areas. The draft is slated to occur after Russia's parliamentary elections scheduled for mid-September.
Zelenskiy said Russian forces are advancing in the industrial Donbas region at a high cost, especially around the contested city of Kostiantynivka, while Ukraine claims to have made gains in the southeast. He also warned that Russia is boosting missile output, aiming for up to 1,300 ballistic missiles annually, and increasing air raids on Ukrainian cities amid a shortage of Patriot interceptors. Kyiv has appealed for additional air-defence systems, securing a SAMP/T from France and a pledge of PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors from Germany.
Why it matters
A massive Russian draft could intensify the Ukraine war and affect regional security.
How this story developed
- Aug 14 Russia claims strikes on Ukrainian rail hub and vessels as drones hit Russian ports
- Aug 17 Ukrainian energy facilities were hit repeatedly, sustaining serious damage.
- Aug 18 Russian missiles struck a sports centre in Kyiv, killing a border officer and injuring over 100 people.
- Aug 19 President Zelenskyy appointed Yevhenii Khmara as acting defence minister after Fedorov’s removal.
- Aug 20 Russian ballistic missiles hit Kyiv early Thursday, killing at least three people and wounding around 20, while also causing power outages.
- Aug 20 Parliament approved Yevhenii Khmara as defence minister.
- Aug 20 Parliament approved Yevhenii Khmara as defence minister and protests over Fedorov’s election call dwindled to a few dozen participants.
- Aug 21 Two people were killed and 15 injured when a Russian strike hit a crowded shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih, officials said.
- Aug 21 New reports indicate the death toll in Kyiv may be as high as fifteen and note Ukraine’s shortage of Patriot interceptors.
- Aug 21 Ukraine reported shooting down or suppressing 107 of 135 Russian drones launched overnight.
- Aug 22 Death toll increased to 16 and injuries exceeded 130, with five children among those in serious condition.
- Aug 22 Ukraine struck the Progress Rocket and Space Center in Samara with a missile.
- Aug 22 Reports indicate nine people remain missing after the mall strike.
- Aug 23 Zelensky publicly reiterated that martial law prohibits elections.
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