Ukraine believes Russia is planning to draft an additional 300,000 troops for its war effort after the Russian parliamentary elections in mid‑September, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Moscow’s forces are continuing to press ahead with efforts to capture the rest of eastern Ukraine’s industrialised Donbas region, where its troops have advanced at what Kyiv says is a great cost.
In comments to reporters released on Sunday, Zelensky said Russia could draft more troops in 2027 to reach an overall goal of 500,000, part of what he described as a “peripheral mobilisation” targeting Russia’s far‑flung regions.
“We believe it will not take place in the central cities,” he said. “But I don’t think they will be able to hide it very well.”
Russian parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 18‑20.
As fighting rages around the strategic city of Kostiantynivka, Zelensky said Russia was losing a “maximum” amount of troops in its bid to advance into Ukraine’s so‑called fortress belt of eastern cities.
He also hailed recent gains by Kyiv’s troops in southeastern Ukraine, adding that the amount of territory occupied by Russia and liberated by Ukrainian forces in 2026 would be equal.
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