Russia is preparing to mobilize an additional 300,000 soldiers by June 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 3 in Kyiv during a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart, Alexander Stubb.
"I can say that Russia is preparing to mobilize 300,000 additional troops by June 1," Zelensky said.
Ukraine's military intelligence said earlier that Russia is likely to ramp up its mobilization efforts after Russian President Vladimir Putin secures his fifth term in office in the rigged vote in March.
Putin signed a decree on March 31 to conscript 150,000 citizens as part of the regularly occurring spring conscription campaign. According to the U.K. Defense Ministry, Russia is likely recruiting around 30,000 people a month to help bolster its war effort.
Ukraine is looking into ways to mobilize further troops as well, and an updated mobilization bill is being considered in the parliament.
Answering a journalist's question about how many troops Ukraine plans to mobilize this year, Zelensky said that "we don't need half a million" but refused to provide a specific number.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said back in December 2023 that the original version of the mobilization bill called for a draft of 450,000-500,000 additional conscripts. Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on March 29 that this number has been "significantly reduced."
Igor Kossov
(Updated: )
