Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had received confirmation that Russia is preparing for a mobilization this autumn and that Ukraine is preparing to take active countermeasures.
"There was a report from the Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense – by Oleh Ivashchenko – on preparations for a Russian mobilization. Everything is confirmed by internal Russian documents – they are preparing it for the autumn, right after the sham parliamentary elections. Putin's plan isn't particularly complicated: he wants to make it seem as though Russians support the war – after all, all the parties currently allowed to run are, in one way or another, opposed to peace. And then, after the so-called elections, he plans an additional rapid mobilization of several hundred thousand Russians by the end of the year, plus the same number again for next year," Zelenskyy said in an evening video address on Tuesday.
According to him, this mobilization is planned in addition to the recruitment of contract soldiers.
"We are preparing for our own active operations to make it as difficult as possible for Russia to carry out such plans. I have assigned the relevant tasks to our intelligence agencies and Ukraine's special services," Zelenskyy said.
