Russia likely to mobilize at least 300,000 more troops to Ukraine war, Zelensky warns

Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool/Reuters

Russia is likely to mobilize another 300,000 troops later this year, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as it tries to complete the capture of a long-coveted region of east Ukraine .

In wide-ranging remarks released Sunday, Zelensky said he expected that the Russians would end the year occupying the same amount of Ukrainian territory as at the beginning of the year, despite enormous losses of manpower.

“Russia has lost 267,000 personnel since the start of the year, including around 155,000 killed to date,” Zelensky claimed.

The figure is impossible to confirm but in line with estimates by Western officials.

Russian parliamentary elections take place next month, and there has been speculation about a fresh mobilization despite a 2022 draft triggering protests and an exodus of young men.

“We are confident that following the elections, they will carry out a mobilization. We believe this will not take place in the major cities,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky said he believed Putin would “deploy the 300,000 newly mobilized troops depending on the situation in the east of our country,” and had told his generals to complete the occupation of Donetsk by the end of the year.

“They’ll lose all 300,000 of these newly mobilized Russians there; we’ll wipe them out,” Zelensky asserted.

Ukrainian units are defending some 20% of Donetsk, including a belt of strategic industrial towns such as Slaviansk and Kramatorsk.

Zelensky said it was impossible for the Russians to complete the capture of Donetsk region. He suggested the Russians might also attempt an incursion into the northern Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv and Sumy.

“They do not yet have troops in the Bryansk region (which borders northern Ukraine), but we can see military equipment along the borders with the Russian Federation.”

On air defenses, Zelensky contrasted the number of Patriot missiles supplied in 2023 – which was 675 – with the forecast number of 264 this year. Ballistic missile attacks have increased civilian casualties and infrastructure damage across Ukraine - and Patriots are the only means of shooting them down.

“As you can see, there is, unfortunately, a downward trend, and this depends primarily on the American side,” he said.

Last month, US President Donald Trump suggested Ukraine would be permitted to build Patriot missiles on license, but later backed away from the idea.

If the US would supply up to 10% of its Patriot missile stocks to Ukraine, Kyiv would pay for them, Zelensky said. Such a commitment “could make a huge difference, both in terms of saving lives and diplomatically as well.”

Ukraine faces the same problem in acquiring Aster air defense missiles from Europe, according to Zelensky, despite a recent pledge by French president Emmanuel Macron.

“There aren’t enough ‘Aster’ missiles, even though they are being produced,” he said – though added a licensing agreement would accelerate supplies.

Kyiv’s long-range missile program will get a boost Monday when new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham makes his first official visit to Ukraine.

London has agreed to allow defense firm MBDA to release classified information on UK components to help Ukraine build its own long-range SCALP missiles, the French-produced version of the UK’s Storm Shadow.

In the meantime, Ukraine is hunting the sites in Russia from where ballistic missiles are launched, according to Zelensky.

Russia’s military industries may be capable of building about 1,300 ballistic missiles a year, Zelensky said. “There are specific objectives regarding strikes on military targets and other anti-ballistic sanctions,” he said.

Jens Büttner/Pool/Getty Images

Ukraine has developed an arsenal of long-range drones and its own cruise missiles which are being used against a widening array of targets inside Russia.

He also spoke about Kyiv’s efforts to get permission to use Starlink satellite imagery of Russian territory.

Elon Musk, who owns Starlink, said he “believed that this could lead to a major escalation against the Russian Federation on Ukraine’s part,” according to Zelensky.

“He said he was in favor of ending the war, not prolonging it” – and discussions with Washington were continuing.

Photo Illustration by Jason Lancaster/CNN/Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office/Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images

She tried to blow up a millionaire in Monaco. Days later, she was dead

As for negotiations, Zelensky suggested that the window of opportunity for ending the war stretched through the end of next summer, when the US presidential election campaign would begin.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were “finding it very difficult to find a format whereby the Russians would agree to end this war without Ukraine having to withdraw from Donbas or accept other unacceptable solutions.”

“Jared, Steve and I agreed to summarize all these discussions on a single page – setting out the realistic options for ending the war. This is what the Americans want to discuss with us and with the Russians.”

CNN’s Lex Harvey contributed reporting.

亚历山大·泽姆利亚尼琴科/泳池/路透社

据乌克兰总统泽连斯基称，俄罗斯可能在今年晚些时候再调动 30 万军队，以完成对乌克兰东部一个长期觊觎地区的占领。

泽连斯基在周日发表的广泛讲话中表示，尽管遭受了巨大的人力损失，但他预计俄罗斯到年底占领的乌克兰领土面积将与年初相同。

泽连斯基声称：“今年以来，俄罗斯已有26.7万人丧生，其中约15.5万人阵亡。”

该数字无法证实，但与西方官员的估计相符。

俄罗斯议会选举将于下个月举行，尽管 2022 年的征兵引发了抗议和青年男性外流，但仍有传言称将出现新一轮的动员。

泽连斯基说：“我们相信，选举结束后，他们会进行动员。但我们认为，这种情况不会发生在主要城市。”

泽连斯基表示，他相信普京会“根据我国东部的局势部署新动员的30万部队”，并已指示他的将军们在年底前完成对顿涅茨克的占领。

泽连斯基断言：“他们将失去所有这30万新动员起来的俄罗斯人；我们将把他们全部消灭。”

乌克兰部队正在保卫顿涅茨克约 20% 的地区，其中包括斯拉维扬斯克和克拉马托尔斯克等一系列具有战略意义的工业城镇。

泽连斯基表示，俄军不可能完全占领顿涅茨克地区。他还暗示，俄军可能还会试图入侵乌克兰北部的哈尔科夫和苏梅地区。

“他们目前还没有在布良斯克地区（与乌克兰北部接壤）部署军队，但我们可以看到在与俄罗斯联邦接壤的边境地区有军事装备。”

在防空方面，泽连斯基对比了2023年交付的“爱国者”导弹数量（675枚）和今年预计交付的264枚。弹道导弹袭击加剧了乌克兰各地平民伤亡和基础设施破坏，而“爱国者”导弹是拦截这些导弹的唯一手段。

“正如你所看到的，不幸的是，存在一种下降趋势，而这主要取决于美国方面，”他说。

上个月，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普曾表示将允许乌克兰获得许可生产爱国者导弹，但后来又放弃了这一想法。

泽连斯基表示，如果美国向乌克兰提供其爱国者导弹库存的10%，基辅将为此付费。这样的承诺“无论在拯救生命方面，还是在外交方面，都可能产生巨大影响”。

泽连斯基表示，尽管法国总统马克龙最近做出了承诺，但乌克兰在从欧洲获得“紫菀”防空导弹方面仍然面临同样的问题。

“尽管‘紫菀’导弹正在生产，但数量仍然不够，”他说道——不过他也补充说，一项许可协议将加快供应速度。

周一，英国新任首相安迪·伯纳姆将首次正式访问乌克兰，这将为基辅的远程导弹计划注入动力。

伦敦方面已同意允许国防公司 MBDA 公布有关英国零部件的机密信息，以帮助乌克兰建造自己的远程 SCALP 导弹，该导弹是法国生产的英国“风暴阴影”导弹的版本。

与此同时，泽连斯基表示，乌克兰正在俄罗斯境内搜寻弹道导弹发射地点。

泽连斯基表示，俄罗斯军工企业每年可能能够生产约1300枚弹道导弹。“针对军事目标的打击和其他反弹道导弹制裁，都有具体的目标，”他说道。

Jens Büttner/Pool/Getty Images

乌克兰已经发展出一支远程无人机和巡航导弹武库，并正使用这些武器打击俄罗斯境内越来越多的目标。

他还谈到了基辅方面为获得使用星链卫星拍摄的俄罗斯领土图像的许可所做的努力。

据泽连斯基称，拥有 Starlink 的埃隆·马斯克表示，他“认为这可能会导致乌克兰对俄罗斯联邦采取重大升级行动”。

“他说他赞成结束战争，而不是延长战争”——与华盛顿的讨论仍在继续。

图片由 Jason Lancaster/CNN/乌克兰总检察长办公室/Valery Hache/法新社/Getty Images 提供

她试图在摩纳哥炸死一位百万富翁。几天后，她死了。

至于谈判，泽连斯基表示，结束战争的机会窗口将持续到明年夏天结束，届时美国总统大选活动将开始。

美国特使史蒂夫·威特科夫和贾里德·库什纳“发现很难找到一种模式，让俄罗斯同意结束这场战争，而乌克兰又不必从顿巴斯撤军或接受其他不可接受的解决方案。”

“贾里德、史蒂夫和我一致同意将所有讨论内容总结在一页纸上——列出结束战争的切实可行的方案。这是美国人想和我们以及俄罗斯人讨论的内容。”

CNN的莱克斯·哈维对此报道亦有贡献。