Ukraine: Russia plans new mobilization
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia is mobilizing additional troops for a major new attack.
Kyiv has been telling Russia for weeks that Vladimir Putin is going to order another mass conscription and close the border to prevent men from escaping the conscription. Hundreds of thousands of men fled Russia when Putin ordered in September to raise funds from the Second World War.
“We have no doubt that the current masters of Russia are moving away from everything they have left and from everyone they gather in order to accidentally turn the tide in the war and at least delay defeat,” Zelensky said in an evening video message. “We have to thwart this Russian scenario. We are preparing for this. The terrorists must lose. Any attempt to defeat them again must fail.”
We remind you that on New Year’s Eve, as a result of the strike of Ukrainian forces on the barracks in Makiivka, dozens of new Russian conscripts crashed, which caused serious criticism of the Islamic war at home, which Moscow faced.
Putin said last month that there was no need for additional mobilization. However, on Tuesday, a group claiming to represent the entry of a Russian soldier issued a call for Putin to order a large-scale mobilization of millions of men, in what could be a sign that such a possibility has been returned to the Kremlin.
In its daily brief on Wednesday, the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that over the past 24 hours, Russia has carried out seven missile strikes, 18 air strikes and more than 85 multiple rocket launcher strikes against targets observed in three cities – Kramatorsk, Zaporozhye and Kherson.
“There are casualties among the immediate population,” the statement said.
The Ukrainian General Staff also said that Russian troops continue to concentrate on advancing in the Bakhmut area, which for several months was an incidentally discovered attack and where intense fears may have gripped both sides.
Zelenskiy said he would continue to seek Western support with important outreach on Tuesday to the leaders of Britain, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada.
German Foreign Minister Burbock said on Wednesday that Putin “has nothing on legal grounds other than banning Ukraine,” suggesting that it is important to prevent the spread of arms to Kyiv.