President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia is likely to mobilise another 300,000 troops later this year in an attempt to complete the capture of Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
In wide-ranging remarks, Zelenskyy said that Russia could launch a fresh mobilisation campaign following parliamentary elections next month.
“We are confident that following the elections, they will carry out a mobilisation. We believe this will not take place in the major cities.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin could deploy the newly mobilised troops depending on developments in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow is seeking to complete its long-standing objective of occupying the entire Donetsk region.
Zelenskyy said he believed Putin had instructed Russian military Commanders to complete the occupation of Donetsk by the end of the year.
Russia currently controls most of the Donetsk region, but Ukrainian forces continue to hold around 20% of the territory, including strategically important industrial towns such as Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Zelenskyy argued that Russia would struggle to achieve its objective despite potentially mobilising hundreds of thousands of additional troops. “They’ll lose all 300,000 of these newly mobilised Russians there; we’ll wipe them out,” Zelenskyy said.
He claimed that Moscow had suffered enormous manpower losses since the beginning of the year. “Russia has lost 267,000 personnel since the start of the year, including around 155,000 killed to date,” Zelenskyy said.
The figures could not be independently verified, although they are broadly in line with some estimates previously released by Western officials.
Zelenskyy said that despite its heavy losses, Russia was likely to end the year controlling roughly the same amount of Ukrainian territory as it held at the beginning of the year.
The battle for Donetsk has remained one of the central fronts of the war, with Russian forces repeatedly attempting to advance towards the remaining Ukrainian-controlled cities in the region. Sloviansk and Kramatorsk form part of a strategic defensive belt that Ukraine has spent years strengthening.
Their capture would represent a significant military and symbolic victory for Moscow. However, Zelenskyy insisted that Russian forces would not be able to complete the occupation of Donetsk.
He also warned that Moscow could attempt to expand military operations elsewhere, including Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv and Sumy regions. “They do not yet have troops in the Bryansk region, but we can see military equipment along the borders with the Russian Federation,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy Warns Of Shrinking Air Defence Supplies
Zelenskyy also raised concerns about what he described as a decline in Western supplies of air defence missiles, particularly Patriot interceptors.
He contrasted the 675 Patriot missiles supplied to Ukraine in 2023 with a forecast of only 264 this year, warning that reduced deliveries could leave Ukrainian cities and infrastructure more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missile attacks. “As you can see, there is, unfortunately, a downward trend, and this depends primarily on the American side,” Zelenskyy said.
He said that Ukraine would be willing to purchase additional missiles if Washington agreed to provide them, suggesting that access to as much as 10% of U.S. Patriot missile stocks could significantly improve Ukraine’s ability to protect its population and infrastructure. “Such a commitment could make a huge difference, both in terms of saving lives and diplomatically as well,” he said.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that Ukraine could potentially produce Patriot missiles under licence, but later appeared to retreat from the proposal.
Also, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is also struggling to obtain sufficient Aster air defence missiles from European partners.
The Ukrainian President said that supplies remained inadequate despite recent commitments from French President Emmanuel Macron. “There aren’t enough Aster missiles, even though they are being produced,” Zelenskyy said.
He suggested that licensing agreements allowing Ukraine to participate in production could help accelerate deliveries and reduce dependence on foreign stockpiles.
In the meantime, Kyiv is continuing efforts to identify and strike military sites inside Russia that are used to launch ballistic missiles against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said that Russia’s defence industry may be capable of producing around 1,300 ballistic missiles annually, highlighting the scale of the threat facing Ukraine. “There are specific objectives regarding strikes on military targets and other anti-ballistic sanctions,” he said.
Zelenskyy Sees Limited Window For Peace Talks
On the prospects for ending the war, Zelenskyy suggested there could be a limited window for meaningful negotiations.
He said that the opportunity for progress could extend until the end of next summer, when the US presidential election campaign would begin.
As Russia considers how to sustain its military campaign and Ukraine faces growing concerns over ammunition and air defence supplies, the coming months could prove critical for both the battlefield and future negotiations.
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