President Zelensky Says Ukrainian Military Proposes Mobilization of 500,000 Citizens for War Against Russia

Ukrainian military illustration. (Source: President.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian military had proposed mobilizing 450,000-500,000 more Ukrainians into the armed forces to support Kyiv's war with Russia.

The Ukrainian leader said at a year-end news conference it was a "very sensitive" issue that the military and government would discuss before deciding whether to send the proposal to parliament.

President Zelensky said he would like to hear more explanations in favor of additional citizen mobilization before endorsing the move.

"This is a very serious number," said President Zelensky, reported by Reuters, December 20.

It is known that the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in February 2022, when President Vladimir Putin sent Moscow troops to Kyiv in what he called a special military operation.

Both sides consider their casualty figures a state secret, but United States officials estimate hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and injured.

The number of Ukrainian troops is unknown, but Kyiv has said that it has about 1 million men under arms. Meanwhile, Russia has increased its troops during the war, saying on Tuesday it planned to increase its forces to 1.5 million military members.

"I said that I needed more arguments to support this step. Because first of all, this is a societal problem. Second, this is a justice problem, this is a defense capability problem and this is a financial problem," said President Zelensky.

Ukraine, which initially had tens of thousands of volunteer fighters lining up to defend their country from a Russian invasion, is now trying to recruit more soldiers to replace those currently on the front lines.

There have been closed discussions for weeks about how to improve the design process. Some Ukrainians reacted angrily to videos on social media showing military conscripts handing out summonses at gyms and resorts.

President Zelensky said an additional 500 billion hryvnia (13.5 billion US dollars) was needed to support the army mobilization proposal. Therefore, he wants more details about how these troops will be used against Russia.

On the other hand, it is known that President Zelensky's relations are strained with Ukrainian military commander General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, who criticized President Zelensky's decision to fire the head of the regional military conscription office amid a crackdown on corruption this summer.