Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said reports of an impending mobilization in Russia are false, calling them 'paid-for' and 'enemy lies,' state news agency TASS reported. 'The enemy's attempts to spread all this nonsense about mobilization being prepared in the country are nothing more than a lying provocation. This is part of propaganda ahead of the elections. They are trying, naturally, to destabilize the situation in our country and create negative moods,' Medvedev said at a meeting of the Security Council's interdepartmental commission on armed forces recruitment.

Medvedev also said that in the first six months of 2026, about 200,000 people signed contracts with the Defense Ministry, and another 16,000 went to war as volunteers. 'I specifically emphasize, there is absolutely no need for mobilization. This is enemy lies, as the enemy itself is experiencing a shortage of human resources, there is no one to fight,' he added. According to Medvedev, Ukraine is allegedly spreading these rumors because of its own personnel problems.

Independent media sources have previously pointed to possible preparations for a new wave of mobilization. In late June, sources from Meduza and other outlets reported that the number of people willing to serve under contract is gradually declining, prompting authorities to intensify agitation and increase payments, but the Kremlin is also considering more radical measures. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that, according to intelligence, Vladimir Putin intends to carry out mobilization after the September State Duma elections. Analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have also not ruled out such a scenario, and some pro-war Telegram channels estimated the scale of a possible draft campaign at 1.2 million people.

For comparison, in the same period of 2025, more than 210,000 people signed contracts — 10,000 more than in the current period. According to Western intelligence estimates, by mid-2026, cumulative Russian army losses killed and wounded reached 1.4 million people. Zelensky on July 26 cited different figures: since the beginning of the year, the Russian Defense Ministry had recruited 221,000 contract soldiers, while losses over the same period, he said, amounted to 225,500 servicemen, including 131,000 killed. He suggested that mobilization could be announced in early October if Ukraine and its allies fail to significantly complicate Russian logistics and increase sanctions pressure.