Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian authorities are preparing to expand mobilization in fall 2026, citing intelligence data, according to several independent outlets.
Zelensky said that since the start of the year, Russia's Defense Ministry has recruited 221,000 contract soldiers, but that this is insufficient: losses over the same period totaled 225,500, including 131,000 killed and nearly 93,000 wounded.
“Putin is preparing conditions for expanding mobilization… he is preparing to simply take new Russians to war. He masks this with other words, signals, but he is preparing,” Zelensky said. He called on partners to pressure Russia so that “thoughts of ending this aggression become dominant.”
Zelensky also said Russia wants to receive another 30,000 military personnel from North Korea: since June, preparations for their deployment have been underway in the Voronezh region, he said. Additionally, North Korea plans to transfer new ballistic missile launchers to Moscow.
The Ukrainian president noted that Moscow-Pyongyang cooperation poses a threat not only to Ukraine but also to Asian countries: “Russia helps North Korea learn war, improves their weapons — gives them real experience of using weapons. All this is a threat to everyone in Asia who is within range of North Korean missiles.”
Zelensky promised to pass information to partners about new Russian assistance to Iran. According to him, since early July, Russia has been actively conducting satellite imagery of Persian Gulf countries. “Later, such images end up with Iran. And there is a clear correlation between Russian imagery of facilities and strikes by Iranian forces,” the Ukrainian president claimed.