Zelenskyy: Putin plans unannounced mobilisation to pressure Ukraine and Europe

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes Russian leader Vladimir Putin is planning a covert mobilisation in Russia and intends to use it to exert pressure not only on Ukraine but also on Europe.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with the national joint 24/7 newscast on Saturday evening

Quote from Zelenskyy: "We need to have a rough understanding of what is happening with the Russians in order to understand that they will resort to anything. There will be hundreds, thousands of cyberattacks, missile pressure, intimidation and so on. They do not change. Why?

Putin has so far been unable to find a victory in this war… He is thinking about mobilisation, I am certain of that. He is thinking about how to deceive his own people – in other words, how to carry out mass mobilisation without formally announcing it, introduce some kind of shadow contracts, close the borders and so on. We are already seeing many steps pointing in that direction.

Indeed, the more people they conscript, the greater their losses will be. But he will also use this mobilisation to exert psychological pressure on Ukraine. Our people are used to it, although it is painful. But he will try to influence not only us, but Europe as well, to send the message: 'I will mobilise half a million people in the autumn, and there is no guarantee that I will use them only in Ukraine.'"

Details: Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine has no intention of voluntarily withdrawing from Donbas.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "No one is going to abandon their country, their people and simply leave [Donbas]. Because no one can guarantee that this person [Putin] will not go further. And no one is prepared to give such a guarantee.

US guarantees and our agreements are very strong guarantees. But what do they actually mean? Ukraine will receive US guarantees after the war ends. But what kind of guarantees will they be? We have discussed the details. However, if Putin continues his aggression, will America step in and fight for us? Will it do the same as it is doing now in the Middle East? What will happen?"

Details: Zelenskyy said he was convinced that "both sides in this war need a ceasefire, because no one knows how it will end".

"Ukraine is in fairly good shape. The Russians have their advantages and their weaknesses, and we understand them very clearly," he added.

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