Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to escalate the war in Ukraine by mobilising half a million new fighters in weeks, his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky has warned.
Citing Ukrainian intelligence, Zelensky said that Putin plans for this mobilisation after Russia’s parliamentary elections in late September.
“Putin is not ready to stop this war. Our intelligence reports that he is preparing for mobilisation. He wants to do it after his elections to the Duma on September 21,” Zelensky wrote in a post on X last month after an interview with Sky News.
Putin is not ready to stop this war. Our intelligence reports that he is preparing for mobilization. He wants to do it after his elections to the Duma on September 21. He wants to increase mobilization. Not openly, because he is afraid of his society, but he will do it at the… pic.twitter.com/xncgedew8l
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 27, 2026
He wrote that Putin will not mobilise new fighters “openly” as he is “afraid of his society”. The Ukrainian leader also wrote that Russia will not be able to train a big amount of people quickly and there will be “poorly trained people on the battlefield.
“This, in turn, means a lot of losses,” he added.
Turkish Minister Warns Putin Could Use His “Last Option”
Meanwhile, as Ukraine continues to strike deep inside Russian territory, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has sounded the alarm that the war could push Putin to a point where he uses his “last option” – which is nuclear weapons.
“When a war of attrition at the front turns into attrition in the rear, the question is no longer whether to lose the war, but whether you will continue to exist as a nation. You use the last resort you have,” Fidan said in Anadolu’s Editor’s Desk programme, referring to Russia’s nuclear capabilities.
Fidan said that it is a “dangerous situation” and that the issue has been discussed with Western partners.
“During my visit to Russia, it seemed that this issue could be raised, as there was talk that the public is demanding something of the sort. We have discussed this with Western partners, and they are aware of it as well. This is a dangerous situation. Everything that people say will not happen ultimately does happen,” he added.
Russia And Ukraine Have Escalated Long-Range Attacks
According to the United Nations, both countries have significantly escalated their long-range attacks this year, causing a spike in civilian deaths.
A Ukrainian drone strike on the central Russian region of Tatarstan killed at least 13 people on Monday in one of the deadliest attacks carried out by Kyiv since the war began more than four years ago.
Russia also hit Ukraine with deadly strikes on Monday. Near the front line, a Russian artillery strike killed five people in a village in the northeastern Kharkiv region, local Ukrainian officials said.
Russia’s defence ministry said it shot down 456 Ukrainian drones fired overnight. It never states how many reached their targets.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 126 drones in its overnight attack.
