Zelenskyy: Russia to Mobilize After 'Sham' Parliamentary Vote
Zelenskyy says Russia will launch a new mobilization after its parliamentary elections, citing intelligence reports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia is preparing a fresh wave of military mobilization, timed to follow its upcoming parliamentary elections. Speaking on Tuesday, he cited a report from Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, led by Oleh Ivashchenko, which he said was confirmed by internal Russian documents.
According to Zelenskyy, the mobilization is planned for the fall, immediately after what he described as the "imitation" of parliamentary elections. He said the Kremlin's aim is to create the impression that Russians support the war, noting that every party permitted to run is, in one way or another, against peace.
His remarks came a day after Russia's highest court ordered the Yabloko party, the only party opposing Moscow's military action in Ukraine, to be removed from the ballot for next month's election. Zelenskyy characterized this as a "blatant political manipulation," saying Putin was afraid to allow even a single party that mentioned the need for peace to participate.
"If Putin wants war so badly that he has now resorted to yet another blatant political manipulation with his sham elections... then his priorities are crystal clear," Zelenskyy said in a video address from the Ukrainian presidential office in Kyiv.