Nfter the end of partial mobilization for the war in Ukraine announced by Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expects further waves of conscription from Moscow in Kyiv. “We are preparing for it,” said Zelenskyj in a video message distributed in Kyiv on Friday evening. Moscow will need even more reservists, he said in view of the resistance in Ukraine and the loss in the ranks of Russian soldiers. Above all, he continues to rely on military aid from the West to defeat the occupiers.
The head of state was reacting to the end of the call-up of 300,000 reservists for the war in Ukraine announced by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow. Partial mobilization is controversial in Russian society – also because it means that the war is becoming tangible in most families for the first time. Many conscripts have since been transferred back to Russia in coffins.
Hundreds of thousands of Russians have left the country for fear of being drafted into military service. In Russia, many jobs are orphaned because people are either serving in the war or fleeing. The fact that Putin now announced the end of mobilization was seen as an attempt to lure men back into the country. However, experts warn against returning to Russia because the end of partial mobilization still has to be sealed by a presidential decree. So far this has not happened.
Selenskyj continues to rely on help from the West
Zelenskyj once again commented on the power outages in the country caused by the energy infrastructure destroyed by Russian missiles. Four million Ukrainians are currently living with the restrictions. Among other things, the capital Kyiv, the Sumy and Kharkiv regions are affected. In the occupied regions, the Russian occupiers also stole medical equipment from hospitals to destabilize the situation. The Cherson region in the south is affected, for example, which makes Russia a “zone without civilization” through evacuations.
Zelenskyy thanked the US for a new military aid package that would help liberate the occupied territories. He especially praised Canada for being the first country to issue bonds worth half a billion dollars to help Ukraine. Zelenskyj also informed about a phone call with the new Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with whom he discussed questions of cooperation in various fields.
US provides more military aid to Ukraine
To support Ukraine in Russia’s war of aggression, the US is providing the country with additional military aid worth US$275 million. The aid includes additional weapons, ammunition and equipment from US stocks as well as four antennas for satellite communications, the Pentagon announced in Washington on Friday. According to the information, US military aid to Ukraine has increased to US$18.5 billion since US President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said work is underway to improve Ukraine’s air defense capability. The two Nasams ground-based air defense systems that the United States had committed to supply would be delivered to Ukraine next month.
