Ukraine’s military is seeking up to 500,000 more soldiers

International News | The Hill

Ukraine’s military wants to mobilize up to 500,000 additional soldiers in its fight against Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday.

Zelensky told reporters at his annual year-end press conference that the military wants to add up to 500,000 more soldiers, but that he wants more details from the top leaders before deciding on whether to approve their ask, The Associated Press (AP) reported. He noted that adding up to half a million more troops is a “very sensitive matter.”

“I need specifics: What will happen to the million-strong army of Ukraine, what will happen to those guys who have been defending our state for two years? We have issues of rotation and holidays. It should be a comprehensive plan,” he told reporters, according to the BBC.

The BBC added that Zelensky said that women would not be mobilized in the war.

Zelensky also remained confident that the United States will provide billions of dollars in additional aid for Ukraine despite U.S. lawmakers signaling that there will not be a deal on funding for Kyiv before Christmas.

Bipartisan Senate negotiators have been huddled together for weeks to come to an agreement on border security provisions that would unlock supplemental funding for both Ukraine and Israel, but no timeline has been laid out for when a potential deal will close. Without congressional action by the end of the year, the White House warned it will soon run out of money for Ukraine.

Despite the lack of a timeline for another Ukraine funding package, Zelensky reiterated that he is not worried.

“I am confident that the U.S. will not let us down and that what we have agreed with the U.S. will be fulfilled,” Zelensky said, according to the AP.

He also claimed that “Russia failed to achieve any of its goals” this year, adding that he does not think Ukraine will lose the war.

Zelensky’s comments come on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his confidence that Russian troops are “holding the initiative” in the war, the AP reported.

“We are effectively doing what we think is needed, doing what we want,” Putin added. “Where our commanders consider it necessary to stick to active defenses they are doing so, and we are improving our positions where it’s needed.”

Putin warned last week at his annual press conference that there would be no peace solution in Ukraine until Russia achieves its overarching goals of the “denazification” and demilitarization of Ukraine.