Russia is preparing to mobilize an additional 300,000 troops to the front lines in Ukraine by the beginning of June, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky's announcement, made during a press conference in Kyiv, comes shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a routine spring conscription campaign, calling up 150,000 citizens for military service. Ukraine's military intelligence also recently reported that Russia was likely aiming to increase its mobilization efforts following Putin's overwhelming victory in the country's presidential election, where he secured over 87 percent of the vote.
The Kremlin has faced criticism from Russian citizens over previous military recruitment efforts to strengthen its defenses against Ukraine.
A partial mobilization effort in the fall of 2022 led to widespread protests, with hundreds of thousands of potential draftees fleeing the country to avoid being drafted. Western intelligence previously reported that Putin was likely avoiding another mass conscription effort to avoid political backlash before the March election.
Despite facing significant casualties, Moscow has maintained momentum in the over two-year war against Kyiv. U.S. intelligence estimated in December that the Kremlin has lost over 315,000 soldiers since the conflict began, with intense fighting along the front lines described as a "meat grinder."
Ukraine has also suffered staggering losses as the conflict continues. Zelensky stated in February that 31,000 of Kyiv's soldiers had been killed since the war began. U.S. officials told The New York Times in August, however, that around 70,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed, with upwards of 120,000 wounded.
Kyiv has taken steps this week to enhance its military recruitment efforts by lowering its draft-eligible age for men, from 27 to 25. The changes were part of three bills signed into law by Zelensky, and Oksana Zabolotna, an analyst with Ukrainian government watchdog Center for United Actions, told the Associated Press that decreasing the draft age could add around 50,000 troops to Kyiv's military.
Speaking with reporters, Zelensky said that it was unclear how many troops Ukraine plans to mobilize this year but backtracked on his previous goals, saying, "we don't need half a million."
The Ukrainian leader added during his nightly video address that Kyiv "clearly" understands why Russia is looking to draft additional soldiers and urged that the months of May and June "should be a time of activity for the sake of Ukraine, for the sake of achieving our goals in this war."
"We clearly understand what Russia is preparing for, what they want, and what they will be drafting soldiers into their army for," Zelensky said. "And we, all of us, our partners, must have a strong response to Russian operations—any Russian operations. We must win this war."