President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia could launch a new large-scale mobilisation of men both to intensify the war in Ukraine and to put psychological pressure on Europe.
In an interview with Ukrainian television channels on Saturday, Zelenskyy said Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared ready to escalate the conflict.
He said a secret mobilisation involving hundreds of thousands of Russians for military service could serve not only battlefield aims, but also a broader effort to intimidate European countries.
“Why? To show that I am going to mobilise half a million people in the autumn. And I will not necessarily deploy that half a million only in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president argued that Putin still showed no willingness to end the war on fair terms.
“On the contrary, he is trying to achieve at least symbolic successes with which he could justify the enormous losses suffered by his own people,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy also said he was concerned that North Korea could send between 30,000 and 50,000 soldiers to Russia to support Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
Writing on X, he said North Koreans were regularly being spotted on Russian territory. He also said North Korean missiles were sometimes being found in Ukraine.
According to Zelenskyy, North Korean troops would gain “experience” from the conflict, potentially posing a greater threat to other countries in Asia.
He said Ukraine therefore wanted closer co-operation with South Korea, particularly in the area of air defence.
Separately, several US media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and CNN, have reported intelligence assessments outlining scenarios ranging from Russian cyber-attacks to brief incursions into Nato countries in the coming years.
According to those reports, such operations could be carried out by the Kremlin to test the response of the transatlantic alliance.
