2022.10.29 11:03 (act 10.29.2022 16:24)
Praises Ukrainian Resistance: Volodymyr Zelenskyy. ©AFP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expects more partial mobilization of reservists in Russia for the war against his country.
“We are preparing for this,” Zelenskyy said in a video message distributed in Kyiv on Friday night. He was reacting to the end of the call for 300,000 reservists to war against Ukraine announced by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow.
Partial mobilization is controversial in Russian society – also because it means that war is becoming tangible in most families for the first time. Many recruits have already been transferred back to Russia in coffins.
strong resistance
Zelenskyy stressed that Ukrainian resistance is so strong that Russia will be forced to order new mobilizations. Russian troops are so poorly trained and equipped that the country will soon have to mobilize more people, the president said, referring to losses among Russian soldiers.
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 serving in the war or fleeing. The fact that Putin is now announcing the end of the mobilization was seen as an attempt to attract men back to the country. However, experts warn against returning to Russia because the end of partial mobilization has yet to be sealed by a presidential decree. So far this has not happened.
looted hospitals
Zelenskyy once again commented on the power cuts in the country caused by the energy infrastructure destroyed by Russian missiles. Currently, four million Ukrainians live with the restrictions. Among other things, the capital Kyiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions are affected. In the occupied regions, Russian occupiers also stole medical equipment from hospitals to destabilize the situation. The Kherson region in the south is affected, for example, which is making Russia a no-civilization zone through evacuations.
Zelenskyy thanked the US for a new $275 million military aid package that will 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. Zelenskyy also reported on a phone call with new Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with whom he discussed cooperation issues in various fields.