The Kremlin is preparing to mobilize up to half a million people this fall — after two years of trying to avoid another draft.
According to Andrii Kovalenko of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, Russia may be getting ready to call up around 500,000 troops. Euromaidan Press reports the mobilization could happen next fall.
Some of the new troops would be rushed to the front within two weeks to offset losses in eastern Ukraine. Others would undergo at least a month of training to potentially open a new front.Kovalenko warns the coming fall will be brutal for Ukraine: heavy infantry battles where soldiers, drones, glide bombs and other weapons collide at close range.
Earlier this year, Ukraine’s commander‑in‑chief Oleksandr Syrskyi estimated Russia aims to recruit 409,000 soldiers and form at least 11 new divisions.So far, the Kremlin has avoided a new nationwide mobilization after the massive social backlash in 2022. But the math is unforgiving: the losses must be replaced — public opinion or not.
Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
— @jalle51 Jul 19, 2026
