Ukraine wants to mobilize 0.5 mln men

[Jaga]

Yesterday I saw Ukrainian front stack for months in the wintery weather still exchanging fire with Russia. It is going nowhere. I am not surprised that Zelensky needs more men, but I wish there was the end to this with Ukraine being free again.

www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-military-asks-additional-450000-500000-people-be-mobilised-zelenskiy-2023-12-19/

Ukraine considers proposal by army to mobilise another 500,000 for war
By Pavel Polityuk and Tom Balmforth
December 19, 20234:10 PM MSTUpdated an hour ago


KYIV/LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday the military had proposed mobilising 450,000-500,000 more Ukrainians into the armed forces in what would mark a dramatic step up of Kyiv's war with Russia.

The Ukrainian leader told his end-of-year news conference it was a "highly sensitive" issue that the military and government would discuss before deciding whether to send the proposal to parliament.

Zelenskiy said he wanted to hear more arguments in favour of mobilising the additional people before backing such a move.

"This is a very serious number," he said.

Ukraine has been at war with Russian troops since February 2022. Both sides treat their casualty numbers as a state secret, but U.S. officials estimate that hundreds of thousands have been killed and wounded.

Ukraine's troop numbers are not known, but it has said in the past it has around 1 million people under arms. Russia has been expanding its army during the war and said on Tuesday it planned to boost its ranks to 1.5 million service members.

"I said I would need more arguments to support this move. Because first of all, it's a question of people, secondly, it's a question of fairness, it's a question of defence capability, and it's a question of finances," Zelenskiy said.

Ukraine, which initially saw tens of thousands of volunteer fighters queuing up to defend their country from Russia's invasion, is now trying to conscript more men to replace those currently at the front.

There have been discussions behind closed doors for weeks on how to improve the draft process. Some Ukrainians have reacted angrily to social media videos showing draft officers handing out call-up papers at gyms and resorts.

Zelenskiy said an additional 500 billion hryvnias ($13.5 billion) would be needed to support the army's mobilization proposal and he wants further details on how the troops would be used to fight Russia.

There has been tension between Zelenskiy and the head of the army.

This week, army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi criticised a decision, made by Zelenskiy, to fire the heads of the regional military draft offices amid a crackdown on corruption this summer.

Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Max Hunder and Olena Harmash; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Lisa Shumaker

[karl]

Jaga

Speaking only as a personal opinion in regard to this war between Russia and Ukraine with Mr. Zelenskiy. For some time he [Zelenskiy} has been making the rounds of Western States with his hand outstretched for handouts of weapons and monetary resources to further this seemingly forever war. What though is occurring is the furthering of a forever war that is using up military supplies at an alarming rate with no end in sight from those donating states. These Resouces were created by the sweat of working people that are designed for their own government and not to be sent without the will of these working people to be used up in a forever war.

Yes of course, the work of propaganda painting a picture to create the image of a democracy being overrun by a lone wolf state such as The Russian Federation guided by Mr. Putin. Whilst of course there is undeniable truth to the Russian invasion attack upon the State of Ukraine with intent of over running and ultimate goal of Russian occupation of the Ukrainian State. This as above is a fact, what other fact is Ukraine has been in combat against the Donbas Region for a little over eight years. This has not ever been disclosed by the Media propaganda machine as not saleable newsworthy, so the question is, {who is kidding who in this situation?}.

For as above, myself only believe in results and facts, not fantasy or emotional feelings. What I do believe is, Mr. Zelenskiy is fighting for his life, if he loses this war, be will most likely ultimately lose his life at the hands of a Russian court sentencing to be imprisoned for the remainder of his life in the best scenario, worse, he will lose his life by means of execution.

Of the above, is the reality of this man, for the present and foreseeable future, the man is using his state {Ukraine} to protect his life. His life depends upon a forever supply of western weapons and the will of the military of his state he currently is the ruler of.

karl

[Jaga]

Hello Karl,

you are right that we cannot always picture easily bad Russia and China and good Ukraine. It is not that simple. Still, it was Russia who started the invasion and continues and it is a slow bloody war with no end coming soon, sad...

[Jaga]

This was not a good year for Ukraine and for the world. Unnecessary killings and arm spending in Ukraine, in Israel, in Gaza unprecedented killing of over 20 th, total war, resettlements, ruins, anger and hate on all sites. This was only a GOOD YEAR FOR MILITARY INDUSTRY.

apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-putin-zelenskyy-4c62940dd5ae56bc753cee7dbddbe3fb

Ukraine ends year disappointed by stalemate with Russia, and anxious about aid from allies



The year started with high hopes for Ukrainian troops planning a counteroffensive against Russia. It ended with disappointment on the battlefield, an increasingly somber mood among troops and anxiety about the future of Western aid for Ukraine’s war effort.

In between, there was a short-lived rebellion in Russia, a dam collapse in Ukraine, and the spilling of much blood on both sides of the conflict.

Twenty-two months since it invaded, Russia has about one-fifth of Ukraine in its grip, and the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line has barely budged this year.

A crunch has come away from the battlefield. In Western countries that have championed Ukraine’s struggle against its much bigger adversary, political deliberations over billions in financial aid are increasingly strained.