Zelensky: Good arguments are needed to mobilize another 500,000 people

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the army had proposed mobilizing another 450,000-500,000 Ukrainians into the armed forces, which would mean a dramatic escalation of Kiev's war with Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said at his year-end press conference that it was an "extremely sensitive" issue that the military and government would discuss before deciding whether to send the proposal to parliament.
Zelensky said he wanted to hear more arguments in favor of mobilizing additional people before supporting such a step.
"This is a very serious number of people," he said.
Ukraine has been at war with Russian troops since February 2022. Both sides are treating their casualty numbers as a state secret, but US officials estimate that hundreds of thousands were killed and wounded.
The number of Ukrainian troops is not known, but in the past Ukraine has stated that it has about 1 million people in service. Russia is expanding its wartime military and said Tuesday it plans to increase its ranks to 1.5 million troops.
"I said that I would need more arguments to support this move. Because, firstly, it is a matter of people, secondly, a matter of justice, a matter of defense capability and a matter of finances," Zelensky said.
Ukraine, where tens of thousands of volunteers initially lined up to defend their country from a Russian invasion, is now trying to recruit more men to replace those currently at the front.
For weeks, discussions have been held behind closed doors on how to improve the summoning process. Some Ukrainians reacted angrily to videos on social media showing conscription officers handing out draft papers at gyms and resorts.
Zelensky said an additional 500 billion hryvnias ($13.5 billion) would be needed to support the army mobilization proposal and wanted more details on how the troops would be used to fight Russia.
There has been tension between Zelensky and the head of the army.
This week, army chief Valery Zaluzhny criticized a decision taken by Zelensky to fire the heads of regional military recruitment services amid a crackdown on corruption this summer.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, that next year his country will produce one million drones, which have become a decisive factor in the fighting between Kiev and Moscow.
"Next year we will produce one million unmanned aerial vehicles," Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine will be able to produce its own advanced devices: "Our soldiers will receive Ukrainian-made drones in their brigades."
Volodymyr Zelensky said that if Donald Trump is elected US president in 2024, it could significantly change the course of the war in Ukraine.
"If the policy of the next president, whoever he is, is different with regard to Ukraine, colder or more economic, I think these signals will have a very strong influence on the course of the war," Zelensky said, referring to Trump. which he said "will certainly have a different policy".
He said during the press conference that no one knows when the war with Russia will end, and fatigue is building in Kiev and among its allies abroad.
"I think nobody knows the answer. Even the respected people, our commanders and our Western partners, who say this is a war for years to come, don't know," Zelensky told reporters, adding that "If we don't lose our stamina , we will end the war early". /BGNES