Russian Federation’s intense strikes are attempt to demonstrate its ’strength’ ahead of elections; rhetoric will change afterwards, - Zelenskyy
In the run-up to the parliamentary elections, the Kremlin is attempting to maintain the illusion of stability within the country and denies any plans for mobilisation. At the same time, the Russian Federation is stepping up the intensity of its air strikes on Ukraine in an effort to demonstrate its supposed ‘might’ to its own audience; however, the rhetoric of the Moscow authorities may change in the future.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made this statement to journalists, according to Censor.NET, citing RBK-Ukraine.
Russia is preparing for mobilisation
According to Zelenskyy, once the elections in the Russian Federation are over, Ukraine expects a new dynamic, in particular a possible mobilisation of at least 300,000 Russian troops.
He noted that Russia’s infrastructure is already in place for the exercise, but the format of the mobilisation – whether covert or overt – remains unknown.
"Russia will now be saying that there is no mobilisation," said the president, explaining that this was necessary to "reassure the public" in the run-up to the elections.
Air terror
At the same time, Zelenskyy stated that Russia is failing to achieve the desired results on the battlefield, so it is trying to compensate for this with intensive air strikes.
Russian disinformation regarding the seizure of territories
The President also accused the Russian side of spreading false information about the situation on the front line.
In particular, he said that the Russian Federation had recently claimed to have occupied Sviatohirsk, but the Ukrainian military demonstrated that they were in control of the town. Similarly, Zelenskyy described the Russians’ claims regarding the distance to Sumy as "an outright lie".
According to the President, the Russian Federation will continue to employ this tactic throughout the State Duma elections at the end of September.
"Across Ukraine, they are carrying out constant, intense attacks as if they were ‘strong’. That’s roughly how things will unfold during these elections at the end of September; once the elections are over, we will see a new dynamic in their rhetoric," Zelenskyy concluded.
