President Volodymyr Zelensky said he does not rule out that Russian President Vladimir Putin could announce a mobilization campaign after the parliamentary elections in Russia.
The Ukrainian President made the statement following the Ukraine–Southeast Europe Summit, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"Could there be escalation after the parliamentary elections in Russia? The election results will not affect this escalation in any way, because the outcome will already be known before the vote," Zelensky said.
At the same time, he noted that the end of the voting process could become a "starting point after which Putin may take certain escalatory steps."
"He will not be able to increase recruitment through contracts, because that requires paying large sums of money. Therefore, he may move toward increasing mobilization, where such contracts would not be required. We are considering this. We need to prepare for such steps," the President said.
