Russia Watch

Ukraine thinks Russia is planning to draft an additional 300,000 troops for its war effort after Russian parliamentary elections in mid-September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Moscow’s forces are pressing ahead with an effort to capture the rest of eastern Ukraine’s industrialized Donbas region, where its troops have ground forward at what Kyiv says is a great cost.

In comments to reporters released on Sunday, Zelensky said Russia could draft more troops in 2027 to reach an overall goal of 500,000, part of what he described as a “peripheral mobilization” targeting Russia’s far-flung regions.

“We believe it will not take place in the central cities,” he said. “But I don’t think they will be able to hide it very well.”

Parliamentary elections in Russia are set for Sept. 18-20.

As fighting rages around the strategic city of Kostiantynivka, Zelensky said Russia was losing a “maximum” amount of troops in its bid to advance into Ukraine’s so-called fortress belt of eastern cities.

He also hailed recent gains by Kyiv’s troops in southeastern Ukraine, adding that the amount of territory occupied by Russia and liberated by Ukrainian forces in 2026 would be equal.

Ukraine thinks Russia is planning to draft an additional 300,000 troops for its war effort after Russian parliamentary elections in mid-September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Moscow’s forces are pressing ahead with an effort to capture the rest of eastern Ukraine’s industrialized Donbas region, where its troops have ground forward at what Kyiv says is a great cost.

In comments to reporters released on Sunday, Zelensky said Russia could draft more troops in 2027 to reach an overall goal of 500,000, part of what he described as a “peripheral mobilization” targeting Russia’s far-flung regions.

“We believe it will not take place in the central cities,” he said. “But I don’t think they will be able to hide it very well.”

Parliamentary elections in Russia are set for Sept. 18-20.

As fighting rages around the strategic city of Kostiantynivka, Zelensky said Russia was losing a “maximum” amount of troops in its bid to advance into Ukraine’s so-called fortress belt of eastern cities.

He also hailed recent gains by Kyiv’s troops in southeastern Ukraine, adding that the amount of territory occupied by Russia and liberated by Ukrainian forces in 2026 would be equal.

Nearly 400 Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow and the surrounding region overnight, local authorities said Tuesday morning, as a separate strike in the southwestern Belgorod region injured at least 19 people, according to officials.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 390 drones had been tracked in the skies above the wider Moscow region since Monday night, noting that “most” of them were intercepted. He did not report any damage or injuries.

Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said an apartment building in the town of Chekhov, located around 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of the Russian capital, was hit in a drone attack. Local authorities said the building’s facade and two apartment units were damaged, but added that there were no casualties.

Air defense systems downed “a few dozen” Ukrainian drones elsewhere in the Moscow region, including in Podolsk, Domodedovo and Kolomna, Vorobyov said.