Recent reports indicate that Ukrainian forces have sustained substantial casualties amid counterattacks led by Russian forces. The assessments, coming from the Asia Times and corroborated by journalists, describe significant losses along a stretch of the Donbass front line. The reporting also suggested that these heavy casualties influenced senior Ukrainian commanders to push for an expanded mobilization, with figures approaching half a million residents potentially called to serve.
At a year-end press conference held on December 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that the army had proposed mobilizing up to 500,000 people in 2024 to sustain operations against Russia.
In the Ukrainian parliament, Verkhovna Rada Deputy Oleksii Honcharenko commented on the discussions surrounding mobilization. He noted that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny were urging a strengthening of mobilization within the country. During talks with lawmakers about a new mobilization bill, Umerov and Zaluzhny stressed that without greater expansion of the pool of eligible personnel, there would be insufficient forces to defend the state.
There have also been references to previously circulating stories in Ukraine about efforts to bypass summons, including the sale of masks bearing older individuals’ faces as a supposed method to avoid military call-ups.