Zelenskyy says Putin considering war pause amid financial problems, mobilization concerns
The Russian budget deficit is forcing Russia to reduce payments to the military, which, in the face of increasing losses at the front, leads to a reduction in forces on the front line, but Putin does not want to declare mobilization, so he is thinking about a pause in the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes.
"I think they need a pause. I think Putin is thinking about a pause," Zelenskyy said at a meeting with journalists.
According to the Ukrainian president, citing intelligence data, the real Russian budget deficit in 2025 amounted to over $100 billion, compared to the officially recognized over $80 billion, and this year it will be even greater.
Zelenskyy said the number of signed contracts in Russia is not decreasing, but payments to the military are decreasing. So the level of replenishment of the Russian army is 40,000 people per month, not all of whom go to the frontline, and the Ukrainian military destroys 30,000 to 35,000 occupiers every month in killed and seriously wounded, and this number of Russian losses will grow.
"They are losing primarily those who are on the front line. That is, if this continues, they will lose 100,000 to 120,000 of those who are on the 'frontline' in a few months. And they will not fill this deficit somehow simply, taking into account, in particular, the shortage of money... What solutions? Mobilization," the President of Ukraine said.
"Then this is an irreversible process. If Putin announces a large mobilization, we understand what impact it will have on their society and on him personally. I do not believe that he will stop the war in the near future," Zelenskyy added, and at the same time reported that Ukrainian intelligence says that Putin has no plans to mobilize, that it is not profitable for him.
As confirmation of this state of affairs, the President of Ukraine drew attention to the fact that Putin is currently paying for 10,000 soldiers from North Korea, who are not going to Ukrainian territory, but are defending the territory of Russia.
"That is, if he needs even these 10,000 to increase his army at the expense of the Korean contingent, then it will certainly be difficult to increase the contingent that is fighting on the territory of Ukraine. Because at whose expense? At the expense of his own. And what does this mean? It means mobilization," Zelenskyy noted once again.
The other day, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky told reporters that over the past six months, the number of Russian troops in Ukraine has remained approximately at the same level – 711,000 to 712,000 people, including the operational reserve.
