Due to the difficult economic situation, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was faced with a choice: to pause the war against Ukraine or to take the unpopular step of declaring mobilization. According to a UNIAN correspondent, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this during a conversation with journalists.
In particular, the head of state spoke about our intelligence data regarding the mood among the Russian elite regarding the end of the war.
"The Russians have less money. We see that there is a report from their Central Bank - more than $80 billion in deficit by 2025. We record this in reports, but in reality it is more than $100 billion, because they carried part of it over to the next year... This is what I saw in our intelligence analysis. And this suggests that their real deficit was more than $100 billion for 2025. Is that difficult? Very. That's why I think they need a break. I think Putin is thinking about a break. We believe they will have an even bigger deficit this year," Zelenskyy said.
On problems in the Russian army
"We do not see a decrease in the number of contracts signed, but we do see a decrease in payments to the military in Russia. They have already embarked on this path," Zelenskyy noted.
At the same time, according to him, the Russian army is replenished by 40,000 people per month, and not all of them go to the front line. At the same time, according to the president, Russia is losing 30-35,000 occupiers killed and seriously wounded every month in the war against Ukraine.
"This number of Russian losses will grow. That is, its army is not being replenished sufficiently. But first and foremost, they are losing those who are on the front line. That is, if this continues, in a few months they will lose 100,000-120,000 of those who are on the "front line." And they will not be able to make up for this deficit easily, given, in particular, the shortage of money," Zelenskyy noted.
According to the Ukrainian president, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will have to make tough decisions.
"What decisions? Mobilization. Then it will be an irreversible process. If Putin announces a large-scale mobilization, we understand what impact it will have on their society and on him personally. I don't believe that he will stop the war anytime soon," Zelenskyy emphasized.
Other statements by the president
Zelenskyy said that the United States has proposed that Russia and Ukraine end the war before the start of summer. The US may even resort to pressure, as its main focus this year will be on domestic politics – the midterm elections to Congress.
He also said that America had proposed that the two negotiating teams – Ukraine and Russia – meet in the United States in a week's time.
