- Up to 500,000 Ukrainians could be called up for the army, but Zelensky has rejected the military’s request to mobilize them.
- The timeline for Western nations to continue Kyiv’s vital support has become more pressing.
- Hungarian leader Viktor Orban opposed an aid package worth about 50 billion euros.
As tiredness among Kyiv’s supporters and the Kremlin grows increasingly certain of victory, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is ongoing.
Up to 500,000 Ukrainians could be called up for the army, but Zelensky has rejected the military’s request to mobilize them. This unpopular move could negatively affect Zelensky’s declining popularity among Ukrainians.
Russia-Ukraine War
The timeline for Western nations to continue Kyiv’s vital support has become more pressing. As Russia‘s invasion approaches its second anniversary in February, Zelensky this week set out on a tour of Western nations to argue for increased military and political backing.
But while Hungarian leader Viktor Orban opposed an aid package worth about 50 billion euros ($55 billion), he was unable to persuade the US Congress to instantly approve $60 billion in backing.
Zelensky was optimistic that Washington would deliver on its pledge of assistance, but the US Senate’s Republican and Democratic leaders stated that Washington would not be able to provide fresh funding for Ukraine before the year’s end since the two sides were still working toward a settlement.
Zelensky expressed his recognition that the outcome of the November vote might have a “very strong impact” on how the war plays out, given that US elections are coming up the following year.
According to recent surveys, only 62% of Ukrainians now believe in Zelensky, down from 84% a year ago when Kyiv’s soldiers were rejoicing over victories in the east and south. With only a few villages in the east and south retaken after months of battle against well-entrenched Russian soldiers, this year’s counteroffensive achieved far less than last year’s.
