Zelenskyy Warns Putin Preparing Covert Mobilization of 500,000 Troops and North Korean Deployment

On August 8, 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a stark warning in an interview with TSN correspondent Olena Chernyakova: Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing a covert, large-scale mobilization of up to 500,000 troops, set to begin this fall. The warning came days after one of the deadliest Russian missile attacks on Kyiv this year, underscoring the acute threat Ukraine faces as its air defense supplies run critically low.

The Covert Mobilization Plan

Zelenskyy stated that Putin intends to carry out a mass mobilization without officially announcing it, using shadow contracts and border closures to deceive the Russian public and avoid domestic backlash. "He is thinking — I am certain of this — about mobilization. He's thinking about how to deceive his own people, in a sense. That is, to carry out a mass mobilization without announcing it. To sign some kind of secret contracts, to close the borders," Zelenskyy said .

Broader Aggressive Actions Predicted

Alongside the troop buildup, Zelenskyy predicted Russia would intensify:

• Cyberattacks — "hundreds of thousands of cyberattacks" .
• Missile pressure and intimidation against Ukraine and Europe .

He also warned that the mobilized forces are intended not only for the front in Ukraine but as a tool of psychological pressure on neighboring European countries. "To show that I'm mobilizing half a million people this fall. And it's not a given that I'll use all half a million of them only in Ukraine," Zelenskyy quoted Putin's implied messaging .

Why Putin Is Pursuing This Escalation

Zelenskyy gave two main reasons:

1. Putin cannot win the war under current conditions but still needs a victory to justify Russia's colossal losses to his own people. "Putin cannot — at least not yet — win this war. He needs to win it. He's seeking it at Ukraine's expense," Zelenskyy said .
2. Putin is not ready to stop the war on fair terms and instead seeks symbolic successes to sell domestically .

North Korean Troop Involvement

Zelenskyy also revealed that North Korea has decided to deploy between 30,000 and 50,000 troops to Russia, warning they are gaining modern combat experience that could threaten other countries in Asia .

The Deadly Context: August 4–5 Attack on Kyiv

The ongoing threat was underscored by a massive Russian missile attack on Kyiv on August 4–5, 2026, in which Russia fired over two dozen ballistic and anti-ship missiles, killing at least 17 people in the capital and surrounding region. None of the ballistic missiles were intercepted by Ukraine's air defenses, which have run critically low on interceptor missiles . That attack was one of the deadliest on Kyiv this year .