Ukraine's Defense Ministry not ruling out Putin may announce general mobilization

The ministry's spokesman, Oleksandr Motuzianyk, said this at a briefing at Ukrinform on Saturday, April 30.

"Whether Russia will announce a full mobilization will, of course, depend on [the results of] the fighting that is currently underway in the Eastern Operational Zone. That is, if the enemy fails to achieve its plans in the near future, such a scenario is quite possible, we do not rule it out," he said.

Motuzianyk also said that the Ukrainian military is currently aware that Russia is already conducting "covert mobilization" in some regions of Russia and is actively recruiting mercenaries for hostilities in Ukraine.

"In addition, the so-called mobilization continues in the temporarily occupied settlements of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions – they are catching people on the streets, dressing them in [military] uniforms and sending them to the front line. We are aware of that," he said.