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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia is likely to mobilize 300,000 more troops this year in a renewed push to capture the eastern Donetsk region.

This comes as Zelenskyy rejected calls for wartime elections, calling the idea "a tsunami" that would split Ukraine apart, and as Syria and Israel held US-mediated talks in Jordan to de-escalate tensions.

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Major Story

🇺🇦🇷🇺 Zelenskyy warns of new Russian mobilization

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia is likely to mobilize another 300,000 troops later this year as it tries to complete the capture of the eastern Donetsk region.

He said Russian President Vladimir Putin would deploy the fresh troops depending on the situation in the east, and predicted Ukrainian forces would defeat them there.

Zelenskyy said Russia has lost 267,000 personnel since the start of the year, including around 155,000 killed, though the figures cannot be independently confirmed.

He also warned that Ukraine's supply of Patriot interceptor missiles has fallen sharply, from 675 in 2023 to a forecast 264 this year, deepening the country's air defense shortage.

New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to visit Kyiv on Monday, where the UK will help Ukraine build its own long-range missiles using British components.

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