FThings are currently not going well for Ukraine in its defensive battle against the Russian invaders. How the Ukrainians can manage to hold on to at least the areas they currently control is not just a military problem. On the one hand, the question of how many sacrifices citizens are willing and able to make is far more socially explosive. On the other hand, politicians in Kiev also face dilemmas when it comes to discussing what else they can expect of their compatriots.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was unable to offer any guidance on this in his big press conference at the end of the year. The elephant in the room is a new major military mobilization. “The question of mobilization is a very sensitive one,” Zelenskyj said right at the start of his appearance on Tuesday evening. The President announced that the General Staff had approached him with the request to mobilize 400,000 to 500,000 additional forces and that a plan would be presented to Parliament.
Against the mobilization of women
The many questions that the Ukrainian president himself formulated show that a lot is still open here. The problem is not only the costs of such a large mobilization, which, according to Zelensky, are around 500 billion hryvnia (almost 12.3 billion euros) and still have to be raised. “In this mobilization law, you must give me and the entire society answers,” Zelensky said. “I told (the army leadership) that I need more arguments to support this direction because it is primarily about the people. It is a question of justice, defense capability and finance,” he continued.
It seems that Zelensky is not willing to give a clear direction. The main burden of responsibility should obviously be borne by the military leadership and the parliament as the legislature. However, the president became clearer at the press conference about what he does not want as part of a large-scale mobilization. “No, I will not sign that,” he said, in case a law was presented to him that would provide for the mobilization of women. The president left it open whether he would support a mobilization of all young men capable of fighting.
This question is also explosive, as thousands of young men have already avoided possible military service by fleeing abroad. And Zelensky is obviously trying not to make military service seem more inhumane than it already is. Zelenskyj also demanded that the military come up with a “concrete” plan to demobilize those who would be mobilized in the future. The president spoke of opportunities for “vacations” and more generally of a “right to rest.” This is a question of “respect” for the soldiers.
“Working relationship” with Saluzhnyj
However, Ukraine is not only fighting against the Russian aggressor, but also for international support. In his appearance here, Zelenskyj gave insights that he has never given before. He found words of praise for Germany: “With Chancellor Scholz, Germany is the second largest supporter of Ukraine – financially and militarily,” said Zelensky. At the same time, the Ukrainian President said that it remains to be seen how far Scholz's commitment to help Ukraine for as long as necessary will go. One looks “at the actions and not at the words” from Berlin.
Kiev currently has to worry even more about the United States than about Germany. Zelensky spoke specifically about the eventuality of Donald Trump winning the presidential election next fall. “If Trump wins the election, he will definitely pursue a different policy towards Ukraine. He is a different person. “It’s not up to us to elect him, it’s up to his people,” Zelensky said, adding that he was “not sure” whether a President Trump would actually change America’s Ukraine policy. But if so, it would have dire consequences. “If a powerful part fails, the whole mechanism falters,” said the Ukrainian president.
Zelensky also spoke about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who until recently threatened to block the start of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine – and actually blocked further EU financial aid for Kiev. “Sometimes his politics are not very friendly to us, I told him that,” the Ukrainian president said of an encounter at the inauguration of new Argentine President Javier Milei. Zelensky justified his trip with the need to win support in the global south. Latin America and Argentina in particular have so far been closer to the legacy of the Soviet Union and thus Russia.
Towards the end of the press conference, the President was asked about his relationship with the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zalushny. “I have a working relationship with Zalushny,” said Zelensky, who also announced that he wanted to continue working with the current top military officers. But when Zelensky once again emphasized that he was demanding a concept for mobilization from the generals, it became clear: mutual relations could be better. According to a poll published on Wednesday, 72 percent of Ukrainians would consider firing Saluzhny, which has been the subject of speculation for weeks, a mistake. Saluschnyj is currently the only personality in Ukraine who comes close to the president in popularity polls.
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