Ukraine studies mobilizing 160,000 more people in the face of the rapid advance of Russian forces on the Donetsk front

Ukraine studies mobilize 160,000 additional troops for its Armed Forces, the secretary of the government’s National Defense and Security Council, Oleksandr Litvinenko, reported this Tuesday during a session of the Verkhovna Rada or Parliament in kyiv.

The announcement of this mobilization comes at a delicate time for Ukrainian forces on the front lines in the western part of Donetskwhere the Russian Army continues to make important advances towards the main bastions of this region.

Litvinenko assured that this mobilization will ensure that Army units are covered up to 85% in terms of personnel.

He further reported that during the course of the war To date, Ukraine has mobilized one and a half million citizens.

The sessions of the Rada are not public, but these statements by Litvinenko appear in a video of this Tuesday’s session published by the deputy Sergei Goncharenko, of the opposition European Solidarity party.

Parliament approved this Tuesday by majority the extension of martial law and general mobilization in Ukraine for another 90 daysuntil February 7 of next year. This is the 13th time that martial law has been extended since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

The National Defense and Security Council is a government body subordinate to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyand which includes ministers, the commander in chief of the Armed Forces and the directors of the security services, among others.

Troubles in Donetsk

The announcement of this mobilization comes after Russian troops continue their advance towards Kurajove and Pokrovsk, two of the Ukrainian strongholds in the Donetsk region, The Russian Ministry of Defense reported this Tuesday on its Telegram channel.

“As a result of decisive actions, units of the Center troop group completely liberated the city of Selidove from the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the military report states.

Selidovewhich had more than 20,000 inhabitants before the start, in February 2022, of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, is located equidistant, about 10 kilometers, between Kurajove and Pokrovsk.

The Russian military command also confirmed that its troops took control of the city of Gorniakwhich is located about 10 kilometers northeast of Kurajove, and which had about 10,000 inhabitants before the outbreak of war.

According to the military report, the Russian forces also took the villages of Katerynivka and Dobrevilliaabout 10 kilometers southeast and south, respectively, of Kurajove.

Russia has accelerated its offensive in recent weeks in an attempt to take control of the main Ukrainian strongholds in Donbas before the arrival of winter.

A senior Ukrainian military officer, Major General Dmytro Marchenkopreviously confirmed reports about major problems on the front in the western part of Donetsk. “We all know that I am not revealing any military secrets when I say that our front has collapsed,” Marchenko said in a video interview with former parliamentary representative Boryslav Beresa published Monday afternoon.

Marchenko gave several reasons for the Russian advance. “First of all, there is a lack of ammunition and weapons, secondly, there is a lack of people, there are no people, there are no replacements, The soldiers are tired, they can’t cover the front line where they are,” the major general complained.