Zelenskyy Accuses Putin of ‘Sham Elections’, Warns of Mass Mobilisation After Russia Vote

First the election. Then the mobilisation. That, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleges, is Vladimir Putin’s plan as Russia heads towards parliamentary elections in September.

Zelenskyy has accused the Kremlin of engineering what he called “sham elections” after Russia’s Supreme Court annulled the registration of Yabloko, an opposition party that has spoken against the war in Ukraine. “If Putin wants war so badly” that he is unwilling to allow even one party advocating peace onto the ballot, Zelenskyy said, then the Russian president’s priorities were “crystal clear”. The Kremlin has not been quoted responding to Zelenskyy’s allegations in the material provided.

An election, then more soldiers?

Zelenskyy went further, claiming Ukrainian intelligence had obtained internal Russian documents pointing to preparations for another wave of mobilisation.

According to the Ukrainian president, Moscow plans a rapid mobilisation of several hundred thousand Russians after the parliamentary elections, followed by another large recruitment effort next year.

These remain claims by Ukrainian intelligence and have not been independently verified in the material provided.

Zelenskyy argued that the election would first allow Putin to project an image of public support for the war, after which the Kremlin could move ahead with mobilisation.

Why does Yabloko matter?

Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday annulled Yabloko’s registration for the September parliamentary elections, just days after the Central Election Commission had approved it on July 29.

According to Euronews, the ruling followed a lawsuit by the pro-Kremlin nationalist Rodina party.

Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov rejected the decision, saying there were “no grounds at all” for removing the party from the elections.

Its exclusion is politically significant because Yabloko was the only officially registered party on the ballot openly opposed to Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to Euronews.

Zelenskyy links mobilisation to battlefield losses

The Ukrainian president claimed Russia is losing at least 30,000 personnel every month in Ukraine and argued that Ukrainian drone operations have gradually reduced the size of Moscow’s forces.

He alleged Putin believes another mobilisation, combined with the deployment of North Korean troops, could allow Russia to sustain its offensive operations. Zelenskyy also accused Russia of using North Korean-supplied ballistic missiles in overnight attacks on Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia. He defended Ukraine’s retaliatory long-range strikes on Russian oil facilities, logistics hubs and military infrastructure as a response to Moscow’s attacks.

And where does the US fit in?

Zelenskyy said Kyiv has submitted proposals to Washington seeking stronger air-defence capabilities and greater US pressure on Moscow.

His argument is that Washington can help change Putin’s calculations by strengthening Ukraine militarily while increasing pressure on Russia to move towards ending the war.

For now, however, Zelenskyy is painting a very different picture of what comes after Russia votes in September. His warning is stark: the election may not signal a new political chapter in Russia. It could be the prelude to putting hundreds of thousands more Russians into uniform.

(With inputs from ANI)