The Ministry of Defense assessed the mobilization potential of the Russian army.

The Russian army is at a disadvantage, being supported only by foreign mercenaries.

This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, in an interview with "Ukrinform".

He pointed out that mobilization in Russia is ongoing; it has simply shifted to a contract-based format. Moreover, Putin is increasingly attempting to recruit prisoners, residents of temporarily occupied territories, soldiers from North Korea, and foreign mercenaries into his army.

According to Havryliuk, in 2024, at least 427,000 servicemen were contracted into the Russian army, meaning that the Russian army was replenished by approximately 36,000 troops each month.

At the same time, in the last quarter of 2024 and in January 2025, the enemy was losing over 40,000 soldiers each month on the battlefield in Ukraine.

“In other words, the Russian army is at a disadvantage, not counting the mercenaries and soldiers from North Korea. However, there remains a vast mobilization resource within Russia. Currently, many of them are joining the army, and it doesn’t matter whether the driving force is financial incentives or propaganda,” he noted.

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that “partial mobilization” in Russia would not prevent Ukraine from liberating most of the occupied territories before winter arrives.