Claim
He said he believes Vladimir Putin is planning an unannounced, covert mobilisation in Russia and intends to use the expanded manpower to pressure not only Ukraine but also Europe.
Attributed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Evidence
Multiple news outlets (Ukrainska Pravda, RBC-Ukraine/newsukraine.rbc.ua, ua.news, Mezha, and a Yahoo News aggregation of wire copy) reported on/around 8 August 2026 that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with Ukrainian broadcasters, said he believes Vladimir Putin is planning an unannounced, covert mobilisation in Russia, and that the additional manpower would be used to pressure both Ukraine and Europe. The wording closely matches the claim under review. This is reported as a direct statement by Zelenskyy himself, not an anonymous rumor, and multiple independent outlets carried essentially the same quote/paraphrase from the same original interview. No Reuters Fact Check, AFP Fact Check, Bellingcat, or EUvsDisinfo article specifically fact-checking this statement was found — but the claim doesn't require debunking since it is being accurately reported as Zelenskyy's stated opinion/assessment, not an independently verified fact about Russian mobilization plans.
Assessment
Multiple independent news outlets reporting on the same original interview corroborate that Zelenskyy made this specific statement, though no dedicated fact-checking organization has separately verified the underlying claim about Putin's actual intentions (which remains Zelenskyy's own assessment/opinion).
Confidence
Some independent corroboration was found, but it isn't yet conclusive.
Timeline
Aug 9, 2026, 9:11 PM UTC
ConfirmedInitial assessment.
First observed Aug 9, 2026, 9:11 PM UTC · Last reviewed Aug 9, 2026, 9:11 PM UTC