Putin preparing millions of soldiers: Zelenskyy on Russia’s military plans
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia plans to increase the size of its armed forces to between 2 and 2.5 million personnel by 2030, and says Europe must respond.
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Vladimir Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia intends to substantially increase the size of its military, potentially reaching 2 to 2.5 million troops by 2030.
The president said this while discussing the necessity of establishing unified European armed forces.
«I spoke about joint European armed forces. Why? Because the threat from Russia is clear. They plan to have an army of 2–2.5 million by 2030, ” Zelenskyy said.
According to him, the plan is not about dissolving national armies, but about building a joint defense capacity capable of rapid response to contemporary threats.
«Certainly, every country should maintain its sovereign army. But combined armed forces that are ready to respond should number at least around 3 million troops, ” the president said.
He also noted that he had presented this initiative to European leaders last year, but no concrete steps have been taken so far to create such forces.
«A year has passed — I will be honest — no progress has been made towards this idea. Perhaps now, in light of all the challenges, European leaders will reconsider, ” he concluded.