Zelensky estimated the number of Ukrainian ground forces at 600,000 people

Almost 600,000 military personnel serve in the Ukrainian ground forces, the country’s President Vladimir Zelensky said in his Telegram channel.

“Ukrainian Ground Forces. Almost 600,000 soldiers of various branches of the military,” he wrote.

In September, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov saidthat the total strength of the country’s armed forces (AFU) has exceeded 800,000 people, which is more than three times higher than in February 2022.

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. President Vladimir Putin then stated that the goals were to protect the residents of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of the neighboring state. On the same day, Zelensky declared martial law in Ukraine, and the next day he signed a decree on general mobilization. In October 2022, the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions were included in the Russian Federation.

Since June 2023, Kyiv has been waging a counter-offensive, but the Russian side points to the lack of any successes among the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Moscow has repeatedly emphasized that it is ready for negotiations with Ukraine. However, this is hampered by Zelensky’s decree of October 2022 on the refusal to negotiate with Russia while it is headed by Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin explained. On December 1, in an interview with the Associated Press, Zelensky said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ summer offensive did not bring the results that Kyiv expected due to a constant shortage of weapons and ground troops.