Zaluzhnyi press conference on mobilization, shelling of Kherson: highlights for December 26

Zaluzhnyi press conference

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi commented on the government's bill, which proposes to rotate the troops at the front every 6 months. According to the General, this would require increasing the number of troops at least twice to replace people at the positions.

Zaluzhnyi also said that back in the summer, the military command was not ready to discharge conscripts from the military service. But at the end of November, this proposal was made by the General Staff and was addressed to the Defense Ministry. In addition, the Commander-in-Chief said he was dissatisfied with the current work of military enlistment offices.

Zaluzhnyi also denied requesting a mobilization of 500,000 people during a press conference on December 26. The General said that Ukraine’s military command regularly formulates its requests for ammo, weapons, and human resources but has not submitted a request for a specific number of mobilized people to the government.

Previously, President Zelenskyy said during his press conference on December 19 that the General Staff and the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhnyi suggested mobilizing up to 400-500 thousand people for counteroffensive actions.

Zaluzhnyi also said that the General Staff is formulating a request for the human resources needed to continue the fighting in the next year but did not disclose this number, as it is a military secret.

Shelling of Kherson Oblast

Russian forces hit Kherson railway station on December 26, killing one person and injuring four. About 140 civilians were waiting for the evacuation train to depart before the massive shelling began. In addition, earlier in the day the Russian forces shelled Kherson Oblast, causing deaths and injuries.

Destruction of a Russian ship

Ukrainian forces destroyed the Russian landing ship Novocherkassk near Feodosia in Crimea on December 26. The ship was hit by cruise missiles Storm Shadow and Scalp. It is also reported that Novocherkassk carried ammunition onboard. That became a reason for a large explosion.

Other news

• The town of Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast is completely destroyed, said Commander-in-Chief of the UA Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi
• MPs from the Holos party are filing a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption against Energoatom president Petro Kotin.
• The first group of six Ukrainian pilots have completed basic training in the UK to fly F-16 fighter jets.