Putin planning to mobilise 300,000 troops in weeks, Zelensky warns as Moscow pulls ambassador out of Britain

VLADIMIR Putin is set to mobilise 300,000 troops in weeks, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned. It comes as Russia pulled its ambassador out of Britain and rewarded the Kremlin crony with a prestigious post in Moscow. Vladimir Putin is set to mobilise 300,000 troops in weeks, Ukraine said Credit: AP Mad Vlad is aiming to bolster his flailing forces by half a million extra recruits in total in 2027 Credit: EPA It comes after a devastating ‘double-tap’ strike killed 16 at a shopping centre in Ukraine Credit: East2West Ex Russian ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin left his post on July 21 Credit: Sky News Ukraine believes Mad Vlad is planning to mobilise an extra 300,000 troops for his invasion of Ukraine after Russian parliamentary elections in September. Zelensky warned that Russia could draft hundreds of thousands more next year as its deranged dictator attempts to capture the rest of Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! The ageing tyrant is aiming to bolster his flailing forces by half a million extra recruits in total in 2027, he said. The Ukrainian president said the recruitment drive was likely to target Russia’s far-flung regions. Zelensky said Russia is losing losing a “maximum” amount of troops, adding that mobilisation “will not take place in the central cities”. He added: “But I don’t think they will be able to hide it very well.” Russian ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin, 69, was in the job for seven years since his appointment in 2019. He quietly left the role on July 21 and the Kremlin has not replaced him, signalling a serious breakdown in diplomatic relations between Moscow and London. Most read in The Sun Ukrainian drones blasted a warehouse belonging to online retailer Ozon in Russia Credit: East2West No candidates have been put forward to replace Kelin Credit: East2West Russia attacked a railway station in Ukraine on Saturday Credit: Reuters Zelensky said Putin’s recruitment drive was likely to target Russia’s far-flung regions Credit: AFP On Monday, Russia warned of “consequences” after Britain backed Ukraine’s drone attacks last week. The UK has supplied drones used by Zelensky’s forces for devastating attacks on Russia. No candidates have been put forward to replace Kelin as Russia tries to force the UK to reconsider its support for Ukraine. Embassy staff have no idea if or when a successor could be put in place, according to The Times. A Russian embassy spokesman claimed Kelin had made “considerable efforts to preserve contacts and channels of communication” with Britain. He accused the government of opting for “path of confrontation” with the Kremlin. The spokesman added: “He left Britain in the hope that a more constructive and respectful dialogue could eventually be restored, should the UK reconsider its policies towards our country. “In the meantime, the embassy is headed by the chargé d’affaires.” Kelin is now tipped for a job overseeing Russia’s Mordovia region, notorious for its gulags. The ambassador promoted pro-Kremlin propaganda during his time in London, including denying reports that dart frog poison had been used to take out Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in March. Last year he denied official conclusions that Putin “must have” authorised the use of a nerve agent Novichok in the 2018 Salisbury poisonings that killed Dawn Sturgess and almost killed former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. Comment now