Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on August 11 that Kyiv has delivered proposals to US negotiators aimed at ending the nearly four-and-a-half-year war with Russia [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Zelenskyy said US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner last visited Moscow in January 2026 but have not yet traveled to Kyiv to discuss the conflict [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

Zelenskyy urged the United States to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities, especially its air defenses. He said the US should pressure Russia to prepare for concluding the war instead of prolonging it. "We have conveyed our proposals to the American side. And the United States can help strengthen our defence, first and foremost with air defence, and put pressure on Russia so that its plans are different — to prepare for an end to the war rather than prolonging it," he said [1, 5].

The Ukrainian leader also warned that Russian intelligence indicates Moscow plans a major new military mobilization immediately after the parliamentary elections scheduled for September 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Russia’s Supreme Court recently barred the opposition Yabloko party from running in the elections, which are expected to ensure continued dominance by the Putin-backed United Russia party [1, 2, 3, 4]. Zelenskyy said, "They are preparing for mobilisation in the autumn, immediately after the imitation of parliamentary elections. Then, following the so-called election, he plans an additional rapid mobilisation of several hundred thousand Russians by the end of the year, plus another similar number next year" [1]. He added the mobilization aims to create the appearance of Russian public support for the war [3].

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and declared a partial mobilization that year, recruiting approximately 300,000 troops [1, 3, 5]. The new projected mobilization would be significantly larger.

Russian officials including Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and former President Dmitry Medvedev have denied that a fresh mobilization is planned and called the Ukrainian claims propaganda [4, 5].

The new Ukrainian proposals come amid ongoing conflict and diplomatic efforts. The US negotiators Witkoff and Kushner last engaged with Russia in Moscow in January 2026 and are expected to continue involvement as Ukraine seeks increased Western support [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

Russia’s parliamentary elections are set for September 2026. Following the vote, Ukraine expects Moscow to initiate its planned troop mobilization sometime in the autumn, with several hundred thousand soldiers to be drafted by the end of 2026 and a similar number in 2027 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].