LUGANSK, June 23. /TASS/. Ukraine’s losses during the counteroffensive in the zone of Russia’s special military operation have forced the authorities to toughen the mobilization campaign, Andrey Marochko, a retired lieutenant general of the People’s Militia of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), told TASS on Friday.

"I am convinced that the current general mobilization in Kiev is explained by the success of our troops along the combat engagement line because Ukrainian troops are sustaining catastrophic losses. Evidently, neither the Ukrainian command nor NATO generals who planned the so-called counteroffensive did not expect such losses," he said.

According to Marochko, the decision to declare "general mobilization" in a number of Ukrainian cities proves that Ukraine is seeking to urgently make up for the losses. "There is a risk that women will also fall under mobilization, since we have seen many bodies of young women, who served in Ukrainian assault units, along the combat engagement line," he noted.

The Ukrainian Strana mass media outlet reported on Thursday that "general mobilization" was declared in Kiev. It cited an order issued by the military commander of the city’s Obolon district Alexey Privala. Those evading the draft will face criminal punishment. Similar measures were announced on Friday in Chernigov, and in Ivano-Frankovsk in western Ukraine last week.

Martial law was imposed in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. On the following day, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree on mobilization. Both martial law and the mobilization campaign have been extended more than once ever since, with the latest extension for 90 more days being announced on May 2, 2023.

The Ukrainian army has been making futile attempts to stage an offensive since the beginning of the month. Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev said on June 22 that since the beginning of the counteroffensive, Ukraine’s losses had exceeded 13,000 troops. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian forces are not seeing success in any area.