Macron Exposes Kremlin's Authoritarian Plans for Mass Mobilization After Sham Elections
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French President Emmanuel Macron has sounded the alarm on Russia's looming forced conscription, warning that the Kremlin, emboldened by its tightly controlled elections, is preparing to drag hundreds of thousands more citizens into its imperialist war machine.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking to TF1 and France 2 on Sept. 24, exposed Russia's alarming preparations for another wave of forced mobilization following its undemocratic elections. Macron highlighted that intelligence from European and American agencies, as well as Ukrainian sources, confirms the Kremlin's intent to conscript around 300,000 more people—a figure echoed by Ukraine's presidential office.
"There have indeed been several reports shared by European and American intelligence services, as well as by our Ukrainian friends," Macron stated, underscoring the broad international consensus on Russia's aggressive plans.
He emphasized that the Kremlin deliberately waited until after its staged election to proceed, and may either publicly announce or covertly implement this new mobilization. Macron described the scenario of drafting 300,000 soldiers in each of the next two years as "plausible," interpreting it as a sign of Russia's willingness to escalate its violent campaign to seize the entire Donbas region at any cost.
"The signal Russia is sending today is that we are prepared to make even greater sacrifices in order to seize the entire Donbas," he said, highlighting the regime's disregard for human life.
Ukraine's presidential office had previously warned that Russia could seek to mobilize 600,000 people across 2026 and 2027, reflecting not only the regime's desperation but also the growing domestic opposition to the war and a sharp decline in voluntary enlistments. Russia has resorted to forced mobilization only once before, in fall 2022, after Ukrainian counteroffensives exposed the weaknesses of its military—a move that triggered a mass exodus of Russians fleeing conscription. Since then, President Vladimir Putin has relied on financial incentives for contract soldiers, shifting the burden onto regional authorities to meet recruitment quotas.
Macron's warning comes as Europe remains deeply concerned about the Kremlin's militarization and the devastating impact of its war of aggression on Ukraine.