The Kremlin said on Tuesday there was no discussion of a nationwide mobilisation to bolster its forces in Ukraine, despite growing pressure to do so after Russia suffered one of its worst defeats in nearly seven months of the war.

“At the moment no, there is no discussion of this,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked for the second day running if Russia would mobilise its reserves after being driven out of almost all of the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine.

On Monday, Russian media quoted Mikhail Sheremet, a state Duma deputy from the ruling United Russia party, as saying “full mobilisation” was necessary for victory.

On Tuesday, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said on the party’s website: “Most of all, we need the maximum mobilisation of our strength and resources” in order to win what he called a “war” against the US, Europe and Nato.

Russia describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special military operation”, and critics who call it a war or an invasion have been prosecuted under laws passed earlier this year.

Asked about criticism of the military leadership by nationalist commentators who have demanded mobilisation, Peskov said it was an example of “pluralism” and that Russians as a whole continue to support President Vladimir Putin.

“Russians support the President, and this is confirmed by the mood of the people ... The people are consolidated around the decisions of the head of state,” he said.