Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine
Russia’s routine conscription cycle delayed
Russia’s routine conscription cycle, which takes place in the fall and which aims to train 120,000 conscripts, has been delayed this year, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defense.
Last week, Putin signed an order for the routine fall conscription cycle to begin on Nov. 1, a month later than usual.
“The late start to the cycle is an indication of growing pressures on Russia’s ability to train and equip a large number of new conscripted personnel,” the ministry said on Twitter Tuesday.
“The challenges of accommodating, training, equipping and deploying mobilised and conscripted personnel are significant. Deficiencies within the Russian administrative and logistical systems will continue to undermine these efforts,” the ministry added.
Reservists drafted during the partial mobilization at a departure ceremony in Sevastopol, Crimea, on Sept. 27, 2022.
Stringer | Afp | Getty Images
Russia’s forthcoming conscription cycle comes soon after Putin announced a partial mobilization of around 300,000 reservists to be sent to fight in Ukraine. There are now increasing reports of hastily called up, poorly trained and ill-equipped troops being sent to the front in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s inexperienced conscripts are dying in the war just a week or so after arriving in the country to fight. Thousands of men have tried to escape conscription by fleeing to countries neighboring Russia.
— Holly Ellyatt
Ukraine’s upper house greenlights annexation, Putin’s signature will seal it
Russian President Vladimir Putin on a screen at Red Square as he addresses a rally and a concert marking the annexation of four regions of Ukraine — Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — in central Moscow on Sept. 30, 2022.
Alexander Nemenov | Afp | Getty Images
Ukraine’s upper house of parliament has approved laws incorporating four regions of Ukraine that Russia announced it was annexing last week, into the Russian Federation.
The move to annex Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk — following sham referendums in the occupied regions on whether to join Russia — was internationally condemned, with Ukraine and its allies calling the votes illegal and illegitimate.
Despite the prospect of further sanctions in response to the annexation, Russian lawmakers have plowed ahead with the legal process to annex the territories. The State Duma, or lower house of parliament, yesterday approved the annexation and the upper house, the Federation Council, today unanimously approved legislation ratifying the annexation.
It now remains for Russian President Vladimir Putin to put his signature to the documents to complete the formal annexation process.
(From left) The Moscow-appointed heads of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo and Zaporizhzhia region Yevgeny Balitsky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Donetsk separatist leader Denis Pushilin and Luhansk separatist leader Leonid Pasechnik listen to the Russian national anthem after signing treaties formally annexing four regions of Ukraine Russian troops occupy, at the Kremlin in Moscow on Sept. 30, 2022.
Mikhail Metzel | AFP | Getty Images
It’s still unclear where…
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