[RD] Russia Invades Ukraine: Eight

Moderator Action: And back to news please. Opinions of opinions do not belong here. Thanks.
 

Putin begins biggest Russian military call-up in years​

President Vladimir Putin has called up 160,000 men aged 18-30, Russia's highest number of conscripts since 2011, as the country moves to expand the size of its military.

The spring call-up for a year's military service came several months after Putin said Russia should increase the overall size of its military to almost 2.39 million and its number of active servicemen to 1.5 million.

That is a rise of 180,000 over the coming three years.

Vice Adm Vladimir Tsimlyansky said the new conscripts would not be sent to fight in Ukraine for what Russia calls its "special military operation".

However, there have been reports of conscripts being killed in fighting in Russia's border regions and they were sent to fight in Ukraine in the early months of the full-scale war.

The current draft, which takes place between April and July, comes despite US attempts to forge a ceasefire in the war.

There was no let-up in the violence on Tuesday, with Ukraine saying that a Russian attack on a power facility in the southern city of Kherson had left 45,000 people without electricity.

Russia also claimed to have captured another Ukrainian village, at Rozlyiv in the Donetsk region.

Russia calls up conscripts in the spring and autumn but the latest draft of 160,000 young men is 10,000 higher than the same period in 2024.

Since the start of last year, the pool of young men available for the draft has been increased by raising the maximum age from 27 to 30.

As well as call-up notices delivered by post, young men will receive notifications on the state services website Gosuslugi.

Quite apart from its twice-yearly draft, Russia has also called up large numbers of men as contract soldiers and recruited thousands of soldiers from North Korea.

Moscow has had to respond to extensive losses in Ukraine, with more than 100,000 verified by the BBC and Mediazona as soldiers killed in Ukraine.

The true number could be more than double.

Putin has scaled up the size of the military three times since he ordered troops to capture Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia's defence ministry linked the December 2023 increase in the size of the military to "growing threats" from both the war in Ukraine and the "ongoing expansion of Nato".

Nato has expanded to include Finland and Sweden, as a direct result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Finland has Nato's longest border with Russia, at 1,343km (834 miles) and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Tuesday that his country would join other states neighbouring Russia in pulling out of the Ottawa convention banning anti-personnel mines.

Poland and the Baltic states made similar decisions two weeks ago because of the military threat from Russia.

Orpo said the decision to resume using anti-personnel mines was based on military advice, and that the people of Finland had nothing to worry about.

The government in Helsinki also said defence spending would be increased to 3% of economic output (GDP), up from 2.4% last year.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c36718p52eyo
 
Russian Lieutenant Colonel Alexey Selivanov at the Russian event called the Club of People's Unity:

"We need to remove this artificial idea of a Ukrainian nation, and say that we are all Russian. Ukrainianization is reversible. If the Ukrainian nation is a political construct, it can be reversed by education.

Yes, they won't let us do it now in Ukraine, not with any signed agreements. But God gives us a chance. A bloody chance, a hard chance. It's called a 'special military operation'. Where Russian troops come, Ukrainianism ceases to exist in a non-violent and natural way.

If there is a Ukrainian nation there, it exists only in the person of awaiters and saboteurs who blow up our policemen. There is no Ukrainian nation there anymore. And it will be the same in other liberated regions. Those who do not want to stop the existence of the Ukrainian nation, they will die or leave. They join the Ukrainian Armed Forces."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1907024396126175254
 

Russian Negotiator Dmitriev to Meet Envoy Witkoff in Washington​

US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet in Washington with senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, according to a person familiar with the plans, an effort to smooth over tensions after President Donald Trump vented frustration with counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Trump told NBC News over the weekend that he was “pissed off” with the Russian president and threatened secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian oil if Putin refused a ceasefire with Ukraine, rare public criticism of Moscow by the US president.

Dmitriev, 49, runs Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and has played an important role in talks between the US and Russia. His presence in the US capital highlights the prospects of greater business cooperation between the two countries on potential projects, including in the Arctic and on liquefied natural gas. He’s a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investment banker who was educated at Stanford and Harvard Universities and has ties to Putin’s family.

 
Good write up here, mandatory reading for Steve Witkoff.

Trump’s Illusions About Russia​

Trump may believe he can personally convince Putin to make concessions. However, this confidence is likely misplaced. Trump fundamentally underestimates Russia’s negotiation tradition and overestimates his own deal-making skills.
Unlike the transactional, take-it-or-leave-it approach that Trump prefers, Russia has mastered a disciplined, hard-nosed, and highly strategic negotiation playbook. The Kremlin’s approach involves:
  • Maximizing initial demands to shape the battlefield of negotiations.
  • Delaying concessions as long as possible.
  • Using psychological pressure, including intimidation and unpredictability.
  • Employing ambiguity, vagueness, and repetition to wear down the other side.
  • Controlling the pace and timing of negotiations to its advantage.
This is not a process where a simple, hurried “deal” will emerge overnight. Instead, Russia will prolong negotiations, extract maximum concessions, and ensure that any agreement locks Ukraine into a vulnerable, subordinate position.
Click to expand...

The Trump Effect: A Longer War, a Stronger Putin - Egmont Institute

www.egmontinstitute.be www.egmontinstitute.be

(...) it is highly likely that Trump will fail to achieve his promised “immediate peace” and, as in the past, reverse his own claims and abandon his supposed strategy.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Broken_Erika said:

Putin begins biggest Russian military call-up in years​

(...)

Since the start of last year, the pool of young men available for the draft has been increased by raising the maximum age from 27 to 30.

As well as call-up notices delivered by post, young men will receive notifications on the state services website Gosuslugi.
Click to expand...
That's a biggie - up untill now most conscripts were able to avoid the draft by simply not being home when the commissar came knocking, or hiding under the bed or something, in future they may actually have to join the army and die.

www.themoscowtimes.com

So You’ve Been Drafted Into the Russian Army. What Does That Mean? - The Moscow Times

Russia has launched the spring conscription of 160,000 servicemen, marking an increase from previous drafts amid its war on Ukraine and ongoing peace talks with Washington.
www.themoscowtimes.com www.themoscowtimes.com

Russia has also implemented a registry for electronic draft notices, with the notices going out across the country from April 1, 2025. This system is intended to make it harder for draft-eligible men to avoid military service — as previously, military summons had to be delivered in person.

With the digital database, a draft notice is automatically considered served one week after its posting. From that moment, the conscript cannot leave the country. If he fails to appear at the enlistment office within 20 days, he will face legal restrictions including a driving ban and being disqualified from taking out loans and selling or buying real estate.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
Wasn't Trump going to end the war in 24 hours? Perhaps the tariffs on everyone except Russia are a strategy to divert attention from Russia's crimes. I have no doubt the would sacrifice US economy to serve his master Putin.
 
The bloody Czar doesn't want a ceasefire, he doesn't care about his oil infrastructure, all he really wants is to keep killing Ukrainian civilians. Ukraine must not exist for him, the little ones he hasn't kidnapped for reeducation then must be erased along with their families.
 

Children among 18 killed in Russian attack on Zelensky's home city​

A Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih has killed at least 18 people and left dozens wounded, Ukrainian officials have said.

Nine of the dead were children, said President Volodymyr Zelensky, who grew up in Kryvyi Rih. Local officials said a ballistic missile had hit a residential area.

Images showed at least one victim lying in a playground, while a video showed a large section of a 10-storey block of flats destroyed and victims lying on the road.

Russia's defence ministry later claimed a "high-precision missile strike" had targeted a meeting of "unit commanders and Western instructors" in a restaurant, and that up to 85 were killed. It provided no evidence.

Ukraine's military responded by saying that Russia was spreading false information to try to "cover up its cynical crime". It said Moscow had fired an Iskander-M ballistic missile with a cluster warhead to maximise casualties.
The attack, early on Friday evening, was among the deadliest on Kryvyi Rih since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, and comes as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire.

Zelensky wrote on social media that at least five buildings had been damaged in Friday's strike: "There is only one reason why this continues: Russia doesn't want a ceasefire, and we see it."

The head of Kryvyi Rih's defence, Oleksandr Vilkul, said a residential area was hit.

"The missile exploded in the air... to injure more people," he said. "Children were killed on or near a playground."

Serhii Lysak, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk region where Kryvyi Rih is located, said more than 40 people were treated for wounds, and the youngest was only three months old.

Later on Friday, Vilkul reported more explosions, saying the city was under a "mass" drone attack that triggered fires in at least four locations.

He said one elderly woman burned to death in a private house hit by a drone. Another five people were injured elsewhere.

Military chiefs from both the UK and France met Zelensky in Kyiv earlier in the day to discuss plans for foreign peacekeepers to be stationed in Ukraine as part of a potential ceasefire deal.

But there has been little sign of a let-up in the violence.

Kryvyi Rih also came under attack earlier this week when a building in the centre was struck, leaving four people dead.

On Thursday, Russian drone strikes on the north-eastern city of Kharkiv claimed another five lives, local officials said.

France and the UK have accused Russia of dragging its feet on the Ukraine peace deal. UK Foreign Minister David Lammy told reporters at a Nato summit in Brussels that the Russian leader "could accept a ceasefire now, [but] he continues to bombard Ukraine, its civilian population".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Russians knew the American position, "and we will know from their answers very soon whether they are serious about proceeding with real peace or whether it is a delay tactic".

Kryvyi Rih is about 40 miles (70km) from the front line in eastern Ukraine and with a population of 600,000 it is reputed to be the longest city in Europe.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3wxe5g4z9yo
 

Chinese nationals captured fighting for Russia in Ukraine, Zelenskiy says​

KYIV, April 8 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had captured two Chinese men fighting on Russia's side in eastern Ukraine, potentially threatening a fragile peace effort in the three-year-old war.
Beijing is a close ally of Moscow but is not publicly known to have directly aided in the Kremlin's full-scale invasion.

Writing on X, where he posted a video of one of the men, Zelenskiy said Kyiv has "information suggesting that there are many more Chinese citizens in the occupier's units" and that he had ordered officials to obtain a response from Beijing.

The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Zelenskiy did not say whether Ukraine believed the men were operating on Beijing's orders.
"Russia's involvement of China, along with other countries, whether directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin intends to do anything but end the war," Zelenskiy wrote.
He added that the captured men had documents confirming their identification, and added that Ukrainian intelligence and security officials were currently "verifying all the facts".
Click to expand...
 
www.vrt.be

PM De Wever joins president Zelensky at Wall of Remembrance | VRT NWS: news

Belgian PM Bart De Wever is in Kyiv for an official visit to Ukraine. Together with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky he visited the Wall of Remembrance for the Fallen of Ukraine and laid a wreath on behalf of the people of Belgium.
www.vrt.be www.vrt.be
KYIV, April 8 (Reuters) - Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Tuesday his government had decided to grant Ukraine a new bilateral aid package of one billion euros ($1.10 billion) in 2025, adding that he had the ambition to deliver the war-torn country at least that same amount every year during his term.
Click to expand...

Thales is reportedly the only company worldwide developing, manufacturing and supplying a complete rocket system, including fire control systems, weapons and ammunition. It is specialized in the field of air-to-ground 70mm rocket systems.
Thales Belgium has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Ukrainian firm to co-produce counter-drone missiles.
The Ukrainian entity’s identity was not revealed due to security concerns.
Click to expand...
thedefensepost.com

Thales Belgium to Co-Produce Counter-Drone Missile With Ukrainian Firm

Thales Belgium has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Ukrainian firm to co-produce counter-drone missiles.
thedefensepost.com thedefensepost.com
The Saboteur is a quadplane, which is a combination of a eVTOL and a winged aircraft. It can take-off and land like a helicopter, making it easy to operate from anywhere, but it also has wings for long distance flight.
With its range of up to 400 km, the Saboteur UAV can go far beyond the front lines to carry out its mission.
After its mission, the UAV returns home for resupply, making it extremely cost-effective.
Click to expand...
www.sol.one

Saboteur UAS

Multi-mission eVTOL long-range drone with 4m wingspan. The UAV has 400+ km range, missile strike & MALE ISR, at the price of loitering ammunition. Swarming allows up to 250 drones to collaborate in single attack. Carries Starlink antenna.
www.sol.one www.sol.one
 
Last edited:
Meanwhile Ukraine's triumphant Kursk offensive continues in Sumy region.

www.yahoo.com

Russian troops push into Ukraine's Sumy region

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Sunday that its troops had taken the village of Basivka in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, and were battering Ukrainian forces at a host of settlements in the area. More than two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv sent thousands of troops over...
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com
 
Meanwhile Russia's triumphant attacks on military targets continue on Ukraine:

Russian missile strike kills one, injures three in Kyiv, Ukraine says​

  • Zelenskiy says attacks show Russia's unwillingness to end war
  • Firefighters try to put out fires at badly damaged buildings
  • Poland scrambles aircraft after airspace warnings from Ukraine
KYIV, April 6 (Reuters) - A Russian missile attack on Kyiv killed one man and injured three other people overnight, causing damage and fires in several districts in the biggest such attack on Ukraine for weeks, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.
The strike was the first large-scale attack using missiles and drones since the U.S. said late last month it had negotiated two ceasefire accords with Russia and Ukraine, including one that would on each other's energy infrastructure.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said ongoing attacks showed Russia did not want to end the three-year-old war.
"Such attacks are Putin's response to all international diplomatic efforts. Each of our partners - America, the whole of Europe, the whole world - has seen that Russia is going to continue to fight and kill," he said on the Telegram messaging app.
In a separate statement he said that he had instructed the defence and foreign ministers to intensify talks with partners, especially the U.S., on the supply of air defence equipment.
Russian forces used ballistic and cruise missiles launched from both strategic bombers and naval fleets, as well as drones, during the overnight attack, Ukraine's air force said.

Zelenskiy called for increased manufacturing of air defence systems and missiles, suggesting that such production should be established in Ukraine.
Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy's chief of staff, posted a video of firefighters trying to put out fires at badly damaged buildings.
Zelenskiy said that over the past week, Russia had launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly 670 attack drones and more than 30 missiles of various types against Ukraine.

He said Kyiv was waiting for U.S. reaction to Putin's refusal to agree to Washington's proposal to establish a full ceasefire, which Ukraine had previously agreed to.

POLAND ON HIGH ALERT​

Warnings from the air force of an attack including regions bordering Poland forced the neighbouring NATO-member country to scramble aircraft to ensure air safety.
Poland has been on high alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck the southern Polish village of Przewodow in 2022, killing two people.

In Kyiv, several loud explosions were heard overnight.
Fires broke out in at least three districts of Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post.
"The body of a man killed in an enemy attack was found in Darnytskiy district (of Kyiv). He was on the street, near the epicentre of the explosion," Klitschko said.
The Sunday strikes on Kyiv came after officials in the southern region of Mykolaiv reported three people had been injured in Russian strikes. A day earlier, a Russian attack killed at least 19 people including nine children in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.

There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia started with a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour. Thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office in January after pledging he would end the war in 24 hours, has sought to broker an end to the conflict.
Click to expand...

Three injured in Russia's overnight attack on Mykolaiv, Ukraine says​

KYIV, April 6 (Reuters) - Three women were injured and several fires broke out in a Russian air attack on the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv late on Saturday, Ukraine's officials said.
The attack - a day after least 19 people, including nine children, were killed in strikes on the city of Kryvyi Rih - also damaged several houses, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaly Kim posted on the Telegram messaging app.

One of the women was hospitalised, and the other two were treated on outpatient basis, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. It posted photos and videos of firefighters battling flames in a house at night.

There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia started with a full-scale invasion on its smaller neighbour three years ago. Thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office in January after pledging he would end the war in 24 hours, has sought to broker an end to the conflict. The U.S. last week late last month it had agreed with Russia and Ukraine two ceasefire accords, including one that would on each other's energy infrastructure.
Click to expand...

Ukraine says Russia kills 19 in Kryvyi Rih, Moscow says it was targeting military​

  • Russian strike hits President Zelenskiy's hometown
  • Subsequent drone attack hits homes, kills one
  • Russian Defence Ministry says it hit military gathering
  • Images show bodies lying on pavements
  • More than 50 people wounded, including small baby
KRYVYI RIH, Ukraine, April 5 (Reuters) - A Russian attack killed at least 19 people including nine children in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday, local officials said, but Russia's Defence Ministry said it targeted a military gathering there.
The Ukrainian military denounced the Russian statement as misinformation.

Serhiy Lysak, the regional governor, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that a missile hit residential areas, killing 18, and sparked fires. Later, Russian drones attacked homes and killed one person, Oleksandr Vilkul, the city's military administrator, said.

Pictures posted online showed bodies of the dead and wounded lying on the pavement as grey smoke rose into the sky.
Russia's Defence Ministry, in a post on Telegram, said a "high-precision strike" had targeted "a meeting of unit commanders and Western instructors" in a restaurant.
"As a result of the strike, enemy losses total up to 85 servicemen and officers of foreign countries, as well as up to 20 vehicles," the ministry said on Telegram.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office in January after pledging he would end the war in 24 hours, has sought to broker an end to the conflict. The U.S. said last week it had agreed with Russia and Ukraine two ceasefire accords, including one that would halt strikes on each other's energy infrastructure.

Rescue workers toiled through the night with flashlights in Kryvyi Rih, moving around wrecked cars, buildings with shattered windows and a gaping crater. Residents carried armloads of foil and timber for emergency home repairs, according to a Reuters eyewitness.
Using their mobile phones for light, some people registered at help centres.

"There were dead children lying there, crying parents, it was horrible," Yulia, 47, told Reuters as she surveyed the damaged blinds, fixtures and furniture in her apartment.
The strike on President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's hometown was one of Moscow's deadliest this year in the conflict, launched with the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
At least 50 people were wounded, the emergency services said, adding that the figure was growing. More than 30 people, including a three-month-old baby, were in hospital, Lysak said.

Russia denies targeting civilians, but thousands have been killed and injured in the invasion.
The General Staff of Ukraine's military said the attack showed that Russia "is in no way seeking peace, but rather intends to continue its invasion and war to destroy Ukraine and all Ukrainians."
In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy called on the West to exert greater pressure on Moscow.
On Friday, each side accused the other again of flouting the energy-infrastructure ceasefire.

Russia's Defence Ministry accused Ukraine of attacking Russian energy facilities six times in the past 24 hours.
Zelenskiy said Russia had launched a drone attack on a thermal power plant in Ukraine's city of Kherson on Friday.
Click to expand...

Russian drone attack injures 12 in two Ukrainian cities, officials say​

KYIV, April 10 (Reuters) - Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and the southern city of Mykolaiv overnight, injuring at least 12 people, authorities said on Thursday.
Two women were injured in the capital, where drones also sparked a fire at a storage facility and damaged residential buildings, the Kyiv city military administration said.

The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 85 out of 145 drones launched by Russia during its overnight attack. Another 49 did not reach their targets likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, it said.

It did not specify what happened to the remaining 11 drones.
Authorities recorded 30 drones in the airspace over the capital, 16 of which were destroyed and the rest either left the airspace or were "lost".
The overnight attack also injured 10 people in the southern city of Mykolaiv, its regional governor Vitalii Kim said.
The Russian assault also damaged nine apartment buildings, 30 garages and an administrative building, he added.
Russia denies targeting civilians but thousands have been killed and injured in its invasion of Ukraine.
Click to expand...
 
As the outcome becomes clearer, the number will grow rapidly. In a year, they'll probably claim 10 millions of Russian losses or so.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Birdjaguar
[RD] War in Gaza News: Pas de Deux
74 75 76
Replies
2K
Views
62K
Broken_Erika
Broken_Erika
Birdjaguar
  • Locked
[RD] War in Gaza: News Thread
64 65 66
Replies
1K
Views
83K
Birdjaguar
Birdjaguar
Birdjaguar
[RD] War in Ukraine: Other topics
47 48 49
Replies
975
Views
40K
Ordnael
Ordnael
Birdjaguar
  • Locked
[RD] Russia Invades Ukraine: The 7th Thread Itch; scratch it here!
306 307 308
Replies
6K
Views
305K
Birdjaguar
Birdjaguar
Dhoomstriker
  • Locked
Proposal to End the Russia-Ukraine War
2 3 4
Replies
69
Views
6K
Birdjaguar
Birdjaguar
Back
Top Bottom