Thousands of Russians across the country received draft papers for the war in Ukraine and some were being marched to buses and planes for training.
| Thousands of Russians across the country received draft papers on Thursday and some were being marched to buses and planes for training, a day after President Vladimir Putin announced a call-up that could sweep 300,000 civilians into military service and onto the front lines in Ukraine.
Yanina Nimayeva, a journalist from the Buryatia region of Siberia, said her husband, a father of five and an employee in the emergency department in the regional capital, had been inexplicably called up. She said he received a summons to an urgent 4am meeting where it was announced that a train had been organised to bring men to the city of Chita.“My husband is 38 years old, he is not in the reserve, he did not serve,” Ms Nimayeva said in a video addressed to regional officials.
Despite Russia’s challenges on the front line, where Ukrainian troops have often outnumbered Russian soldiers, Mr Putin long resisted declaring a draft because he feared a domestic backlash, analysts say. His authoritarian rule and redoubled crackdown on dissent this year notwithstanding, the Kremlin keeps close tabs on public opinion and has sought to avoid protests.
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, claimed Ukraine had launched “an assault” on ethnic Russians in the Donbas region, and said the goal of Western countries supplying weapons to Ukraine was to prolong the conflict and “to wear down and weaken Russia”.AdvertisementVoting began on Friday in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine in a referendum that Russia is expected to use to justify the annexation of four regions, with one Ukrainian official reported as saying voting was mandatory.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 213 of the invasionUN says Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine; Finland bars Russian tourists amid long queues to cross border after Putin’s military mobilisationSee all our Ukraine coverage
Read more »
Moscow-held regions in Ukraine vote on whether to join RussiaThe result of the referendum — on whether the four regions become part of Russia — is expected to be a foregone conclusion in favour of the Moscow-held regions joining Russia.
Read more »
Occupied parts of Ukraine vote in referendums on joining RussiaResults are seen as a foregone conclusion in favour of annexation, and Ukraine and its allies have already made clear they will not recognise the votes
Read more »
Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 212 of the invasionZelensky urges Russians to resist mobilisation; traffic at Russian border crossings surges amid exodus; Putin reportedly directing generals in the field
Read more »
Russia-Ukraine War updates LIVE: Defiant Russia shows up late to UN, walks out earlyRussian troops are already being moved to training grounds, schools are becoming draft centres; Russia’s Sergei Lavrov walks out on UN Security Council; Labor, Liberals could cut integrity commission deal. Follow updates here.
Read more »
Occupied Ukraine holds Kremlin-staged vote on joining RussiaA Kremlin-orchestrated referendum got underway in occupied regions of Ukraine that sought to make them part of Russia - with some officials carrying ballots to apartment blocks accompanied by gun-toting police. 9News
Read more »