UK says move by Russia comes after a number of soldiers’ wives were involved in protests
Associated Press have provided a little more detail of the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s earlier comments in which he said Moscow saw no signs that Kyiv was ready to move towards a political resolution.
Speaking at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe conference in North Macedonia, Lavrov also said Russia was not prepared to “review its goals” in Ukraine.
Russian authorities are attempting to quell dissent from the wives of soldiers deployed in Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said. The MoD said in its daily intelligence briefing that some were being paid off while others have been discredited online.
Ukraine has become progressively stronger over the past year and will soon be able to reopen Kyiv’s international airport, Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff said.
Vladimir Putin has ordered the country’s military to increase its number of troops by nearly 170,000, as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues into its 22nd month.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine needs to improve its mobilisation system, with the issue of recruitment under public discussion for some time. Questions of corruption in the military, particularly in procurement and recruiting, have periodically seized public attention as Ukraine tries to press on with a counteroffensive that has so far produced only incremental gains.
