Russia drafts 134,500 new conscripts but they won’t go to Ukraine, defence ministry says
Global News
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special military operation to demilitarize and "denazify" the country. The war has since killed thousands of people.
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree ordering 134,500 new conscripts into the army as part of Russia’s annual spring draft, but the defense ministry said the call-up had nothing to do with the war in Ukraine.
The order came five weeks into Russia’s invasion, which has run into fierce Ukrainian resistance. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that none of those called up would be sent to any “hot spots.”
The issue of conscripts’ involvement in the war is highly sensitive. On March 9, the defense ministry acknowledged that some had been sent to Ukraine after Putin had denied this on various occasions, saying only professional soldiers and officers had been sent in.
Putin’s spokesman said at the time that the president had ordered military prosecutors to investigate and punish the officials responsible for disobeying his instructions to exclude conscripts.
The annual spring military draft, which runs from April 1 to July 15, will affect Russian men between the ages of 18 and 27, Putin’s decree said.
Shoigu said on Tuesday that those called up would begin to be dispatched to their assigned bases in late May.
“Most military personnel will undergo professional training in training centers for three to five months. Let me emphasize that recruits will not be sent to any hot spots,” he said in remarks published on his ministry’s website.
However, Mikhail Benyash, a lawyer representing several members of Russia’s National Guard who refused an order to go to Ukraine, said that under Russian law conscripts could be sent to fight after several months of training.
Police said they were re-interviewing people who were with Sudiksha Konanki before she vanished at the beach in front of the Riu República Hotel.
The European Union announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding to an increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.
The global court in The Hague had ordered Duterte's arrest through Interpol, accusing him of crimes against humanity over deadly anti-drug crackdowns he oversaw while in office.
Russia will need to agree to the ceasefire proposal for it to take effect, the U.S. and Ukraine said after talks in Saudi Arabia focused on ending Moscow's three-year war.
Jet fuel from a ruptured tank poured into the North Sea after the Portugal-registered container ship Solong broadsided the U.S.-flagged tanker MV Stena Immaculate on Monday.
Two people were killed and 18 were injured, including three children, in the massive drone attack that spanned 10 Russian regions, officials said.
Doctors said the 88-year-old pope remains stable and has consolidated improvements in recent days, as determined by blood tests and positive responses to drug treatments.
There are 300 million people with PolG worldwide. There is currently no treatment or cure.
A woman, who identified herself on camera as Frankie while being detained, said she was 'getting arrested today for protesting Elon Musk.'
Authorities are searching on land, by air and in the ocean for the student, who went down to the beach with her friends but never returned.
Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency said several lifeboats and a coast guard rescue helicopter were dispatched to the scene in the North Sea.
Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News he paused some U.S. tariffs because he 'wanted to help Mexico and Canada to a certain extent,' but added tariffs could also go up.
The man was hospitalized. The Secret Service said his condition was “unknown.” The Washington Metropolitan Police Department will investigate the law enforcement shooting.