Russia to send ‘thousands of zombies’ to fight in Putin’s war of ‘madness’

Russia intends to recruit more than a hundred thousand professional recruits and prisoners to “avoid further unpopular mobilisations”, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reported.

Andriy Yermak, a top Ukrainian official, described the latter group as “zombies” used to “fuel the madness” of Vladimir Putin.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence began using prisoners and labour camp detainees after observing the Wagner Group’s successful use of this tactic.

The ex-convicts, some of them murderers and rapists, join Storm Z units and are often used as expendable cannon fodder, fighting ahead of the first line of defence and in other extremely dangerous areas.

But in its latest update, the MoD spoke at odds to the Ukrainian military, who claimed that Russia was planning a mass mobilisation of up to 700,000 conscripts.

The British MoD said the “Russian authorities will likely seek to avoid further unpopular mobilisations” given worker shortages on the mainland, hence the use of contracted men and prisoners.

Ukraine captures Russian tank near front line

Ukrainian forces have seized one of Russia’s most modern tanks near the fiercest point on the front line, footage has purportedly shown.

In the video, Ukrainian soldiers can be seen searching a Russian T-90M, a third generation main battle tank built to eventually replace the Kremlin’s Soviet-era vehicles.

The tank was allegedly captured near Robotyne, western Zaporizhzhia Oblast. That advance, towards Melitopol via Tokmak, has emerged as the main line of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.

Zelensky provides battlefield update

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has provided an update on the situation on the front line in his nightly address.

You can see the full, translated video below.

German foreign minister arrives in Kyiv

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has arrived in the Ukrainian capital this morning in an unannounced visit.

It is the fourth time the German minister has visited Kyiv since the war began last February.

Last week, her American counterpart Antony Blinken visited Kyiv, where he pledged £799 million ($1 billion) in additional aid to Ukraine.

Upon her arrival, the minister promised continued support for Ukraine on its path to EU membership but also insisted on further reforms, namely regarding the fight against corruption, Die Welt reported.

Russia preparing 700,000-strong mobilisation, claims Ukraine

Ukraine’s military has claimed they have seen documents showing that Russia is planning a huge mobilisation campaign to bolster its forces partaking of the “special military operation”.

Without providing evidence, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine alleged that the recruitment drive will take place both in Russia and the occupied territories in Ukraine.

“It is expected that a mass forced mobilisation of the population will begin in the Russian Federation and in the regions temporarily occupied in Ukraine in the near future,” they said.

“Its indicators by varying estimates range from 400,000 to 700,000. Individual documents on this matter have already entered the network.”

They added that mobilisation drives would be focused on the poorer, more rural areas of Russia and recruitment in St Petersburg and Moscow would be “minimal”.

Russia preparing ‘tens of thousands of zombies’ for war in Ukraine

A top Ukrainian official has accused the Kremlin of preparing to “send tens of thousands of zombies to their deaths” to maintain their “special military operation”.

Andriy Yermak, Head of the President’s Office, said Vladimir Putin was using cannon fodder to “fuel his madness”.

His full statement, published on Telegram this morning, read: “Victims are always needed for the Russian regime to survive and fuel its madness.

“And the regime of the Russian Federation is ready to send tens of thousands of zombies to their deaths in the hope of defeating free people.

“Our task is to make these zombies fight with spears against modern weapons.

“The more they spend effort on killing, the stronger the sanctions should be against the military industry, energy and all sectors that provide the enemy with missiles and attack UAVs.

“Quantity is always destroyed by quality. So be it.”

Russia to recruit 420k personnel by end of 2023

Russia “intends to recruit 420,000 contract personnel” by the end of the year to shore up its pool of soldiers available for the war in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defence has reported.

In its latest update, the MoD said Russia continues to look for ways to avoid mobilisation, a move that has proved unpopular in the past.

You can read the full update below.

Good morning

Good morning from London. I’m Tom Watling. I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine.

Please feel free to get in touch with me as I work if you have a story or tips to share! Your thoughts are always welcome.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @TomAWatling

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