British defence minister will send army, navy and RAF personnel to one of largest Nato exercises since cold war; UN says 8.5 million people need aid
The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that Russia has highly likely “substantially inflated” the number of people it says have joined the country’s armed forces, with new recruits being disproportionately drawn from some of Russia’s most impovershied and rural communities.
In its latest intelligence update, the MoD wrote on X:
On 11 January 2023, Russian deputy chair of the security council, Dmitri Medvedev, stated that 500,000 people had joined the Russian armed forces in 2023. It is highly likely that this figure has been substantially inflated.
In efforts to meet recruitment targets, the Russian military has since April 2023 allowed school-leavers to sign contracts with the Russian army. Recent data published by Mediazona and the BBC Russian service suggests that at least five Russians born in 2005 have died in the conflict.
Continue reading…British defence minister will send army, navy and RAF personnel to one of largest Nato exercises since cold war; UN says 8.5 million people need aidSee all our Ukraine coverageThe UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that Russia has highly likely “substantially inflated” the number of people it says have joined the country’s armed forces, with new recruits being disproportionately drawn from some of Russia’s most impovershied and rural communities.In its latest intelligence update, the MoD wrote on X:On 11 January 2023, Russian deputy chair of the security council, Dmitri Medvedev, stated that 500,000 people had joined the Russian armed forces in 2023. It is highly likely that this figure has been substantially inflated.In efforts to meet recruitment targets, the Russian military has since April 2023 allowed school-leavers to sign contracts with the Russian army. Recent data published by Mediazona and the BBC Russian service suggests that at least five Russians born in 2005 have died in the conflict. Continue reading…