President Vladimir Putin is said to be lining up a second wave of conscriptions to add up to 500,000 fighters to his forces in Ukraine.
While the Kremlin has so far failed to confirm it has plans to enlist more conscripts, there are signs officials are gearing up to train more men for the battlefield.
There were several reports that authorities last week discreetly closed a loophole that allowed men of fighting age to avoid conscription if they had three or more children.
Nina Ostanina, deputy of State Duma, cited the deputy of Russia’s Human Rights Council when she said fathers-of-three were no longer exempt from mobilisation.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the rule had been scrapped, saying he was “not aware” of any change.
Thousands of Russians fled the country in September after Mr Putin announced the mobilisation of 300,000 reservists.
As the war in Ukraine drags on with no peace deal in sight, Kyiv has for weeks been warning of Moscow’s plans to enlist up to 500,000 more troops to replenish its ranks.
The Telegraph cited reports from various Russian regions that suggested military commissars had been ordered to create lists of men of fighting age, and factory managers had been asked which workers they could spare for the army.
'Moscow will struggle to expand military'
UK intelligence suggested Russia would “struggle to staff and equip” its army to meet expansion goals recently announced by Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu.
In a statement released on Sunday, the UK’s Ministry of Defence touched on Mr Shoigu’s vision to create major structural changes to the Russian military.
The plan announced last Tuesday includes an increase of 1.5 million personnel in the army — up by 11 per cent on top of the previously announced expansion of 1.35 million.
“Shoigu also announced the re-establishment of Moscow and Leningrad military districts, a partial return to the Soviet era organisation of forces in Western Russia,” the MoD said. “A new army corps is to be established in Karelia, near the Finnish border.
“Shoigu’s plans signal that the Russian leadership highly likely assesses that an enhanced conventional military threat will endure for many years beyond the current Ukraine war.
“However, Russia will highly likely struggle to staff and equip the planned expansion.”
Meanwhile, the debate on whether German-made Leopard 2 tanks should be donated to Ukraine continues after a Friday meeting between decision makers failed to reach a breakthrough.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Sunday said he would like “nothing more” than to see Germany equip Ukrainian fighters with the state-of-the art tanks. But he stopped short of criticising Berlin, instead praising it for the support it has offered to Kyiv so far.
His comments came as Boris Johnson undertook his first visit to Ukraine since stepping down as UK prime minister in September. After being greeted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv he pledged to “do whatever I can” to help the country win the war against Russia's invading forces.
Tamila Tasheva, a Ukrainian politician serving as the permanent representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, said more weapons from the West were needed to help her country win the war.
She told Sky News that nine years after the territory was annexed by Russia it could still be liberated by Ukrainian fighters.
She said while the first step is to return the Black Sea peninsula to Ukrainian control, “we must be ready to reintegrate our territory after our victory”.
Some analysts have suggested Ukraine could give up its claims to previously-held territories such as Crimea in a bid to strike a peace deal with Russia.
Deputy minister sacked over bribery allegations
The Ukrainian Cabinet dismissed Vasyl Lozynskiy over allegations of accepting a bribe, it was revealed on Sunday.
Mr Lozynskiy, who was the deputy minister of infrastructure and communities development, is alleged to have been given $400,000 for rigging a large procurement tender for generators and other equipment, according to the Kyiv Independent, citing police.
His sacking followed questioning by the country's National Anti-Corruption Bureau on suspicion of embezzlement, the Infrastructure Ministry said.
The bureau said the politician, who had held office since May 2020, had “received [$400,000] to facilitate the conclusion of contracts for the purchase of equipment and generators at inflated prices”.
Ukraine is facing electricity shortages after Russian bombarded its energy infrastructure.
Russian invasion of Ukraine - in pictures
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Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
AIR
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE%20SQUAD
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
EXPATS
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THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
The%20specs
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
