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Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, on May 21, 2026.
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Russia's recruitment system nears breaking point, forcing debate over forced mobilization

by Martin Fornusek

As Russian battlefield gains slow and recruitment drive falters, Ukraine is warning that the Kremlin may finally reach for the measure it has long resisted — a forced mobilization. According to Kyiv, Moscow is preparing to call up tens of thousands of fresh soldiers to offset its climbing battlefield losses. But analysts believe Russia would only take that gamble in case of an imminent front-line collapse, or a sweeping pivot to a war economy — one that could signal preparations to push the co

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Ukraine war latest: Russian chemical plant, oil depot set ablaze following Ukrainian strikes

Key developments on June 13-14: * Russian chemical plant, oil depot set ablaze following Ukrainian strikes * Russia fired nearly 2,000 drones at Ukraine in one week, Zelensky says * Black Sea Fleet command plans relocation from Crimea to Russia’s Novorossiysk, pro-Ukrainian partisans claim * UK seizes Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in 'first operation of its kind' * UN records highest civilian casualty toll in Ukraine since 2022 Ukraine struck a chemical plant in Russia's Tula Oblast, an

About Russia

The Kyiv Independent’s coverage of news on Russia. Spanning eleven time zones across Eastern Europe and Asia, Russia has an estimated population of 146 million people. Russia’s capital city is Moscow, which is home to almost one in 10 Russians. Russia’s official currency is the Russian Ruble.

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