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Russia launches fresh wave of strikes on Ukrainian cities; Wagner boss ditches threat to leave Bakhmut
The new wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine come just one day ahead of Moscow's planned Victory Day celebrations on Tuesday.
International
Russia launched a new wave of attacks on Ukrainian cities Kyiv, Odesa and Kherson, just one day ahead of Moscow’s planned Victory Day celebrations on Tuesday, which feature a large military parade and commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
The Victory Day parade has come to encapsulate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s vision of his country, and is set to go ahead despite some concern over a recent alleged drone attack on the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, Wagner Group leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin has backtracked on his threat to pull his fighters out of the war-torn city of Bakhmut after he announced that Russian military officials agreed to send his group ammunition he said was badly lacking. Wagner Group combatants have spearheaded Russian fighting in Bakhmut, which has become the scene of the war’s longest and bloodiest battle.
Russian military recruiters are targeting Central Asian migrant workers in Russia to go fight in Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defence wrote in its daily intelligence update on Twitter.
“Recruiters have visited mosques and immigration offices to recruit. At immigration offices, staff who speak Tajik and Uzbek routinely attempt to recruit migrants,” the ministry wrote.
News outlet Radio Free Europe reported recruiters “offering sign-up bonuses of USD $2,390 and salaries of up to USD $4,160 a month,” the post said. “Migrants have also been offered a fast-track Russian citizenship path of six months to one year, instead of the usual five years.”
The recruits “are likely sent to the Ukrainian frontlines where the casualty rate is extremely high,” it added.
The program is part of the Russian Defense Ministry’s target of getting 400,000 volunteers to fight in Ukraine, since any new mandatory mobilization announcements could fuel dissent within the country.