by Akhtar Makoii at The Telegraph
Kremlin launches military conscription for 135,000 men after mounting losses along 1,000km front line with Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has called up more than 100,000 Russian men for military service in what amounts to the biggest autumn conscription since 2016.
The Russian president wants to recruit 135,000 men aged 18-30 from October to December to routine service, which typically involves a year at a military base inside Russia.
Though military service is not necessarily a call to fight in Ukraine – which is known as mobilisation – there have been reports of conscripted men being sent to the front line.
Similarly, conscripts who complete military training face a higher likelihood of battlefield deployment.
Russia is facing mounting losses in Ukraine and pressure to maintain an offensive along the 1,000-kilometre front line.