Ukraine is facing serious personnel shortages on the battlefield as Russia continues to build up forces in eastern Ukraine. In a controversial move, Ukraine has released over 3,000 prisoners on parole and assigned them to military units following the approval of a mobilisation bill last month. Frontline commanders openly acknowledge the shortage of troops on the battlefield.
Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán, a pro-Russian leader, has questioned the need to support Ukraine militarily and has called for a ceasefire. Despite this, the EU has agreed to use €1.4bn from frozen Russian assets to supply arms and aid to Ukraine, bypassing Hungarian objections.
A Briton who founded a charity supporting Ukrainian soldiers has died while fighting Russian forces. Peter Fouché, who set up Project Konstantin, which provides supplies to soldiers, evacuates civilians, and delivers aid to conflict zones near the frontline, enlisted as a contracted soldier with the armed forces of Ukraine.
In a surprising twist, patriotic Russian poetry praising Putin and supporting the war in Ukraine has been revealed to be translations of Nazi verses from the 1930s and 1940s. The poems were written by a fictional character, Gennady Rakitin, and are actually odes to Nazi stormtroopers with references to Germany replaced with Russia.
Russia’s defence ministry claims its forces have taken control of two villages in eastern Ukraine, despite partial denials from Ukrainian military statements. Russia has been announcing incremental gains since capturing Avdiivka in Donetsk region in February.
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