Russia has seen a major leap in the number of people joining the armed forces since last month’s deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow, the defence ministry claimed. In a statement, it said more than 100,000 recruits have signed up since the start of the year, including around 16,000 in the past 10 days alone. “During interviews conducted over the past week at selection points in
Russian cities, most candidates indicated the desire to avenge those killed in the tragedy that occurred on March 22, 2024 in the
Moscow region as the main motive for concluding a contract,” the ministry said. The
Kremlin has repeatedly sought to blame
Ukraine for the mass
shooting - in which 144 people were killed at Crocus City Hall - a claim Kyiv and US intelligence have denied. The militant group
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. Follow the latest updates below. Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill to lower the mobilisation age for combat duty from 27 to 25 in a move expected to help Ukraine generate more fighting power in its war with
Russia . The bill has been on the Ukrainian president’s table since it was approved by lawmakers in May 2023. It was not immediately clear on Tuesday what prompted him to sign it. Parliament has been discussing a separate bill to broadly tighten draft rules for months. The move expands the number of civilians the army can mobilise into its ranks to fight under martial law, which has been in place since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian troops are on the back foot on the battlefield, facing a shortage of ammunition supplies with vital funding from the US blocked by
Republicans in
Congress for months and the
European Union failing to deliver promised ammunition on time. Read the full report here.