The sirens of the anti-aircraft alarm sounded throughout Ukraine, except Crimea, following warnings by Ukrainian officials that Russia is preparing a new wave of attacks with missiles and drones.
"A total anti-aircraft alert has sounded in Ukraine. Head to shelters," the Ukrainian border service wrote on Telegram.
Putin plans second draft Russian soldiers ask to surrender
Seeing that Russian troops are not taking a stroll in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has already ordered a second draft. This is reported by the German newspaper "Bild", citing the think tank "Institute for the Study of War" as well as Russian media.
The Kremlin strongman has now realized that Russian soldiers are tired of fighting, their morale is low, the recruited recruits are not properly trained and the tanks and weapons they have are inadequate and most of them are old technology. The ISW Institute reveals that Vladimir Putin has declared a second conscription. After all, the first one was not a success.
On hearing the news that the Moscow government was drafting thousands of Russians, many who did not want to dress in khaki to fight on the Ukrainian front emigrated to escape. Recall that, on September 21, Putin declared a partial draft, calling up to 300,000 reservists in a dramatic attempt to reverse Russia's defeats in Ukraine, including the withdrawal of Russian forces in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Now, however, things are getting even more difficult, with the cold weather making offensive moves by Russian soldiers even more problematic, especially in Ukraine's southeast. Russian soldiers are retreating with the Ukrainians regaining control of many of their areas. Putin cannot stand idly by and is therefore making a second draft, the German publication quoting the think tank "ISW" reports.
At the same time, political analysts estimate that 100,000 Russian soldiers could breathe their last breath this winter fighting the enemy, the newspaper "Bild" comments. With the mercury plummeting to 3 degrees Celsius in Kherson and 0 degrees in Donetsk, Slavyansk and Kharkiv, Russian soldiers fighting since February 24 are struggling to stay alive.
Meanwhile, as reported by the BBC, the Ukrainian government has announced that its plan to surrender Russian soldiers who wish to lay down their weapons is bearing fruit. The relevant authorities are receiving up to 100 requests a day.
The Ukrainian plan under the title: "I Want To Live" was launched in September, the British network comments. By calling on a phone line or through messenger apps, Russian troops can arrange how to surrender to Ukrainian forces. Officials in Kiev claim to have received more than 3,500 phone calls from Russian soldiers as well as their families.
They say there has been a sharp increase in the number of Russians wanting to surrender since Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a partial draft and liberated Kherson.
The BBC has been given recordings of some of the calls from Russian soldiers. Svetlana, as her nickname is, is one of the Ukrainian women who talks to Russian soldiers on the phone every day.
"They can either get in touch with us by phone or with most messenger apps like Telegram and WhatsApp. She explains that she receives more calls in the evenings as this is when Russian soldiers have more free time and can sneak out and make calls.
"At first, we hear a voice, mostly a male voice," she explains. "It often sounds like someone who is desperate, frustrated, because they don't fully understand how the phone line works. But there are also some who call out of curiosity many call not to surrender but to find out how they could if needed. It's different every time," adds Svetlana.
Source: Proto Thema
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