Russia-Ukraine War Live: Moscow launches “large-scale attack” as President Zelenskiy lowers conscription age to increase combat power

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about a new mobilization of Russians this summer, Russian news agencies reported.

Zelenskiy said Russian authorities were reportedly “preparing to mobilize an additional 300,000 military personnel” by June 1.

“This is not true,” Peskov told TASS news agency.

French Armed Forces Minister Sebastian Lecorne met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, during which they reaffirmed France’s condemnation of Russia’s “war of aggression” in Ukraine, Lecorne’s office announced. did.

According to a French Ministry of Defense spokesperson, this was the first telephone conversation between the two leaders since October 2022.

Ministers and officials from dozens of countries are gathering in the Netherlands for a conference on restoring justice in Ukraine. Speakers include the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, who issued arrest warrants for military officers involved in the war with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Finland’s president signs a 10-year security agreement with Ukraine in Kiev, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy believes Russia plans to mobilize 300,000 new troops into the war by June said.

The agreement signed by President Alexander Stubb and Mr. Zelenskiy makes Finland the eighth NATO member state this year to commit to long-term security cooperation and support for Kiev’s defense.

Finland, which shares a 1,340 km border with Russia, joined NATO a year ago.

Stubb said Finland would also send 188 million euros in additional military aid, including air defense and heavy caliber ammunition. This amount brings Finland’s total defense contribution during the war to around 2 billion euros.

“We are not providing military assistance to Ukraine just to protect itself, we are providing military assistance to Ukraine so that it can win this war,” Stubb told a news conference in Kiev.

The Norwegian government announced on Tuesday that it would increase the number of conscripted soldiers from the current 9,000 to 13,500.

Defense Minister Björn Arild Gramm said: “We need to have enough people with the right skills at the right time.” “We’re going to need more people with military expertise.”

Arild Gram said the number of entry-level conscripts in the country’s armed forces would gradually increase each year, with billions of kroner (hundreds of millions of dollars) being invested in the Norwegian Armed Forces’ facility in Terningmoen in northern Norway. he added. Oslo, where NATO member states gather all their recruits. He did not specify how much oil-rich Norway would spend.

The head of Russia’s National Security Council said Wednesday that the United States also held gunmen responsible for the attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed 145 people, even though a branch of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility. he claimed.

Since the March 22 attack on Crocus City Hall (the deadliest death toll on mainland Russia in 20 years), Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have insisted, without providing evidence, that the attack was a Russian invasion. It has repeatedly claimed that it was organized by Ukraine, which has been at war with the United States for a long time. than 2 years.

Islamic State officials claimed responsibility for the attack, and Kiev has consistently denied any involvement.

The new mobilization law took effect from the 27th to the 25th, the day after it was signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed the bill last year.

It was not immediately clear why it took so long for Zelensky to sign the bill. He has made no public comment on the matter, and officials have declined to say how many new soldiers the country expects to acquire or which units they will be recruited into.

NATO members have not yet made a decision on the structure of future support for Ukraine, but agreed on Wednesday to move forward with planning on the issue, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

“Today we did not make a final decision on what format we would establish, but we agreed to start planning,” Stoltenberg told reporters after the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting.

Ministers will discuss ways to put military aid to Ukraine on a long-term basis, including a proposal for a 100 billion euro ($107 billion) five-year fund and a plan seen as a “Trump-proof” way to help Ukraine. met to discuss. Kyiv.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that the country considers South Korea’s decision to impose sanctions on Russian individuals and entities as an “unfriendly” move and will respond accordingly.

South Korea has imposed sanctions on two Russian ships for transporting military cargo to North Korea. The South Korean government announced on Tuesday that it had also imposed sanctions on two Russian entities and two Russian nationals involved in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

“This is an unfriendly measure by the South Korean government and is extremely regrettable. I would like to emphasize that the imposition of unjust sanctions will have a negative impact on relations with Russia,” Zakharova said at a weekly briefing. he told reporters.

He added, “Russia is developing friendly neighborly relations with North Korea in accordance with the norms of international law without compromising (South Korea’s) national security.”

Relations between Moscow and North Korea strengthened after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia’s Far East last year.

A Russian court on Monday ordered a detained Russian-American journalist to be held for another two months pending investigation and trial, as part of a further Kremlin crackdown on opposition and free speech.

Ars Kurmasheva, editor of the Tatar-Bashkir language service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was detained on October 18 and registered as a foreign agent while gathering intelligence on the Russian military. He was charged with failing to do so. She was later charged with spreading “false information” about the Russian military.

A Tatarstan court on Monday ordered her to be detained until at least June 5.