Ukraine faces difficult decisions over acute shortage of frontline troops

Depleted army is increasingly made up of older men, but Zelenskyy is reluctant to lower mobilisation age from 25

On a recent icy afternoon in the western Ukrainian city of Kovel, a silver-haired man in military fatigues prepared to board a train. A small boy hugged him at the knees, reluctant to let go. “Come on Dima, say goodbye to grandad,” his mother told him, pulling him away.

A few minutes later, the train pulled out of the station with the man on board, headed on a long journey to the east of the country, towards the frontlines in the fight against Russia. Daughter and grandson, both in tears, waved from the platform.

Topics

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv strikes Russia in major drone attack 1,000km from frontline

High-rise residential buildings hit in Russian city of Kazan but no casualties reported; Zelenskyy reveals meetings with CIA chief. What we know on day 1,033 . See all our Ukraine war ...
The Guardian - 8h
UK considers sending troops to Ukraine to train military

Defence secretary John Healey to set out proposals for stepping up support to Kyiv
Financial Times - 2d
ICE faces budget shortage that could delay Trump's mass deportation plans

ICE is already dealing with a $230 million budget shortfall, even before the costs that will be associated with mass deportations
NBC News - 3d
Ambassador Oksana Markarova says Ukraine is "not asking for other troops"

Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., tells "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that amid Russia's war with her country, they are "not asking for other troops," but they are ...
CBS News - 6d
Why is it so difficult to renew contracts for players over 30?

Offering Kevin De Bruyne or Virgil van Dijk a new deal might seem like a no-brainer, but these decisions are as much about the future as the present.
ESPN - Dec. 12
Zelenskyy open to Western troops providing security for end to war in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is open to the potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to guarantee the country’s security as part of a broad effort to end the almost ...
ABC News - Dec. 9
Macron faced with difficult choices after French government falls

President must find a new prime minister who can pass a budget by year’s end
Financial Times - Dec. 4
‘I am acutely frightened’: artists talk of fears over a second Trump term

Figures in the art world including Amy Sherald and Marilyn Minter share their concerns ahead of Trump’s return. The Iraqi artist Vian Sora has seen the absolute worst that politics has to offer – ...
The Guardian - Dec. 4
Ukraine’s exhausted troops in Russia told to cling on and wait for Trump

Ukrainian soldiers paint a bleak picture of a battle they don't understand, and fear they will lose.
BBC News - Dec. 2