Ukraine Recap: Russia Widens Conscription Base as War Grinds On

Russia is moving to expand its pool of military conscripts by raising the upper age limit to 30 as the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine extends into its 18th month. While Russia has said draftees won’t be sent to fight in Ukraine, the changes approved in the lower house of parliament may create an extra 2.4 million potential conscripts, according to Igor Yefremov, a researcher and specialist in demographics at the Gaidar Institute in Moscow.

(Bloomberg) — Russia is moving to expand its pool of military conscripts by raising the upper age limit to 30 as the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine extends into its 18th month. While Russia has said draftees won’t be sent to fight in Ukraine, the changes approved in the lower house of parliament may create an extra 2.4 million potential conscripts, according to Igor Yefremov, a researcher and specialist in demographics at the Gaidar Institute in Moscow. 

The Biden administration announced as much as $400 million in new military assistance for Ukraine, its 43rd drawdown from existing Pentagon inventories. The latest package includes Hornet drones and demolition munitions to clear obstacles.

Trevor Reed, the former US marine released from Russia in 2022 as part of a prisoner swap, has been injured while fighting in Ukraine, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel, said. Reed, who wasn’t in Ukraine on behalf of the US government, was transferred to Germany for medical treatment by a nongovernmental organization, he said.

 

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Markets

Wheat futures pared some of their recent gains as it emerged that Russia has failed to severely damage a key port that allows Ukraine to export grains by river into neighboring countries.

Futures retreated by as much as 2.8% on Tuesday after jumping the previous day as traders tried to figure out the extent of the damage from Russian missile attacks. 

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