It is not clear if the increase represents volunteer soldiers or if the annual targets for the conscription army have been moved in an effort to strengthen the Russian military. “In any case, under current law, the order is unlikely to make substantial progress toward increasing Russia’s combat power in Ukraine. “This is because Russia has lost tens of thousands of troops. very few new contract soldiers are recruited. and conscripts are not technically required to serve outside of Russian territory,” the State Department said.
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On Saturday, the Foreign Ministry claimed that Russian forces had stepped up attacks in Donbas. Although attacks have increased, Russia has not been able to make significant territorial gains, however, the ministry said. Despite the failed territorial advance, concern remains over the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest. Russian troops have held the facility since March, and officials are concerned about the potential damage both sides could inflict on the plant due to artillery fire. Ukraine’s energy agency, Energoatom, said: “At the same time, due to the presence of the Russian military, its weapons, equipment and explosives at the power plant, there are serious risks to the safe operation of the ZNPP. As a result of periodic bombings, the infrastructure of the power plant has been damaged, there are risks of hydrogen leakage and release of radioactive substances, and the risk of fire is high. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that the situation in Zaporizhzhia remained “very dangerous” after two of its six reactors were reconnected to the grid after the bombing caused the nuclear plant to go offline for the first time in its history. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Russian forces were endangering Europe by stationing troops at the facility, while the UN called for an agreement to be signed to ensure the facility’s security.
