Closing summary
This blog is now closing. Below is a roundup of today’s stories:
Ukraine’s parliament passed a controversial bill on Thursday that will change the rules on civilian military mobilisation in an effort to address fledgling manpower among its forces. The legislation, which must be signed by president Volodymyr Zelenskiy before it becomes law, is seen as crucial for Ukraine to address what military analysts say are major manpower problems as it fights a better armed and larger foe.
Russian forces outnumber Ukrainian troops seven to ten times in eastern regions, Ukraine’s Gen Yuriy Sodol told parliament on Thursday. “The enemy outnumbers us by 7-10 times, we lack manpower,” said Sodol, who is commanding the troops in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine.
The mass use of “drop-and-forget” guided bombs containing foreign components is driving Russian advances in Ukraine, with up to 500 now being fired a week, according to a Ukrainian government analysis. High explosive and cluster bombs fitted with “UMPC” guiding systems with a range of 40-60km (25-37 miles) are now said to be a central threat on the frontline, forcing back Ukrainian forces.
A Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv on Thursday killed two people. At least four more were injured, the regional governor said.
Ukraine and Latvia signed a bilateral security agreement, Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced during a visit to Vilnius. Zelenskiy said: “It envisages Latvia’s annual military support for Ukraine at 0.25% of GDP. Latvia also made a 10-year commitment to assist Ukraine with cyber defence, demining, and unmanned technologies, as well as support for Ukraine’s EU and Nato accession.”
Reuters reports that Russia used guided bombs to attack a thermal power plant in Ukraine’s northern city of Sumy, the regional military administration said. It said there was no casualties.
