Ukraine's military commander has confirmed that Russian troops are inching towards the city of Kostiantynivka in the eastern region of Donetsk and trying to establish a foothold close to a heavily defended area.
Kostiantynivka forms a part of the so-called "fortress belt", a network of cities and towns fortified by the Ukrainian military in the east.
“We are repelling the Russian occupiers' persistent attempts to gain a foothold in the outskirts of Kostiantynivka using infiltration tactics. Counter-sabotage measures are going on in the city," Oleksandr Syrskyi said on the Telegram app.
Russian troops are currently about 1km from the city's southern outskirts, according to the Ukrainian battlefield mapper DeepState.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said his forces had observed unusual activity along the border with Belarus.
“Yesterday, there was rather unusual activity along sections of the Ukraine–Belarus border, on the Belarusian side. We are closely documenting everything and keeping the situation under control,” he said, without sharing details.
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Trump is now dealing with an irate, tough Germany. Here’s why
Ukraine is hitting oil facilities deep inside Russia. Soaring fuel prices could blunt the impact
Russia successfully test launches new Soyuz-5 rocket from Kazakhstan, space agency says
Key Points
- Ukraine reports fighting reaches outskirts of Kostiantynivka
- Zelensky flags 'unusual' activity along Ukraine-Belarus border
- Russian forces capture village in Ukraine's Sumy region, defence ministry says
- Ukraine sees 'unusual activity' at Belarus border, Zelensky says
Ukraine is hitting oil facilities deep inside Russia. Soaring fuel prices could blunt the impact
08:23 , Arpan RaiUkrainian drones are flying deep into Russia to strike oil facilities, sending up plumes of smoke that can be seen from space and bringing toxic rain to tourist destinations on the Black Sea.
The attacks are aimed at slashing Moscow’s oil exports, a key source of funding for its grinding invasion of Ukraine. But the economic impact is so far unclear, as the rise in oil prices from the Iran war, and a related easing of U.S. sanctions, have helped replenish the Kremlin’s coffers.
Still, the range of the attacks and their environmental impact is bringing the war home to ordinary Russians far from the front lines.
Ukraine is hitting Russian oil sites but rising fuel prices may blunt the impact
Ukraine hits two shadow fleet tankers near Russia's Novorossiysk port
07:53 , Arpan RaiUkrainian forces attacked two shadow fleet tankers in waters at the entrance to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said this morning.
"These tankers had been actively used to transport oil – not anymore," Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.
"Ukraine's long-range capabilities will continue to be developed comprehensively – at sea, in the air, and on land."
Our warriors continue to apply sanctions against Russia’s shadow oil fleet – two such vessels were struck in the waters at the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk. These tankers had been actively used to transport oil – not anymore. I am grateful to Chief of the General Staff… pic.twitter.com/8aCse8h95j
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 3, 2026
Ukrainian drones attack Russia's Primorsk port, governor says
07:27 , Arpan RaiUkrainian drones attacked Russia's Baltic Sea port of Primorsk on Sunday, setting it on fire, local governor Alexander Drozdenko said on the Telegram messaging app.
He said more than 60 drones were downed overnight over Russia's northwestern Leningrad region. There was no oil spill following the attack on Primorsk, a major oil exporting outlet, and the fire was extinguished, he added.
Zelensky sanctions his former chief of staff
07:00 , Arpan RaiVolodymyr Zelensky has imposed sanctions on his former chief of staff Andriy Bohdan, who headed his presidential office before the war in Ukraine erupted in 2022.
No official reason was given to explain the sanctions.
Bohdan said on Facebook that the move may be linked to recent media reports alleging possible involvement by Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, in corrupt dealings.
The former official suggested that the president suspects a connection between the publications and Bohdan’s work as a lawyer.
Under the sanction, Bohdan’s state honours will be revoked, his assets will be frozen and his commercial transactions will be banned.
The sanctions will remain in force for 10 years.
Drone kills two in Kherson minibus strike
06:44 , Arpan RaiTwo people were killed after a Russian drone attacked a minibus in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said Saturday, in the latest barrage of civilian areas, a hallmark of Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
Seven people were also wounded in the attack, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. Hours later Russia attacked another minibus in Kherson, wounding the driver, he said.
Ukraine reports fighting reaches outskirts of Kostiantynivka
06:13 , Arpan RaiRussian troops are inching towards the city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, trying to establish a foothold close to a heavily defended area, Ukraine's top army official said yesterday.
Kostiantynivka, along with other cities, forms a so-called fortress belt in the country's east - an area well fortified by the Ukrainian military.
"We are repelling the Russian occupiers' persistent attempts to gain a foothold in the outskirts of Kostiantynivka using infiltration tactics. Counter-sabotage measures are going on in the city," Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's army chief, said on the Telegram app.
A Ukrainian battlefield mapping project called DeepState shows that Russian troops control an area around only one kilometre (0.6 mile) from the city's southern outskirts.
Small chunks of Kostiantynivka, in southeast Ukraine, are marked as a grey zone, meaning neither Ukraine nor Russia has full control over them.
Zelensky flags 'unusual' activity along Ukraine-Belarus border
06:09 , Arpan RaiUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said his forces observed an unusual activity along the country’s border with Belarus.
“Yesterday, there was rather unusual activity along sections of the Ukraine–Belarus border – on the Belarusian side. We are closely documenting everything and keeping the situation under control,” Zelensky said, without sharing the details of the movement.
“If necessary, we will react. Ukraine is ready to defend its people and its sovereignty. Everyone who is being drawn into any aggressive actions against Ukraine must understand this,” he said.
Yesterday, there was rather unusual activity along sections of the Ukraine–Belarus border – on the Belarusian side. We are closely documenting everything and keeping the situation under control. If necessary, we will react.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 2, 2026
Ukraine is ready to defend its people and its… pic.twitter.com/NRHIXHpPiM
Ukraine is hitting oil facilities deep inside Russia. Soaring fuel prices could blunt the impact
02:00 , Holly EvansUkrainian drones are flying deep into Russia to strike oil facilities, sending up plumes of smoke that can be seen from space and bringing toxic rain to tourist destinations on the Black Sea.
The attacks are aimed at slashing Moscow’s oil exports, a key source of funding for its grinding invasion of Ukraine. But the economic impact is so far unclear, as the rise in oil prices from the Iran war, and a related easing of U.S. sanctions, have helped replenish the Kremlin’s coffers.
Still, the range of the attacks and their environmental impact is bringing the war home to ordinary Russians far from the front lines.
Read the full article here:
Ukraine is hitting Russian oil sites but rising fuel prices may blunt the impact
Russian forces capture village in Ukraine's Sumy region, defence ministry says
01:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainRussian troops took control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine's Sumy region, the defence ministry said on Saturday.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield report.
The ministry also said its air defence forces shot down 505 drones overnight.
Fibre-optic drones reshaped the war in Ukraine. Hezbollah are now adopting the deadly weapon
Sunday 3 May 2026 00:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainHezbollah has introduced a new, difficult-to-detect weapon against northern Israel: small drones controlled by fibre-optic cables. These devices, with cables the width of dental floss, are designed to evade electronic detection, posing a fresh challenge to air defences.
Unlike many drones vulnerable to electronic jamming, which can cause them to crash, these fibre-optic variants are directly connected to an operator.
This direct link makes them impossible to jam electronically, a characteristic widely seen in the war in Ukraine. Though not infallible – wind or other drones can tangle their cables – their lethality is high.
Fibre-optic drones reshaped the war in Ukraine. Hezbollah are now adopting the weapon
Zelensky and Slovakia PM discuss Ukraine's EU accession
Saturday 2 May 2026 23:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainPresident Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed Ukraine's accession to the European Union with Slovakia's prime minister Robert Fico in a conversation on Saturday.
"We need strong relations between our countries, and both of us are interested in this. It was important to hear that Slovakia supports Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and is ready to share its experience of accession," he said on X.
Ukraine sees 'unusual activity' at Belarus border, Zelensky says
Saturday 2 May 2026 22:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainUkraine has recorded “unusual activity” along the Ukraine-Belarus border, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday, after urging Minsk in recent weeks not to get more involved in Russia's war.
"Yesterday, there was some rather unusual activity along the Ukraine-Belarus border - on the Belarusian side," Zelensky said in his daily address to the nation.
Ukraine's air force and border guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"We are closely monitoring the situation, keeping everything under control, and will respond if necessary," he added.
Watch: Russian drone attacks gas station in Ukraine’s Kramatorsk
Saturday 2 May 2026 21:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainTrump is now dealing with an irate, tough Germany. Here’s why
Saturday 2 May 2026 20:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainFriedrich Merz calling out Trump’s foreign policy – which has led to an announced withdrawal of US troops – is an effort to get the president to think less about Vladimir Putin and protect America’s allies, explains world affairs editor Sam Kiley:
The US president and the German chancellor have locked horns. Spain has shunned Washington. The Nato alliance is more fragile than it has ever been.
Western powers are determined to see off Russian military “hard” power; they are familiar with “soft power” operations to undermine democracies. But how to deal with the Kremlin’s relationship with Donald Trump is now an emergency.
Working out a response to internal frictions within Nato has become a conundrum, not only for leaders in the alliance but for the military officials who have to figure out how to keep the military machine operational.
Trump is now dealing with an irate, tough Germany. Here’s why
How many American troops are in Europe and where are they?
Saturday 2 May 2026 19:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainThe United States is to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, a key Nato ally, the Pentagon announced on Friday. The decision marks the most significant step yet by Washington to scale back its military footprint in Europe.
This move follows a public disagreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz regarding the conflict in Iran. It also comes after months of criticism from Washington, alleging that European nations have not contributed sufficiently to supporting American efforts in the region or to their own defence.
Here are some key details on U.S. military presence in Europe:
Fibre-optic drones reshaped the war in Ukraine. Hezbollah are now adopting the deadly weapon
Saturday 2 May 2026 18:30 , Maryam Zakir-HussainHezbollah has introduced a new, difficult-to-detect weapon against northern Israel: small drones controlled by fibre-optic cables. These devices, with cables the width of dental floss, are designed to evade electronic detection, posing a fresh challenge to air defences.
Unlike many drones vulnerable to electronic jamming, which can cause them to crash, these fibre-optic variants are directly connected to an operator.
This direct link makes them impossible to jam electronically, a characteristic widely seen in the war in Ukraine. Though not infallible – wind or other drones can tangle their cables – their lethality is high.
Fibre-optic drones reshaped the war in Ukraine. Hezbollah are now adopting the weapon
Trump gives rambling answer on whether Ukraine or Iran war will end first — and mixes up the countries
Saturday 2 May 2026 18:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainPresident Donald Trump couldn’t say whether the war he launched against Iran in February would end before the four-year-old Russian war against Ukraine — and even confused the two countries — as he turned an Oval Office meeting to honor the Artemis II lunar mission crew into a wide-ranging media session with reporters.
After a spare, two minutes of remarks to honor the NASA crew that traveled further into space than any humans before — during which Trump, 79, claimed he was physically fit enough to launch into deep space as they did (”Is a president allowed to go up in one of these missions,” he asked NASA administrator Jared Isaacman) — the president immediately began a question-and-answer session that veered from UFOs to a recent conversation with Russian president Vladimir Putin that had focused on the Ukraine and Iran wars.
Trump mixes up Ukraine and Iran in rambling answer over which war will end first
Zelensky says he's seeking details of Putin’s May 9 ceasefire proposal
Saturday 2 May 2026 17:30 , Maryam Zakir-HussainUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking details of a short-term ceasefire Russia proposed to U.S. President Donald Trump, he said in a post on Telegram on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a May 9 ceasefire to coincide with Victory Day in Russia in a phone call with Trump the previous day, according to the Kremlin.
“We have instructed our representatives to contact the United States president’s team and clarify the details of the Russian proposal for a short-term ceasefire,” Zelensky said.
Zelenskyy says he's seeking details of Putin’s May 9 ceasefire proposal
Russian forces capture village in Ukraine's Sumy region, defence ministry says
Saturday 2 May 2026 17:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainRussian troops took control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine's Sumy region, the defence ministry said on Saturday.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield report.
The ministry also said its air defence forces shot down 505 drones overnight.
Germany focuses on shared interests after US announces troop drawdown
Saturday 2 May 2026 16:40 , Maryam Zakir-HussainGermany's defense minister on Saturday appeared to take in stride a Pentagon announcement that the United States plans to pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, saying a drawdown was expected and emphasising the mutual benefit of the longstanding U.S. deployment in Europe.
Boris Pistorius said Europe recognised and was acting on the necessity of doing more to ensure its own security within the U.S.-led NATO military alliance that counts Germany as a key member, and said it is doing so.
He suggested America, too, gains from its military deployment in the continent.
“The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the U.S.,” Pistorius told the German news agency dpa.
Pistorius called the move “foreseeable,” apparently alluding to President Donald Trump’s recent threat of a drawdown in Germany.
Russian athletes hit with over 300 sanctions as Wada hails ‘most successful investigation in anti-doping history’
Saturday 2 May 2026 16:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainThe probe into Russia’s state-backed doping programme passed a milestone of more than 300 sanctions against athletes in what the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) president described as the “most successful investigation in anti-doping history”.
Wada announced its “Operation LIMS” investigation has resulted in 302 sanctions against 291 Russian athletes, with 11 athletes receiving two sanctions each for separate violations.
The probe was based on data and samples retrieved from the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory in 2019.
Russian athletes hit with over 300 sanctions after anti-doping probe
Ukraine sees 'unusual activity' at Belarus border, Zelensky says
Saturday 2 May 2026 15:30 , Maryam Zakir-HussainUkraine has recorded “unusual activity” along the Ukraine-Belarus border, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday, after urging Minsk in recent weeks not to get more involved in Russia's war.
"Yesterday, there was some rather unusual activity along the Ukraine-Belarus border - on the Belarusian side," Zelensky said in his daily address to the nation.
Ukraine's air force and border guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"We are closely monitoring the situation, keeping everything under control, and will respond if necessary," he added.
Ukraine is hitting oil facilities deep inside Russia. Soaring fuel prices could blunt the impact
Saturday 2 May 2026 15:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainUkrainian drones are flying deep into Russia to strike oil facilities, sending up plumes of smoke that can be seen from space and bringing toxic rain to tourist destinations on the Black Sea.
The attacks are aimed at slashing Moscow’s oil exports, a key source of funding for its grinding invasion of Ukraine. But the economic impact is so far unclear, as the rise in oil prices from the Iran war, and a related easing of U.S. sanctions, have helped replenish the Kremlin’s coffers.
Still, the range of the attacks and their environmental impact is bringing the war home to ordinary Russians far from the front lines.
Read more here:
Ukraine is hitting Russian oil sites but rising fuel prices may blunt the impact
Rishi Sunak: Ukraine is a 'valuable partner' in the new age of war
Saturday 2 May 2026 14:30 , Maryam Zakir-HussainRishi Sunak has said the Iran war demonstrates the value of Ukraine as a key ally to the UK.
In an article for The Times, the former prime minister said Ukraine boasts “the most advanced defence tech industry in the world”, making them a “valuable partner” for the UK.
He wrote: “The Iran conflict has confirmed that the nature of warfare has changed, and Ukraine is the western-aligned nation that knows best how to fight in this new way.”
Zelensky and Slovakia PM discuss Ukraine's EU accession
Saturday 2 May 2026 14:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainPresident Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed Ukraine's accession to the European Union with Slovakia's prime minister Robert Fico in a conversation on Saturday.
"We need strong relations between our countries, and both of us are interested in this. It was important to hear that Slovakia supports Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and is ready to share its experience of accession," he said on X.
Drone kills 2 in Kherson minibus strike as Russia claims front-line progress
Saturday 2 May 2026 13:25 , Maryam Zakir-HussainTwo people were killed after a Russian drone attacked a minibus in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said Saturday, in the latest barrage of civilian areas, a hallmark of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
Seven people were also wounded in the attack, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Hours later Russia attacked another minibus in Kherson, wounding the driver, he said.
On Ukraine's Black Sea coast, a Russian strike damaged port infrastructure in the city of Odesa. No casualties were reported.
Fighting reaches outskirts of Ukraine's stronghold Kostiantynivka
Saturday 2 May 2026 13:14 , Maryam Zakir-HussainRussian troops are inching towards the city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, trying to establish a foothold close to a heavily defended area, Ukraine's top army official said on Saturday.
Kostiantynivka, along with other cities, forms a so-called fortress belt in the country's east - an area well fortified by the Ukrainian military.
"We are repelling the Russian occupiers' persistent attempts to gain a foothold in the outskirts of Kostiantynivka using infiltration tactics. Counter-sabotage measures are going `on in the city," Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's `army chief, said on the Telegram app.
A Ukrainian battlefield mapping project called DeepState shows Russian troops control an area around only one kilometre (0.6 mile) from the city's southern outskirts.
Small chunks of `Kostiantynivka in the southeast are marked as a grey zone, meaning neither Ukraine nor Russia has full control over them.
Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday its forces had taken control of Novodmytrivka, just north of Kostiantynivka.
Moscow's top general Valery Gerasimov said in April that troops were advancing in the north and south of the city.
Russia's oil spills onto streets after Ukraine targets refinery in Tuapse
Saturday 2 May 2026 12:30 , Arpan RaiUkrainian drones have hit the oil refinery and export terminal in the Black Sea town of Tuapse on four occasions in just over two weeks, sparking fires that prompted local evacuations and sent up massive plumes of smoke.
The town is roughly 450km (280 miles) from the front lines.
In a video posted by local governor Veniamin Kondratyev after the third attack on 18 April, an emergency official said boiling oil products had spilled onto the street, damaging cars.
Ukraine said on Thursday that it hit an oil pumping station in Russia's Perm region, more than 1,500km (900 miles) from Ukraine, two days in a row.
Russian media reported the attacks, though Perm governor Dmitry Makhonin said only that drones had hit industrial facilities.
Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea, one of Russia's largest oil and gas export terminals, was hit three times in the space of a week in late March. It is more than 800km (500 miles) away from Ukraine.
In a broadcast several weeks later, regional governor Alexander Drozdenko declared that the area around St Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, was a "front-line region" due to aerial threats.
US to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany
Saturday 2 May 2026 11:45 , Arpan RaiThe United States is withdrawing 5,000 troops from Nato ally Germany, the Pentagon announced on Friday, as a rift over the Iran war widens between President Donald Trump and Europe.
Trump had threatened a drawdown in forces earlier this week after sparring with German chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said on Monday the Iranians were humiliating the US in talks to end the two-month-old war.
A senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said recent German rhetoric had been "inappropriate and unhelpful."
Russia targets Ukrainian cities in overnight strikes
Saturday 2 May 2026 11:20 , Arpan RaiSeveral strikes were reported from Ukraine after Russian forces launched overnight drone attacks targeting energy infrastructure, regional officials said.
The strikes targeted Mykolaiv, Kryvyi Rih, and Odesa Oblasts, officials said.
Russia targeted port infrastructure in Izmail, a city in southern Odesa Oblast.
In Mykolaiv, Russian forces hit the energy infrastructure with Shahed-type attack drones, said Vitaliy Kim, head of the regional military administration.
In Kryvyi Rih, Russian drones targeted an infrastructure facility overnight, Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih Defence Council, said. Explosions were heard across the city, according to local residents.
No casualties were immediately reported in the attacks, according to the preliminary assessment.
Ukraine's attacks on Tuapse sparks concern for 'serious environmental consequences'
Saturday 2 May 2026 10:35 , Arpan RaiRussian president Vladimir Putin warned of "serious environmental consequences" after attacks on Tuapse refinery while insisting things were under control.
Officials warned that high levels of benzene, a carcinogen found in oil products, had been recorded in the air while fires burned and urged residents to limit time outdoors.
Residents also widely reported "black rain," oily droplets falling on their skin and clothes. Local news outlets posted images of stray dogs and cats with their coats stained gray. Oil spills along the coastline have coated birds and fish, and Russian media recently circulated images of beached dolphins.
Those images are shocking to Russians accustomed to vacationing on the Black Sea coast.
Vladimir Slivyak, co-chairman of the Russian environmental group Ecodefense, said there could be long-term consequences for human health and the region's ecosystem.
“There is a lot of oil in the sea," he said. "In the next few years, every storm will be bringing more oil pollution onto the coast.”
There has not yet been a public backlash to the strikes, as authorities wage a crackdown on dissent. But that could change as the damage spreads.
"I think a lot of people understand that there is a very big difference between what Putin says and what regional authorities are saying, and what's really going on," Slivyak said.
Ukraine's long-range drones stretch Russia's defenses
Saturday 2 May 2026 10:00 , Arpan RaiThe ability to strike key infrastructure deep inside Russia has highlighted Ukraine's growing military capabilities and put pressure on Moscow's overstretched air defences.
It has also forced more Russians to confront the consequences of a war their government claims to be winning.
Ukraine's defence ministry says its forces have more than doubled the range of their deep-strike capabilities since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The increased range also allows drones to attack locations from different directions, complicating countermeasures.
“Drone attacks have so far been a very successful case of leveraging simple technologies and domestically assembled technology to attack Russia in places that, at the start of the war, they just would have never expected to be attacked," said Marcel Plichta, a PhD candidate in the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews.
“This capability just didn't exist" four years ago, he said.
Vessel carrying grain Ukraine says stolen by Russia will not unload in Israel, Kyiv says
Saturday 2 May 2026 09:30 , Arpan RaiThe vessel carrying grain that Ukraine says was stolen from areas occupied by Russia will not unload in Israel, Ukraine said on Thursday, after Kyiv requested Israel to seize the cargo.
Ukraine's prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on the Telegram app that the vessel, Panormitis, left Israel's territorial waters and departed into neutral waters following "a range of procedural measures taken by Ukraine".
"On the basis of the materials provided by the Ukrainian side within the framework of international legal cooperation, the competent Israeli authorities have begun to process the request," he said.
Israel's foreign ministry said, however, that Ukraine's request for legal assistance, submitted late on Tuesday, "contained significant factual gaps and did not include any supporting evidence".
In the meantime, the ministry said, it was informed that the vessel that was supposed to enter the port next week had decided to depart from Israel's territorial waters.
Zelensky scraps old military contracts for increased pay to bring in new recruits
Saturday 2 May 2026 08:50 , Arpan RaiUkraine will no longer have open-ended military contracts to bring in new recruits under a major reform for the war-hit nation’s armed forces, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The new military contracts will allow previously mobilised soldiers to leave service, with timelines yet to be determined, Zelensky said.
“I have instructed that the contract system in the Defence Forces be strengthened so that… defined service duration terms are ensured,” Zelensky said, adding that “a phased discharge from service” would become “possible for those who were mobilised earlier”.
The president did not share details on how long soldiers would need to serve before they could leave.
The reform will also allow for increased pay for soldiers and changing recruitment and service rules, with implementation set to begin in June.
"The fifth year of full-scale war presents unique challenges, first and foremost in managing personnel and motivating our soldiers," he said.
