Russia has implemented new restrictions on the freedom of young men, requiring them to present military enlistment papers before participating in key aspects of public and economic life as its war in Ukraine drags on, a leaked document revealed.
A letter shared with The Sunday Times shows that potential conscripts are being forced to present their draft papers before they can take out a mortgage, buy and sell property, or be recorded as a business owner, steps intended to put pressure on draft evaders.
Men aged between 18 and 30 are required by conscription laws to sign up.
The total Russian casualty in the war has pushed past 1.5 million since 2022. Compulsory military service has long been a sensitive issue in Russia, where many men go to great lengths to avoid being handed conscription papers during the twice-yearly call-up periods.
Earlier, president Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine's intelligence services obtained documents showing that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had issued a "new doctrine" of military attacks on a much broader range of civilian targets ahead of this winter.
Russia has said it would continue to hit targets in what it said were retaliatory strikes for Ukrainian attacks.
German Chancellor pledges support for Ukraine as Russia intensifies strikes on Kyiv
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has arrived in Kyiv on Sunday to demonstrate support as Russia steps up strikes on Ukrainian cities.
Aerial warfare has intensified further, with Moscow targeting cities across Ukraine using difficult-to-intercept ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones, while Kyiv has launched strikes against Russian commercial interests and oil infrastructure.
Merz said his trip to Kyiv, his second as chancellor, was intended to underscore Germany’s ongoing commitment to Ukraine.
Russian air strike hits bridge in Ukraine's Kyiv during German Chancellor visit
A Russian air strike has hit the North Bridge in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram on Sunday, as the German chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in the city in a show of support for president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Klitschko said the strike hit the roadway of the bridge that had already been attacked on Saturday.
Russian drones crash in Moldova
Five russian drones, including loitering munitions, crashed in Moldova yesterday, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said.
The Moldovan foreign ministry said drone debris fell in the Causeni, Hincesti, Anenii Noi, and Stefan Voda districts and near Crocmaz.
Russian drones and drone debris have been violating Moldovan airspace increasingly in recent months, with at least 20 such incidents recorded between February 2022 and July 2026, and seven since August 2026 alone.
Over 400 Ukrainian civilian casualties every week in 2026: UN
The UN Human Rights Office said today that an average of more than 400 civilians were killed or injured every week in Ukraine in the first eight months of 2026.
This figure is a 55 per cent increase from the same period in 2025, said Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights.
The high commissioner’s office documented 15,280 civilians killed or injured during the first eight months of the year, with Russia’s attacks intensifying in recent months.
"The war in Ukraine is a human rights catastrophe that is growing and intensifying by the week, causing unfathomable pain to civilians, and threatening an even greater disaster across the entire region," Turk said.
Russia imposes restrictions on freedom of young men – report
Russia has imposed several restrictions on young men in its effort to round up additional troops to send to its war in Ukraine, a leaked document revealed.
A letter shared with the Sunday Times shows that potential conscripts are being forced to present their draft papers before they can take out a mortgage, buy and sell property, or be recorded as a business owner, steps intended to put pressure on draft evaders.
Men aged between 18 and 30 are required by Russian conscription laws to sign up so they can be called up to fight.
The letter, sent from the federal board of notaries to regional notary chambers on 15 September, says “temporary measures may be applied to citizens” to “ensure their appearance at the military commissariat upon a summons”, according to the report.
An investigation by Russian independent outlet Mediazona recently identified the names of 258,989 Russian military personnel killed in Ukraine.
More than 10,000 names were added to the database in under two weeks, though the true death toll is expected to be significantly higher.
The total casualty has pushed past 1.5 million since 2022.
Germany's Merz visits Kyiv as Russia steps up attacks on Ukrainian cities
German chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv Sunday in a show of support as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukrainian cities.
The aerial war has intensified, with Moscow menacing cities across Ukraine with hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones, while Kyiv has been striking Russia’s oil industry and businesses.
“Ukraine is facing decisive weeks. That is why I traveled to Kyiv today with the message: You can rely on us,” Merz wrote on X, noting that Germany’s own security “also depends on the outcome of this war”.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Merz would hold talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Writing on X, Sybiha said the agenda would focus on "strengthening Ukraine, our defence and resilience, and our shared European security.”
Ukraine describes India's proposal for possible ceasefire with Russia as the 'broadest'
Ukraine has described India's proposal for a possible ceasefire with Russia as the "broadest" among four offers received by Kyiv, according to reports.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said: “We have four proposals. The broadest one is India’s proposal. We are ready for an energy and Black Sea ceasefire, but only in this combination.”
Sybiha was speaking to reporters in Kyiv, according to European Pravda newspaper.
The other proposals were from Turkey, Egypt and the US.
Russia has stockpiled ballistic missiles ahead of winter onslaught, officials warn
Ukrainian officials warn Russia has stockpiled hundreds of ballistic missiles ahead of an expected winter onslaught against electricity and water infrastructure.
Last winter, the worst of the war, Russian strikes left swathes of the country without electricity and heating for days at a time.
Since the summer, Moscow has also begun launching dozens of fast and relatively cheap jet-powered Shahed drones a day at Ukraine, whose air defence teams have struggled to cope because their interceptor drones were too slow to catch them.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had been forced to rely heavily on its fighter aircraft – F-16s and MiGs – to down around 60 per cent of the Russian jet-powered drones, but supplies of 20mm ammunition for the planes were running low.
Kyiv was urgently working on other solutions – including boosting its electronic jamming capabilities, he said. In the second half of October, it would receive the first shipment of small, cheap air defence missiles capable of hitting the new Shaheds.
Last week, Zelensky said Ukraine was developing five models of new interceptor drones capable of downing the jet Shaheds.
Fresh from a meeting with his defence chiefs, he said tests on two of those models showed a modest success rate of around 30 per cent.
"We'll have to scale it," he said. "I hope that with all these things, with all these elements, we'll find a way."
Zelensky says 'not fair to normalise' ties with Russia before return to peace
After the Trump administration invited Vladimir Putin to attend a G20 summit in Miami in December and discussed business deals with Russian envoys, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged Washington not to normalise relations with Russia before ensuring a return to peace.
Zelensky said he would be happy to meet Putin for peace talks at the G20, but he warned the US not to believe in "illusions" that Russia would simply end hostilities if it gained control of Donbas.
"It's not fair just to normalise," said Zelensky, dressed in his trademark black T-shirt and military-style jacket.
Any resumption of economic and diplomatic ties with the West had to be in return for Russia ending hostilities, he said: "Because peace is more important than any kind of economy."
While the US has proposed a resumption of trilateral talks in the coming weeks in the UAE, Zelensky noted that an exact date and location for the technical-level conversations had still not been set.
German chancellor arrives in Kyiv
Germany's chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv today, pledging support for Ukraine.
Merz arrived along with the chiefs of German defence companies, in a show of support for president Volodymyr Zelensky amid escalating Russian attacks.
"I travelled to Kyiv today because Ukraine needs all our support in the coming weeks," the German chancellor said.
"If Russia is not stopped, sooner or later its war machine will turn against us,” he said, adding that Ukraine can “count on our help”.