Putin conscripts 160K men as Russia eyes Ukraine offensive

Russia has initiated its largest subject draught successful 14 years arsenic reports bespeak Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing a outpouring battle connected Ukraine contempt ongoing bid negotiations to extremity the three-year war. 

Putin has called up 160,000 men arsenic portion of the country’s bi-annual conscription thrust arsenic Russia seeks to beef up its subject ranks.

According to the legislation, citizens aged 18 to 30 volition beryllium called up for mandatory subject work done June 15. The outpouring draught marks the largest conscription run since spring 2011, erstwhile 200,000 men were called up for service. Last year, 150,000 men were called, pursuing 134,500 successful 2022.

Russia has initiated its largest subject draught successful 14 years of 160,000 men arsenic reports bespeak Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing a outpouring battle connected Ukraine. (Contributor/Getty Images)

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The Kremlin and Defense Ministry importune the latest conscripts are not being sent into combat and that the draught is unrelated to the warfare successful Ukraine. Russian authorities accidental troops deployed to Ukraine lone see volunteers who signed contracts with the military.

Some draftees, however, fought and were taken prisoners erstwhile the Ukrainian subject launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk portion successful August.

President Donald Trump has been trying to unafraid a ceasefire woody with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Getty Images | Fox News Digital)

Putin said precocious past twelvemonth that Russia should increase the wide size of its military to astir 2.39 million and its fig of active servicemen to 1.5 million.

It comes arsenic a study suggests the Kremlin is preparing a six- to nine-month violative crossed the Ukrainian front, perchance stretching implicit 1,000 kilometers, according to The New Voice of Ukraine. Potential targets see Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhya oblasts, arsenic good arsenic the Kursk Oblast, wherever they’ve seen caller success.

The violative is besides aimed astatine maximizing unit connected Ukraine and strengthening the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks, Ukrainian authorities and subject analysts said.

Meanwhile, U.S.-led talks attempting to broker a ceasefire woody look to person stalled. The U.S. has struggled successful its efforts to unafraid an contiguous 30-day ceasefire, contempt Moscow saying it agreed with a truce "in principle." 

Negotiations person continued since the infamous dust-up astatine the Oval Office successful February betwixt President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Getty Images)

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Rebekah Koffler, a erstwhile DIA quality serviceman who specializes successful Russia’s war-fighting strategy and Putin’s thinking, told Fox News Digital that Putin’s extremity with his conscription thrust is to prolong the fighting.

"There’s nary ceasefire and nary bid program betwixt Russia and Ukraine to beryllium had," said Koffler, the writer of a best-selling book "Putin’s Playbook." "What President Trump seeks is regretfully, unachievable. Putin's extremity is to support fighting, successful bid to compel Ukraine to capitulate."

Trump is trying to unafraid a bid and uncommon world minerals deal, portion connected Sunday the president said helium did not deliberation Putin was going to spell backmost connected his connection for a partial ceasefire.

Koffler, meanwhile, said the latest conscription numbers are intended to guarantee that the correlation of forces connected the battlefield and successful reserves, continues to favour Russia. 

"Now that Germany and France are considering to deploy reassurance forces into Ukraine, Putin is factoring successful those numbers, truthful helium is expanding his force's posture, to deter specified a deployment oregon failing to forestall it by force."

A car, destroyed by a Russian drone, successful the halfway of Kharkiv, Ukraine, connected March 29, 2025. Two radical were killed successful a monolithic onslaught connected the city. (Sofiia Bobok/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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"Putin has prepared Russia for a long, protracted conflict, successful which helium wants the Russian forces to beryllium acceptable to combat till the past Ukrainian and the past rocket successful the NATO arsenal," Koffler said.

She said Putin is besides considering the anticipation of having a nonstop kinetic warfare with NATO, successful the lawsuit that NATO decides to deploy forces into the theatre successful Ukraine. 

"So, helium intends for these mobilization numbers arsenic a deterrence worth and battlefield utility, if it comes to that."

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf and The Associated Press contributed to this report.