Ukraine Russia Conflict: Russian parliament likely to allow 40-year-olds to sign up for military

Russia's lower house of parliament will consider allowing Russians over 40 and foreigners over 30 to sign up for the military, the State Duma website said on Friday.

“For the use of high-precision weapons, the operation of weapons and military equipment, highly professional specialists are needed. Experience shows that they become such by the age of 40-45," the Duma website said.

Meanwhile, Russia on 24th February launched the war on Ukraine. And, according to the latest updates, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said the Donbas, where Russia is now concentrating its main effort, has been “completely destroyed”. Russia has said a further 771 Ukrainian troops have “surrendered” at Mariupol’s besieged Azovstal steelworks, bringing the total number to 1,730 this week, while the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had started registering the Ukrainian prisoners of war who left the plant. It is not clear how many remain at the plant. Also, Russia’s promise to use lasers to shoot down drones in Ukraine has prompted widespread scepticism that the novel and possibly nuclear-powered weaponry could be deployed on the battlefield or have any significant impact on the war.