The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the number of Russians entering contracts with the armed Forces since the beginning of 2024, stressing that over 100,000 Russians have already signed.

According to the statement, "Over the past week and a half, selection points for military service under contract in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have recorded a significant increase in the number of people wishing to enter into contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense to take part in a special military operation."

Moreover, it was underscored that in the last ten days, the majority of candidates expressed their intention to join the service primarily to seek retribution for those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk.

The statement further clarified, "During interviews conducted over the past week at selection points in Russian cities, the majority of candidates indicated the desire to avenge those killed in the tragedy that occurred on March 22, 2024 in the Moscow region as the main motive for concluding a contract."

Zelensky signs law lowering army mobilization age from 27 to 25

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law reducing the country's military mobilization age from 27 to 25, as announced by the parliament on its website.

Zelensky signed a law reducing the age of mobilization from 27 years to 25 years pic.twitter.com/ducN2idBGN

— Dagny Taggart (@DagnyTaggart963) April 2, 2024

This comes as Ukraine is suffering significant losses on the frontlines with Russia. Ukrainian authorities have blamed the lack of Western support for the provision of crucial arms and weapons. A shortage in personnel has also been cited as a contributing factor to these losses.

The bill on the age of enlistment had already been approved by Parliament a year ago. In February 2024, the parliament reaffirmed its support and took additional steps to formalize the implementation of the law.

Read more: Drone strike hits Russia's Tatarstan: First attack in region