Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s largest conscription drive in 14 years. His ultimate goal is to have an army larger than America’s, our Moscow correspondent explains. Follow the latest below, and submit your questions for our next war Q&A.
Tuesday 1 April 2025 14:59, UK
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UK security minister Dan Jarvis has just announced that Russia will be placed on the top level of a government scheme aimed at protecting the UK from malign foreign influence.
Jarvis told MPs that the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) will come into force on 1 July.
He said it will „strengthen“ the UK’s „resilience against covert foreign influence“.
He said the Russian head of state, government agencies, armed forces and political parties will be specified under the scheme.
„Russia presents an acute threat to UK national security“, he told the Commons.
„In recent years, its hostile acts have ranged from the use of a deadly nerve agent in Salisbury, espionage, arson and cyber attacks including the targeting of UK parliamentarians through spearfishing campaigns.“
We’ve been telling you about Vladimir Putin ordering his biggest conscription drive of the Ukraine war, calling up 160,000 men.
Last month, Latvia’s president hit the headlines when he called on European countries to „absolutely“ introduce conscription, conceding that the continent was „quite weak“ militarily.
Our North of England correspondent Shingi Mararike asked young men in Leeds what they think about the idea.
While China’s foreign minister is in Moscow, his German counterpart is in Kyiv and has just spoken about the minerals deal.
Annalena Baerbock said any rare earths agreements with Ukraine should be compatible with European law.
She also said Europe had already agreed with Ukraine that any new agreement should be compatible with European Union law.
„After all, this is our European continent,“ she said.
We told you earlier about China’s foreign minister who is on a three-day visit to Moscow (see 8.43am post).
Wang Yi has now been pictured at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
An update on the minerals deal now.
Ukraine has said it will work with the US towards a mutually acceptable text that the two countries can sign.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said that one round of talks had already taken place on a new draft of the deal, and that an agreement would contribute to his country’s security infrastructure.
These latest comments from Ukraine come the day after Donald Trump said Volodymyr Zelenskyy faces „big, big problems“ if he backs out of a minerals deal with the US.
„He’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal,“ Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
„If he does that, he’s got some problems. Big, big problems.
„We made a deal on rare earth. And now he’s saying, ‚well you know, I want to renegotiate the deal‘.“
For context: Last week, reports emerged that Trump was pushing for more in the minerals deal.
The new deal gives Ukraine no future security guarantees – a key request for Kyiv – but requires it to chip in to a joint investment fund.
These terms go well beyond the proposal discussed in the lead up to the disastrous Oval Office meeting last month between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
Russia holds two annual conscription drives – one in spring and one in autumn – with all men aged between 18 and 30 required to do one year of military service.
So, in that sense, today’s draft is nothing new.
What is new, however, are the numbers. Vladimir Putin has called up 160,000 men, which is the largest conscription campaign since 2011.
The authorities claim it has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine, insisting that conscripts aren’t sent to the front.
That might be true in the short term. Conscripts can’t legally be deployed to fight outside Russia (although some have been sent to the front in error).
But in the long term, it has everything to do with the conflict, and the wider geopolitical tensions.
That’s because back in September, Vladimir Putin signed a decree to grow the Russian army by 180,000 troops, citing growing threats on Russia’s western borders.
It was the third time since his invasion of Ukraine that he’s expanded Russia’s ranks.
His aim is to have 1.5 million active servicemen, making Russia’s army bigger than America’s, and the second-largest in the world after China’s.
Today’s draft is a result of this, and it’s a sign of Russia’s relentless militarisation.
Whatever the outcome of peace talks, the Kremlin will remain on a war footing for some time yet.
The Kremlin is continuing its efforts to „sow division between the US and Europe,“ analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have said.
They explained the rhetoric used by the Kremlin is aimed at undermining Western unity in supporting Ukraine, and point out some specific examples.
Russia has blamed European countries for causing the war and accused them of seeking to prolong the fighting.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s security council, similarly criticised European countries for alleged „Russophobia“ and threatened Europe with Russian missiles – the analysts said Medvedev’s „extreme statements“ are aimed at persuading Western states to act according to Russia’s interests.
The ISW also said the statements are part of the Kremlin’s broader attempts to falsely portray European countries as seeking to prolong the war in contrast to ongoing US efforts to secure ceasefires.
Some more news to bring you from Finland now – the country’s prime minister has said it plans to withdraw from the Ottawa convention banning anti-personnel landmines.
It comes after Poland and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said they would withdraw from the convention last month due to the military threat from Russia.
The treaty came into force in 1997 and aims to ban landmines aimed at humans, and has been signed by more than 160 countries.
But some countries with the most powerful militaries, including Russia and the US, never signed up to it.
Speaking about the decision, Finnish PM Petteri Orpo said Russia is and will remain a threat to the whole of Europe.
He also said the country’s defence spending will increase to at least 3% while calling on Europe to evaluate all measures to boost defence.
We’ve just heard from the Kremlin, which has said Vladimir Putin is open to normalising relations with Finland if Helsinki wants to rebuild ties.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov described relations between the two countries as being in a „sad state“.
Finland shares a 1,300km border with Russia and joined the NATO alliance in 2023 – a move which Moscow described at the time as being a dangerous historic mistake.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb has since suggested 20 April is a „good time for a complete ceasefire without any conditions“.
Stubb spoke to Sky News after playing golf with Donald Trump at the weekend – and suggested the US president is losing patience with Putin.
You can watch that interview below.
Ukraine said Russia has attacked the city of Kharkiv for two consecutive nights, sparking fires at industrial buildings and damaging two kindergartens.
The country’s air force said its defences destroyed 65 of 111 drones launched during an overnight attack on Sunday, with Kharkiv among the areas where damage was reported.
The city’s mayor Ihor Terekhov said those attacks continued yesterday, with emergency crews battling a large fire spanning 3,900 square metres after the strike.
Take a look at the pictures below showing the damage over the past few days in Kharkiv.
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Ukraine war latest: Putin wants to make Russian army bigger than America's with largest conscription drive in years – Sky News
