Ukraine strikes deep into Russia, elderly mobilized in response

Ukrainian soldiers boldly entered Russia, occupying some localities in the Kursk region and also attacking the Belgorod and Lipetsk regions. Pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergey Markov reported that Ukraine might have occupied an area of up to 97 square miles. It could take Russia up to a year to reclaim these territories. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asserts that his forces control at least 74 localities.

According to the Russian independent portal Astra, several hundred soldiers who refused to serve were forcibly put on a plane in St. Petersburg and transported near Kursk. Some were lured under the pretext of urgent construction work. They reportedly have already received rifles, and it is only a matter of time before they join the fight against the Ukrainians.

They were previously stationed in Kamionka, at the headquarters of the 138th Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade. That's up to 5,000 people who previously did not want to fight.

The portal Belsat adds that criminal proceedings have been initiated against some soldiers for refusing to fight. The detained included soldiers with physical and mental health issues.

They took a man with a Category D classification, a 70-year-old man who can barely walk, and a man without an eye – reports the Astra portal, citing a family member.

"The first group, roughly 300 people, was sent in an unknown direction. The second group, about 150 people, found themselves 4 miles away from Kursk in the morning at a military training ground. They were taken, captured like a package, put in, and sent away – say their wives and mothers," Astra reports.

In the morning, my son wrote that "now they are dressing us, giving us automatic rifles, and most likely into battle – adds another interviewee for the portal, whose son participated in the war but ended up under psychiatric care.