Russia-Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin wants college students to join war effort

Moscow: In a move that could entice that cohort to join the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, the Russian military is forcing university and college students to enlist, Sky News reported quoting a local news agency. The Russian military commissariats are forcing students to sign consent to make it possible to conscript young people in April, instead of doing so in summer, when they finish their studies, Pravda reported. “They make fools of eighteen-year-old boys, who, of course, do not understand the legal consequences of such statements. Under various pretexts, with the help of persuasion and threats, they force them to sign statements,” Aleksey Tabalov, the head of Conscript School, a human rights organisation quoted by Pravda as saying. According to Russian law, students receive a deferment from conscription until graduation; however, in 2021, military commissars first began to persuade young people to enlist early. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party had last year proposed granting academic leave to students participating in the war with Ukraine. In December last year, Russia’s governing party announced the initiative in a statement on its Telegram channel, saying that the move would increase students’ social security and ensure they have the right to an education. Meanwhile, Russia claimed that it had broken through two fortified defence lines in Ukraine’s east, while Western allies pledged to ramp up military aid to better arm Kyiv as it prepares for a counter-offensive, Reuters reported. Bolstered by tens of thousands of reservists drafted in December, Russia has intensified attacks across southern and eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, and a major new offensive is widely expected as the first anniversary of its invasion nears. Russian forces are mounting “round-the-clock” attacks on Ukrainian positions in the east, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said. “The situation is tense. But our fighters are not allowing the enemy to achieve their goals and are inflicting very serious losses,” she wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Wednesday. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.