{"id":196922,"date":"2026-01-14T19:50:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T19:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-kyiv-says-2-million-potential-troops-evading-call-up-with-200000-awol-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T19:50:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T19:50:52","slug":"ukraine-russia-war-latest-kyiv-says-2-million-potential-troops-evading-call-up-with-200000-awol-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-kyiv-says-2-million-potential-troops-evading-call-up-with-200000-awol-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv says 2 million potential troops evading call-up with 200,000 AWOL – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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New defence minister promises to revolutionise country\u2019s armed forces
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Around two million Ukrainians are wanted for evading mobilisation<\/a> while 200,000 soldiers are awol (absent without official leave), Ukraine<\/a>\u2019s new defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov revealed on Wednesday.
Fedorov has promised to revolutionise the country\u2019s armed forces <\/a>as it faces a critical manpower shortage. According to the Criminal Code of Ukraine<\/a>, evading mobilisation is punishable by imprisonment of three to five years in wartime.
The 34-year-old made clear his plans to revolutionise the country\u2019s armed forces, saying: \u201cOur goal is to change the system: to reform the army, improve infrastructure on the front lines, eradicate lies and corruption, and make leadership and trust a new culture.
It follows news that Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner<\/a> and envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow<\/a> for another round of peace talks with Vladimir Putin<\/a>, according to a report.
Sources told Bloomberg<\/em> that the two envoys could meet with the Russian President this month amid faltering efforts by the US to negotiate an end to the conflict. A date for the meeting has not been agreed.
A flurry of diplomatic activity driven by Trump has failed to yield a peace agreement, with Moscow refusing to budge on its maximalist demands and Kyiv<\/a> continuing to seek security guarantees from Washington.
A Venezuela<\/a>-linked oil tanker<\/a> seized by the US has been spotted off the coast of Moray in Scotland <\/a>a week after it was intercepted.
The Marinera, a Russian-flagged vessel previously known as Bella-1, was witnessed being escorted to an undisclosed location accompanied by a US coast guard<\/a> vessel.
It comes as British special forces<\/a> could be given the green light to raid the vessels in a move to place further pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin<\/a>, according to reports.
The use of shadow fleet tankers to move sanctioned oil around the world has increased in recent years as states seek to circumvent restrictions to their transportation.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will declare a state of emergency in the energy sector to tackle issues with disrupted power supplies following sustained Russian attacks o infrastructure.
“Overall, a state of emergency will be declared for Ukraine\u2019s energy sector,” he wrote on X on Wednesday, adding work was underway “to significantly increase the volume of electricity imports into Ukraine”.
Ukraine has undergone several attacks on its critical energy infrastructure during the war with power outages reported as temperatures hit subzero.
Ukraine\u2019s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that \u201cbroader changes are needed\u201d across the country\u2019s military as he and his new defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, said on Wednesday.
He outlined his three main priorities as: air defence, attempts to \u201csignificantly strengthen the technological component\u201d and increasing pay for soldiers on the frontline and lastly \u201csystemic solutions\u201d to issues facing recruitment including mobilisation.
The White House has denied that a meeting is taking place between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Bloomberg reported that such a meeting was due to take place next week, but the White House told Reuters that no such meeting was scheduled to take place.
It comes as Russia\u2019s veteran foreign minister Sergei Lavrov made at a dig at the US for not keeping the Kremlin abreast of developments in peace talks with Ukraine.
Around two million Ukrainians are wanted for evading mobilisation while 200,000 soldiers are AWOL (absent without official leave), Ukraine\u2019s new defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov revealed on Wednesday.
Fedorov has promised to revolutionise the country\u2019s armed forces as it faces a critical manpower shortage. According to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, evading mobilisation is punishable by imprisonment of three to five years in wartime.
Some have been going AWOL using shortcuts to transfer between units, according to the Kyiv Independent.
He added that troops faced \u201ca large number\u201d of problems including a Soviet style manner of commanding troops.
\u201cThis prevents soldiers on the front line from working at their maximum,\u201d Fedorov said.
A multi-storey apartment block that local authorities say was damaged by debris from downed Ukrainian drones during an attack on the region, amid the Russia-Ukraine military conflict in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, 14 January.
The European Union will dedicate most of a massive new loan program to Ukraine\u2019s military needs over the next two years while also injecting billions into its war-ravaged economy, European Commission<\/a> President Ursula von der Leyen<\/a> said Wednesday.
EU leaders agreed last month to loan Ukraine<\/a> 90 billion euros (\u00a377bn) to help cover its needs in 2026 and 2027. Kyiv would only have to pay the money back once Russia<\/a> ends its war and pays reparations for the damage it has inflicted over almost four years.
The International Monetary Fund<\/a> estimates that Ukraine will need 137 billion euros (\u00a3118bn) over the two years. The government in Kyiv is on the verge of bankruptcy and desperately needs the money by spring.
Ukrainian drones were used to attack a Russian oil tanker in the Black Sea, according to the Russia\u2019s ministry of defence.
The attacks were carried out on Tuesday about 100km from the city of Anapa in Russia\u2019s Krasnodar region. Two Ukrainian strike UAVs were used to carry out the mission.
One of the tankers is reported to have been chartered by US oil company Chevron CVX.N according to the companies involved. They were headed toward a terminal on the Russian coast.
Ukraine\u2019s army will be transformed thanks to a drive for innovation and reform to strengthen military training, according to the country\u2019s newly appointed defence minister.
\u201cToday, it is impossible to fight with new technologies using an old organisational structure. We need comprehensive changes,\u201d said Mykhailo Fedorov in an address to lawmakers.
\u201cOur goal is to change the system: to reform the army, improve infrastructure on the front lines, eradicate lies and corruption, and make leadership and trust a new culture.\u201d
The 34-year-old has previously served as deputy prime minister and digital transformation minister.
It follows a cabinet reshuffled by President Volodymyr Zelensky after a corruption scandal.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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