VLADIMIR Putin has ordered his biggest autumn military draft in nearly a decade – as fears mount that warmongering Russia could attack Europe.
The Kremlin tyrant has called up 135,000 men as his forces bleed manpower along a 620-mile front in Ukraine.
An advertising screen promoting contract military service in the Russian army and reading ‘There is such a profession to defend fatherland’[/caption]
Russian servicemen march on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, 2022[/caption]
The decree, issued on Monday, summons men aged 18-30 for “routine service” from October to December.
It is the largest autumn call-up since 2016 and part of a relentless push to swell Russia’s army to 1.5million troops.
The Kremlin insists these are not combat mobilisations. Moscow’s generals claim conscripts won’t be sent to Ukraine — a pledge they have broken before.
Analysts warn that even if fresh recruits are not deployed straight away, completing training makes them far more likely to end up on the battlefield later.
The scale of the draft betrays Russia’s crisis.
Western defence estimates revealed more than one million Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the invasion began in 2022, The Telegraph reported.
Despite this bloodletting, Putin has steadily increased annual conscription by about five per cent and pumped military spending to Soviet-era highs.
On Kremlin channels, Putin tried to project strength.
“Our fighters and commanders go on the attack, and the entire country… is waging this righteous battle,” he boasted.
“Together we are defending our love for the Motherland… we are fighting and we are prevailing.”
But his need for such a massive call-up tells a different story – a grinding war with no quick victory in sight.
Ukraine pushes back
While Russia trumpets the capture to two small settlements in Donetsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv’s counter-offensive near Dobropillia is making “strong progress”.
Ukraine is also urging allies to build a “joint, fully reliable shield against Russian aerial threats” after Russian drones violated Polish airspace and even shut down Copenhagen airport for two hours.
In Washington, Donald Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg signalled a potential policy shift.
Suggesting the US may soon allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia with American weapons, he said: “Use the ability to hit deep. There are no such things as sanctuaries.”
Russian servicemen march on Red Square during the 2022 Victory Day military parade[/caption]
A Russian Ministry of Defence billboard with the inscription “Join Your People” on the streets in St. Petersburg[/caption]
Vice-President JD Vance confirmed long-range Tomahawk missiles are under review.
The Kremlin brushed off the threat, with mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov saying: “Whether it’s Tomahawks or other missiles, they won’t be able to change the dynamic.”
But from Liverpool, UK Defence Secretary John Healey issued a direct challenge.
He said: “President Putin, you will not win. Stop the killing, start the talks, agree to a peace.
“We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Putin’s hybrid war on Europe
VLADIMIR Putin isn’t just fighting in Ukraine — he’s waging a shadow war across Europe.
The Kremlin is testing NATO’s resolve with drone incursions, airspace violations and cyberattacks, while pumping propaganda to fracture Western unity.
This month alone, Russian drones buzzed Danish and Norwegian military bases, breached Polish skies in “choreographed” swarms, and fighter jets trespassed into Estonian airspace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns Moscow is “checking Europe’s capacity to protect its skies” — a dry run for wider aggression.
Hybrid warfare is Putin’s playbook: mix military threats, covert sabotage, disinformation and energy blackmail to intimidate neighbours without triggering all-out war.
Western officials fear these tactics could pave the way for a strike beyond Ukraine if Europe looks weak or divided.
Analysts say the Kremlin wants to destabilise NATO’s eastern flank, sap European support for Kyiv and force the West into concessions.
With Russia’s army expanding to 1.5 million troops and its drones ranging deep into allied airspace, Europe is on high alert.
Growing fears of Russia attack
Zelensky has warned that Putin may not stop at Ukraine.
Speaking in Kyiv after meeting Donald Trump at the UN, he said: “Putin will not wait to finish his war in Ukraine.
“He will open up some other direction. Nobody knows where. He wants that.”
Zelensky accused the Kremlin of deliberately probing Europe’s defences with a wave of drone incursions, The Guardian reported.
Russian drones have been spotted over Denmark, Poland and Romania, while fighter jets recently violated Estonian airspace.
“The Kremlin is checking Europe’s capacity to protect its skies,” Zelensky said, warning that EU governments appear unprepared for this new, fast-moving threat.
A serviceman attends the 2025 joint Russian-Belarusian military drills at a training ground near the town of Borisov[/caption]
Russian soldiers walks along a street in Mariupol in 2022[/caption]
Earlier this month, Ukraine tracked 92 drones heading toward Poland in what officials described as a “choreographed” attack.
Most were intercepted, but 19 crossed into Polish territory and four were shot down.
Drones were also seen above a Danish military base and a Norwegian base over the weekend.
Zelensky said some countries will soon send representatives to Ukraine for “practical training” in how to repel Russian aerial attacks, offering Kyiv’s hard-won expertise to help Europe defend itself.
Western security analysts say these incursions are a worrying signal that Moscow could expand the conflict to destabilise Nato’s eastern flank.
Combined with Putin’s massive new draft and his drive to boost the army to 1.5 million troops, it’s fuelling fears the Kremlin is preparing for a wider war.
Despite Kremlin claims of a “righteous battle,” this conscription wave exposes Putin’s dilemma.
His army is bleeding, his generals need bodies, and yet the war he started shows no sign of ending.
