Russia has what it needs to fight on in Ukraine for at least another year and retains the battlefield initiative, but is struggling to replace its destroyed tanks, experts at a leading security research organisation said on Wednesday.

The Times interviewed Russian soldiers who said they face a brutal fight to dislodge determined Ukrainian forces from a sliver of Russian land. Trapped civilians fear catastrophe.

Google researchers say Russian intelligence services are using cybercriminals’ tools to keep their cash-strapped operations running.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is offering new financial and other benefits it hopes will attract men in the 18 to 24 age group to military service.

Ukraine’s military has started to offer one-year contracts with generous bonuses to men under 25, in a bid to fix the country’s manpower deficit as Russian troops continue their advance.

Ukraine has launched a military recruitment campaign targeting 18 to 24-year-olds as army chiefs try to address a manpower crisis on the front lines. Offering a one-year contract with a salary of about $24,