Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces at a tactical, combat, and first aid training course (AFP)

Monday’s Coverage: Zelensky — “Constructive” Discussion With Trump

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 2030 GMT:

Russian forces have again struck Zaporizhzhia city with missiles.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the nation of the ongoing rescue operation and discussion with military commanders about air defense.

Right now, we do not have enough systems to protect our country from Russian missiles. However, our partners have these systems. Once again, we reiterate: air defense systems should save lives, not gather dust in storage facilities.

UPDATE 1617 GMT:

Russia is evacuating its forces from Syria amid the opposition’s victory over the Assad regime, says Kyiv’s military intelligence agency HUR.

The agency claimed Russian troops are expressing frustration with commanders over the disorganized withdrawal.

Military transport aircraft, including An-124 and Il-76 planes, have moved personnel and equipment to Russian airfields in Ulyanovsk, Chkalovsky, and Privolzhsky. The bulk carrier Sparta II and the amphibious assault ship Alexander Shabalin are en route to the Syrian port of Tartous to assist. Additional ships, including the frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko, are supporting the operation from the Mediterranean Sea.

HUR adds that emergency dismantling of military equipment is ongoing in Tartous, where hundreds of Russian special forces have been deployed.

UPDATE 0951 GMT:

Two civilians, including a 91-year-old woman, were killed and seven wounded by Russian attacks on the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine on Monday.

A man was slain and seven people injured in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.

On Tuesday morning, a 74-year-old woman was killed in a Russian drone attack on the Beryslav district in Kherson.

At least 10 people were wounded by a Russian missile attack on the town of Zlatopil in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine.

A strike near a bank damaged non-residential buildings and cars.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Defying US pressure, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected lowering the age of conscription from 25 to 18.

Arguing that Ukrainian forces are depleted amid a Russian offensive in the east of the country, American officials have put a priority on the change. Zelensky has responded that the necessity is for more weapons.

In a late-night message, Zelensky argued:

We must focus on equipping existing brigades and training personnel to use this equipment. We must not compensate the lack of equipment and training with the youth of soldiers.

The priority should be providing missiles and lowering Russia’s military potential, not Ukraine’s draft age. The goal should be to preserve as many lives as possible, not to preserve weapons in storages.

The President also wrote further about his meeting in Paris, arranged by French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, with Donald Trump.

We know that America has the capacity to accomplish remarkable things — things that others have not been able to achieve. To succeed in ending this war, we need unity—the unity of America, Europe, and everyone in the world who values security—as well as strong positions and guarantees for peace.

Earlier in the day, Zelensky said 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 370,000 injured have been injured during Russia’s 33-month invasion.

He added that about half of the wounded had been able to return to service after treatment.

The President said 198,000 Russian soldiers had been killed and 550,000 injured. Almost 800,000 Russian troops are currently deployed in Ukraine, he asserted.