INTERNACIONAL
Ukraine defense minister confident can replenish troops but in need of weapons, equipment from allies
FIRST ON FOX – Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov spoke with Fox News Digital about Ukraine’s war efforts as Russia’s full-scale invasion enters its fourth year in February 2025, with both sides making very little gains on the battlefield.
As the winter fighting season begins soon, the Ukrainian government needs to step up its efforts to recruit new soldiers, train them and provide the necessary military equipment to win the war.
Even as the war has no end in sight, mobilization is proceeding according to plans laid out by the Ukrainian government.
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«Since the adoption of the law on mobilization this spring, we have increased mobilization indicators by 2.5 times. Twelve percent of military personnel now voluntarily join the ranks of the army thanks to a new recruitment system,» Umerov told Fox News Digital in an email sent through the Ministry of Defense’s press office due to operational security concerns.
Ukraine passed a mobilization law in April to reform the military recruitment process while the war drags on and battlefield casualties mount.
The aim of the mobilization law, according to the defense minister, is to make the recruitment process more efficient and more transparent.
Umerov said that the positive numbers show that Ukrainians are ready to «defend their land with weapons in their hands.»
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What Ukraine needs, according to the defense minister, is help from their international partners.
«We have enough troops. However, we need support from international partners in weapons and equipment, and we require it fast.»
Umerov said Ukraine desperately needs modern Western-made air defense systems and a sufficient supply of ammunition for these systems. Ukraine needs a multi-layered air defense system to protect critical infrastructure and long-range capability to strike airfields and other military facilities deep inside Russia.
So far, the Biden administration is hesitant to consent to the need for long-range systems for fear of antagonizing Russian President Vladimir Putin and escalating a possible confrontation with Russia.
Ukraine also introduced an online app called Reserve+ that helps streamline the conscription process and makes it easier for those liable to serve to update their personal data. More than 3.4 million Ukrainians updated their conscription data through the app in just a little over two months, according to the defense minister.
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Kyiv recently lowered the draft age for men from 27 to 25, which will expand the pool of eligible fighters and help replenish the depleted ranks. Ivana Strader, who focuses on Russia’s psychological operations at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that Putin’s most powerful weapon is information, and he understands that by putting Ukraine on the defensive in this sphere he can accomplish all his security objectives.
«Putin has been launching influence operations to target Ukrainians and to make sure [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy is in an uncomfortable situation with his own population for lowering the age of military service. This is very unpopular in Ukraine, and Putin knows this,» Stradner said.
The government still has to come up with creative ways to increase its troop levels in addition to the new draft law. The Ukrainian parliament passed a law that would allow some prisoners who have less than three years left in their sentences and were not convicted of serious or violent crimes to serve in the army if they choose.
The U.K. is also considering sending a small group of military advisers to train new soldiers before heading to the front lines.
Orysia Lutsevych, head of the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, told Fox News Digital that 2024 saw some of the most intense fighting on land with infantry in the Donbas region throughout the whole war and that Ukraine needs to draw more people into the armed forces and prepare them for combat.
Lutsevych agrees with Umerov’s assessment of the conflict. The problem for Ukraine’s war prospects, according to Lutsevych, are twofold: equipment and training.
«Ukrainians don’t say we don’t want to fight. Of course, there is a fear of death, obviously. But the number one concern is will they be equipped to fight,» Lutsevych said.
Lutsevych explained that when the war first broke out, a majority of those who voluntarily signed up to fight were people who already had combat experience from 2014, when Russia first invaded eastern Ukraine and annexed Crimea. These veterans made up the bulk of Ukraine’s fighting force in the early stages of the war. Many of these veterans were killed in action or severely wounded, forcing the Ukrainian government to replenish its forces.
Following this first wave of experienced combat veterans are average civilians with no combat experience and these individuals lack the proper training and necessary equipment needed to carry on repelling further Russian advances.
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Russia currently has approximately 550,000 military personnel deployed in Ukraine and is steadily increasing the number of troops involved in combat operations. As 2025 approaches, the war is entering a critical phase and has settled into a war of attrition with both sides enduring significant costs.
«It’s a difficult situation for both parties, but neither side appears prepared to give up,» Maria Snegovaya, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Fox News Digital. Except for Ukraine’s Kursk incursion, Snegovaya said that the front lines in the east have not moved much, while Russia has pushed further into the Donbas region.
The battlefield stalemate has not impacted Ukrainians’ perceptions of the war or their desire to defend their land.
«For Ukraine, it’s not just losing some territory, it’s potentially losing their right to exist altogether, it’s an existential fight for them,» Snegovaya said.
Ukrainians remain committed to fighting even if there are no significant breakthroughs. The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology conducted a survey in early 2024 showing that despite some waning belief in victory, an overwhelming 89% still believe in victory for Ukraine.
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Official data on Ukrainian battlefield casualties are unreliable, but the U.S. estimates that some 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and between 100,000 and 120,000 wounded. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the goal is to mobilize up to 500,000 additional conscripts for future war efforts.
Ukrainian officials fear the number will be significantly lower. Defense Minister Umerov said while Ukraine has managed to counter Russia’s initial invasion with its current fighting force, more must be done.
«We believe these changes to mobilization and the support of our international partners will give the Ukrainian military the capacity for greater success against Russian occupation forces,» Umerov said.
INTERNACIONAL
Murió Liam Payne: cómo repercutió en los medios del mundo el final trágico del ex One Direction en Buenos Aires
La muerte de Liam Payne, ocurrida este miércoles en un hotel de Palermo luego de que el excantante de One Direction cayera desde un tercer piso, se convirtió en el centro de atención de los principales portales británicos y de distintas partes del mundo.
El cantante, compositor y guitarrista estaba alojado en el hotel Casa Sur Palermo, en Costa Rica 6032. La Policía de la Ciudad fue al lugar, por la tarde, al recibir un llamado al 911 a las 17:04 que reportaba «un hombre agresivo que podría estar bajo efectos de drogas o alcohol».
A las 17:11 arribó al lugar un equipo del SAME y comprobó el deceso del británico. De inmediato, la noticia dio la vuelta al mundo.
El portal británico The Sun tituló: «Fin trágico, Liam Payne muerto«. Luego desarrolló la crónica del desenlace y reveló que el músico, recientemente, había dejado de lado el plan para sacar su segundo álbum solista.
Daily Mail, por su parte, resaltó que Payne «estaba actuando de manera errática» antes de su muerte e hizo mención a la sospecha de que consumió drogas y alcohol poco antes caer del balcón. En la portada también se difundieron imágenes del ex One Direction durante su estadía en Buenos Aires y de los fans que fueron a despedirlo en las inmediaciones del hotel.
The Times, en tanto, tituló: «Liam Payne, exestrella de One Direction, muere a los 31 años«. Sobre esa publicación, se desarrolló cómo se produjo el fatal desenlace.
La British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) destacó que «Payne alcanzó la fama mundial como parte de la querida boyband creada en el programa de televisión X Factor en 2010, junto con Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan y Zayn Malik».
Además hizo referencia a que, a principios de este mes, el músico había asistido al concierto en Argentina de su excompañero de One Direction, Niall Horan.
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