Putin instructs former Wagner PMC chief of staff to recruit 'volunteers' for war against Ukraine

The Russian Interfax news agency reports.

"At the last meeting, we talked about you forming volunteer units that can perform various combat missions, first of all, of course, in the zone of the 'special military operation,'" he said at a meeting with Troshev and the Russian Deputy Defense Minister.

According to him, Troshev himself fought in such a unit and knows how it should be done and knows about the issues that need to be resolved in advance.

He also suggested discussing the issue of social support for the Russian occupiers.

"I have said many times and I want to emphasize once again: regardless of the status of a person who is performing or has performed combat missions, social guarantees for all should be absolutely the same. For the country, for the homeland, it does not matter in what status a person fought and defended the homeland," Putin said.

• The Ministry of Defense reported that the Russian occupation forces are mobilizing reserves to prevent the Ukrainian Armed Forces from breaking through their defenses.

• Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesman for the joint press center of the Tavria Defense Forces, said that Ukrainian commanders are trying to improve the tactical situation on the front line.

• British intelligence reported that Russia had deployed units of the new 25th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation to the Luhansk region. They are likely to be used to restore unused reserve forces at the front.