Ukraine pulls troops from Vuhledar as Russia advances

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law measures that allow defendants in criminal cases to avoid prosecution if they join the military.

Russia's need for manpower remain high after two and a half years of war in Ukraine.

The measures amend a section of the Russian criminal code under which suspects whose cases were under investigation could have their cases suspended if they enlist. The new measures extend the suspension to suspects whose cases are in the trial stage.

The legislation also allows for sentences or proceedings to be entirely canceled in the case of discharge for age or health reasons or with the end of martial law.

Russia imposed martial law in October 2022.

In September of this year, Putin called for Russia's military to increase its troop strength by 180,000.

Similar measures are already in place allowing some convicts to fight in Ukraine and later go free.

Several peace demonstrations have been registered for Thursday in Berlin.

October 3 is a public holiday in Germany that commemorates the reunification of former West and East Germany in 1990.

Some 25,000 people are expected to attend the largest demonstration at the Grosser Stern square in the Tiergarten area of Berlin.

The protesters are set to demonstrate against arms deliveries to Ukraine and Israel under the slogan "no to war and a military build-up, yes to peace and international solidarity."

Sahra Wagenknecht, the leader of the left-wing populist BSW party, and Peter Gauweiler, who belongs to the Bavaria-based conservative CSU, are expected to speak at the demonstration.

Wagenknecht's critics in Germany accuse of her of doing more to represent Russian foreign policy interests than to promote peace or demilitarization.

Ambassadors from the 27-nation EU have agreed on setting up a new legal framework to impose sanctions on Russians linked to hybrid and sabotage attacks in European countries, diplomats told the AFP news agency. 

The restrictions will include visa bans and asset freezes, according to the AFP report. 

The text on new restrictions is expected to be formally signed off on next week.

Several EU and NATO countries, including Germany and Poland, recently reported uncovering plots for such attacks, which they say Moscow had planned. They claim that such assaults are intended to slow down support for Ukraine. 

Since February 2022, the EU has implemented 14 rounds of sanctions against Russia. 

The Ukrainian eastern military command said in a statement that it ordered troops to pull back from the strategic town of Vuhledar, in the eastern Donetsk region. 

"In an attempt to take control of the city at any cost, reserves were directed to carry out flanking attacks, which exhausted the defense of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the statement said. "As a result of the enemy's actions, there arose a threat of encircling the city."

The announcement came a day after Russian forces reached the center of Vuhledar after two years of fighting over the hill town. 

Control of Vuhledar holds significance due to its dominant heights and proximity to railway lines, which gives Russia greater protection for their own logistics routes and a better vantage point for attacks against Ukrainian forces. Its capture also brings Russia closer to the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

A military court in the Siberian city of Chita said it handed jail terms to 13 people over sabotage attacks on "strategically important transportation infrastructure facilities" and critical energy sites.

The terms ranged between four and 23 years. 

Prosecutors had argued that the 13 people, aged between 17 and 20, were trying to sabotage Russia's offensive in Ukraine. 

The court said the group was planning on burning Russian fighter jets at a military base in the Far East when they were arrested.

There have been several sabotage attempts against Russia's railway network, which is used to transport troops and equipment for the war in Ukraine. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country is capable of producing 4 million drones a year — an industry that was almost nonexistent in Ukraine before Russia launched the war in 2022. 

"In extremely difficult conditions of the full-scale war under constant Russian strikes, Ukrainians were able to build a virtually new defense industry," Zelenskyy told executives of arms manufacturers in Kyiv, in remarks that were authorized for publication Wednesday.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told the same meeting that Ukraine had tripled its overall domestic arms production in 2023, adding that the volume had already doubled in just the first eight months of this year. 

However, Ukraine has not provided detailed figures to back the claim. 

Chinese state media reported that President Xi Jinping told his Russian counterpart and ally Vladimir Putin he was ready to "expand" cooperation.

Xi also hailed his and Putin's efforts to strengthen ties in recent years "in the face of major changes unseen in a century."

"Political mutual trust between the two sides has continued to deepen, practical cooperation has achieved remarkable results," he said, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua.

The remarks came as China marks 75 years of Communist Party rule and the subsequent establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.

Putin, who congratulated Xi on the anniversary, said Russia was the first country to recognize the People's Republic of China. 

Xi is one of Putin's closest allies. In 2022, Beijing and Moscow described their relationship as having "no limits," just before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

China has since come under pressure from Western leaders who have urged Xi to use his influence on Putin to end the war in Ukraine. 

Vadym Filashkin, the governor of Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk, said that Russian troops had reached the center of the town of Vuhledar.

The small mining town has been under intense pressure in recent days as Russian forces renewed their efforts, reportedly for the fifth time since the start of the war, to capture it.

Filashkin described the situation as "extremely difficult."

The town, which had more than 14,000 residents before the war, now has a population of only 107 civilians, according to Filashkin.

On Wednesday, Russian media and bloggers claimed that Vuhledar was captured, citing unverified footage. 

The Russian Defense Ministry has not confirmed the reports. DW could not immediately verify the claims. 

Control of Vuhledar is significant to both sides as it sits on elevated ground, making it a natural platform to shell targets in the area. 

The town also lies at the intersection of the eastern and southern front lines.

fb/nm (AFP, dpa, Reuters)