Ukrain claims mobilisation of criminals by Russia

The Russian army has mobilised 500 criminals in an effort to reinforce its forces in the temporarily-occupied Donetsk region, the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine have reported.

In a statement, the armed forces said criminals had begun to arrive in the region and noted that an order to seize mobile phones from all those arriving in the area had been issued, per Sky News.

It also said that former Russian law enforcement officers had now been made commanders of the newly-formed units.

Sky News has not been able to verify these claims.

On October 6, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv's forces had recaptured more than 500 square kilometres and dozens of settlements in Kherson in October.

It came as Russia's top military official, Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russian-backed administration in Kherson, said the "generals and ministers" in Moscow failed to understand the problems on the front lines.