military conscription

Russians go to the polls today in the first presidential election since their country invaded Ukraine two years ago.

The war was expected to carry a steep cost for President Vladimir V. Putin. Valerie Hopkins, who covers Russia for The Times, explains why the opposite has happened.

Guest: Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Mr. Putin, in pre-election messaging, was less strident on nuclear war.
• What to know about Russia’s 2024 presidential vote.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Day 739.

Today, we bring you the latest news from the battlefront, analyse the issue of draft-dodging in Ukraine, and we talk to Foreign Correspondent Colin Freeman on his experience reporting from the frontline city of Kupyansk.

Contributors:

David Knowles (Head of Audio Development). @DJKnowles on X.

Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor, Defence). @DomNicholls on X.

Colin Freeman (Foreign Correspondent). @ColinFreeman99 on X.

Joe Barnes (Brussels Correspondent). @Barnes_Joe on X.

Find out more about Mark's books: https://markhollingsworth.co.uk/

Subscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatest

Email: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk

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This fall, as Russia’s losses mounted in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin announced a draft. Almost immediately, hundreds of thousands of men fled the country, though many more stayed.

Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent for The Times, spoke to Russians at a draft office in Moscow to gauge how they felt about going to war and who they blame for the fighting.

Guest: Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent covering the war in Ukraine for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Across Moscow, there are noticeably fewer men at restaurants, stores and social gatherings. Many have been called up to fight in Ukraine. Others have fled to avoid being drafted.

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.