Ukraine is in the final stages of drafting recruitment reforms to attract 18- to 25-year-olds who are currently exempt from mobilisation as it looks for ways to bolster its fighting force, the battlefield commander recently appointed to the President’s Office said.

In his first interview with foreign media since taking up his new position last fall, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Colonel Pavlo Palisa said Ukraine is exploring new recruitment options because the current drafting system inherited from Soviet times is hindering progress.

While Ukraine passed a mobilisation law last spring and lowered the age of conscription from 27 to 25 years old, the measures have not had the impact needed to replenish its ranks or replace battlefield losses in its war with Russia.

One initiative is what Palisa described as an “honest contract”, a plan that includes financial incentives, clear guarantees for training, and measures to ensure dialogue between soldiers and their commanders. The plan is aimed at attracting mainly 18- to 25-year-olds who are currently exempt from mobilisation, and will also target Ukrainians who have the right to deferment or were discharged after the mobilization law was passed.

“To secure the unit commander and the contract soldier, establish open and professional relations between them, and set clear boundaries that are understandable to both,” he said Wednesday. “In my opinion, this is essential for effective dialogue.”

The effort, which Palisa said is in its final stages, could help respond to calls aired by both the Biden and Trump administrations that Ukraine could expand its manpower by lowering the conscription age.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been adamantly opposed to implementing obligatory mobilization starting from 18 years old, saying doing so would radically affect the future prospects of the war-weary country.

“As of now, my view is that we need to start an open dialogue with society,” Palisa said. “Because the defence of the state is not only the responsibility of the Armed Forces. It is the duty of every Ukrainian citizen, and it is their obligation.”

Volodymyr Zelensky has warned Vladimir Putin was trying to manipulate efforts by Donald Trump to secure a peaceful solution to the nearly three-year-old war pitting Kyiv against Moscow.

The Ukrainian President said on Friday that the head of the foreign intelligence service reported to a meeting of Ukraine’s military command about “Russia’s military potential and Putin’s readiness to continue the war and manipulate world leaders”.

“Specifically, he is trying to manipulate the US president’s desire to achieve peace,” he said in his nightly video address. “I am confident that no Russian manipulations will succeed any longer.”

Vladimir Putin has said he is “ready for negotiations” with new US President Donald Trump over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Guardian reported Russian President told a Russian state TV journalist: “We believe the current president’s statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations.”

A woman accused of spying for Russia told a court her partner lied about having a brain tumour in order to lead a “double life”.

Katrin Ivanova, 33, allegedly carried out surveillance on individuals and places of interest to Russia between August 30 2020 and February 8 2023.

Giving evidence in the witness box on Friday, Ivanova told jurors she believes her partner Biser Dzhambazov, 43, who has pleaded guilty to espionage charges, lied about having a brain tumour in October 2021.

Tens of thousands of protesters thronged a central square in the Slovak capital on Friday, waving banners opposing Prime Minister Robert Fico’s policy shift closer to Russia, after tensions between the government and the opposition rose.

Organisers estimated 60,000 people attended the demonstration in Bratislava’s Freedom Square, about four times more than in the last demonstration two weeks ago.

The protests were nearing levels seen in 2018 when the murder of an investigative journalist caused mass demonstrations and forced Fico’s resignation. Fico won reelection as prime minister in 2023.

Protesters shouted “Enough of Fico” and “We are Europe” and at one point lit up the square with their mobile phones after a brief power outage.

Rallies were also held in 20 other cities, with news website Dennik N estimating at least 100,000 protested across the central European country.

Fico, since his return as prime minister for a fourth time in 2023, has sparked worries among critics that his government is weakening democratic values and shifting foreign policy away from European Union and NATO allies and closer to Russia.

“We do not want to be with Russia… We want to be in the European Union, we want to be NATO and we want to stay that way,” protester Frantisek Valach said in Bratislava.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu arrived in Kyiv on Saturday for talks with her Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We’ll discuss security, energy, infrastructure, trade, and mutual support on the EU path,” she said in a post on X.

Ukraine’s military has said Russia launched 61 drones and two missiles at the country in an overnight attack, adding it shot down both missiles and 46 drones.

It said 15 other drones disappeared from radars without reaching their targets.

The Russian Embassy in London has said that Russia posed no threat to undersea cables in Britain and other Nato countries after defence secretary John Healey accused Moscow of “malign activity” at sea.

Mr Healey said on Wednesday it had monitored a Russian spy ship in the English Channel for two days and would strengthen its response to secret operations by Russian ships in an effort to protect undersea cables.

The same ship had been caught “loitering” over Britain’s critical undersea infrastructure weeks before, Mr Healey said.

Russia said the allegations were without foundation.

“Claims by Britain’s Ministry of Defence regarding alleged Russian threats against underwater infrastructure of the UK and its NATO allies are completely groundless,” Russian Embassy, UK, said on X on Friday.

“Russia has never posed such threats.”

Ukraine says it has struck a Russian oil refinery and a microchip factory in a huge drone attack that caused fires at the refinery’s production facilities and an oil pumping station.

Other drones targeted numerous regions, including 20 in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, the Russian defence ministry said. Russian war blogger channels on the Telegram messaging app posted videos of what they described as large blazes in the city. They said an oil storage depot and a power station had been hit.