Moscow claims it took 12 settlements in Kharkiv; Zelensky signs prisoner recruitment law

The Russian Ministry of Defense assured this Friday, May 17, that, one week after its offensive in the Kharkiv region, in northeastern Ukraine, the invading troops took control of 12 settlements. The leader of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, maintained that his objective is not to capture the homonymous capital of that province and the second most important city of the attacked country, but to create a “buffer zone” to protect Russian border towns. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, signed the law that will allow the recruitment of prisoners, not convicted of serious crimes, to fight against the Russian invasion. The measure comes amid a shortage of soldiers in one of the most numerous and powerful armies in the world.

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