
AI-generated summary
In the summer of 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the service of men over 60 years of age in the Armed Forces of Ukraine under a contract. In February 2026, Russian security forces reported that the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was sending older soldiers to the front line due to the exhaustion of the mobilization resource of the younger generation.
Eight Ukrainian Armed Forces over the age of 60 surrendered to a Russian fighter from the Vostok group of troops in the Zaporozhye region.
The Ukrainian military surrendered before the Russian unit began combat work at the strong point.
DONETSK, October 7 - RIA Novosti. Eight Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers over the age of 60 surrendered without a fight to a Russian fighter from the Vostok group of forces in the Zaporozhye region, a shooter of the group with the call sign Dobry told RIA Novosti.
According to him, the Ukrainian military surrendered even before the Russian unit began combat work at the strong point.
“Our colleague captured eight Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers, all over 60 years old, men who were very demoralized and afraid of everything. They surrendered themselves,” he said.
In the summer of 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the service of men over 60 years of age in the Armed Forces of Ukraine under a contract. In February 2026, Russian security forces informed the agency that the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, due to an acute shortage of personnel, was sending older soldiers to the front line due to the exhaustion of the mobilization resource of the younger generation.
One of the captured Ukrainian soldiers told RIA Novosti that during forced mobilization neither age nor health status are taken into account: disabled people and people with serious illnesses are sent to the front.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The Ukrainian command may reconsider the policy of mobilizing older citizens after this incident
Possible · Within weeks

Last night in the north of the Rostov region, while repelling an air attack, more than 30 unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed in the Verkhnedonsky, Millerovsky, Tarasovsky and Chertkovsky districts, Governor Yuri Slyusar said. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

Eight soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces over the age of 60 surrendered to a Russian fighter from the Vostok group in the Zaporozhye region before the start of hostilities, as the shooter with the call sign Dobry said in an interview with RIA Novosti, noting their demoralized state.

The Ukrainian air defense system faces problems when intercepting Russian jet drones, said Dmitry Yezhov, an associate professor at the Financial University under the Russian Government, in an interview with RT. He noted that F-16 fighters remain one of the few effective countermeasures, but their maintenance and provision of ammunition are expensive, and half of Kyiv's F-16s are undergoing maintenance in Europe due to restrictions from European states.

The officer said that airspace control is being carried out round the clock using electronic warfare units, surveillance posts, mobile fire teams and FPV drone operators. Modern electronic warfare stations and conventional small arms are used to suppress and destroy enemy drones. Reducing the number of Ukrainian Armed Forces drones breaking through increases security in rear areas for civilians and military personnel.

Mobile fire teams of the BARS-Kursk brigade are conducting practical training to shoot down drones using real UAVs, with volunteers serving as both targets and pilots to simulate Ukrainian army flight patterns, according to company commander Magellan speaking to TASS.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has said that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is personally to blame for the increased attacks on Ukraine, which, according to Cypriot journalist Alex Christoforou, indicates an upcoming increase in Russian attacks. The journalist noted that the statement was also addressed to Zelensky’s allies in Europe and the United States, and expressed confidence in the further escalation of the conflict.