**Putin Signs Law for Debt Forgiveness to Bolster Recruitment Amid Ukraine Conflict**

In a strategic move to attract more personnel to its military ranks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has enacted a new law offering substantial debt forgiveness for new army recruits joining the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. According to official documents released recently, the law targets those signing up for a one-year enlistment, allowing them to clear bad debts up to 10 million rubles (approximately $96,000). This plan also extends to the spouses of these recruits, focusing on debts already subjected to court collection orders and enforcement proceedings initiated before December 1, 2024.

This legislative measure highlights Russia's pressing need for additional troops nearly three years into the war. As part of its recruitment drive, Russia has been providing significant financial incentives to entice volunteers, with compensation packages that sometimes exceed several times the average salary. This strategy aims to reinforce military ranks without triggering another mass mobilization, as a partial mobilization in September 2022 had prompted a mass exodus of Russian men seeking to avoid conscription.

The effort to ramp up recruitment coincides with Russia's latest military developments. Last Thursday, Russia fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, which President Putin described as a counter-response to Ukraine's use of American and British missiles capable of penetrating deeper into Russian territory. The missile, known as Oreshnik, struck a factory in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The remnants of this experimental missile, based on the RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile, were presented by Ukraine's Security Service to The Associated Press and other media outlets. The missile, launched from Russia's 4th Missile Test Range at Kapustin Yar, carried six warheads, each fitted with six submunitions, and reached a peak speed of 11 Mach.

In addition to the military developments, the U.S., South Korea, and Ukraine have reported that North Korea dispatched over 10,000 troops to Russia in October. Some of these soldiers have already seen combat on the front lines, adding more strain to Ukraine's already exhausted military forces.

Amid these escalating tensions, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, emphasized the need for both sides to engage in dialogue to prevent further escalation. Waltz expressed his alignment with President Joe Biden's administration in seeking to stabilize the situation, highlighting the recent U.S. decision to supply antipersonnel mines to Ukraine as a measure to halt Russian advances and solidify defensive lines.

In response to these ongoing developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russian forces have launched over 800 guided aerial bombs, around 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles in the past week alone. Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry announced the interception of 34 Ukrainian drones across four western regions of Russia, demonstrating the intensity and scale of the conflict on both sides.