Even as it works to get much-needed new supplies of weapons and ammunition from a huge U.S. aid package to the front line, Ukraine is seeking to reverse the drain of potential soldiers from the country, announcing that men of conscription age will no longer be able to renew their passports from outside Ukraine.
The Cabinet of Ministers said late Wednesday that men between 18 and 60 years old who are deemed fit for military service will only be able to renew their passports inside Ukraine.
Millions of Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, mostly to neighbouring European countries. The European Union's statistics agency, Eurostat, says 4.3 million Ukrainians are living in EU countries, 860,000 of them men 18 years of age or older.
The defence minister of Poland, home to one of the biggest Ukrainian diasporas, said the country was ready to help "in ensuring that those who are subject to compulsory military service go to Ukraine," though he did not specify how.
Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said "Ukrainian citizens have obligations towards the state."
The move has met with some criticism inside Ukraine. Opposition lawmaker Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze, who heads the Parliamentary Committee for Ukraine's European Integration, said denying military-age men access to consular services could lead to "well-founded" legal challenges at the European Court of Human Rights.
"I think that these actions will only push an enormous number of Ukrainians to look for different ways to obtain citizenship from other countries," she said.
Russia's population of almost 150 million dwarfs Ukraine's 38 million, and Moscow can draw on a much bigger army. Earlier this month, Ukraine lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25 in an effort to bolster the size of its military.
Oleksandr Pavlichenko, executive director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, said the measure was a violation of individual rights -- and also unlikely to succeed in getting Ukrainian men to return home from abroad.
"It's just an emotional step, not a legal one," he said. "It will not bring the results."
Ukraine is in need of fresh troops to bolster forces in the south and east, where Russia is pressing forward with its efforts to take ground from outnumbered and outgunned troops.
The U.S. is sending US$61 billion in new U.S. military aid, a lifeline for Kyiv's armed forces in their more than two-year war with Russia. President Joe Biden signed into law the aid package on Wednesday.
U.S. officials also confirmed Wednesday that the United States last month secretly sent Ukraine a number of long-range missiles that Kyiv has urgently sought so that its forces can hit Russian forces well behind the front lines. Ukraine used them for the first time last week to strike an airfield in occupied Crimea, the officials said.
The Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMs, have a range of some 300 kilometres (190 miles). More are expected to be sent to Ukraine as part of the new U.S. aid package.
Russia was dismissive of the weapons' likely impact.
"This will not fundamentally change the outcome of the special military operation. We will succeed. But it will cause more problems for Ukraine itself," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said "the key now is speed" in getting the supplies into place. Ukrainian forces have run desperately short of artillery ammunition and air defence missiles during six months in which the U.S. aid was held up by wrangling in Congress. That has allowed the Kremlin's forces to inch forward in parts of eastern Ukraine in what has largely become a war of attrition.
Ukraine's general staff said Thursday that the situation at the front remained "difficult."
Six people were injured in the Cherkasy region of central Ukraine on Thursday after a "high speed target" struck a critical infrastructure object, Regional Gov. Ihor Taburets said on social media. He said a rescue operation was underway.
Russian forces also targeted infrastructure in northern Ukraine, launching a guided aerial bomb on the city of Sumy. The Regional Military Administration said emergency services were responding to the attack and the impact of the strike was still being clarified.
In the eastern Kharkiv region, an attack near a railway station injured seven people, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov, said on Telegram.
Britain's Treasury chief, on a visit to Kyiv, urged all NATO countries to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP to help Ukraine and "pile the pressure" on Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt said he told Zelenskyy during Wednesday's visit that the U.K. would maintain at least its current level of military support, some 3 billion pounds (US$3.8 billion) in 2024, for "as long as it takes."
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this week his country's defence budget will increase to 2.5 per cent of GDP from its current level of just over 2 per cent by 2030. Sunak also announced 500 million pounds (US$625 million) in new aid for Ukraine -- including ammunition, vehicles, boats and 1,600 strike and air defence missiles.
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Associated Press writers Susie Blann in Kyiv, Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and Emma Burrows in London contributed to this story.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
The jury deciding the fate of a man responsible for a fatal firebombing in Sudbury found him guilty of three counts of first-degree murder Friday afternoon.
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Mexican authorities said Friday that three bodies were recovered in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend during an apparent camping and surfing trip.
Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party's mayor of London, appeared Saturday to be romping to victory as results from the capital pour in.
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
The United Nations food agency warned Sudan's warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don't allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region.
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.
Black youth in Canada face multiple barriers in getting access to mental health services — and health-care providers can make the situation more difficult, experts say.
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Google's preeminence as an internet search engine is an illegal monopoly propped up by more than US$20 billion spent each year by the tech giant to lock out competition, U.S. Justice Department lawyers argued at the closings of a high-stakes antitrust lawsuit.
Many species of animals form social groups and behave collectively: An elephant herd follows its matriarch, flocking birds fly in unison, humans gather at concert events. Even humble fruit flies organize themselves into regularly spaced clusters, researchers have found.
Madonna will give a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning its vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor.
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Quebec singing legend Celine Dion has praised a Montreal DJ for creating a mashup featuring one of her songs with U.K. producer Majestic.
One of the organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores says she met with the grocer's president and CEO Per Bank on Thursday afternoon.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Ontario is set to clamp down on bad employers with big fines. Labour Minister David Piccini says his government will introduce legislation next week that will see fines increased for violations of the Employment Standards Act.
A zebra that has been hoofing through the foothills of western Washington for days was recaptured Friday evening, nearly a week after she escaped with three other zebras from a trailer near Seattle.
When Damon Langlois visited the beach as a boy, he never would have imagined how significant sand would become in his life.
Two registered nurses from Ottawa and Kingston have been an integral part in the delivery of a baby on board a flight heading to Dubai.
Financially challenged Canada Soccer took a step toward improving its bottom line Saturday, voting to increase its annual membership fee for players by $4 starting in 2025.
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Tributes continue to pour in for Bob Cole as his family has confirmed a funeral will be held for the legendary broadcaster Friday in St. John's, N.L.
Drivers in Saskatchewan will now lose their licence for a week and their vehicle for a month if they are caught committing certain high-speed and dangerous offences on the road.
Auto sales last month totalled 164,000 units, higher than April 2023, which was the weakest month for sales last year.
Rolls-Royce is vastly expanding its factory in Chichester, England. The BMW subsidiary is adding five new buildings with construction planned to start next year.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Homicide investigators have been called to Mission, B.C., after a man died Friday night.
A Vancouver-based health sciences company that was attempting to develop synthetic scorpion venom withheld relevant information from investors, but that omission did not necessarily have an impact on the company's stock price, B.C.'s financial regulator has ruled.
Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
A 49-year-old man has been arrested following a deadly stabbing in Brampton earlier this month.
A man is in hospital after being stabbed in Rexdale Saturday afternoon.
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Netflix is set to begin filming a western series with a star-studded cast in Calgary this month. The Abandons, created by Kurt Sutter from Sons of Anarchy fame, follows “a group of diverse renegade families living on the fringes of society in 1850s Oregon.”
A major Alberta utility has cancelled a large wind power project in response to new government rules on where such developments can be built.
Ottawa Fire Services say crews battled a fire that broke out in the bedroom of an Overbook highrise on Friday evening - less than 48 hours after a fire in the same building displaced hundreds of residents and sent three people to hospital in critical condition on Thursday.
The Ottawa Farmers' Market is bringing back its outdoor markets this May, featuring fresh produce sold by local vendors across five different locations in the city.
Hintonburg's Ministry of Coffee will be closed until further notice due to "unforeseen circumstances," the popular Ottawa coffee shop said Saturday.
The province has been pushing drivers to make the switch to electric vehicles (EVs) but it appears Quebecers aren't buying in. The latest numbers from the SAAQ show that the number of gas-powered vehicles hit a record high in 2023.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A man is dead after an assault Friday morning near Alberta Avenue.
The Edmonton Oilers will face the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the National Hockey League post-season after Vancouver advanced with a 1-0 win over the Nashville Predators in Game 6 Friday, winning the best-of-seven opening-round series 4-2.
Netflix is set to begin filming a western series with a star-studded cast in Calgary this month. The Abandons, created by Kurt Sutter from Sons of Anarchy fame, follows “a group of diverse renegade families living on the fringes of society in 1850s Oregon.”
Nova Scotia's NDP leader announced a program aimed at easing the cost of housing during a rousing campaign-style speech before the party's annual convention in Halifax today.
A 15-year-old boy, from the Bathurst region, has died following an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) collision in Beresford, N.B.
RCMP said they responded to a report of a single motor vehicle crash on Highway 289 on Wednesday around 10:09 p.m.
A 15-year-old boy from Lake St. Martin First Nation has been charged with second-degree murder after a fatal shooting earlier this week.
A pro-Palestinian encampment is expected to be set up at the University of Manitoba next week, in light of similar protests across Canada and the United States.
RCMP have charged a 29-year-old woman with manslaughter in connection to the death of a man in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation earlier this year.
A plane bound for Juno Beach in France took off from the Prairies on Friday with a piece of military history.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
After some gloomy and rainy days in the Queen City, there will be some sunshine heading into the weekend.
More than 100 teachers at the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) are learning they have been declared surplus will likely be out of a job as of Aug. 12.
People living in Puslinch, Ont. may have the answer to why their water smelled so bad last year.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A 28-year-old Winnipeg man wanted for murder was arrested near Boychuk Drive and Briarwood Road in Saskatoon.
A lesser known fixture of Saskatoon's skyline is coming down for repairs and renovations.
The WHL Eastern Conference Final between the Saskatoon Blades and Moose Jaw Warriors has been full of see-saw momentum shifts, heart-stopping moments, and overtime heroes. Game 5 had all of the above.
The jury deciding the fate of a man responsible for a fatal firebombing in Sudbury found him guilty of three counts of first-degree murder Friday afternoon.
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Ontario Provincial Police, in partnership with the Treaty Three Police Service, have charged a suspect with second degree murder following a homicide in a remote Indigenous northwestern Ontario community.
Threads of Life held its 16th annual Steps for Life fundraiser walk for the London, Ont. region at Springbank Park.
May the 4th traditionally marks Star Wars Day, and some London, Ont. area fanatics are expressing their love for the movie franchise.
The Canadian Olympic Committee hosted a free talent search in London, Ont. Saturday.
OPP have laid multiple firearms related charges against two individuals in Orillia.
A Barrie man is facing multiple charges related to incidents of intimate partner violence that originated in the Township of Essa.
Home Runs for the Hungry annual baseball fundraiser returned to Barrie on Saturday.
In the few years since he became completely blind and lost both of his legs in back-to-back amputations, Michael Potter says he is used to people treating him differently — almost to the point of insulting.
In case you missed it, CTV News Windsor has compiled all the top local stories from this week into one video for your convenience.
The Windsor Police Service has arrested a 17-year-old boy following an armed robbery in the city’s west end.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
An emaciated dachshund is now recovering thanks to a Good Samaritan who found the pup near a biking trail in Kelowna, according to the BC SPCA.
Animal shelters across the province are finding themselves frequently at capacity -- or more.
Lethbridge police say impaired driving is to blame in a fatal crash that killed a 25-year-old man on Thursday.
The bell at Erle Rivers High School in Milk River, Alta., will ring for the last time on June 26, as the 114-year-old school is scheduled to be torn down to make way for a new K-12 school.
The de-rostering of thousands of patients at the Group Health Centre in Sault Ste. Marie was the centre of attention at a town hall Friday organized by the Algoma chapter of the Ontario Health Coalition.
The Chi-Cheemaun ferry arrived at Manitoulin Island on Friday morning to kick off its 50th season on the Georgian Bay.
Phase 1 of the reconstruction of Queen Street in downtown Sault Ste. Marie is getting underway, although it will be scaled down from the original plan.
A funeral is being held today for hockey broadcasting legend Bob Cole in his hometown of St. John's, N.L.
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.
Tributes continue to pour in for Bob Cole as his family has confirmed a funeral will be held for the legendary broadcaster Friday in St. John's, N.L.
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