Russia has suffered such heavy losses in Ukraine it is now calling up soldiers who have been retired for up to a decade, according to Western intelligence.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that Moscow was seeking to "bolster troop numbers with personnel discharged from military service since 2012".
In the latest release of Western intelligence likely to embarrass the Kremlin, the MoD said Moscow is also turning to recruits from the separatist region of Transnistria in Moldova to cover "mounting losses".
Ukraine on Sunday said "big battles" are set to take place in the eastern region of the Donbas, where Russian troops are moving after failing to capture the capital Kyiv.
"Ukraine must win," said Mykhaylo Podolyak, the presidential adviser, "and once that happens Ukraine will have a more powerful negotiating position".
The Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, said Russia's soaring casualty rate means it will struggle to force a victory in the Donbas region.
"Russia will likely continue to throw badly damaged and partially reconstituted units piecemeal into offensive operations that make limited gains at great cost," it said.
Russia has suffered thousands of casualties since it invaded Ukraine on February 24 and its spring recruitment drive will not deliver trained soldiers for 12 months. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's chief spokesman, last week admitted the army had suffered "significant losses", calling them "a tragedy for us".
On Sunday, satellite firm Maxar released images showing a 12 kilometre convoy of Russian armoured vehicles and artillery moving south towards the Donbas from near the city of Kharkiv.
Weekend bombardments killed 10 civilians and wounded 11 others around Kharkiv, the region's governor said on Sunday.
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Saturday's bombardments hit four towns around and to the southeast of Kharkiv, Oleg Synegubov, the head of the Kharkiv region, posted on Telegram, adding that one of those killed was a child.
Kyiv has advised citizens to leave the region while they can as Russian bombing intensifies. On Sunday, shells hit a school and an apartment block, while on Friday at least 57 civilians were killed by a Russian attack on a railway station.
Officials in Dnipro, which lies outside Donbas, said that the airport had been destroyed by shelling on Sunday and five people had been injured.
"There is nothing left of it," said Valentin Reznichenko, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region. "Rockets keep flying and flying."
Meanwhile Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, on Sunday asked Olaf Scholz to intensify sanctions and boost defence and financial aid packages in a phone call with the German chancellor. The previous day, Boris Johnson had travelled to Kyiv by train and promised to give Ukraine an extra 120 armoured vehicles.
Ukraine's survival 'depends' on the United States
The White House has said that it has sent weapons and military kit worth £1.3 billion (NZ$2.48b) to Ukraine since the war began, and has promised more, but Zelenskyy said in an interview with CBC News that he was sceptical that the promised extra kit would arrive.
Ukraine's survival "depends on how fast we will be helped by the United States. To be honest, whether we will be able to survive depends on this," Zelensky said. "I have 100 per cent confidence in our people and in our armed forces, but unfortunately I don't have the confidence that we will be receiving everything we need."
Weapons shipments from the West to Ukraine have mainly been shoulder-mounted anti-tank missiles, body armour and helmets. Zelenskyy has said he needs heavier weapons, missiles and tanks if Ukraine is going to defeat Russia in Donbas.
Near Kyiv, Ukrainian soldiers have also found more mass graves in areas previously occupied by Russian forces. Two bodies were dug up and local officials said that dozens more people were missing and feared dead.
Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said 1222 bodies had so far been discovered in the Kyiv region alone. On Monday (local time), Karl Nehammer, the Austrian chancellor, will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow in order to "build a bridge" between Russia and Ukraine. He had met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Saturday.
Near Kyiv, Ukrainian soldiers have also found more mass graves in areas previously occupied by Russian forces. Two bodies were dug up and local officials said that dozens more people were missing and feared dead.
Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said 1222 bodies had so far been discovered in the Kyiv region alone. On Monday (local time), Karl Nehammer, the Austrian chancellor, will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow in order to "build a bridge" between Russia and Ukraine. He had met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Saturday.
