Tsai Ing-wen says Kyiv needs weapons more urgently than Taipei and says Ukrainian victory will be ‘effective deterrent to future aggression’

Vladimir Putin has signed a law granting debt forgiveness to new army recruits who enlist to fight in Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

According to Russian state news agency Interfax, the new legislation allows those signing up for a one-year contract to write off bad debts of up to 10 million rubles ($96,000; £77,000). The law applies to debts for which a court order for collection was issued and enforcement proceedings had commenced before 1 December 2024. It also applies to the spouses of new recruits.

Russia has increased military recruitment by offering increasing financial incentives, in some cases several times the average salary, to those willing to fight in Ukraine.

The strategy has allowed the military to boost its ranks while avoiding another mobilisation order. A “partial mobilisation” in September 2022 sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of Russian men, who fled the country to avoid enlistment.