Russia Signs 280,000 for Contract Military Service This Year, Says Medvedev

Deputy head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev attends a meeting with officials and employees of the military industrial corporation "Scientific and Production Machine Building Association" in the town of Reutov in the Moscow region, Russia, April 25, 2023. (Sputnik / Reuters)
Deputy head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev attends a meeting with officials and employees of the military industrial corporation "Scientific and Production Machine Building Association" in the town of Reutov in the Moscow region, Russia, April 25, 2023. (Sputnik / Reuters)
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Russia Signs 280,000 for Contract Military Service This Year, Says Medvedev

Deputy head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev attends a meeting with officials and employees of the military industrial corporation "Scientific and Production Machine Building Association" in the town of Reutov in the Moscow region, Russia, April 25, 2023. (Sputnik / Reuters)
Deputy head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev attends a meeting with officials and employees of the military industrial corporation "Scientific and Production Machine Building Association" in the town of Reutov in the Moscow region, Russia, April 25, 2023. (Sputnik / Reuters)

Some 280,000 people have signed up so far this year for professional service with Russia's military, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, former President Dmitry Medvedev, said on Sunday.

Visiting Russia's Far East, Medvedev said he was meeting local officials to work on efforts to beef up the armed forces.

"According to the Ministry of Defense, since Jan. 1, about 280,000 people have been accepted into the ranks of the Armed Forces on a contract basis," including reservists, state news agency TASS quoted Medvedev as saying.

Last year Russia announced a plan to expand its combat personnel more than 30% to 1.5 million, an ambitious task made harder by its heavy but undisclosed casualties in Moscow's war against Ukraine.

Some Russian lawmakers suggested Russia needs a professional army 7-million strong to ensure the country's security - a move that would require a huge budget allowance.

President Vladimir Putin ordered a "partial mobilization" of 300,000 reservists in September 2022, prompting hundreds of thousands of others to flee Russia to avoid being sent to fight. Putin has said there is no need for any further mobilization.



Trump Says Iran Must Give Up Dream of Nuclear Weapon or Face Harsh Response

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Says Iran Must Give Up Dream of Nuclear Weapon or Face Harsh Response

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)

President Donald Trump said on Monday he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran's atomic facilities.

"I think they're tapping us along," Trump told reporters after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met in Oman on Saturday with a senior Iranian official.

Both Iran and the United States said on Saturday that they held "positive" and "constructive" talks in Oman. A second round is scheduled for Saturday, and a source briefed on the planning said the meeting was likely to be held in Rome.

The source, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said the discussions are aimed at exploring what is possible, including a broad framework of what a potential deal would look like.

"Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

Asked if US options for a response include a military strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities, Trump said: "Of course it does."

Trump said the Iranians need to move fast to avoid a harsh response because "they're fairly close" to developing a nuclear weapon.

The US and Iran held indirect talks during former President Joe Biden's term, but they made little, if any progress. The last known direct negotiations between the two governments were under then-President Barack Obama, who spearheaded the 2015 international nuclear deal that Trump later abandoned.