Labour MP Dame Emily Thornberry has warned that Vladimir Putin could be forced to draft young men from Moscow and St Petersburg into the war in Ukraine as frontline losses mount. Speaking at a Labour Party conference fringe event in Liverpool, the chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee said the Russian president might soon have to call up men from the country's wealthiest cities to sustain his military campaign.
Dame Emily said Putin had spoken about "massive drafts of 300,000 or half a million." She added: "I don't know how he's going to do that without asking the people of Moscow and St Petersburg to hand over their golden sons – and that will cause real trouble."
Frontline losses and drone threat
Commenting after a recent visit to Ukraine, Dame Emily said those currently fighting on the front line are "either from North Korea or outer areas of Russia, where people may be outraged that they're losing so many people, but nobody listens to them." She described Putin as "desperate," noting that while he still sells fuel elsewhere, he is getting "nowhere near as much money" as Western nations reduce imports of Russian oil and gas.
The Russian army is also facing a threat from drones built by ordinary Ukrainians. Dame Emily highlighted how locals are constructing drones in their own homes, saying: "They are extraordinarily resourceful and will step sideways when there is a problem and work out what to do. They are making drones on kitchen tables."
Ukraine as defence hub
She described Ukraine as "a kind of Silicon Valley for defence" and called for more collaboration with the country on drone technology. Despite predicting a grim winter push from Putin aimed at knocking out heat and water, the MP said Ukrainian defenders would not back down. She added: "I came back with no doubt the Ukrainians will dig in, they will guide us out and we will continue to be supporters."
