(ANSA-AFP) - MOSCOW, DEC 7 - President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that half the Russians called up for military service in September have been deployed to Ukraine. "Out of 300,000 of our mobilised fighters, our men, defenders of the fatherland, 150,000 are in the area of operations," the Russian leader said during a televised meeting of the Kremlin's human rights council, saying some 77,000 were in combat units.

Meanwhile, governors of two Russian regions bordering Ukraine have said they inspected the construction of defence lines days after Ukrainian drone struck key military airfields. The governor of the Kursk region, Roman Starovoyt, shared photos of pyramid-shaped concrete blocks that appear to be anti-tank fortifications. His counterpart in the neighbouring Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, on Tuesday reported inspecting local fortifications "to ensure the safety of all residents who live in the Belgorod region". (ANSA-AFP).