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Messages claim Russia is coercing citizens into the military | CNN

CNN International •
October 26, 2026 • 12:00 PM
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Russia denies it’s preparing for a new mass mobilization as battlefield losses mount, maintaining it only sends volunteers to fight in Ukraine. But CNN’s Clare Sebastian has exchanged messages with a number of Russians who say their relatives were forced or deceived into joining the military, and human rights groups speak of a sharp rise in coercive tactics. Some are calling it a “creeping mobilization”.

Messages claim Russia is coercing citizens into the military | CNN

Russia denies it’s preparing for a new mass mobilization as battlefield losses mount, maintaining it only sends volunteers to fight in Ukraine. But CNN’s Clare Sebastian has exchanged messages with a number of Russians who say their relatives were forced or deceived into joining the military, and human rights groups speak of a sharp rise in coercive tactics. Some are calling it a “creeping mobilization”.

Russia denies it’s preparing for a new mass mobilization as battlefield losses mount, maintaining it only sends volunteers to fight in Ukraine. But CNN’s Clare Sebastian has exchanged messages with a number of Russians who say their relatives were forced or deceived into joining the military, and human rights groups speak of a sharp rise in coercive tactics. Some are calling it a “creeping mobilization”.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won reelection Sunday, defeating Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, an ally of US President Donald Trump, in a razor-thin runoff election that capped a deeply polarized presidential race. CNN’s Julia Vargas Jones reports.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was reelected to a historic fourth term, but his defeated rival and Trump ally Senator Flávio Bolsonaro said he would not accept the results and would mount a legal challenge.

After more than 10 months in exile, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado has returned home to a political landscape that has been reshaped by her ally, the United States, without her involvement. Mary Triny Mena reports.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed a newly opened bridge connecting North Korea and China on Saturday, marking Kim's first reported visit to China in over a year. Analysts say the bridge, and the visit, suggest deepening ties between the two neighbors.

CNN’s Jeremy Diamond reports from Tel Aviv, where thousands of Israelis protested against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu three days before consequential elections in Israel.

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