Moscow recruits an estimated 1,000 people a day but western officials say it cannot keep up with casualty level

Russia is losing about 6,000 more troops in Ukraine each month than it can recruit, western officials have said.

While Russia is still acquiring new battlefield recruits at speed, with an estimated rate of 1,000 a day, in the last two months even this has not been sufficient to replace those killed or injured.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

President denies visit was to gain support for Iran sanctions or due to fears that Putin plans to ‘test Nato resolve’

Donald Trump has downplayed a visit to Moscow by the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, as “semi-routine” after he turned up in the Russian capital unannounced, triggering a wave of speculation about the reasons for his trip.

Ratcliffe was reported to have flown to Moscow on a government transport plane on Tuesday in a rare visit after taking off from the Andrews air force base in Maryland.

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© Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

© Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

© Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

For many countries in Europe that recall living under Soviet occupation, the specter of the Russian threat is never far from mind. Many of those nations are now part of NATO, the alliance built to repel that threat. One of those states that was occupied for half a century is Latvia, a NATO member that borders Russia. Nick Schifrin spoke with its foreign minister after an active week of diplomacy.

John Ratcliffe’s meeting this week with a Russian intelligence chief was aimed at pushing the Kremlin to pursue a peace deal with Ukraine.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Russia is the largest destination for stolen Canadian cars. Smugglers are meeting the demand of a booming black market.

© Nasuna Stuart-Ulin for The New York Times

The Kremlin said Wednesday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe held talks in Moscow with his intelligence counterparts, a rare and secretive visit at a time when relations with Washington remain strained over Russia's war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has decreed that the state can temporarily seize control of critical infrastructure facilities if private owners fail to protect them from Ukrainian drone attacks or rebuild them after the strikes.

Missiles hit facility holding 62 million prevention items earmarked for the country’s harm reduction programmes