RUSSIA and Ukraine exchanged heavy drone fire at the weekend as a new Ukrainian conscription law came into force.

The law, which took effect on Saturday, requires all men between 18 and 60 to carry documents at all times confirming they have registered with military authorities, with the aim of making it much harder to avoid conscription.

It follows fivefold increases in the fines for draft-dodging (to a maximum 204,000 hryvnia (just over £4,000 in a country where the average annual wage is about £5,500) and a decree allowing the army to recruit convicted prisoners, both signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.