MOSCOW promised free accommodation in Russia to residents in a region it recently annexed today as Ukrainian forces continued to make military advances.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin made the announcement after the leader of Kherson, where Ukrainian troops have pushed a counter-attack in recent weeks, asked the Kremlin to organise an evacuation from four cities in the region.

“We suggested that all residents of the Kherson region, if they wish, to protect themselves from the consequences of missile strikes ... go to other regions,” Kherson administration chief Vladimir Saldo said in a video message.

The first civilians from the region are due to arrive in Rostov tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he expects the mobilisation of army reservists to reach the targeted number within two weeks.

The move would allow him to end the hugely unpopular call-up, announced in September because of the loss of ground in Ukraine.

Mr Putin said that 222,000 of the 300,000 reservists from the Russian Defence Ministry have been mobilised.

Almost all men under the age of 65 in Russia are registered as reservists.

While Russia has not mentioned how many reservists it will summon, media reports suggested that the actual number of people could reach as high as 1.2 million.

Tens of thousands of men are reported to have left Russia following the call-up.

Reports have also surfaced of recruits being deployed to the front lines in Ukraine with little training and inadequate equipment.

Several have reportedly died in combat this week, just days after they were drafted.

Following the reports, the Russian president said all activated recruits should receive adequate training and that he would assign Russia’s Security Council “to conduct an inspection of how mobilised citizens are being trained.”

Mr Putin also announced that there was no more need for widespread attacks against Ukraine, such as the one launched on Monday in retaliation for the Kerch Bridge explosion.

He told reporters at the end of a summit in Kazakhstan that Russia was willing to hold talks, adding that they would require international mediation.

But he also warned of a “global catastrophe” if Nato troops were involved in a direct clash with Russian forces.