Russia says 82,000 conscripts from emergency draft already in Ukraine

The emergency draft began in September, after Ukraine won a string of victories in the north-west near Kharkiv, prompting some Russians to protest and others to flee the country. Dozens of conscripts have been killed after being thrown into the frontline to protect more experienced troops in the rear.

Locals say the terrain between the Ukrainian held city of Mykolaiv and Kherson is particularly difficult because the flat ground is cut by large irrigation canals, some of which have been drained, but in either case are easily fortified.

Western military experts have long predicted a slow down in the tempo of fighting in November as heavy rains clog the ground and make it increasingly difficult for armoured vehicles to operate off road. The battle may not pick up again until the depths of winter, when the ground freezes.