Ukraine’s top commander calls for mobilizing more soldiers

KYIV — Ukraine’s top general on Tuesday called for mobilizing more troops, a rare acknowledgment of heavy casualties after nearly two years of war with Russia.

In his first news conference since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny also conceded that Ukrainian troops have largely withdrawn from the eastern Ukrainian town of Marinka. The loss of the small settlement, now in ruins, is unlikely to have a significant impact on the larger battlefield but is nonetheless a sign that Russian forces have seized the initiative after Ukraine’s disappointing counteroffensive stalled with the coming of winter.