Intense battles between Ukrainian and Moscow’s troops inside the Russian border region of Kursk have entered a third day after an audacious attack by Kyiv’s forces.
War monitor the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Ukrainian soldiers had penetrated more than six miles (10km) across the border, breaking through two Russian defensive lines and a stronghold.
Russia declared a state of emergency amid the fierce fighting, despite seeking to claim that the situation was under control. Russian state media said that 3,000 people have been evacuated from the area.
Moscow’s military chief Valery Gerasimov briefed president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday about the attack, while neither Kyiv nor president Volodymyr Zelensky has made any direct reference to the assault while exhorting Kyiv’s soldiers to press on and weaken Russian forces.
Multiple pro-Russian military bloggers said the battles continued into Thursday.
"Sudzha [a district in Kursk] is basically lost to us. And this is an important logistics hub," said Yuri Podolyaka, a popular Ukrainian-born pro-Russian military blogger, adding that Ukrainian forces were pushing north towards Lgov.
Key Points
- Vladimir Putin accuses Ukraine of “major provocation” following cross-border attack
- Four killed after shelling in Donetsk, according to governor
- Over 130 clashes across 10 fronts in past day, Ukraine says
Top Russian commander admits lack of manpower
15:39
Rachel Hagan
A top Russian general has said in a rare admission that the Kremlin’s troops are running out of “forces” and “resources.”
Top Russian General Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat special forces unit fighting in Russia, also confirmed there had been deaths in Ukraine’s Kursk incursion.
Mr Alaudinov said the incursion had been made possible because Moscow “had neither forces, nor means, nor resources” to stop them.
He said on the Telegram messaging app: “There is no irreversible process, nothing supernatural happened... Yes, the guys died, that’s true. Several populated areas, the enemy entered there,” he said.
Ukraine to unleash robot dogs on front lines
14:53
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine could replace soldiers with robot dogs on its front lines for risky missions like spying on Russian trenches or detecting mines.
Not just used for treacherous missions, the hounds can also carry just over a stone of ammunition or medicines to hot spots on the battlefield.
At a demonstration in an undisclosed part of Ukraine, the metallic dog known as model “BAD One” stood up, crouched, ran and jumped according to commands transmitted by its operator, Agence France Press has reported.
“We have surveillance soldiers who get sent on reconnaissance missions (who) are most of the time very highly trained people, very experienced people (and) always exposed to risks,” said the operator who went by the name Yuri as he demonstrated to AFP journalists.
He continued: “I can’t say how many we deployed. But it will have a significant impact on the operations and increase the safety of soldiers.”
Zelensky says Ukrainian army ‘knows how to surprise’
14:18
Rachel Hagan
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has praised the Ukrainian army for its ability “to surprise” and achieve results.
While he made no direct reference to the cross-border assault in Russia’s Kursk region, this is likely what he is referencing.
He said at an event to unveil a new digital app to cut paperwork for the military: “Everyone can see that the Ukrainian army knows how to surprise. And knows how to achieve results.
“This is demonstrated by the battlefield, where our soldiers not only withstood the overwhelming force of the occupiers, but also are destroying it in the way necessary to protect Ukraine – our state and independence.”
Ukraine narrowly miss medal in canoe sprint
14:02
Rachel Hagan
In an update to our earlier post, Ukraine has just missed out on a medal in the canoe sprint final at the Paris Olympics.
Despite not winning, they have done exceptionally well to beat those who came ahead of them in the semi-final -Canada and Denmark.
Germany pipped Australia across the finish line, with just 0.04 seconds between them. Spain picked up the bronze medal and Ukraine came in fourth just a second behind.
The Ukrainian team consists of Oleh Kukharyk, Dmytro Danylenko, Ihor Trunov and Ivan Semykin.
Russian bomb kills two in school playground
13:38
Rachel Hagan
A young man and his six-year-old brother were killed this afternoon when a Russian-guided bomb hit a school playground in the northern Sumy region bordering Russia’s Kursk region, a Ukrainian official said.
The pair were killed in Mohrytsia village, Volodymyr Artiukh, head of the Sumy region’s military administration told national TV.
“Sumy region has never known such a large number per day,” he added, referring to 56 guided bombs dropped by Russia in the past 24 hours.
The Kremlin has accused the Ukrainian military of launching an armoured assault in the Kursk region, in one of the largest such incursions of the 29 months of the full-scale war.
Russian seek 15-year sentence for US-Russian woman in treason trial
12:50
Rachel Hagan
Russian prosecutors have requested a 15-year sentence in the treason trial of Ksenia Khavana, a Russian-American woman who has pleaded guilty to charges related to supporting Ukraine's military.
Khavana, also known by her maiden name Karelina, was arrested in February in the west-central city of Yekaterinburg and accused of collecting funds for Ukraine's armed forces.
Her trial, which has been held behind closed doors, concluded with her guilty plea on Wednesday.
According to reports, her lawyer, Mikhail Mushalov, stated that the sentencing is expected next week.
Khavana acquired US citizenship after marrying an American and moving to Los Angeles but had returned to Russia to visit her family at the time of her arrest.
Russia’s Federal Security Service claims she “proactively collected money in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organizations, which was subsequently used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces.”
But rights group The First Department said the charges come from a $51 (£40) donation to an American charity that helps Ukraine.
Ukraine vies for medal in canoe sprint at Olympic final
12:35
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine are inching closer to a medal today after securing fifth place in the semi-finals of the men’s kayak four 500m.
The K4 500m final, which involves four paddlers in a single kayak, is commencing this afternoon and will see Ukraine try to beat Canada and Denmark for the bronze medal.
The Ukrainian team is made up of Oleh Kukharyk at the bow, Dmytro Danylenko at second, Ihor Trunov and Ivan Semykin at the back.
They are the first Ukrainian men’s team to win a K-4 500m world title and get an Olympic quota.
Not only are they sporting heroes but they are also fundraising money for rehabilitation and prosthetics for war victims, some of which include their friends and fellow athletes.
Zelensky speaks with US House Representatives on achieving peace
12:03
Rachel Hagan
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky met today with a bipartisan delegation of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress to discuss ways to achieve a just peace in Ukraine as soon as possible.
The president announced his visit on X, formerly Twitter, saying he underlined Ukraine’s utmost efforts “to achieve a just peace as soon as possible”.
He also expressed gratitude for support to “everyone in America who values freedom and independence as much as we do in Ukraine”.
I met with a bipartisan delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 8, 2024
We talked about defending our country and our values from Russian terror. The key focuses are air defense, saving the lives of Ukrainians, and stopping any attempts by Russia to prolong this war. We are… pic.twitter.com/0pePb3CXXz
Russian shelling kills two in Donetsk region
11:35
Rachel Hagan
Two people have been killed by Russian shelling today in the town of Kostiantynivka in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.
The strike hit a residential district of the town in the morning, Vadym Filashkin, the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, reported on his Telegram account.
At least four people were killed in Russian shelling in the same region on Wednesday.
Ukrainian-controlled areas of the Donetsk region frequently face Russian shelling and airstrikes. A significant part of the region is under Russian control, with Moscow claiming it, along with four other Ukrainian regions, as its territory.
Donetsk continues to be a major flashpoint, with Russian forces focusing on targets near the strategically important eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
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Ukraine ‘not violating policy’ by using US-supplied weapons in Kursk
11:07
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine is “not violating policy” by using US-supplied weapons in Kursk despite the operation being on Russian territory, the US state department has said.
Matthew Miller, the state department spokesperson, confirmed at a briefing that the US had not received warnings about possible operations on Russian territory and emphasised that Ukraine is making these decisions alone.
But he also said the US policy about weapons restrictions and using American weapons to strike inside Russian territory remains unchanged.
He said in response to a question from a reporter: “I will answer this way. Nothing in our policy has changed, and with the actions they [Ukrainians] are taking today, they’re not violating our policy.”
In May, President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the green light to use American weaponry to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Mr Miller’s remarks may seem surprising as Mr Biden’s edict in May did not change policy directing Ukraine not to use American-provided long-range missiles and other munitions to strike offensively inside Russia.
Ukraine urges Mexico to arrest Putin if he travels to country
10:41
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine has urged Mexico to arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin if he travels to the country for President Sheinbaum’s inauguration. The warmonger president was invited to the ceremony on October 1, Russia’s Izvestia newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing Mexico’s embassy to Russia.
Reports say the president is deciding whether he will participate in the ceremony himself or appoint another high-ranking official to do so on his behalf.
In a statement, Ukraine’s embassy said Kyiv was “confident that the Mexican government would comply” with the international arrest warrant for Putin, which was issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2023 for alleged war crimes.
Mexico is a member of the ICC so should Mr Putin visit the country he would risk his arrest on the warrant.
Ukrainian forces advanced more than six miles in Kursk
09:59
Rachel Hagan
Ukrainian forces have made big gains in the Kursk battle, making advances over six miles and breaking through two Russian defensive lines and a stronghold.
War monitor the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) confirmed the headway amid the continued mechanized offensive operations on Russian territory.
A Russian insider source claimed to the ISW that Ukrainian forces have seized 45 sq km of territory within Kursk Oblast since they launched the operation two days ago and other Russian sources reported that Ukrainian forces have captured 11 settlements.
Disappointment in Belarus over East-West prisoner exchange
09:34
Andy Gregory
There was reportedly disappointment among opposition activists in Belarus last week as the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War failed to include any of the hundreds of political detainees held for years by authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
The prisoner swap – which came days ahead of the fourth anniversary of the 2020 election, widely viewed as fraudulent, handed Lukashenko his sixth term, sparking widespread protests – saw 16 Westerners and Russian dissidents exchanged for eight Russians held abroad.
The only prisoner freed from Belarus in the swap was Rico Krieger, a German medical worker who was arrested there last year on terrorism charges.
The Viasna human rights group estimates Belarus has about 1,400 political prisoners, including its founder and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski. Like many top opposition figures, Bialiatski is being held incommunicado.
“I am happy to see the Russians released, but I’m shocked that no one remembered about the fate of Belarusian political prisoners,” Bialiatski’s wife, Natalia Pinchuk, told The Associated Press. “I hope it was just the first round of the game involving the West, and Belarusians will also be freed following representatives of Russia.”
Viasna has raised the issue with Western diplomats, listing over 30 political prisoners who need to be released as a priority, according to the group’s representative, Pavel Sapelka.
Russia’s Medvedev calls for Moscow to expand its war aims in Ukraine
08:49
Andy Gregory
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has called for Moscow’s forces to push further into Ukraine, insisting they must press on to Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv and beyond.
Despite Russia’s troops having been pushed hundreds of miles back from advances gained in the early days of their full-scale invasion, with the last year of the war largely characterised by intense fighting for minimal gains, the deputy chief of Russia’s council insisted Russia must expand its aims.
Commenting on the Ukrainian incursion in the Kursk region, Mr Medvedev claimed that Moscow’s operation should no longer aim just to secure the territories Moscow considers its own, and that Russia will stop advancing only when it finds it beneficial to do so.
Ukraine claims to shoot down two out of four missiles fired overnight by Russia
08:34
Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s air force claims to have shot down two out of four missiles and all four drones launched by Russia during an overnight attack, with a 12-year-old boy reportedly injured in Dnipropetrovsk.
Russia launched two Kh-59 cruise missiles – which Ukraine claimed to shoot down – and two ballistic Iskander-M missiles, according to the report.
The Iskander missiles targeted the northeastern Kharkiv region, the military said. Governor Oleh Syniehubov had not provided a report on the aftermath of the attack as of Thursday morning.
Dnipropetrovsk’s governor Serhiy Lysak said air defences had destroyed a missile over his region in central Ukraine. After various overnight Russian attacks there, the governor said that a 12-year-old boy was injured and two homes were damaged.
Kirovohrad’s Governor Andriy Raykovych said no damage had been reported after air defences worked in the central region.
Russian prosecutors push for 15-year jail term for Russian-American who donated to Ukrainian charity
08:28
Andy Gregory
Russian prosecutors are seeking to jail Russian-American dual citizen Ksenia Karelina, who is accused of treason for making a donation to a charity supporting Ukraine in February 2022.
Prosecutors have asked a court to sentence Ms Karelina to 15 years in jail, Russian news agencies reported on Thursday, citing Karelina’s lawyer – a day after she reportedly pleaded guilty.
Karelina was born in Russia but emigrated to the United States in 2012 and became a US citizen in 2021. The Los Angeles spa employee was arrested by the FSB security service after flying to Russia to visit her family in Yekaterinburg at the start of the year.
Investigators charged her with treason after discovering on her mobile phone that she had donated $51.80 to Razom, a charity which provides aid to Ukraine. The FSB alleged that the ultimate beneficiary was the Ukrainian army. Razom said at the time of her arrest that it was “appalled”.
In pictures: Putin briefed by his army officials on Kursk incursion
07:26
Arpan Rai
ICYMI: Intense battles after major cross-border raid by Ukraine into Russia’s Kursk region
07:00
Arpan Rai
Intense battles are taking place between Ukrainian forces and Moscow’s troops after one of the largest incursions into Russian territory since Vlasimir Putin’s invasion began – prompting the Russian president to accuse Kyiv of a “major provocation”.
The surprise incursion began on Tuesday morning, when hundreds of Ukrainian troops reportedly entered the Kursk region according to Russia’s Defence Ministry and the area’s governor, Alexei Smirnov. Kyiv has so far remained quiet about the scope of the operation.
Ukraine is reportedly gaining a “foothold” in the Kursk region and could be as far as nine miles (15km) inside the border, according to unverified reports from Russian military bloggers. Telegram Channels affiliated with Russia’s Defence Ministry have claimed that Ukrainian troops are in control of three villages in the Sudzha district of Russia’s Kursk region, which borders the Sumy region of northeast Ukraine.
Alex Croft reports here:
Russia releases pictures of drone strike on Ukrainian armoured vehicle, which it claims entered Kursk region
07:00
Alex Croft
Ukraine makes confirmed advance of 10km into Russian soil – ISW
06:42
Arpan Rai
Ukrainian forces have made confirmed advances up to 10km into Russia’s Kursk Oblast amid continued mechanized offensive operations on Russian territory yesterday, the Institute for the Study of War.
“Geolocated footage published on 6 and 7 August shows that Ukrainian armoured vehicles have advanced to positions along the 38K-030 route about 10km from the international border. The current confirmed extent and location of Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast indicate that Ukrainian forces have penetrated at least two Russian defensive lines and a stronghold,” the Washington based think-tank said in its latest assessment.
It cited a Russian insider source who claimed that Ukrainian forces have “seized 45 sq km of territory within Kursk Oblast since they launched the operation on 6 August, and other Russian sources reported that Ukrainian forces have captured 11 total settlements, including Nikolaevo-Daryino (1.5km north of the Sumy Oblast border), Darino (3km north of the Sumy Oblast border), and Sverdlikovo (east of the Nikolaevo-Darino-Darino area), and are operating within Lyubimovka (8km north of the Sumy Oblast border).
Ukrainian forces have also reportedly captured 40 prisoners of war at the Sudzha checkpoint.
It added that Chechen units reportedly suffered very heavy losses in Ukrainian attacks in the Korenovo Raion yesterday.
Pictured - Ukrainian forces engaged in heavy fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region
06:42
Alex Croft
Prominent Russian TV reporter survives Ukraine strike in embattled Kursk
06:31
Arpan Rai
Prominent Russian TV war reporter Yevgeny Poddubny survived a Ukrainian drone strike in southern Russia’s Kursk region yesterday and was in intensive care in a local hospital, his television channel and officials said.
Rossiya-24 claimed Poddubny came under fire from a Ukrainian drone while reporting in Kursk region, where Russia’s military said it has been battling to contain an incursion by up to 1,000 soldiers.
“War correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny is conscious,” Russia’s health ministry said. “He is now in intensive care. He is receiving the treatment he needs. There are plans to organise remote consultations with leading (Russian) federal centres.”
Rossiya-24 said Poddubny, 40 and one of the most visible reporters of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, had filed a report on developments in Kursk region hours before coming under fire.
Poddubny has also covered the conflict in Syria.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, responsible for dealing with the country’s most serious crimes, said it would be working to establish who was responsible for the attack. It said Poddubny would be presented with an award.
President Zelensky suffers blow to diplomatic aims in Africa
06:19
Alex Croft
More on the diplomatic dispute between Ukraine, Mali and Niger.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry yesterday described Mali’s decision to sever ties as “short-sighted and hasty” but has not yet commented on Niger’s decision to sever ties today.
President Zelensky said in December 2023 that strengthening bonds with countries in Africa was going to be a diplomatic priority for 2024 - so he will be dismayed at the collapse in relationships with Mali and Niger.
The two countries have not been supporting of Ukraine’s position in the war so far - but Ukraine are nonetheless currently on a charm offensive to gain the support of more countries in Africa.
Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba’s yesterday met his Zambian counterpart in which the countries signed a “memorandum of understanding”.
He also met Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera on Monday, 5 August. Malawi has backed Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
To conclude the three-stop tour, Kuleba will be visiting Mauritius later this week.
Niger becomes second African country to cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine
05:59
Alex Croft
Niger has severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine, becoming the second west African country to do so this week.
It comes amid a row over whether the Ukrainian government supported an attack last month which killed dozens of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group, which was previously involved in the war on Ukraine.
The country’s military junta has accused Kyiv of supporting “terrorist groups” and followed in the footsteps of neighbouring country Mali by cutting all ties.
Reports emerged in Ukraine that Andriy Yusov, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency GUR, admitted Kyiv had supported the Tuareg rebels who claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on Mali’s northeastern border with Algeria.
Yusov was quoted as saying “the rebels received all the necessary information they needed”, but earlier this week told the Financial Times he had made “no such statement”.
US not in loop on Ukraine’s attack inside Russia’s Kursk, says official
05:56
Arpan Rai
US had not received any advance notification from Ukraine of any operation in Kursk Oblast, Russia, said Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State.
“It’s not unusual for the Ukrainians not to notify us of their exact tactics before they execute them,” he said in a regular briefing last night.
“It’s the war that they [the Ukrainians] are conducting. We are providing them with the equipment; we provide them with advice. But when it comes to the day-by-day tactic that they carry out, the day-by-day strikes that they take, sometimes we’re in communication about it, sometimes we’re not. It’s appropriate for them to make those decisions,” Mr Miller stated.
On being asked whether the actions of Ukrainian forces in Kursk violate the US ban on strikes on the territory of Russia with American weapons, Mr Miller said Washington’s policy in this regard had not changed.
“I’d say it this way. Nothing about our policy has changed, and with the actions that they [the Ukrainians – ed.] are taking today they are not violating our policy,” he added.
Putin accuses Ukraine of “major provocation” following Kursk incursion
05:33
Alex Croft
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of a “major provocation” following an incursion into the Kursk region.
Spelling to members of the Russian government about the Kursk attack, Putin said the “Kyiv regime has launched another major provocation”.
He further accused Ukrainian forces of the “indiscriminate shelling of civilian” targets in the Kursk region.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that up to 300 Ukrainian soldiers entered Russian territory in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.
Abandoned armoured vehicles were found in geolocated footage by US-based Institute for the Study of War, while Russia released images which they said showed the shelling of Ukrainian vehicles which were part of the incursion.
Russia says cross-border incursions into Ukraine have entered their second day
05:11
Alex Croft
Russian officials said on Wednesday that Ukraine’s cross-border raids into the Kursk region have entered their second day.
Kyiv is yet to speak out about the operation, which the Russian Defence Ministry claims has seen 300 Ukrainian servicemen crossing the northeastern border from Ukraine’s Sumy region.
Russia says it has successfully repelled the attacks so far, and earlier released images appearing to show military vehicles being struck by drones.
If Ukraine’s cross-border attacks are confirmed, and continue, Russian reserves could be drawn to the area, which may weaken Russia’s offensive in multiple parts of the Donetsk region.
This could also post the risk of stretching Ukraine’s currently outnumbered troops even further along the frontline.
Alexei Smirnov, the head of Russia’s Kursk region, has called on residents to donate blood as a result of the fighting.
Putin accuses Ukraine of a ‘large-scale provocation’
05:10
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin described a Ukrainian incursion into the country’s southwestern Kursk region as a “large-scale provocation” as his officials asserted that they were fighting off cross-border raids for a second day. Ukrainian officials remained silent about the scope of the operation.
Mr Putin met with his top defence and security officials to discuss what he called the “indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses, ambulances with different types of weapons.” He instructed the Cabinet to coordinate assistance to the Kursk region.
The fighting is about 500km (320 miles) from Moscow.Army chief of staff Valery Gerasimov told Mr Putin at the meeting via video link that about 100 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the battle and more than 200 wounded, Russian news agencies reported.
Ukrainian troops had seized three settlements in the region and continued to fight their way deeper in, according to Rybar, a Telegram channel run by Mikhail Zvinchuk, a retired Russian Defence Ministry press officer.
If confirmed, the cross-border raid would be among Ukraine’s largest since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, and unprecedented for its deployment of Ukrainian military units.
Kyiv’s aim could be to draw Russian reserves to the area, potentially weakening Moscow’s offensive operations in several parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region where Russian forces have increased attacks and are advancing gradually toward operationally significant gains.
Dual Russian-American citizen pleads guilty to treason for making donation to pro-Ukraine charity
04:47
Alex Croft
Ksenia Karelina, a dual Russian-American citizen, has pleaded guilty to treason in a Russian court, a state news agency claimed.
Karelina, 33, was arrested in February for allegedly contributing $51.80 to Razom for Ukraine, a non-profit group based in New York that provides non-military aid to the country.
Her lawyer today confirmed that she has pleaded guilty, state news agency RIA said.
She was detained in late January in the city of Yekaterinburg while visiting her family on Russia.
She was accused by prosecutors of “proactively transferring funds to a Ukrainian organisation, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition”.
The maximum sentence for her crime is 20 years in prison.
US will ask Ukraine military to learn about Russia border incursion – White House
04:46
Arpan Rai
The US plans to reach out to Ukraine to get an understanding of its incursion into Russian territory, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said, adding that the US had no advanced knowledge of the attacks.
Russia claims it is fighting intense battles against Ukrainian forces that had penetrated its southern border near a major natural gas transmission hub in one of the largest incursions into Russian territory since the war began.
Freed Russian prisoner hints at further prisoner exchanges to come
04:25
Alex Croft
A freed Russian prisoner has said there are “concrete ideas” for arranging further prisoner exchanges.
Oleg Orlov, a veteran rights campaigner who was speaking at his first press conference since release from a Russian penal colony as part of the deal, hinted that there were plans for more potential exchanges.
Orlov, 71, said he had been speaking with other freed Russians about whether there would be a follow-up exchange to win the release of more colleagues from Moscow.
“We had a conversation about the details among those who were exchanged, on the plane, when we were flying from Ankara to Germany,” Orlov said, after he was welcomed to Germany on arrival by Olaf Scholz.
“But I can’t say anything more concrete for now because you understand that any talks about an exchange require confidentiality for a long time. I will only say that there are concrete ideas, I won’t say anything more,” he added.
It comes after dual US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina pleaded guilty to treason in a Russian court after donating $50 to a pro-Ukrainian charity.
Russia’s border region Kursk declares state of emergency after Ukraine incursion
04:07
Arpan Rai
Russia’s Kursk region has declared a state of emergency amid fierce fighting as Ukrainian forces penetrated its southern border near a major natural gas transmission hub.
The acting governor of Kursk region, Alexey Smirnov, said he had introduced a state of emergency in the border region. Regional officials said that meant restricting access to specific areas.
At least five people were killed and 31 civilians, including six children, had been wounded, said Smirnov. Military casualties were not immediately available.
Russia’s military chief Valery Gerasimov briefed president Vladimir Putin that Russian forces had halted a thrust by up to 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers – more than three times the figure that Russia’s defence ministry had stated on Tuesday – and would push them back to the border.
The advance was stopped by “the actions of the units covering the state border together with border guards and reinforcement units, with airstrikes, missile and artillery fire,” Gerasimov claimed in televised comments.
Russia’s National Guard said it had beefed up security around the nearby Kursk nuclear power station and its four reactors.Ukraine struck back on Tuesday, and battles continued through the night into Wednesday as Ukrainian forces pushed to the northwest of the border town of Sudzha, 530 km (330 miles) southwest of Moscow, Russia’s defence ministry said.
“The Kyiv regime has launched another major provocation,” Putin told members of the Russian government, referring to the attack in Kursk region.
The Ukrainian military appeared to have adopted a strategy of strict silence about the Kursk operation. Ukraine’s General Staff said only that Russian forces had deployed aircraft, helicopters and heavy weapons in the area “but made no headway and suffered significant losses”.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has not made any reference to the attack, while exhorting Kyiv’s soldiers to press on and weaken Russian forces.
Pro-Putin Russian bloggers say Ukraine is gaining ground in Kursk ground incursion
04:01
Alex Croft
Russian propagandist bloggers are claiming that Ukrainian forces have secured a “foothold” in the border area, Ukrainian media reports.
Telegram channels affiliated with Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed that Ukraine have captured three villages in the Sudzha district of the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.
They further claimed that Ukrainian troops have attempted to take control of the road connecting Rylsk and Sudzha.
Ukraine has not yet provided any comment on the events in the Kursk region, and many reports emerging from Russian outlets have not been independently verified.
Russia suspected Ukrainian plot to attack Putin’s Navy Day parade, state TV claims
03:39
Alex Croft
Russia had suspicions that Ukraine planned to attack Russia during the Navy Day parade attended by Vladimir Putin last month and contacted Washington about its concerns, Russian state television reports.
Russian television said that the details were a state secret and provided no further details. Ukraine’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
The New York Times previously reported that US defence secretary Lloyd Austin had taken a call from Russia’s defence minister Andrei Belousov on 12 July about a covert Ukrainian operation planned against Russia that Moscow believed had the blessing of the United States.
The Times cited two unidentified US officials as saying that Pentagon officials were surprised by the Russian allegation and unaware of any such plot, but that the Russian concerns were taken seriously enough for Washington to caution Kyiv that, if it was planning such an operation, then it should not carry it out.
A reminder of how it began: Russia says Ukrainian forces involved in major cross-border attack
03:15
Alex Croft
Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine conducted a major attack involving some 300 soldiers across the border into Russia’s southern Kursk region on Tuesday.
Russian reports earlier noted the incursion and said it had moved in reserves to help repel hundreds of fighters backed by tanks. The regional governor said three people were killed.
“The enemy today launched another attempt to break into the territory of Russia’s Kursk region,” the latest defence ministry statement said. “Artillery fire, army aviation strikes and drone strikes are being inflicted on the enemy.”
Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov, writing on Telegram late in the evening, said Ukrainian forces had shelled a border area, injuring two children. Local officials said the border town of Sudzha had also come under attack. Smirnov also posted a video on Telegram telling residents: “I ask you to remain calm and not to be subject to the enemy’s information provocations. The situation is controllable.”
Ukraine’s military authorities in Sumy region – on the other side of the border from Russia’s Kursk region – said Ukrainian forces had destroyed a Russian ballistic missile, two drones and a helicopter in the region.
Unofficial Ukrainian military blogs showed pictures of what they described as the destroyed helicopter and other equipment. Russian ministry appeared to have deleted an earlier account of the attack in which it said a “Ukrainian sabotage group” had suffered heavy losses and retreated into Ukrainian territory.
Four killed after Russian shelling in Donetsk, regional governor says
02:54
Alex Croft
At least four have been killed after Russian shelling in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Wednesday, regional governor Vadym Filashkin has said on Telegram.
An elderly man and woman were killed in Antonivka village, situated 5 kilometres from an active combat zone, with one more person injured.
Another man and woman were killed in the Mykhaylivka settlement, said Filashkin.
Both settlements lie around 50km to the west of Russian-occupied Donetsk city.
The entire Donetsk region, which is partly occupied by Putin’s troops, has been the main focus of battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the past weeks, as Russia aims to advance westwards to the strategic logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Over 130 combat clashes across 10 fronts over Tuesday and Wednesday morning
02:33
Alex Croft
Ukraine’s General Staff have released their latest update on clashes across Ukraine.
As of 8am this morning, Ukraine had faced 136 clashes in the past day, with the heaviest Russian assaults focussed on the Pokrovsk front in the eastern Donetsk region.
42 clashes were recorded near Pokrovsk, as Russian forces attempt to reach the key strategic city which is essential to Ukraine’s supply routes in the east.
Putin’s forces have been attacking villages to the east of Pokrovsk as they continue their advance from the city Donetsk, around 70km southeast of the Ukrainian held outpost.
Other major clashes were recorded on the Siversk and Lyman fronts, villages around 100km north of Donetsk which saw 21 and 19 combat clashes respectively.
Clashes were also recorded on the Kharkiv and Kupiansk fronts in northeastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian shelling in Kursk injures 24 people, Russia claims
02:11
Alex Croft
The Russian health ministry claims that 24 people, including six children, were wounded after shelling in the Kursk region where Moscow accused Ukraine of launching a border attack a day earlier.
Kyiv kept up air attacks near the border on Wednesday, with Russian defence systems destroying four drones overnight, the Interfax news agency cited the ministry as saying.
Ukraine’s spy chief says Russian offensive will end by October
01:50
Alex Croft
Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), said Russia’s continuing offensive on 11 fronts will be “over in a month and a half to two months”.
He said the offensive has “dragged on”, adding that his experience of fighting Russian-backed forces has shown that “any side does not last more than two months”.
But Budanov said that after a “decline and short lull” Ukraine will face “new attempts by the enemy to attack”.
“We are preparing for this,” Budanov stressed in the interview with Forbes Ukraine.
How the situation unfolds also depends on Ukraine’s response, Budanov said.
“We can wait and see; four or five months will pass and everything will repeat itself again. Or we can act proactively.”
Russian military blogger sentenced to six years for spreading “fake news”
01:29
Alex Croft
A Russian blogger who supports Putin’s war aims in Ukraine has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in a penal colony, state investigators said on Wednesday.
Andrei Kurshin is accused of spreading false information about the armed forces on his “Moscow Calling” Telegram channel, which criticised the way the military leadership were conducting the campaign.
Analysts at the American thinktank the Institute for the Study of War described Kurshin as a “fringe ultra-nationalist” at the time of his arrest.
They said he had gone beyond what is deemed permissible criticism of Russia’s war effort in Putin’s regime.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister visits Zambia for talks
01:04
Alex Croft
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held “detailed talks” with his Zambian counterpart Mulambo Haimbe
Mr Kuleba said they signed a “memorandum of understanding” between the countries regarding “political consultations” which will be key in “structuring our long-term dialogue”.
In December 2023, President Zelensky said dveeloping ties with African countries would be one of Ukraine’s key foreign policy priorities for 2024.
Today in Lusaka, my Zambian colleague Mulambo Haimbe and I held detailed talks.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 6, 2024
We discussed ways to advance bilateral relations between Ukraine and Zambia, as well as our cooperation in international organizations.
We also signed a memorandum of understanding between foreign… pic.twitter.com/uReiw2kN8j
Four killed after Russian shelling in Donetsk, regional governor says
Thursday 8 August 2024 00:46
Alex Croft
At least four have been killed after Russian shelling in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Wednesday, regional governor Vadym Filashkin has said on Telegram.
An elderly man and woman were killed in Antonivka village, situated 5 kilometres from an active combat zone, with one more person injured.
Another man and woman were killed in the Mykhaylivka settlement, said Filashkin.
Both settlements lie around 50km to the west of Russian-occupied Donetsk city.
The entire Donetsk region, which is partly occupied by Putin’s troops, has been the main focus of battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the past weeks, as Russia aims to advance westwards to the strategic logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
President Zelensky suffers blow to diplomatic aims in Africa
Thursday 8 August 2024 00:27
Alex Croft
More on the diplomatic dispute between Ukraine, Mali and Niger.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry yesterday described Mali’s decision to sever ties as “short-sighted and hasty” but has not yet commented on Niger’s decision to sever ties today.
President Zelensky sa