The West will not be bullied by Vladimir Putin’s threat of war with Nato if Ukraine is given permission to use Western weapons to strike inside Russia, the UK foreign secretary has said.
David Lammy said talks were continuing with the US and allies about giving Kyiv permission to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to hit Russian airbases and military sites.
Russian president Mr Putin has warned that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that Nato countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia”.
Mr Lammy said there was “a lot of bluster” from Mr Putin but “we cannot be blown off course by an imperialist fascist” who “wants to move into countries willy-nilly”.
It comes as tensions have grown between Iran and the West over military cooperation between Russia and Tehran.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously said that Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and was likely to use them in Ukraine within weeks. The US and UK have since imposed sanctions on Iran.
Tehran deny these claims and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said sanctions against the country are not the solution.
Key Points
- Zelensky calls US and UK failure to reach long-range missiles decision 'difficult to hear'
- UK will not be ‘bullied’ by Putin, Foreign secretary says
- Five ex-ministers urge Starmer to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow Missiles, reports
- Russia's Medvedev threatens to turn Kyiv into 'giant melted spot
- Russia and Ukraine swap 103 POWs each, reports
The inside story of how Putin torpedoed Starmer’s first big foreign policy ‘tough decision’ moment
17:17
Tom Watling
Zelensky urges west to ‘help us defend ourselves against Russian military’
16:49
Jabed Ahmed
Volodymyr Zelensky urged western leaders to overcome “the fear of making strong, objectively necessary decisions”, as Russia again bombed a Ukrainian city.
The Ukrainian president said a residential building in Kharkiv had been hit, with nearly 30 people reported injured, including children.
“The world must help us defend ourselves against Russian military aircraft and the dozens of guided aerial bombs that claim Ukrainian lives every day,” he said.
“This terror can be stopped. But to stop it, the fear of making strong, objectively necessary decisions must be overcome.
“Only decisiveness can bring a just end to this war. It is decisiveness that most effectively protects against terror.”
Russian bomb injures at least 28 civilians in Ukraine's Kharkiv, officials say
16:14
Jabed Ahmed
At least 28 people, including three children, were injured when a Russian guided bomb hit a high-rise building in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, local officials said.
"The hit caused a fire in a residential high-rise building," governor Oleh Syniehubov said on the Telegram messenger.
He said civilian infrastructure was also damaged.
Kharkiv, one of Ukraine's largest cities and a key industrial centre, is located near the Russian border and is constantly under attack from Russian bombs, missiles and drones.
West should not ‘fall for’ Putin’s threats, Ukrainian foreign minister says
15:43
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has said Ukraine’s allies should not ‘fall for’ Vladimir Putin’s threats.
In a post on X, Mr Sybiha said: “Putin’s threats do not work. Ukraine’s allies should not fall for them. In spring 2022, he warned of unseen consequences if the West provided Ukraine with weapons for defense. Weapons were provided. Putin did nothing. The same rhetoric has repeated many times over the past years.”
Boris Johnson and five former defence secretaries urge PM to let Ukraine fire UK missiles on Russia
14:59
Jabed Ahmed
Read the full report from The Independent’s Political Correspondent Archie Mitchell:
Watch: Ukraine will eventually use UK long missiles in war against Russia, says ex-Army boss
14:13
Jabed Ahmed
Iran’s President to attend BRICS summit in Russia amid tensions with west
13:39
Jabed Ahmed
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian will attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Russia, according to state media, amid tensions with the West over military cooperation between the two countries.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and was likely to use them in Ukraine within weeks. Cooperation between Moscow and Tehran threatened wider European security, he said.
The United States, Germany, Britain and France on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on Iran, including measures against its national airline Iran Air.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday that Tehran did not deliver any ballistic missiles to Russia and that sanctions imposed by the US and the three European countries against Iran were not a solution.
Iran’s ambassador in Russia Kazem Jalali confirmed on Sunday that Pezeshkian will attend the summit of the BRICS group of major emerging economies, scheduled to be held in Kazan, Russia from Oct. 22 to 24, according to Iran’s state media.
Pezeshkian will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin there, Jalali said.
Iran and Russia are set to sign a bilateral comprehensive cooperation agreement.
Two people die in Ukraine's Odesa after Moscow and Kyiv exchange drone and missile attacks
13:01
Jabed Ahmed
Two people have died in a missile attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, local officials said.
The Ukrainian air force said on Sunday it shot down 10 of the 14 drones and one of the three missiles Russia launched overnight, while the rest hit the suburbs of Odesa.
Oleh Kiper, Odesa's regional governor, said the two who died Saturday night were a married couple, and that another person was wounded in the attack.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said it downed 29 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday over western and southwestern regions, with no damage caused by the falling debris. It also said another Ukrainian drone was shot down Sunday morning over the western Ryazan region.
Watch: Hollywood actor Michael Douglas praises President Zelensky during Ukraine meeting
12:13
Jabed Ahmed
Kyiv’s Kursk offensive increases incentives for Russia to exchange prisoners, think tank says
11:29
Jabed Ahmed
There has been an increased incentive for Russia to exchange prisoners of war with Ukraine since Kyiv’s offensive in Kursk, a think tank has said.
There have been three PoW exchanges between the two countries since the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast.
The Institute for the study of war said: “Ukrainian officials have repeatedly emphasized that the Kursk incursion has enhanced Ukraine’s negotiating power in POW exchanges with Russia, following the Kremlin’s consistent rejection of Ukraine’s attempt to negotiate exchanges.
“The frequency of POW exchanges between Ukraine and Russia has significantly increased since the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast on 6 August, with both sides exchanging a total of 267 POWs each in three separate exchanges.”
Former Russian president threatens to turn Kyiv into ‘melted spot’ if long-range missiles approved
10:39
Jabed Ahmed
Watch: UK won’t be bullied by Putin’s shameless grandstanding, says Lammy
10:00
Jabed Ahmed
Starmer, Biden and Zelensky to meet at UN General Assembly later this month
09:19
Jabed Ahmed
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said further talks would take place involving Sir Keir Starmer, Joe Biden and the Ukrainian president at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York later this month.
Asked whether the objections to making a decision were operational or political, Mr Lammy told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “I am not going to discuss the operational details of that kit. And the reason I’m not going to do that is because I’m not going to assist (Vladimir) Putin as we head into the winter.
“This is a long-standing request of Zelensky. He’s now been making it for well over a year.
“I understand why he makes that and, of course, it’s important for us to discuss the detail of that with our closest allies, and we continue to do that.
“But we head to UNGA and the UN General Assembly, where both Biden and the Prime Minister will meet Zelensky and as we head into the G7 foreign ministers (meeting) and the G20.
Five ex-ministers urge Starmer to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow Missiles
09:17
Jabed Ahmed
Five former UK defence secretaries and and Boris Johnson have urged Sir Keir Starmer to allow Ukraine to use long-range Storm Shadow missiles to strike inside Russia, even without US backing, according to The Sunday Times.
Grant Shapps, Ben Wallace, Gavin Williamson, Penny Mordaunt, Liam Fox and Boris Johnson warned the prime minister that any further delay would would only help Putin, the newspaper reported.
Former prime minister Mr Johnson told The Sunday Times: “There is no conceivable case for delay.”
“The only person who fears escalation is Vladimir Putin and every day that goes by is a lost opportunity to save lives and bring about a just conclusion to this war.”
UK will not be ‘bullied’ by Putin, Foreign secretary says
09:04
Jabed Ahmed
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK would not be “bullied” by Vladimir Putin’s threats of war with Nato, as international talks continued about whether Ukraine will be allowed to use western missiles to strike inside Russia.
Talks between Sir Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden in Washington did not produce an agreement on whether the UK and US would give permission to Kyiv, but further discussions are due to take place at the United Nations later this month.
Mr Putin has warned that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that Nato countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia”.
But Mr Lammy told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “Putin said ‘don’t send tanks’. We sent them.
“Putin said ‘don’t send any missiles’. We sent them.
“Putin threatens every few months to use nuclear weapons.”
Mr Lammy added: “We won’t be bullied by Putin’s shameless grandstanding.
“What he should now do is cease his aggression and leave Ukraine.”
Growing fears in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
08:47
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine defences down 10 drones and one Russia-launched missile, Ukraine air force says
08:14
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine‘s air defence units destroyed 10 out of 14 drones that Russia launched overnight targeting its territory, Ukraine‘s air force has said.
It also said on the Telegram messaging app that Russia launched two Iskander M-ballistic missiles and one Kh-59 guided air missile targeting the southern region of Odesa.
The guided air missile was destroyed, the air force said. It did not say what happened to the Iskander missiles or whether there was any damage as a result of the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that during the past week Russia used about 30 missiles of various types, more than 800 guided aerial bombs and almost 300 attack drones against Ukraine.
UK needs to urgently ‘backfill’ its own stocks due to Ukraine war
07:45
Shweta Sharma
The war in Ukraine has created “capability gaps” for UK forces, armed forces minister Luke Pollard has admitted - saying that giving vital equipment to troops fighting Russian invaders meant the UK now needs to “backfill” its own stocks.
The minister insisted that kit had been given to Ukrainian troops “quite correctly” by the previous Tory government, with the backing of Labour.
But he added that this support had resulted in “some capability gaps, especially in the British Army”.
He said the UK had sent “nearly all” of its AS90 mobile artillery units to Ukraine, with Mr Pollard stating: “That has created a capability gap within how we operate.”
Mr Pollard added: “That was the right decision, absolutely the right thing to do. But there is a challenge now about what do we do in the interim period.”
Mr Pollard insisted that the conflict in Ukraine “should be the wake-up call we need to make the case for a stronger defence” as he insisted the review team had not been instructed to make cuts, but would instead seek to “right-size” the UK’s military capability.
Ukraine renews calls on the West to approve long-range strikes on Russian territory
07:18
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine repels 10 out of 14 Russian drone strikes this morning
07:14
Shweta Sharma
Ukraine’s air defence units took down 10 out of 14 drones that Russia launched overnight targeting its territory, Ukraine‘s air force said today.
Russia launched two Iskander M-ballistic missiles and one Kh-59 guided air missile targeting the southern region of Odesa, it said on the Telegram messaging app.
The guided missile was destroyed, the air force said.
It did not say what happened to the Iskander missiles or whether there was any damage as a result of the attack.
At least 7 killed as Russia shells 4 Ukraine regions, governors say
06:36
Shweta Sharma
At least seven people were killed in four attacks involving Russian shelling on the south, southeast and east of Ukraine yesterday, regional Ukrainian governors said.
In the Zaporizhzhia region in southeast Ukraine, governor Ivan Fedorov said Russian shells struck an agricultural enterprise in the town of Huliaipole, killing three people.
“All the dead are employees of the enterprise,” M r Fedorov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
A missile attack in the suburbs of the Black Sea port city of Odesa killed a man, 66, and a woman, 62, and injured a 65-year-old woman, Oleh Kiper, the Odesa regional governor, said in a post on Telegram.
“A married couple died,” he said, adding that they were found during checks of residential and commercial buildings damaged earlier in the day and that Russian forces had used a prohibited cluster warhead.
Shelling killed a sixth person in the southern region of Kherson, governor Oleksandr Prokudin, said. “A 60-year-old man who suffered serious injuries this afternoon died in hospital,” Mr Prokudin wrote on Telegram.
In Kharkiv region, Russia struck the village of Pisky-Radkivski with the high-speed Tornado-S multiple rocket launch system, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.
The body of a 72-year-old woman was retrieved from the rubble, and two civilians, a man and a woman, were taken to hospital, he added
Russia's Medvedev threatens to turn Kyiv into 'giant melted spot'
06:19
Jabed Ahmed
Senior Russian security official and former president Dmitry Medvedev has said Russia could destroy Ukraine‘s capital Kyiv with non-nuclear weapons in response to the use of Western long-range missiles by Ukraine.
Medvedev said Moscow already had formal grounds to use nuclear weapons since Ukraine‘s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, but could instead use some of its new weapon technologies to reduce Kyiv to “a giant melted spot” when its patience runs out.
“Russia is showing patience. After all, it is obvious that a nuclear response is an extremely difficult decision with irreversible consequences,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
He added: “any patience comes to an end.”
“And then that’s it. A giant gray melted spot on the site of the mother city of Russia [Kyiv]. Holy s**t! It’s impossible, but it happened.”
Kyiv is sometimes referred to as the “mother city of Russia” because of its importance to Orthodox Christians in the region.
Rather than US approval, Britain is seeking American-owned GPS technology
05:34
Shweta Sharma
The British government has said they require the approval of both the US and France before allowing the full use of Storm Shadows by Ukrainian forces.
However, that is not absolutely correct, The Times reported, citing sources who said the missile risks being intercepted by Russian air defences or diverted off-course without US GPS technology.
Defence officials said the missiles do not fly straight to their target but are effectively “threaded through the eye of a needle” using GPS and terrain mapping data.
“You could absolutely fire it unilaterally, but it probably wouldn’t survive in the contested, electronically jammed environment that the Russians have,” a British defence source said.
“Russian electronic warfare has rendered GPS useless. They jam it. So it has to use another type of data set instead, which is American owned.”
This is classified, but it is likely related to the system’s ground-mapping capabilities.
Russian official says West has made up its mind on long-range strikes, reports
05:16
Jabed Ahmed
Moscow knows that the West has made a decision on whether to allow Ukraine to attack Russia with long-range missiles and has informed Kyiv, the TASS news agency reported citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
Ryabkov did not clarify what the purported decision was, but said that since Moscow’s verbal warnings to the West against further escalation have not worked, Russia would need to switch to sending signals in different ways.
Differences within Biden’s team holding up approval of long range missiles
04:36
Shweta Sharma
A split within president Joe Biden’s team regarding Ukraine’s use of British Storm Shadows deep into Russia has delayed a decision, sources in London have said.
Keir Starmer is under pressure in the UK to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles inside Russian territory even without US backing.
The Storm Shadow is a long-range, air-launched cruise missile developed in collaboration with France and Italy which relies on American GPS guidance systems to avoid being intercepted by Russian air defences.
According to insiders, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who held “Sherpa” talks with Tim Barrow, his opposite number before the White House meeting, is not in favour while Antony Blinken was edging towards authorisation, reported The Times.
“The problem is Sullivan, not Blinken,” a British defence source said. “All the way through it has been Sullivan.”
A political source acknowledged the differences within Washington, noting “it would be fair to say that Antony Blinken was leaning in that direction.”
There are indications that, while Mr Biden may not be ready to publicly approve the move, he is open to authorising the use of US intelligence and targeting systems alongside the Storm Shadow missiles.
Allies Starmer and Biden meet in White House to talk future. It might all change in months
04:17
Jabed Ahmed
Andrew Feinberg looks at how UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer could soon face a president with a drastically different view of Ukraine’s future as the new PM meets with US President Joe Biden in Washington, DC
Watch: Boris Johnson meets Zelensky in Ukraine as Putin threatens war with the West
03:16
Jabed Ahmed
Editorial: Giving in to Putin’s blackmail now should not be an option
02:13
Jabed Ahmed
Pictured: Ukrainian prisoners of war reunited with families
01:14
Jabed Ahmed
Watch: UK and US come to ‘strong position’ on Ukraine following Biden talks, says PM
Sunday 15 September 2024 00:16
Jabed Ahmed
Putin has laid out many red lines about Ukraine – are long-range missiles targeting Russia the last one?
Saturday 14 September 2024 23:14
Jabed Ahmed
Watch: Biden says ‘I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin’ as Starmer arrives for talks
Saturday 14 September 2024 22:16
Jabed Ahmed
Stoltenberg says NATO could have done more to prevent Ukraine war
Saturday 14 September 2024 21:14
Jabed Ahmed
NATO could have done more to arm Ukraine to try to prevent Russia’s invasion in 2022, the outgoing head of the Western military alliance has said.
“Now we provide military stuff to a war - then we could have provided military stuff to prevent the war,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told German weekly newspaper FAS.
Stoltenberg pointed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s reluctance to provide weapons that Kyiv had asked for before Russia’s full-scale invasion because of fears that tensions with Russia would escalate.
“To end this war there will have to be again dialogue with Russia at a certain stage. But it has to be based on Ukrainian strength,” he added.
