Russia is preparing to join huge military drills with China near Japan this month, according to Chinese state-owned media.
The Xinhua new agency reported that Vladimir Putin’s air and naval forces would join China’s People’s Liberation Army for drills in the Sea of Japan and Sea of Okhotsk.
It comes as Russian drones breached Nato airspace as Vladimir Putin’s forces targeted Ukraine in an “irresponsible” overnight attack.
Romania scrambled F-16 fighter jets to monitor the drones, which were detected in the early hours of Sunday morning while Latvia shared photos of a crashed drone in its eastern region.
Nato’s outgoing deputy secretary general Mircea Geoană said: “While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous.”
Meanwhile, Moscow has been closing in on Pokrovsk, a key strategic town in eastern Ukraine which has seen intense battles over recent weeks.
Russian forces, which control about a fifth of Ukraine since invading in February 2022, have been advancing on the town in an attempt to take the whole of the Donbas.
Key Points
- Russia and China in joint military exercise
- Russia forces close in on key strategic town of Pokrovsk
- Nato backlash as Russian violates Romania and Latvia’s airspace with drones
- Ukraine’s Kursk incursion has left Russian elites questioning war, CIA chief says
- Iran sending Russia ballistic missiles would mark ‘dramatic escalation’, warns White House
Combat boats, missiles, camouflage gear: Inside Sweden’s $440m aid for Ukraine
04:13
Arpan Rai
Large amounts of battlefield gear and vehicles are inside Sweden’s 17th aid package to Ukraine, officials said. The latest tranche of aid will take Stockholm’s total military support to 4.6bn Swedish crowns (£339m), defence minister Pal Jonson said.
The new package will include ammunition for infantry fighting vehicles already donated by Sweden, as well as purchases that would facilitate a transfer of Gripen fighter jets in the future, though no such transfer has been decided on yet. It also contains additional combat boats, missiles and camouflage gear as well as funding to support defence procurements for Ukraine.
The measures were decided in close collaboration with Kyiv.
“We want to have the ability to donate Gripens to Ukraine at a possible later stage,” Mr Jonson told a press conference.
About half of the value of the package consisted of parts needed in Sweden’s production of the latest model Gripen E fighters for its own air force. This would mean Sweden would not, as previously planned, need to cannibalise its existing C/D models as part of the upgrade, allowing the older jets to transferred to Ukraine at a possible future date.
“At present, it is not on the cards to transfer JAS Gripens to Ukraine as this would disturb the introduction of F-16s,” the government said in a statement.
China announces joint naval and air drills with Russia
04:00
Alexander Butler
Drone attack targets Moscow, one child killed
03:51
Arpan Rai
Russian officials claim one child was killed and another civilian was injured in an early morning drone attack today by Ukraine that targeted Moscow.
Regional governor of Moscow oblast Andrei Vorobyov confirmed the casualties shortly after a fire was reported in a multi-storey residential building in Moscow’s Ramenskoye district.
Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that the 11th and 12th floors of the building were set ablaze. “Emergency services are on site,” Sobyanin said.
The Ukrainian doctors forced to perform surgery without anaesthetic
03:00
Alexander Butler
Russian airstrikes on Ukraine’s hospitals and power stations are pushing the country’s doctors to extraordinary limits, forcing operating theatres underground and leaving surgeons with little choice but to conduct complex procedures in the dark and with limited anaesthetic for patients.
Doctors in cities across the war-torn country spoke to The Independentabout the toll of working 22-hour shifts in such punishing conditions, not knowing if their hospital could be the next target in Vladimir Putin’s renewed onslaught of drone and missile attacks.
Due to severe power shortages last week, surgeons were left with only four to six hours of electricity per day, crippling their ability to run operating rooms effectively, says Yuriy Boychenko, the founder of Hope for Ukraine, a charity supporting the country’s doctors and hospitals.
Read the full article by The Independent’s Asia reporter Arpan Rai:
Putin has two secret sons with gymnast who live life of luxury isolated from world
02:00
Alexander Butler
Russian president Vladimir Putin has two secret sons who live an isolated life of luxury in a heavily-guarded mansion, according to a Russian investigative journalism website.
The Dossier Centre reported that Ivan, nine, and Vladimir Jr, five, spend most of the year at their father’s vast mansion near Lake Valdai, northwest of Moscow.
Their mother is Alina Kabaeva, the former Olympic rhythmic gymnast whose relationship with Putin has been an open secret in Russia for more than a decade, the Dossier Centre claim.
Cyber sabotage operation in Poland 'neutralised'
01:00
Alexander Butler
Polish security services have neutralised a cyber sabotage operation by Russia and Belarus, Poland’s deputy prime minister has said.
Warsaw has repeatedly accused Moscow of attempting to destabilise Poland due to its role in supplying military aid to neighbour Ukraine - allegations Russia has dismissed.
Krzysztof Gawkowski, Poland’s deputy prime minister and also minister for digital affairs, said today that saboteurs, operating from Belarus in co-operation with Russia, had attempted to gain information from government institutions
Russian drone that crashed in Latvia carried explosives, Latvian military says
Monday 9 September 2024 23:00
Alexander Butler
A Russian military drone which crashed in Latvia on Saturday carried explosives that were likely to have been intended for Ukraine when it strayed into its air space, Latvian officials said on Monday.
Romania and Latvia, both Nato members and supporters of Ukraine in its 2 1/2-year-old war with Russia, said on Sunday they were investigating instances of Russian drones that crashed after breaching their airspace.
The drone that landed in Latvia was of the Iranian-designed Shahed type, National Armed Forces Commander Lieutenant General Leonids Kalnins told a press conference, according to Latvia’s Delfi news website.
The drone’s explosives, which were likely meant for Ukraine, were deactivated following its discovery in Latvia, Kalnins told reporters.
Sweden announces £340m support package for Ukraine
Monday 9 September 2024 21:00
Alexander Butler
Sweden will send its 17th aid package to Ukraine with further military support totalling £340milllion, defence minister Pal Jonson said.
The new package will include ammunition for infantry fighting vehicles already donated by Sweden, as well as purchases that would facilitate a transfer of Gripen fighter jets in the future, though no such transfer has been decided on yet.
“We want to have the ability to donate Gripens to Ukraine at a possible later stage,” Mr Jonson told a press conference.
Mr Jonson said support included additional combat boats, missiles and camouflage gear as well as funding to support defence procurements for Ukraine
Romania finds Russian drone fragments near Ukraine border
Monday 9 September 2024 20:00
Alexander Butler
Fragments from a Russian drone were found a Romanian village near the Danube River that borders Ukraine on Sunday after an overnight attack on Ukrainian river ports, the defence ministry of Nato-member Romania said on Monday.
The ministry said it was conducting searches in a second area where drone parts might have fallen. Romania has found drone fragments after attacks several times since last year.
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
Monday 9 September 2024 19:00
Alexander Butler
In a Ukrainian stronghold near the front line, less than 20 miles from the eastern city of Donetsk, a winged bomb is seen hurtling towards a multistorey building.
The 1,500-kilogram explosive hits the structure in the town of Krasnohorivka, erupting into a fireball before engulfing the whole building in a plume of grey and black smoke.
The camera, filming from several hundred metres away, shakes as the ground beneath it rocks from the aftereffects of the explosion.
In Ukraine, a city grieves for a family killed in a deadly Russia missile attack
Monday 9 September 2024 18:00
Alexander Butler
It feels like the Ukraine invasion has made the Russian invasion more ferocious
Monday 9 September 2024 17:00
Alexander Butler
World order under threat ‘not seen since Cold War’, say heads of MI6 and CIA
Monday 9 September 2024 16:00
Alexander Butler
Voices: Why Xi secretly hates and fears Russia – and may be about to betray Putin
Monday 9 September 2024 15:00
Michael Sheridan
The bear and the dragon can never be friends. That is a lesson Xi Jinping heard at a young age. And it explains why the Chinese leader’s “no limits” partnership with Vladimir Putin may turn into a limitless liability – for the Kremlin.
While researching a new biography of Xi, I came across a startling declassified US document. It reveals that the man who was Xi’s mentor in his first job, at the heart of China’s military, was fiercely anti-Russian. Never trust Moscow, he told his staff.
Today, it all looks fine. The two autocrats have boasted of their alliance for more than two years now. It’s clear that Putin gave his “friend” a tip that he was about to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, Xi has stood alongside him, talking peace but sending Russia weapons technology in exchange for oil and gas.
Read the full article by Michael Sheridan, longtime foreign correspondent and diplomatic editor of The Independent:
Girl, 16, 'killed in attack on Ukrainian city'
Monday 9 September 2024 14:30
Alexander Butler
A 16-year-old girl has died following Russian artillery fire in the city of Nikopol, in the south of Ukraine, over the weekend, a regional governor has said.
Serhiy Lysak, head of Dnipropetrovsk OVA, said emergency crews pulled the teenager from the rubble of a damaged building in a statement shared on Telegram. However, medics were unable to save her, he wrote.
Three other people suffered shrapnel wounds, he said, including a 79-year-old man who was taken to hospital with injuries of “moderate severity”.
Iran denies reports of missile transfer to Russia
Monday 9 September 2024 14:00
Alexander Butler
A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander denied reports that Iran was transferring missiles to Russia, Iranian media said on Monday, amid concern in the West that they could be deployed in the war in Ukraine.
CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing unidentified sources, that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.
Brigadier Fazlollah Nozari, deputy commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, was quoted by the Iranian Labour News Agency as saying: “No missile was sent to Russia and this claim is a kind of psychological warfare.”
Watch: Drone rains down molten thermite on Ukrainian battlefield
Monday 9 September 2024 13:30
Alexander Butler
North Korean weapons extending Russian stockpiles, German general says
Monday 9 September 2024 12:20
Alexander Butler
North Korea’s provision of weapons has strengthened Russia’s hand in Ukraine by allowing it to keep its arsenals stocked at home, Germany’s top military official said during a visit to South Korea on Monday.
Chief of Defence General Carsten Breuer said Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have reached out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for weapons if they were not useful.
“It’s about increasing the production of weapons for Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, it’s also strengthening Russia by making it possible for them to keep their stocks like they are,” Breuer told reporters in the South Korean capital Seoul.
Putin loyalists set to win local elections in war-affected Russian regions
Monday 9 September 2024 09:30
Alexander Butler
Supporters of President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine were set to win gubernatorial races across Russia, according to early vote counts on Sunday, including in Kursk where Ukrainian forces have seized control of some towns and territory.
Russia’s three-day local and regional elections came to an end on Sunday evening, with voters expected to elect Kremlin-backed candidates in all 21 gubernatorial races, as well as legislative assembly members in 13 regions and city council officials across the country.
Results of the tightly controlled elections are already being interpreted in Russia as a vote of confidence in Putin and his operation in Ukraine, now in its third year - just as was the election in March that extended his presidential term and voting a year ago.
World order under threat ‘not seen since Cold War’, say heads of MI6 and CIA
Monday 9 September 2024 08:51
Alexander Butler
The international world order is under threat in a way not seen since the Cold War, the heads of MI6 and the CIA have warned.
In the first joint op-ed penned by the leaders of the British and American intelligence services in their shared 77-year history, the MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore and CIA director William Burns warned that both countries now “face an unprecedented array of threats”.
Writing in the Financial Times, the intelligence leaders reflected on their decades of cooperation over the course of two world wars and in their fight against terrorism, warning: “The challenges of the past are being accelerated in the present, and compounded by technological change.”
Russia and China in joint navy exercise
Monday 9 September 2024 08:36
Alexander Butler
Russia’s military will send naval and air forces to join an exercise held by China in the Sea of Japan and Sea of Okhotsk in September, China’s state-owned Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
The drills aim to deepen “the level of strategic coordination between the Chinese and Russian militaries and enhance their ability to jointly respond to security threats,” Xinhua said.
Russia launches eight drones at Ukraine in overnight attack
Monday 9 September 2024 07:39
Alexander Butler
Russian forces launched eight drones and three missiles at Ukraine in an overnight attack, Kyiv’s airforce said.
Ukraine downed six out of eight drones and two out of three missiles, it added. Overnight air attacks have become a daily occurrence in Ukraine.
Volodmyr Zelensky has urged Western leaders to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia.
Last week, he said: “We need to have this long-range capability, not only on the divided territory of Ukraine, but also on the Russia territory so that Russia is motivated to seek peace.”
US believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia
Monday 9 September 2024 07:20
Arpan Rai
The United States has informed allies that it believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, two people familiar with the matter said.
They did not offer any details about how many weapons have been delivered or when the transfers may have occurred, but they confirmed the US intelligence finding. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that has not been disclosed publicly disclosed.
The White House declined to confirm the weapons transfer but reiterated its concern that Iran is deepening its support of Russia. The White House has been warning Iran for months not to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia.
“Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and lead to the killing of more Ukrainian civilians,” National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement. “This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilising influence reaches beyond the Middle East and around the world.”
On the ground | Fears Ukraine invasion has made the Russians more ferocious
Monday 9 September 2024 07:02
Andy Gregory
The city of Kostyantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk has become one of the main targets of relentless Russian attacks to capture the remaining strongholds held by Kyiv’s troops in the region.
Explosions are almost ever-present in and around the city, whether direct shelling attacks, or the sound of artillery batteries firing hundreds of rounds on the front line, reinforcing the sense that something catastrophic is approaching.
Kostyantynivka is one of the few remaining towns of any size still in Ukrainian hands in the region. And it is now perilously close to the front lines. Outgoing Ukrainian fire could also be heard south of the city with a distinctive rapid whoosh-whoosh-whoosh signifying, says one civilian, one of the highly accurate US-provided multiple rocket launchers at work.
Russian attacks are being ramped up across the area – from the commanding heights of Chasiv Yar, less than 10 miles to the northeast, to the mining town of Toretsk, whose slag heaps can be seen eight miles to the south, and Pokrovsk – the key target for Moscow at the moment – some 33 miles to the southwest along a route already vulnerable to shelling by the approaching Russians.
A local businessman, Petro, says: “Our city has been a target for the Russians since 2014, but they have been hitting us hard, smashing away at Kostyantynivka since the start of the full-blown invasion in 2022. There has been an increase in their attacks since August and perhaps the Ukrainian invasion into Russia has made [the Russian troops] more ferocious and so they’re firing more. That’s how it feels.”
Askold Krushelnycky has more in this dispatch from Kostyantynivka:
Putin send greetings to North Korea’s Kim Jong-un
Monday 9 September 2024 06:56
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin sent greetings to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the occasion of North Korea’s founding anniversary, state media KCNA reported today. He was joined by his Chinese ally and president Xi Jinping.
“I am sure that the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and the DPRK will be strengthened in a planned way thanks to our joint efforts,” Mr Putin said, referring to the North’s official name – the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Mr Xi called for deeper strategic communication and cooperation with North Korea in his message, KCNA said.
On the same day last year, Kim marked the country’s founding with a parade of paramilitary groups and diplomatic exchanges in which he vowed to deepen ties with China and Russia.
Ukraine downs six drones, two missiles fired by Russia overnight
Monday 9 September 2024 06:48
Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s air force said it shot down six out of eight drones and two out of three missiles during the latest overnight attack by Russia.
Vladimir Putin’s forces launched an overnight drone attack on Kyiv, and the city’s air defence units were engaged in repelling the strikes, Ukraine’s military said on Telegram.
German intelligence agency warns against Russian cyber group
Monday 9 September 2024 06:37
Arpan Rai
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has warned against a cyber group belonging to a Russian military intelligence (GRU) unit known as 29155, saying it has carried out cyberattacks against Nato and EU countries.
In a post on social media platform X today, the Bundesverfassungsschutz said it was issuing the warning alongside the FBI, US cybersecurity agency CISA, the NSA and other international partners.
“The actor is also said to have attacked networks in Nato member states in Europe and North America, as well as countries in Latin America and Central Asia. The activities included both destructive actions and scanning and data theft,” it said in a statement.
Scholz wants speedier efforts to end Russia’s war on Ukraine
Monday 9 September 2024 06:11
Arpan Rai
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for Russia’s war against Ukraine to end as soon as possible, adding that he and Volodymyr Zelensky agree on the need to include Russia in future peace negotiations.
“There will certainly be a further peace conference, and the president and I agree that it must be one with Russia present,” Mr Scholz said, talking to Germany’s ZDF public television.
“I believe that now is the moment when we must discuss how we get out of this war situation faster than the current impression is,” he said.
Zelensky renews call for removing restrictions on Western-supplied weapons
Monday 9 September 2024 06:00
Andy Gregory
Volodymyr Zelensky has renewed his call for the removal of restrictions on using Western-supplied weapons to strike Russian territory, adding that Ukraine was ramping up its own weapons production.
“We are setting up underground weapons production facilities so Ukrainian soldiers can defend themselves, even if supplies from our partners are delayed,” the Ukrainian president said on Saturday.
“We have developed new drones and missiles, and we are gradually bringing this war back to Russia. Eventually, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will feel the pressure to seek only one thing: peace.”
Ukraine hits out at Russia over drones inside Romania, Latvia
Monday 9 September 2024 05:48
Arpan Rai
Ukraine foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called Russian drone incursions “a reminder (that) the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation go beyond Ukraine’s borders.”
“The collective response of the Allies should be maximum support for Ukraine now, to put an end to (Russian aggression), protect lives and preserve peace in Europe,” Sybiha said in a post on X.
A drone entered Romanian territory early yesterday as Moscow struck “civilian targets and port infrastructure” across the Danube in Ukraine, Romania’s ministry of national defence reported, while another crashed in eastern Latvia the previous day.
Bucharest deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace and issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions, officials said.
It said investigations were underway at a potential “impact zone” in an uninhabited area along the Romanian-Ukrainian border. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
Nato backlash as Russian violates Romania and Latvia’s airspace with drones
Monday 9 September 2024 05:06
Arpan Rai
A senior Nato official has condemned Russia’s violation of Romanian airspace after the European nation scrambled F-16 fighter jets for Russian drones.
Mircea Geoană, Nato’s outgoing deputy secretary general and Romania’s former top diplomat, said: “While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous.”
In a similar stance, Latvia’s military said there were no indications that Moscow or Minsk purposely sent a drone into the country.
While the incursion into Latvian airspace appeared to be a rare incident, Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, as recently as July this year.
What is happening in Ukraine’s east frontline as Putin’s forces advance?
Monday 9 September 2024 05:01
Andy Gregory
Since 6 August, when Ukraine began its cross-border attack, Russian forces have advanced several miles towards the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region.
If Russia eventually seizes it, it will be the largest population centre it has taken since Bakhmut last May, after months of heavy urban warfare.
Nevertheless, the loss of Pokrovsk could have an even costlier effect.
The city, a logistical hub for the country’s military, sits at the junction of two major roads through the region. Its capture is seen as key to the Russian military prosecuting Vladimir Putin’s objective of taking the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine, known as Donbas.
Russia’s military appears to have thrown resources at the effort, possibly at the expense of defending its own civilians in Kursk. As one analyst put it, Putin’s “eye of Sauron”, a reference to Lord of the Rings, has been trained on Donetsk, and particularly Pokrovsk, even as his own country is being invaded.
Our foreign affairs reporter Tom Watling has more in this report:
World order under threat ‘not seen since Cold War’, say heads of MI6 and CIA
Monday 9 September 2024 04:45
Arpan Rai
The international world order is under threat in a way not seen since the Cold War, the heads of MI6 and the CIA have warned.
In the first joint op-ed penned by the leaders of the British and American intelligence services in their shared 77-year history, the MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore and CIA director William Burns warned that both countries now “face an unprecedented array of threats”.
Writing in the Financial Times, the intelligence leaders reflected on their decades of cooperation over the course of two world wars and in their fight against terrorism, warning: “The challenges of the past are being accelerated in the present, and compounded by technological change.”
“There is no question that the international world order – the balanced system that has led to relative peace and stability and delivered rising living standards, opportunities and prosperity – is under threat in a way we haven’t seen since the cold war,” they wrote.
Romania, Latvia report Russian drones breach airspace
Monday 9 September 2024 04:13
Arpan Rai
Romania and Latvia are investigating instances of Russian drones breaching their airspace before being downed, officials in both countries said.
While Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to monitor the attack and residents of the southeastern Romanian counties of Tulcea and Constanta were warned to take cover, Latvia shared photos of a crashed drone in the eastern part of the country.
In Latvia, president Edgars Rinkevics posted on social media platform X that a Russian military drone had crashed in the eastern part of the country, which at one time was part of the Soviet Union.
“There is an ongoing investigation. We are in close contact with our allies,” Rinkevics wrote. “The number of such incidents is increasing along the Eastern flank of Nato and we must address them collectively.”
The Romanian defence ministry said the “radar supervision system identified and tracked the path of a drone which entered national airspace and then exited towards Ukraine.”
“From existing data, the possibility of an impact zone on national territory was identified, in an uninhabited area near the village of Periprava,” the ministry added.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, also writing on X, described the incidents as “a stark reminder that Russia’s aggressive actions extend beyond Ukraine“ and called for maximum support from Ukraine’s allies in the conflict.
Nato member Romania shares a 650km (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has had Russian drone fragments stray into its territory repeatedly over the past year.
ICYMI: World order under threat ‘not seen since Cold War’, say heads of MI6 and CIA
Monday 9 September 2024 04:00
Andy Gregory
The international world order is under threat in a way not seen since the Cold War, the heads of MI6 and the CIA have warned.
In the first joint op-ed penned by the leaders of the British and American intelligence services in their shared 77-year history, the MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore and CIA director William Burns warned that both countries now “face an unprecedented array of threats”.
Writing in the Financial Times, the intelligence leaders reflected on their decades of cooperation over the course of two world wars and in their fight against terrorism, warning: “The challenges of the past are being accelerated in the present, and compounded by technological change.”
You can read more in this report:
Russia claims it has captured Ukrainian town in advance on Pokrovsk
Monday 9 September 2024 03:59
Arpan Rai
Russia said its forces had taken full control of a town in eastern Ukraine as they advance on the strategically important city of Pokrovsk.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had taken the town of Novohrodivka, which lies 12km (7 miles) from Pokrovsk, an important rail and road hub for Ukrainian forces in the area. The town had a population of 14,000 before the war.
Yuri Podolyaka, an influential Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, published maps showing Russian forces attacking beyond Novohrodivka in at least two places less than 7km (4 miles) from Pokrovsk.
However yesterday evening, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military gave details of fighting throughout the Pokrovsk sector, including Novohrodivka.
It said 29 attempted Russian advances had been repelled, with seven skirmishes continuing. “Our troops are taking measures to maintain designated positions,” it said.
An interview with a Ukrainian officer broadcast last week by US-funded Radio Liberty said Ukrainian forces had abandoned Novohrodivka on the basis that it was becoming too difficult to defend.
Popular Ukrainian war blog DeepState said Russian forces had also captured the village of Nevelske, to the southeast.
Two men killed in Russian strike on Donetsk hotel, officials say
Monday 9 September 2024 03:01
Andy Gregory
Rescue teams pulled the bodies of two men from the rubble of a hotel destroyed on Saturday evening by a Russian air strike in Donetsk, according to Ukraine's state emergency service.
Death toll from Poltava strike rises to 58
Monday 9 September 2024 02:00
Andy Gregory
The death toll from a massive Russian missile strike on Tuesday that blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in the eastern city of Poltava rose to 58 on Saturday, regional governor Filip Pronin reported, as funerals were held for those killed in the attack.
More than 320 other people were injured in the Russian strike.
Air raid sirens rang out on Saturday as funeral rites took place.
Analysis | Zelensky’s latest reshuffle has one major aim
Monday 9 September 2024 01:01
Andy Gregory
Dmytro Kuleba is one of Ukraine’s most recognisable faces to Western officials, seemingly never afraid to speak his mind.
It is that independence that has contributed to the foreign minister becoming the highest-profile member of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s cabinet involved in another major shake-up of Ukraine’s top brass. One which will end up the largest of the war.
Kuleba has offered his resignation as part of what is seen as a political “reset” for Kyiv engineered by Zelensky and his close circle. A number of other ministers also submitted their resignations on Tuesday.
Zelensky has said that the cabinet overhaul is part of an effort to “give new strength” to Ukraine’s government and, in the process, solidify Zelensky’s ability to guide policy.
Our international editor Chris Stevenson has more details here:
Analysis | Ukraine’s attack on Russia started as a triumph – but could turn into a catastrophe
Sunday 8 September 2024 23:59
Andy Gregory
Ukraine took more than 300 square miles of the Kursk region in the first month of its counter-invasion of Russia, raising morale at home and challenging a growing sense in the West that stalemate was the best Kyiv could hope for. Yet as a daring incursion looks set to become an open-ended occupation, doubts are growing about its long-term wisdom.
Russian historian and author Mark Galeotti shares his concerns in this piece:
‘Robust support for Ukraine’ on agenda on Starmer’s Washington trip, White House says
Sunday 8 September 2024 23:00
Andy Gregory
PJoe Biden is set to host Keir Starmer for talks at the White House on Friday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “continuing robust support to Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression” will be on their agenda.
Zelensky discusses restoration of Ukraine’s energy system with Italy’s Meloni
Sunday 8 September 2024 22:02
Andy Gregory
President Volodymr Zelensky has said he discussed Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction – particularly the restoration of its energy system – in talks with Italy’s premier Giorgia Meloni this weekend.
On the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum, I had a meeting with the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, @GiorgiaMeloni.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 7, 2024
One of the key topics we discussed was Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, particularly focusing on the restoration of our energy system. We… pic.twitter.com/ZKBFzoIniF
Watch: Putin remarks on US presidential election
Sunday 8 September 2024 20:59
Alexander Butler
Winter will complicate Russia’s push in eastern Ukraine, military chief says
Sunday 8 September 2024 20:01
Andy Gregory
Winter conditions will likely complicate Russia’s efforts to make further gains in Donetsk, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence unit has claimed.
In an interview with Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne, Kyrylo Budanov warned that this does not mean Russian forces will completely stop assaults on Ukrainian positions, the Institute for Study of War think-tank said.
Kursk incursion impacting Russia’s offensive efforts across Ukraine, Kyiv military chief claims
Sunday 8 September 2024 19:02
Andy Gregory
The head of the GUR, Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, has claimed that Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk is having impacts across Russia’s offensive operations in Ukraine.
According to the Institute for Study of War think-tank, Mr Budanov told state broadcaster Suspilne on Saturday that the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk had complicated Russia's plans for offensive operations in August and later this autumn.
Nato member Romania says a Russian drone violated its airspace
Sunday 8 September 2024 18:10
Andy Gregory
A Russian drone violated Romania’s airspace during nighttime attacks on neighboring Ukraine, the Nato member reported on Sunday, urging Moscow to stop what it described as an escalation.
The incident occurred as Russia carried out attacks on “civilian targets and port infrastructure” across the Danube River in Ukraine, Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said.
Romania deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace, and Nato allies were kept informed, the ministry said. Romanian emergency authorities also issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions.
Preliminary data indicates there may be an “impact zone” in an uninhabited area near the Romanian village of Periprava, the ministry said. It added that an investigation is underway.
We’ll be bringing you more here and in this report:
Video report: Putin has two secret sons with gymnast who live life of luxury isolated from world
Sunday 8 September 2024 17:17
Andy Gregory
Starmer must urge Biden to do more for Ukraine, former British ambassador says
Sunday 8 September 2024 16:29
Andy Gregory
Britain’s former US ambassador Lord Kim Darroch has warned that Keir Starmer must urge Joe Biden to give more support to Ukraine during his visit to Washington this week.
Speaking to Sky News, Lord Darroch said: “I think he needs to talk to Biden about Ukraine, because what the West is doing at the moment is giving Ukraine just enough to ensure it doesn’t lose. Not enough to win.”
He added: “I think he needs to say to Biden, is there more that you can do?”
Russian forces ‘advancing’ in Donetsk, analysts say
Sunday 8 September 2024 15:41
Andy Gregory
An update published on Saturday evening by DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site, said Russian forces had “advanced” in the Donetsk town of Novohrodivka and captured Nevelske, a village in the south-east of the Pokrovsk district.
Pokrovsk, which had a pre-war population of about 60,000, is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region.
Its capture would compromise Ukraine’s defence and supply routes, and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region.
Trump’s ideas on Ukraine are ‘very dangerous’, warns former UK-US ambassador
Sunday 8 September 2024 15:06
Andy Gregory
A former British ambassador to the US has warned that he worries “more about a Trump second term than his first term”, labelling the former president’s foreign policy “dangerous”.
Speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme, Lord Kim Darroch – who was forced to quit his stateside role in 2019 after cables in which he called the Trump administration “dysfunctional” were leaked – said he thought Britain would find it “difficult” to deal with Donald Trump.
Asked whether his views had changed since then, Lord Darroch said: “I worry more about a Trump second term than his first term because first of all, he will be better prepared. He will have a greater understanding of how to get his agenda through.
“Second, foreign policy, which is my area, his ideas on Ukraine, his comments on Nato, his threats of imposing tariffs on the rest of the world. This is all very dangerous stuff.”
Nato condemns ‘irresponsible’ Russian attacks as Romania searches for drone debris
Sunday 8 September 2024 14:37
Andy Gregory
Mircea Geoana, Nato’s outgoing deputy secretary-general and Romania’s former top diplomat, has condemned Russia’s “irresponsible and potentially dangerous” actions after Romania reported that a Russian drone had violated its airspace.
The incident occurred as Russia carried out attacks on "civilian targets and port infrastructure" across the Danube River in Ukraine, Romania's Ministry of National Defence said.
Romania deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace, and Nato allies were kept informed, the ministry said. Romanian emergency authorities also issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions.
Preliminary data indicates there may be an “impact zone” in an uninhabited area near the Romanian village of Periprava, the minis