Ukraine launched a series of drones targeting Moscow and western Russia, regional officials said today, adding that there was no significant damage.
Four firefighters in an industrial zone in Dzerzhinsk in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region however, received minor shrapnel wounds from a drone attack. Regional governor Gleb Nikitin said on the Telegram messaging app they were given “necessary medical care”.
Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said Russia’s air-defence units destroyed at least one drone flying towards Moscow.
Meanwhile, defence ministers of the G7 countries pledged “unwavering support” for Ukraine.
“We underscore our intent to continue to provide assistance to Ukraine, including military assistance in the short and long term,” in its conflict with Russia, the ministers said after their meeting in Naples.
The statement added that they supported Ukraine’s “irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including Nato membership”.
It comes as the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a statement that Russian Navy ships had transferred 1,500 North Korean special operation forces to the Russian port city of Vladivostok earlier this month.
Key Points
- Ukraine downs 80 out of 135 Russian drones, air force says
- Nato invite for Ukraine is only way to stop Russia’s war, says Volodymyr Zelensky
- Zelensky says 10,000 North Koreans could join Russia in Ukraine
- Russia claims it has captured a village in eastern Ukraine
- Nato chief says support for Ukraine will not waver
Ukraine publishes video showing North Korean soldiers in Russia
04:44
Arpan Rai
Ukrainian officials have released a video purporting to show dozens of North Korean recruits lining up to collect Russian military fatigues.
The video confirms Russia’s deployment of troops sent by Pyongyang into the conflict, they claimed. In the video, North Korean soldiers are seen standing in line to pick up bags, clothes and other apparel from Russian servicemen.
“We received this video from our own sources. We cannot provide additional verification from the sources who provided it to us due to security concerns,” said Ihor Solovey, the head of Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security.
“The video clearly shows North Korean citizens being given Russian uniforms under the direction of the Russian military,” he said.
“For Ukraine, this video is important because it is the first video evidence that shows North Korea participating in the war on the side of Russia. Now not only with weapons and shells but also with personnel.”
The centre claims the footage was shot by a Russian soldier in recent days. It didn’t say how the footage was obtained. The location is unknown.
Russian forces storming town in eastern Ukraine, bloggers say
04:14
Arpan Rai
Russian forces are fighting street-to-street battles with Ukrainian troops in the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian town of Selydove, military bloggers have said.
“Street by street fighting is going on in the town,” according to Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger. “The assault on Selydove has intensified.”
Other pro-Russian bloggers published video of intensive shelling of Selydove. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the footage. The Russian defence ministry did not comment.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s military, in a late evening report yesterday, said Ukrainian forces had repelled 41 Russian attacks around several towns and villages, including Selydove. The report said four battles were still raging in the area.
The popular Ukrainian war blog DeepState showed Selydove to be in Ukrainian hands.
Moscow’s forces are pushing to gain control over the whole of the Donbas region, according to pro-Russian bloggers.
Ukrainian air defences repelling attack on Kyiv, military says
03:53
Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s air defence units repelled a fresh overnight Russian attack targeting Kyiv, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said early this morning.
In what was at least the third wave of the overnight attacks, drone debris fell onto the Dniprovskyi district of Kyiv, but according to preliminary information caused no damage or injuries, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration said.
Ukrainian military denies Russian advances in Chasiv Yar
03:02
Alex Croft
Putin’s forces have not “managed to gain a foothold” in the war-town city of Chasiv Yar despite claims of Russian advances.
Anastasia Bobovnikova, a spokesperson of the operational tactical group Luhansk, told the Kyiv Independent: “I do not confirm the fact that Russian troops have managed to gain a foothold in the canal ... or anywhere in the direction of Chasiv Yar.
“The overall strategic position of the city remains under the control of Ukraine.”
It comes after the crowd-sourced war-monitoring website DeepState reported on October 17 that Russian forces had made advances.
Bobovnikova explained that groups of Russian soldiers had occasionally crossed the canal and carried out assaults on Ukrainian positions, adding: “However, such manoeuvres are accompanied by significant losses for the Russians. Ukrainian forces quickly repel such attacks, pushing Russian units back.”
Watch: Moment Ukrainian POWs reunited with families
01:00
Alex Croft
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has shared a video of the moment Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) returned home to their families.
In a post on X, he said: “95 of our people are home again. These are the warriors who defended Mariupol and ‘Azovstal’, as well as the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Kherson regions.
“Each time Ukraine rescues its people from Russian captivity, we bring closer the day when freedom will be returned to all those still held in Russian captivity.
“I thank the team involved in finding and liberating prisoners. We are doing everything to bring back all of our people held by Russia. I am grateful to the warriors who replenish the exchange fund and to all our partners who help us.”
95 of our people are home again. These are the warriors who defended Mariupol and "Azovstal," as well as the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Kherson regions.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 18, 2024
Each time Ukraine rescues its people from Russian captivity, we bring closer the day when freedom will be… pic.twitter.com/kuJsGbja8T
ICYMI: Russia and Ukraine swap 95 prisoners of war each
Sunday 20 October 2024 23:01
Alex Croft
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 95 prisoners of war on Friday, in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates, reported Agence France-Presse.
“As a result of the negotiation process, 95 Russian servicemen were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” the Russian defence ministry said.“In return, 95 Ukrainian army prisoners of war were handed over,” it said.
The human rights centre Zmina confirmed that Ukrainian journalist and rights advocate Maksym Butkevych was also freed in this exchange. Butkevych was serving a 13-year sentence on charges of wounding two civilians while firing an anti-tank grenade launcher in the eastern city of Severodonetsk.
Butkevych told Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske that the exchange came without warning.
“No, I didn’t know, it was unexpected,” he said. “Yesterday morning, after the inspection, they told me that I was leaving in half an hour, but they didn’t tell me where. Accordingly, I packed my things because I thought I was being transported, not for an exchange. We found out about the exchange by accident on the way. It was a double surprise.”
Moldova votes in election and EU referendum amid alleged Russian interference
Sunday 20 October 2024 22:02
Alastair Jamieson
Moldovans were voting on Sunday in a presidential election and referendum that could determine whether the small country continues its path to European Union membership, amid ongoing allegations of Russian election meddling.
With the war in Ukraine raging to the east, the former Soviet republic has accelerated its push to escape Moscow’s orbit and embarked on the long process of EU accession talks.
Polls show pro-Western incumbent Maia Sandu has a lead over her 10 rivals on the ballot, though the race will go to a November run-off if she fails to reach the 50% threshold to win outright.
Voters will also choose “yes” or “no” in a referendum on whether to enshrine in the country’s constitution its path towards the 27-nation EU. Polls by WatchDog, a Chisinau-based think tank, show a clear majority of more than 50% support the EU path. The referendum needs a one-third turnout to be valid.
Read the full report by Alastair Jamieson:
Report: France vows support for Ukraine's plan to end Russian invasion
Sunday 20 October 2024 21:03
Alex Croft
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot pledged his support for Ukraine’s plan for ending the 2 1/2-year war with Russia, telling reporters in Kyiv on Saturday that he will work with Ukrainian officials to secure other nations’ backing for the proposal.
Unveiled by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this week, Kyiv’s so-called “victory plan” hopes to compel Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine through negotiations.
The proposal is being considered by Ukraine’s Western partners, whose help is vital for Kyiv to resist its bigger neighbor. A key element would be a formal invitation into NATO, which Western backers have been reluctant to consider until after the war ends.
Read the full report:
Former Russian mayor enlists for war after five years in prison
Sunday 20 October 2024 20:05
Alex Croft
Igor Pushkarev, the former Vladivostok mayor who was sentenced to 15 years behind bars for corruption in 2019, will join the war in Ukraine.
The mayor signed a contract with the Russian Defence Ministry to permit his release and join the war, Ukrainska Pravda cited Nastoyashcheye Vremya as saying.
It is not clear if and when Pushkarev will be deployed into battle.
He is the second former mayor of the south east Russian city to enlist in the war, following in the footsteps of Oleg Gumenyuk, who was mayor from 2019 until 2021 when he was also sent to prison for 12 years in a bribery case.
Pushkarev was imprisoned for large-scale bribery, commercial bribery, and abuse of power, receiving 15 years in a max-security jail.
ICYMI: Russian airstrikes injure 17 in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih city
Sunday 20 October 2024 19:06
Alex Croft
Russia launched major air strikes on Ukraine overnight, targeting Kyiv and the western region of Lviv. At least 17 have been injured, including a rescue worker in the city of Kryvyi Rih in the eastern part of the country, officials said.
Ukraine’s interior ministry said on Telegram that Russia’s strikes also targeted the city of Kryvyi Rih, some 400 km southeast of Kyiv, injuring 17, including a rescue worker. Eight of the wounded were hospitalised.
A city administration building in Kryvyi Rih was left partially destroyed while multiple residential buildings and cars were damaged. A fire also damaged emergency services equipment.
Kyiv’s military administration said on the Telegram messaging app that around 10 drones were destroyed near the city. They added that there were no reports of destruction or injuries.
Ukraine’s capital saw two air alerts during the night, lasting about three hours in total.
Watch: G7 defence ministers meet in Naples amid Middle East tensions and Ukraine crisis
Sunday 20 October 2024 18:05
Alex Croft
G7 ministers are arriving in Naples for a defence summit today (19 October), amid rising global tensions.
Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto claims to have initiated the summit, and it’s the first of its kind.
“I found it surreal that the seven largest economies in the world have met to talk about all the issues, from tourism, to culture, to energy... and they didn’t find themselves talking together about defense in a historic moment like the one we’re experiencing,” Crosetto said of the annual G7 summit which took place in June.
Ukrainian military shows off Howitzer artillery
Sunday 20 October 2024 17:08
Alex Croft
L119 howitzers are destroying the russian occupiers.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 20, 2024
: Bryz TV / Ministry of Defense pic.twitter.com/GtsO8AT8zS
Street battles unfolding in town of Selydove, pro-Russian bloggers say
Sunday 20 October 2024 16:11
Alex Croft
Ukrainian troops are engaging in street battles with Russian forces as they defend the eastern Ukrainian town of Selydove in the Donbas region, according to pro-Russian bloggers.
Open source data suggests that in September, Russian forces advanced at their fastest rate since March 2022.
“Street by street fighting is going on in the town,” says Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born and pro-Russian military blogger. “The assault on Selydove has intensified.”
Videos of intensive shelling in Selydrove were published by other pro-Russian bloggers, Reuters reported. These videos have not been independently verified.
Putin says he wants full control over the Donbas region, around 80 per cent of which Russia currently holds.
Russian forces continue their gradual but steady approach towards the strategically important towns of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, west of Donetsk city.
‘This is just the beginning’, says David Lammy of Russia sanctions
Sunday 20 October 2024 15:12
Alex Croft
David Lammy has said “this is just the beginning” after Ukrainian president Volodymy Zelensky thanked him for issuing new sanctions on Russia.
The UK has imposed sanctions on Putin’s shadow tanker fleet, swhich Zelensky says “helps Putin finance war and terror, while also posing a global threat to the security of all countries whose coasts and seas could be polluted due to the exploitation of these tankers”.
It comes after the Department for Business and Trade recently established a new Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) to boost compliance with existing sanctions.
This is just the beginning.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) October 20, 2024
I will continue to use the full arsenal of tools at my disposal to bear down on the Kremlin, and to support @zelenskyyUA and the Ukrainian people in their fight.
We will not stop in our shared endeavour to constrain Vladimir Putin. https://t.co/DpBJlYOLA3
Moldovans vote in election and EU referendum - with allegations of Russian meddling
Sunday 20 October 2024 14:14
Alex Croft
Moldovans have cast their ballots in a major presidential election and EU referendum which was mired with allegations of Russian meddling.
The former Soviet republic is attempting to push away from Moscow politically and has begun the arduous process of EU accession talks.
Pro-Western incumbent Maia Sandu is the favourite with a comfortable 10-point lead over opposition candidates. If she fails to reach 50 percent in this election, the race will go to a run-off on 3 November.
In a run-off Sandu would likely face Alexandr Stoianoglo of the traditionally pro-Russian Party of Socialists.
Sandu’s government has repeatedly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and has accused Russia of plotting her overthrow as leader. Since taking power in December 2020, Moldovan-Russian relations have significantly deteriorated.
Election-meddling allegations have now been made, including against fugitive tycoon Ilan Shor, who is accused by police of attempting to pay a group of at least 130,000 voters to vote ‘No’.
On Thursday, law-enforcement agencies claimed to uncover a programme which would see hundreds taken to Russia to go through training to stage-riots and cause civil unrest.
UK waging war against Russia, says ambassador
Sunday 20 October 2024 13:16
Alex Croft
Moscow’s ambassador to the UK has accused the government of “waging” war against the Russians by supplying Ukraine with weapons.
Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, ambassador Andrei Kelin said: “My government firmly believes the UK Government is waging an aggressive war against Russia by the hands of the Ukrainians.
“This is a proxy war led by the United Kingdom’s government by providing lethal weapons with which the UK Government is killing Russian soldiers and civilians.”
He added: “I think you are aggressive and waging a proxy war against Russia.”
In pictures: Russian drones shot down over Kyiv amid overnight attack on Sunday
Sunday 20 October 2024 12:18
Alex Croft
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief visits units fighting in Kursk
Sunday 20 October 2024 11:21
Alex Croft
Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military, said the situation “remains under control” in Kursk, the Russian region taken over by Ukrainian troops in early August.
Syrskyi wrote on Telegram, according to Ukrainska Pravda: "The situation remains under our control despite all the enemy’s attempts to seize the initiative. I’ve carried out work directly at the command posts of the brigades.
“I’ve heard reports from the brigade commanders and their proposals for further actions and provided assistance in resolving problematic issues.
“Taking the situation into account, I made several decisions designed to counteract the enemy’s actions and maximise their losses."
Russia has an advantage in manpower and equipment in the region, he explained, but they are not achieving their objectives due to the skill and professionalism of Ukraine’s troops.
Ukraine shoots down 31 Russian drones overnight
Sunday 20 October 2024 10:24
Alex Croft
Ukraine’s air defence units shot down 31 Russian drones overnight on Sunday.
Russian drones were shot down over 13 regions, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Sunday morning according to Ukrainska Pravda.
A total of 49 drones and two missiles were detected and tracked by Ukrainian forces. Another 13 Russian drones were "locationally lost" and that two had flown into neighbouring Belarus, Reuters reported.
The two Iskander-M ballistic missiles were fired from occupied Crimea.
Russia tests nuclear unit as it rolls out ballistic missiles in latest threat to West
Sunday 20 October 2024 09:30
Shahana Yasmin
Russia is testing the readiness of a missile unit that forms part of its strategic nuclear forces, the defence ministry has said – with Russian officials having repeatedly raised the spectre of nuclear war over the West’s support for Ukraine.
The drill involves a unit equipped with Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles which are capable of reaching US cities and can be equipped with multiple nuclear warheads, a reminder to the world that Russia possesses the world’s largest atomic arsenal. Troops are practising moving the missiles in the field over distances of up to 60 miles (100 kilometres) under camouflage and protecting them against air attack and enemy sabotage groups, the ministry said.
The test is taking place in the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, in the same week that Nato conducted its annual nuclear exercise and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky unveiled his “victory plan” for the war.
Pentagon chief says he cannot confirm if North Korea has sent troops to Russia
Sunday 20 October 2024 09:10
Shahana Yasmin
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday he could not confirm reports on North Korea sending troops to Russia to be deployed in the war in Ukraine, but added that it would be concerning if true, reported Reuters.
On Friday, South Korea’s spy agency said that North Korea had sent 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s Far East for training and acclimatisation at local military bases, for likely deployment for combat in the war in Ukraine.
The world is at a dangerous moment as conflicts spread, UN rights chief says
Sunday 20 October 2024 08:50
Shahana Yasmin
The U.N. human rights chief warned Thursday that the world is at an especially dangerous moment in history, with disregard and disrespect for international law “reaching a deafening crescendo.”
Volker Türk said conflicts are spreading and intensifying and humanitarian and human rights laws are being “trampled amid broad impunity.”
He was sharply critical of Israeli authorities for allowing Palestinians in Gaza to reach “catastrophic levels of hunger” but also cited human rights violations in Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar — and said he could name many other conflicts.
The U.N. high commissioner for human rights spoke about this critical moment “for human life, for human rights and for the stability and prosperity” of countries to reporters Thursday and in a briefing to the General Assembly’s human rights committee on Wednesday.
Türk said the reason the world is in such a crisis of conflicts and violations of international law is because the international structures that were painstakingly built after World War II and the Holocaust to protect human rights and prevent atrocities are starting to erode.
“Then, we have to be very worried because the erosion leads to more erosion,” and if civilian casualties are at the edge of being accepted in conflicts, “and you sort of get used to the fact that war is the answer to everything, I fear for the world — and I fear for human rights in particular,” he said.
French foreign minister says Russian victory over Ukraine would bring 'chaos’
Sunday 20 October 2024 08:30
Shahana Yasmin
French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot has said a Russian victory over Ukraine would “precipitate the international order towards chaos” on Saturday.
He was in Kyiv for a visit on 19 October to reaffirm France’s support for Ukraine.“A Russian victory would consecrate the law of the strongest and precipitate the international order towards chaos,” Mr Barrot said, standing alongside his counterpart Andrii Sybiha.
On Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s victory plan, Mr Barrot said: “We support the victory plan because we have been alongside Ukraine for nearly 1,000 days.”
Mr Zelensky unveiled a five-point victory plan earlier this week, underscoring the test of allegiance facing Kyiv’s allies, declaring: “This plan doesn’t depend on Russian will, only on the will of our partners.”
Russian airstrikes injure 17 in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih city
Sunday 20 October 2024 08:16
Shahana Yasmin
Russia launched major air strikes on Ukraine overnight, targeting Kyiv and the western region of Lviv. At least 17 have been injured, including a rescue worker in the city of Kryvyi Rih in the eastern part of the country, officials said.
Ukraine’s interior ministry said on Telegram that Russia’s strikes also targeted the city of Kryvyi Rih, some 400 km southeast of Kyiv, injuring 17, including a rescue worker. Eight of the wounded were hospitalised.
A city administration building in Kryvyi Rih was left partially destroyed while multiple residential buildings and cars were damaged. A fire also damaged emergency services equipment.
Kyiv’s military administration said on the Telegram messaging app that around 10 drones were destroyed near the city. They added that there were no reports of destruction or injuries.
Ukraine’s capital saw two air alerts during the night, lasting about three hours in total.
Ukrainian drone strike targets major Russian explosive manufacturer and Moscow
Sunday 20 October 2024 07:50
Shahana Yasmin
Ukraine drone strikes targeted Moscow and the Ya M Sverdlov State Owned Enterprise in Dzerzhinsk city, Nizhny Novgorod region overnight, regional officials and Russian Telegram channels reported on Sunday.
The explosive manufacturer plant in Dzerzhinsk is one of the largest used by Russian forces in the war in Ukraine, and is subject to sanctions by the United States and the European Union.
Russian air defence units downed 110 Ukrainian drones over Russia, including one over Moscow, said the defence ministry. It added that eight Ukrainian drones were destroyed over Nizhny Novgorod.
Four firefighters received minor shrapnel wounds from a drone attack on an industrial zone in Dzerzhinsk city, the regional governor said.
Video published by Ukraine purports to show North Korean soldiers in Russia
Sunday 20 October 2024 07:30
Shahana Yasmin
A video purporting to show dozens of North Korean recruits lining up to collect Russian military fatigues and gear aims to intimidate Ukrainian forces and marks a new chapter in the 2 1/2-year war with the introduction of another country into the battlefield, Ukrainian officials said.
Everything we know about North Korean troops joining Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Sunday 20 October 2024 07:10
Shahana Yasmin
The US and its allies have raised the alarm after Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that North Korea was sending thousands of soldiers to help Russia in its war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president claimed on Thursday that his government had intelligence that nearly 10,000 soldiers from North Korea were being prepared to join the Russian forces fighting in his country.
Mr Zelensky made the claim, without offering further details, a day after US deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell said Washington and its allies were concerned by North Korea’s military support for Russia.
“From our intelligence, we’ve got information that North Korea sent tactical personnel and officers to Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky told reporters at the Nato headquarters in Brussels.
“They are preparing on their land 10,000 soldiers, but they didn’t move them already to Ukraine or to Russia.”
Mr Zelensky warned that any third country wading into the conflict, in this case North Korea, would be “the first step to a world war”.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports...
Russia returns 500 dead soldiers to Ukraine as world leaders mull next steps
Sunday 20 October 2024 06:50
Shahana Yasmin
Russia on Friday returned to Ukraine the bodies of 501 soldiers, Ukrainian authorities said, in what appeared to be the biggest repatriation of war dead since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Most of the soldiers were killed in action in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, mostly around the city of Avdiivka that Russian forces captured in February after a long and grueling battle, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement.
Law enforcement agencies and forensic experts will identify the victims, who will then be handed to family members for burial, it said.
Read the full report:
Ukrainian drone attack wounds four firefighters in Russia’s Dzerzhinsk
Sunday 20 October 2024 06:20
Shahana Yasmin
Four firefighters in an industrial zone in Dzerzhinsk in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region received minor shrapnel wounds from a Ukrainian drone attack, the region’s governor said on Sunday.
“They were given the necessary medical care, everyone was sent home,” Gleb Nikitin said on the Telegram messaging app.
The Russian RIA agency reported that Russian air defence systems destroyed 110 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, including eight over Nizhny Novgorod region, some 400 km east of Moscow.
In pictures: Ukrainian POWs reunite with their families
Sunday 20 October 2024 06:00
Shahana Yasmin
France vows support for Ukraine's plan to end Russian invasion
Sunday 20 October 2024 05:30
Shahana Yasmin
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot pledged his support for Ukraine’s plan for ending the 2 1/2-year war with Russia, telling reporters in Kyiv on Saturday that he will work with Ukrainian officials to secure other nations’ backing for the proposal.
Unveiled by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this week, Kyiv’s so-called “victory plan” hopes to compel Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine through negotiations.
The proposal is being considered by Ukraine’s Western partners, whose help is vital for Kyiv to resist its bigger neighbor. A key element would be a formal invitation into NATO, which Western backers have been reluctant to consider until after the war ends.
G7 defence ministers pledge ‘unwavering support’ for Ukraine
Sunday 20 October 2024 05:02
Shahana Yasmin
Defence ministers of the G7 countries have pledged “unwavering support” for Ukraine in a statement on Saturday.
“We underscore our intent to continue to provide assistance to Ukraine, including military assistance in the short and long term,” in its conflict with Russia, the ministers said after their meeting in Naples.
The statement added that they supported Ukraine’s “irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including Nato membership”.
Ukraine launches series of drones targeting Moscow
Sunday 20 October 2024 04:32
Shahana Yasmin
Ukraine launched a series of drones targeting Moscow and western Russia, regional officials said on Sunday.
No injuries or significant damage was reported.
Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said on the Telegram messaging app that Russia’s air-defence units destroyed at least one drone flying towards the Russian capital, reported Reuters.
Some drone debris led to multiple short-lived fires in the Lipetsk region in southwestern Russia, the mayor reported on Telegram, adding that there were no injuries.
Ukrainian NATO admission would rule out diplomatic solution to war, Russia says
Sunday 20 October 2024 04:03
Alex Croft
Ukraine’s accession to NATO would make a diplomatic and political resolution to the conflict impossible, Russia’s foreign ministry said according to the RIA state-owned news agency.
It would ultimately lead to an escalation in the war, the ministry said on Saturday morning.
Ukrainian president Zelensky has been pushing hard in recent months for the war-torn country’s accession to NATO to be guaranteed. He went on a whirlwind tour to present his ‘victory plan’ to allies in the West, including US president Joe Biden and UK prime minister Keir Starmer, which puts NATO accession front-and-centre of any possible Ukrainian victory.
Watch: Moment Ukrainian POWs reunited with families
Sunday 20 October 2024 02:01
Alex Croft
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has shared a video of the moment Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) returned home to their families.
In a post on X, he said: “95 of our people are home again. These are the warriors who defended Mariupol and ‘Azovstal’, as well as the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Kherson regions.
“Each time Ukraine rescues its people from Russian captivity, we bring closer the day when freedom will be returned to all those still held in Russian captivity.
“I thank the team involved in finding and liberating prisoners. We are doing everything to bring back all of our people held by Russia. I am grateful to the warriors who replenish the exchange fund and to all our partners who help us.”
95 of our people are home again. These are the warriors who defended Mariupol and "Azovstal," as well as the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Kherson regions.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 18, 2024
Each time Ukraine rescues its people from Russian captivity, we bring closer the day when freedom will be… pic.twitter.com/kuJsGbja8T
Video report: Counter-terrorism police investigating UK warehouse fire over possible links to Russia
Sunday 20 October 2024 00:01
Alex Croft
ICYMI: North Korean troops in Russia readying for combat, South Korea says
Saturday 19 October 2024 23:04
Alex Croft
South Korea’s spy agency said on Friday that North Korea has sent 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s Far East for training and acclimatisation at local military bases, likely to be deployed for combat in the war in Ukraine, reported Reuters.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said it had been working with Ukraine’s intelligence service and identified North Korean officers in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region using facial recognition artificial intelligence technology.
“The direct military cooperation between Russia and North Korea that has been reported by foreign media has now been officially confirmed,” the spy agency said in a statement.
Biden and Scholz ‘discuss unlocking frozen Russian assets’ for Ukraine
Saturday 19 October 2024 22:01
Alex Croft
Joe Biden has urged the West to sustain its support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion as Kyiv faces a third winter of full-scale war.
Speaking to reporters before holding closed-door talks with chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin to discuss matters ranging from Ukraine to the expanding conflict in the Middle East, Mr Biden said: “As Ukraine faces a tough winter, we must, we must sustain our resolve.
“And I know the cost is heavy, but make no mistake, it bears in comparison to the cost of living in a world where aggression prevails, where large states attack and bully smaller ones simply because they can.”
He said he would discuss with Mr Scholz efforts to increase military support for Ukraine and shore up its civilian energy infrastructure “by unlocking the value of frozen Russian assets”.
Report: Trump blames Zelensky and Biden – but not Putin – for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Saturday 19 October 2024 21:03
Alex Croft
Donald Trump held Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Joe Biden responsible for the Russia-Ukraine war in an interview — but made no reference to Vladimir Putin.
Two and a half years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Trump pinned the blame squarely on Zelensky and Biden for the conflict during an interview with podcaster Patrick Bet-David, which aired Thursday.
“I think Zelensky is one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen,” Trump said, grumbling about how much aid the US has given Ukraine.
“And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help them because I feel very badly for those people. But he should never have let that war start,” the former president added.
“That war’s a loser.”
Saturday 19 October 2024 20:05
Alex Croft
Ukraine’s former armed forces chief endorses ‘victory plan’ in first speech since his dismissal
Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, on Thursday expressed his support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “victory plan,” despite the tensions between the two that led to his dismissal.
“Ukraine must clearly follow the plan,” Zaluzhnyi said in his first public appearance since his appointment as ambassador to the U.K.
He told an audience at London’s Chatham House think-tank: “But this list of steps primarily concerns those countries that should ultimately be interested in stopping the war.”
Susie Blann and Hanna Arhirova have the full report:
France open to immediate NATO invite for Ukraine, foreign minister says
Saturday 19 October 2024 19:10
Alex Croft
Paris is open to the idea of immediately inviting Ukraine to NATO but this would be subject to talks with other allies, France’s foreign minister said.
"Regarding the invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, we are open to it and it’s a discussion that we are having with our partners," Jean-Noel Barrot told a press conference held with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha.
If proven that North Korea had sent troops to support Russia in Ukraine this would represent a major escalation, Barrot added, and would prove that Moscow was struggling in the war.
David Lammy presses Chinese foreign minister on support for Russia
Saturday 19 October 2024 18:13
Alex Croft
David Lammy pressed his Chinese counterpart on Beijing’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during talks in China’s capital the Foreign Office has said.
The Foreign Secretary was under pressure to take a tough line on a range of human rights issues with foreign minister Wang Yi when the pair met on Friday in what was Mr Lammy’s first visit to China since taking office.
A statement issued by the Foreign Office after the meeting described the encounter as “constructive”, adding that Mr Lammy raised “a number of foreign policy and security matters” including Chinese companies supplying equipment to the Russian military and the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
Human rights “were discussed”, including relating to mistreatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang, in China’s far west, and the ongoing detention of British national Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong, it added.
But the statement made no direct reference to Taiwan. Earlier in the week, China held large-scale military exercises surrounding the island which Sir Keir Starmer described as “not conducive to peace and stability”.
Everything we know about North Korean troops joining Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Saturday 19 October 2024 17:15
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The US and its allies have raised the alarm after Volodymyr Zelensky cl
