Ukrainian forces are conducting a major cross-border attack involving around 300 soldiers into Russia’s southern province of Kursk, Moscow’s Defence Ministry has claimed.
Kursk’s governor said Russia had to move in reserves to try and repel hundreds of fighters backed by tanks in one of he largest cross-border raids since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Damaged and abandoned armoured vehicles were seen in geolocated footage by the US-based Institute for the Study of War, roughly 7km north of the border west of Lyubimovka.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said that it was continuing to fight Ukrainian units "in the areas of the Kursk region directly adjacent to the Russian-Ukrainian border."
It comes as Niger became the second west African country to cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine in recent days over a row as to whether Kyiv provided support for rebels behind an attack last month that killed scores of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group.
Niger’s military junta said it would follow Mali by severing relations with “immediate effect” and accusing Kyiv of supporting “terrorist” groups.
Key Points
- Putin accuses Ukraine of “major provocation” following cross-border attack
- Niger becomes second African country to cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine
- Four killed after shelling in Donetsk, according to governor
- Over 130 clashes across 10 fronts in past day, Ukraine says
- Russia says Ukrainian forces involved in major cross-border attack
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister visits Zambia for talks
17:03
Alex Croft
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held “detailed talks” with his Zambian counterpart Mulambo Haimbe
Mr Kuleba said they signed a “memorandum of understanding” between the countries regarding “political consultations” which will be key in “structuring our long-term dialogue”.
In December 2023, President Zelensky said developing ties with African countries would be one of Ukraine’s key foreign policy priorities for 2024.
Today in Lusaka, my Zambian colleague Mulambo Haimbe and I held detailed talks.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 6, 2024
We discussed ways to advance bilateral relations between Ukraine and Zambia, as well as our cooperation in international organizations.
We also signed a memorandum of understanding between foreign… pic.twitter.com/uReiw2kN8j
Over 130 combat clashes across 10 fronts in the day up until this morning
16:44
Alex Croft
Over 130 combat clashes across 10 fronts over the past day
Ukraine’s General Staff have released their latest update on clashes across Ukraine.
As of 8am this morning, Ukraine had faced 136 clashes in the past day, with the heaviest Russian assaults focussed on the Pokrovsk front in the eastern Donetsk region.
42 clashes were recorded near Pokrovsk, as Russian forces attempt to reach the key strategic city which is essential to Ukraine’s supply routes in the east.
Putin’s forces have been attacking villages to the east of Pokrovsk as they continue their advance from the city Donetsk, around 70km southeast of the Ukrainian held outpost.
Other major clashes were recorded on the Siversk and Lyman fronts, villages around 100km north of Donetsk which saw 21 and 19 combat clashes respectively.
Clashes were also recorded on the Kharkiv and Kupiansk fronts in northeastern Ukraine.
Four killed after Russian shelling in Donetsk, regional governor says
16:22
Alex Croft
At least four have been killed after Russian shelling in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Wednesday, regional governor Vadym Filashkin has said on Telegram.
An elderly man and woman were killed in Antonivka village, situated 5 kilometres from an active combat zone, with one more person injured.
Another man and woman were killed in the Mykhaylivka settlement, said Filashkin.
Both settlements lie around 50km to the west of Russian-occupied Donetsk city.
The entire Donetsk region, which is partly occupied by Putin’s troops, has been the main focus of battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the past weeks, as Russia aims to advance westwards to the strategic logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Pictured - Russian army claims to successfully strike Ukrainian military vehicles which entered Kursk region
15:33
Alex Croft
Pro-Putin Russian bloggers say Ukraine is gaining ground in Kursk ground incursion
14:41
Alex Croft
Russian propagandist bloggers are claiming that Ukrainian forces have secured a “foothold” in the border area, Ukrainian media reports.
Telegram channels affiliated with Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed that Ukraine have captured three villages in the Sudzha district of the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.
They further claimed that Ukrainian troops have attempted to take control of the road connecting Rylsk and Sudzha.
Ukraine has not yet provided any comment on the events in the Kursk region, and many reports emerging from Russian outlets have not been independently verified.
Freed Russian prisoner hints at further prisoner exchanges to come
14:23
Alex Croft
A freed Russian prisoner has said there are “concrete ideas” for arranging further prisoner exchanges.
Oleg Orlov, a veteran rights campaigner who was speaking at his first press conference since release from a Russian penal colony as part of the deal, hinted that there were plans for more potential exchanges.
Orlov, 71, said he had been speaking with other freed Russians about whether there would be a follow-up exchange to win the release of more colleagues from Moscow.
"We had a conversation about the details among those who were exchanged, on the plane, when we were flying from Ankara to Germany," Orlov said, after he was welcomed to Germany on arrival by Olaf Scholz.
"But I can’t say anything more concrete for now because you understand that any talks about an exchange require confidentiality for a long time. I will only say that there are concrete ideas, I won’t say anything more,” he added.
It comes after dual US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina pleaded guilty to treason in a Russian court after donating $50 to a pro-Ukrainian charity.
Dual Russian-American citizen pleads guilty to treason for making donation to pro-Ukraine charity
14:05
Alex Croft
Ksenia Karelina, a dual Russian-American citizen, has pleaded guilty to treason in a Russian court, a state news agency claimed.
Karelina, 33, was arrested in February for allegedly contributing $51.80 to Razom for Ukraine, a non-profit group based in New York that provides non-military aid to the country.
Her lawyer today confirmed that she has pleaded guilty, state news agency RIA said.
She was detained in late January in the city of Yekaterinburg while visiting her family on Russia.
She was accused by prosecutors of “proactively transferring funds to a Ukrainian organisation, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition”.
The maximum sentence for her crime is 20 years in prison.
Russia says cross-border incursions into Ukraine have entered their second day
13:47
Alex Croft
Russian officials said on Wednesday that Ukraine’s cross-border raids into the Kursk region have entered their second day.
Kyiv is yet to speak out about the operation, which the Russian Defence Ministry claims has seen 300 Ukrainian servicemen crossing the northeastern border from Ukraine’s Sumy region.
Russia says it has successfully repelled the attacks so far, and earlier released images appearing to show military vehicles being struck by drones.
If Ukraine’s cross-border attacks are confirmed, and continue, Russian reserves could be drawn to the area, which may weaken Russia’s offensive in multiple parts of the Donetsk region.
This could also post the risk of stretching Ukraine’s currently outnumbered troops even further along the frontline.
Alexei Smirnov, the head of Russia’s Kursk region, has called on residents to donate blood as a result of the fighting.
Pictured - Ukrainian forces engaged in heavy fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region
13:29
Alex Croft
Putin accuses Ukraine of “major provocation” following Kursk incursion
12:57
Alex Croft
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of a “major provocation” following an incursion into the Kursk region.
Spelling to members of the Russian government about the Kursk attack, Putin said the “Kyiv regime has launched another major provocation”.
He further accused Ukrainian forces of the “indiscriminate shelling of civilian” targets in the Kursk region.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that up to 300 Ukrainian soldiers entered Russian territory in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.
Abandoned armoured vehicles were found in geolocated footage by US-based Institute for the Study of War, while Russia released images which they said showed the shelling of Ukrainian vehicles which were part of the incursion.
President Zelensky suffers blow to diplomatic aims in Africa
12:41
Alex Croft
More on the diplomatic dispute between Ukraine, Mali and Niger.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry yesterday described Mali’s decision to sever ties as “short-sighted and hasty” but has not yet commented on Niger’s decision to sever ties today.
President Zelensky said in December 2023 that strengthening bonds with countries in Africa was going to be a diplomatic priority for 2024 - so he will be dismayed at the collapse in relationships with Mali and Niger.
The two countries have not been supporting of Ukraine’s position in the war so far - but Ukraine are nonetheless currently on a charm offensive to gain the support of more countries in Africa.
Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba’s yesterday met his Zambian counterpart in which the countries signed a “memorandum of understanding”.
He also met Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera on Monday, 5 August. Malawi has backed Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
To conclude the three-stop tour, Kuleba will be visiting Mauritius later this week.
Niger becomes second African country to cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine
12:15
Alex Croft
Niger has severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine, becoming the second west African country to do so this week.
It comes amid a row over whether the Ukrainian government supported an attack last month which killed dozens of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group, which was previously involved in the war on Ukraine.
The country’s military junta has accused Kyiv of supporting “terrorist groups” and followed in the footsteps of neighbouring country Mali by cutting all ties.
Reports emerged in Ukraine that Andriy Yusov, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency GUR, admitted Kyiv had supported the Tuareg rebels who claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on Mali’s northeastern border with Algeria.
Yusov was quoted as saying “the rebels received all the necessary information they needed”, but earlier this week told the Financial Times he had made “no such statement”.
Four killed after Russian shelling in Donetsk, regional governor says
11:45
Alex Croft
At least four have been killed after Russian shelling in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Wednesday, regional governor Vadym Filashkin has said on Telegram.
An elderly man and woman were killed in Antonivka village, situated 5 kilometres from an active combat zone, with one more person injured.
Another man and woman were killed in the Mykhaylivka settlement, said Filashkin.
Both settlements lie around 50km to the west of Russian-occupied Donetsk city.
The entire Donetsk region, which is partly occupied by Putin’s troops, has been the main focus of battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the past weeks, as Russia aims to advance westwards to the strategic logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister visits Zambia for talks
11:29
Alex Croft
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held “detailed talks” with his Zambian counterpart Mulambo Haimbe
Mr Kuleba said they signed a “memorandum of understanding” between the countries regarding “political consultations” which will be key in “structuring our long-term dialogue”.
In December 2023, President Zelensky said dveeloping ties with African countries would be one of Ukraine’s key foreign policy priorities for 2024.
Today in Lusaka, my Zambian colleague Mulambo Haimbe and I held detailed talks.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 6, 2024
We discussed ways to advance bilateral relations between Ukraine and Zambia, as well as our cooperation in international organizations.
We also signed a memorandum of understanding between foreign… pic.twitter.com/uReiw2kN8j
Three killed and at least 25 injured Ukraine over past day, regional authorities say
11:10
Alex Croft
Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least three people and injured 14 over the past day, regional authorities reported this morning.
13 regions came under attack, with the casualties reported in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk (central east), Kharkiv (north east), Kherson (south), Zaporizhzhia (south east), and Donetsk (east).
Russia fired at the region of Zaporizhzhia 564 times, Ukraine said according to The Kyiv Independent, targeting nine settlements.
Two men were killed and one was injured in the region, the local military administration announced.
One person was killed and 15 injured in the Kherson region after Russia targeted nine settlements, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
Four were injured in the Donetsk region, three in Dnipropetrovsk, and one in Kharkiv, their local administrations reported.
One person was also injured with shrapnel wounds from Russian drone debris in the capital of Kyiv.
Russia releases pictures of drone strike on Ukrainian armoured vehicle, which it claims entered Kursk region
10:53
Alex Croft
Over 130 combat clashes across 10 fronts over the past day
10:35
Alex Croft
Ukraine’s General Staff have released their latest update on clashes across Ukraine.
As of 8am this morning, Ukraine had faced 136 clashes in the past day, with the heaviest Russian assaults focussed on the Pokrovsk front in the eastern Donetsk region.
42 clashes were recorded near Pokrovsk, as Russian forces attempt to reach the key strategic city which is essential to Ukraine’s supply routes in the east.
Putin’s forces have been attacking villages to the east of Pokrovsk as they continue their advance from the city Donetsk, around 70km southeast of the Ukrainian held outpost.
Other major clashes were recorded on the Siversk and Lyman fronts, villages around 100km north of Donetsk which saw 21 and 19 combat clashes respectively.
Clashes were also recorded on the Kharkiv and Kupiansk fronts in northeastern Ukraine.
Kursk civilians told to limit movements amid reported Ukrainian strikes
10:18
Alex Croft
Local authorities in Russia’s Kursk region have urged residents to limit movement after reported Ukrainian attacks, a Russian news agency reported.
Kyiv has continued air strikes on the region which borders Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, and reportedly attempted an incursion into the area with up to 300 troops yesterday, the Russian defence ministry claimed.
The ministry also claimed that Russian defence systems have destroyed four drones overnight.
Local official in Kursk, Marina Degtyareva, was cited by TASS news agency as saying residents should limit their movements in the area.
Russian military blogger sentenced to six years for spreading “fake news”
10:03
Alex Croft
A Russian blogger who supports Putin’s war aims in Ukraine has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in a penal colony, state investigators said on Wednesday.
Andrei Kurshin is accused of spreading false information about the armed forces on his “Moscow Calling” Telegram channel, which criticised the way the military leadership were conducting the campaign.
Analysts at the American thinktank the Institute for the Study of War described Kurshin as a "fringe ultra-nationalist" at the time of his arrest.
They said he had gone beyond what is deemed permissible criticism of Russia’s war effort in Putin’s regime.
Zelensky says Ukraine is “gaining an advantage” over Russia in drone capabilities
09:47
Alex Croft
President Volodymyr Zelensky took to X, formerly Twitter, to provide an update on Ukraine’s drone capabilities.
“Our Ukrainian Defense and Security Forces are already gaining an advantage in this area – in July, our soldiers deployed more drones than the occupiers,” Zelensky wrote yesterday.
He says Ukraine has contracted the production of one million drones, with more to come next year.
In a video update which accompanied yesterday’s message, Zelensky said the rescue effort after shelling in central Kharkiv is still underway, with some believed to still be trapped under the rubble.
I thank each of our combat brigades, all soldiers, and commanders who are using all their strength to destroy the enemy, especially by effectively deploying our drone capabilities. Our Ukrainian Defense and Security Forces are already gaining an advantage in this area – in July,… pic.twitter.com/UESjXzxkv6
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 6, 2024
Ukraine’s spy chief says Russian offensive will end by October
09:30
Alex Croft
Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), said Russia’s continuing offensive on 11 fronts will be “over in a month and a half to two months”.
He said the offensive has “dragged on”, adding that his experience of fighting Russian-backed forces has shown that “any side does not last more than two months”.
But Budanov said that after a “decline and short lull” Ukraine will face “new attempts by the enemy to attack”.
“We are preparing for this,” Budanov stressed in the interview with Forbes Ukraine.
How the situation unfolds also depends on Ukraine’s response, Budanov said.
"We can wait and see; four or five months will pass and everything will repeat itself again. Or we can act proactively.”
Ukrainian shelling in Kursk injures 24 people, Russia claims
08:59
Andy Gregory
The Russian health ministry claims that 24 people, including six children, were wounded after shelling in the Kursk region where Moscow accused Ukraine of launching a border attack a day earlier.
Kyiv kept up air attacks near the border on Wednesday, with Russian defence systems destroying four drones overnight, the Interfax news agency cited the ministry as saying.
Ukraine says it shot down 30 Russian drones in overnight attack
08:26
Andy Gregory
Ukraine's air force claims to have shot down all 30 attack drones launched by Russia overnight over seven regions.
Identifying the drones as Iran-designed kamikaze “Shahed” drones, Kyiv’s air force said they were launched from two Russian port towns on the Azov Sea.
Thirty drones were detected and all were shot down in the regions of Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kharkiv and Cherkasy regions, the air force claimed.
Russia sending reserves to border in Kursk to repel Ukrainian attacks
07:56
Arpan Rai
Russia has sent reserve troops to its southern Kursk region, bordering Ukraine, after up to 300 Ukrainian fighters attacked its border units , the Russian defence ministry said.
The regional governor said earlier that Russian forces thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to penetrate the border but the situation remained “difficult”.
Casualties increase to five after Russian missile attack on central Kharkiv, authorities say
07:03
Alex Croft
More details and images are emerging on the previously reported attack on central Kharkiv, where casualties have now increased to five.
A medical facility was damaged in the missile attack, according to the city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov.
Two people have been hospitalised and five injured in the strike, which reportedly saw a Russian Iskander missile strike the Shevchenkivskyi district of central Kharkiv, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
The attack damaged a health centre, multiple cars, and other civilian infrastructure facilities, with local reports adding it set off a fire.
The chief of Kharkiv’s military administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said: “The attack on Kharkiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district: around 10 in the morning, [Russian] occupation forces targeted the area with an Iskander missile.
“Doctors treated at least five injured civilians. Two women have been hospitalised for surgery and the rest were treated on an outpatient basis.”
There are fears there may be other casualties under the rubble.
Russia complains about Ukraine’s relentless air attacks on Kursk
06:52
Arpan Rai
In a powerful response to Moscow’s invasion, Kyiv kept up air attacks on Russia’s Kursk border region this morning, according to the Russian defence ministry.
Official Russian social media accounts said up to 300 Ukrainian fighters, backed by tanks, had attacked border units in two localities in Kursk – Nikolayevo-Daryino and Oleshnya.
Russian defence systems destroying four drones overnight, the ministry claimed, just a day after Moscow accused Ukraine of targeting the area with an armoured assault.
The ministry had sent reserves on Tuesday to help repel hundreds of Ukrainian fighters backed by tanks from Kursk, in a ground incursion shaping as one the largest into Russian territory during the war, now more than two years old.
The situation was “controllable”, claimed Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of the southwestern Russian region.
All emergency services were on “high alert”, he said on Wednesday, calling for people to donate blood to replenish medical supplies.
The region was under a dozen air raid alerts over the past 24 hours, Smirnov’s posts showed. By this morning, there were no reports of fresh ground fighting.
Five people were killed, including two ambulance crew, with at least 20 wounded, among them six children, in the fighting that erupted yesterday, Russian officials said.
Ukraine made no official comment, though there was evidence of some military action from its side of the border. Both Kyiv and Moscow say their attacks do not target civilians.
Ukraine regularly fires artillery and missiles into Russian territory, and has hit targets deep inside Russia with long-range attack drones, but infantry raids are rare.
Russia says 11 Ukrainian drones downed over Kursk, three other regions
06:51
Arpan Rai
Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 11 drones that Ukraine launched overnight targeting Russia’s Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod and Rostov regions, the Russia’s defence ministry said.
Pictured: Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces carries out inspection within the Ukrainian combat zone this morning (Tuesday)
06:46
Alex Croft
Ukraine to receive next €4.2 billion of financial aid from EU shortly
06:28
Alex Croft
The European Union’s Ukraine Facility, the financial assistance programme for Ukraine, will soon deliver the next €4.2 billion tranche of assistance.
Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s Prime Minister, announced the next batch of funding, one part of what will be a €16 billion total from the Ukraine Facility in 2024.
“Our partner countries and international financial institutions have assured us that all of our external funding needs will be met this year,” Shmyhal said.
The money is intended for non-military expenditures, allowing Ukraine to “meet its social obligations, pay salaries to state employees, and implement economic and humanitarian projects”.
He added: “Ukraine’s security and defence sector is funded internally. All of our private citizens’ and business taxes are used exclusively to fund the Ukrainian army.”
The EU has allocated €50 billion euros to the programme for the period 2024 to 2027.
Russian schools to teach “heroic deeds” of soldiers in Ukraine invasion
06:11
Alex Croft
From September this year, Russian schools will teach children about the soldiers sent to war in Ukraine.
Putin’s education ministry has published a list of “war heroes” who are involved in its belligerent and illegal invasion of Ukraine - which Russia describes as a “special military operation”.
The programme will teach children about Russian soldiers from the pre-revolution, Soviet, and modern eras.
This includes Vladimir Zhoga and Olga Kachura, Russian-Ukrainian pro-separatists who Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda describe as “terrorists and militants”.
Pro-Russian propaganda outlets celebrated Zhoga as a war hero following his death in battle in March 2022.
Olga Kachura was killed by a Ukrainian missile in July 2022.
Ukraine deployed more drones than Russia in July, says Zelensky
06:02
Arpan Rai
Ukrainian forces have used more drones in July than fired by Russia, president Volodymyr Zelensky said, as he lauded Kyiv’s good progress in manufacturing and deploying drones.
Zelensky thanked all Ukrainian servicemen for their efforts in combat “in particular, all those soldiers and commanders who make good use of our possibilities with drones” in his nightly video address.
“Our Ukrainian defence forces are already leading the way in this regard, and in July our forces used more drones than did the occupiers,” he said. “This must become a sustainable trend at the front – across all types of drones that are in our units.” He said drones, including long-range versions, “are already affecting the war in strategic terms”.
Ukraine is boosting its production capacity with help from its Western partners and the country’s manufacturers will exceed over the course of 2024 contractual plans to produce one million drones, the president said.
Anti-war Russian pianist dies in prison after hunger strike
05:52
Alex Croft
A Russian pianist and anti-war activist has died in prison after going on hunger strike, his mother said, in what the European Union called a shocking case of political repression.
The death of Pavel Kushnir was first reported by a Russian news site last Friday and confirmed to independent outlet Mediazona yesterday by his mother, Irina Levina.
A Telegram channel with links to Russia’s security services reported in May that Kushnir had been arrested and accused of inciting terrorist activity after posting anti-war material online.
Levina told Mediazona that an investigator from the FSB security service had told her that Kushnir died on 28 July while in pre-trial detention in Birobidzhan in Russia’s far east.
It was not clear how long he had been on hunger strike. Levina said she had been told that he was hooked up to an intravenous drip “but apparently this was not enough” to save him.
Kushnir was an accomplished concert pianist who had studied at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky conservatory.
EU external affairs spokesperson Peter Stano posted on X that the case was a “shocking reminder of (the) Kremlin’s ongoing repression” and urged Russia to “respect its Constitution, release all prisoners of conscience and stop repression against anti-war protesters”.
An independent Siberian politician, Svetlana Kaverzina, said Kushnir had been left isolated and without support because there was no local network of dissidents, and people had not known about his case.
“We couldn’t chip in and send him a lawyer – we didn’t know. We didn’t write him letters of support – we didn’t know. We didn’t talk him out of sacrificing himself – we didn’t know. He was alone,” she wrote on Telegram.
Decision to shoot down missiles over Ukraine should be agreed by NATO members, US says
05:37
Alex Croft
Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the US Department of State, was asked about President Zelensky’s order for Ukrainian diplomats to work on creating a coalition of states to help shoot down Russian missiles over Ukrainian territory.
But Mr Miller said that it is a “discussion to be had among NATO members” and a decision which the alliance needs to “reach collectively”.
When pushed on whether Ukraine will be authoritised to launch western weapons deeper into Russian territory than they are currently allowed, Miller said Ukraine’s requirements are constantly being assessed.
“We make those determinations both when it comes to these specific weapons that we provide Ukraine and the restrictions, if any, that we put on the use of those weapons,” he said.
Ukraine was first permitted to fire western weapons into Russian territory two months ago, following a change in policy from allies who had previously feared escalation.
Russian troops capture village in Donetsk region, defence ministry says
05:16
Alex Croft
Russian forces have captured the village of Tymofiivka in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, a Russian news agency quoted the defence ministry as saying.
Interfax, the Russian agency headquartered in Moscow, made the claim which was unable to be independently verified by Reuters.
It follows Ukrainian media reports last week based on DeepState - an online map that shows the updated course of military actions in Ukraine - which showed Russia had taken the village.
Russian troops continue to advance towards Pokrovsk, a strategic city on the Ukrainian front, 70km northwest of Donetsk city.
Russia says Ukrainian forces involved in major cross-border attack
04:56
Arpan Rai
Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine conducted a major attack involving some 300 soldiers across the border into Russia’s southern Kursk region on Tuesday.
Russian reports earlier noted the incursion and said it had moved in reserves to help repel hundreds of fighters backed by tanks. The regional governor said three people were killed.
“The enemy today launched another attempt to break into the territory of Russia’s Kursk region,” the latest defence ministry statement said. “Artillery fire, army aviation strikes and drone strikes are being inflicted on the enemy.”
Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov, writing on Telegram late in the evening, said Ukrainian forces had shelled a border area, injuring two children. Local officials said the border town of Sudzha had also come under attack. Smirnov also posted a video on Telegram telling residents: “I ask you to remain calm and not to be subject to the enemy’s information provocations. The situation is controllable.”
Ukraine’s military authorities in Sumy region – on the other side of the border from Russia’s Kursk region – said Ukrainian forces had destroyed a Russian ballistic missile, two drones and a helicopter in the region.
Unofficial Ukrainian military blogs showed pictures of what they described as the destroyed helicopter and other equipment.Russian ministry appeared to have deleted an earlier account of the attack in which it said a “Ukrainian sabotage group” had suffered heavy losses and retreated into Ukrainian territory.
Russia suspected Ukrainian plot to attack Putin’s Navy Day parade, state TV claims
04:53
Alex Croft
Russia had suspicions that Ukraine planned to attack Russia during the Navy Day parade attended by Vladimir Putin last month and contacted Washington about its concerns, Russian state television reports.
Russian television said that the details were a state secret and provided no further details. Ukraine’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
The New York Times previously reported that US defence secretary Lloyd Austin had taken a call from Russia’s defence minister Andrei Belousov on 12 July about a covert Ukrainian operation planned against Russia that Moscow believed had the blessing of the United States.
The Times cited two unidentified US officials as saying that Pentagon officials were surprised by the Russian allegation and unaware of any such plot, but that the Russian concerns were taken seriously enough for Washington to caution Kyiv that, if it was planning such an operation, then it should not carry it out.
Russia says ambulance paramedic, driver killed in drone attack on Kursk
04:35
Arpan Rai
A drone launched by Ukraine hit an ambulance near the town of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region, killing the driver and a paramedic, the acting governor of the southwestern region said this morning.
Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor, said in a post on Telegram that a doctor was also wounded.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Moscow launched with its full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022.
French imports of Russia’s liquified natural gas surge this year
04:33
Alex Croft
Shipments of Russian liquified natural gas to France more than doubled the first half of this year, according to new analyses of trade data, at a time when Europe has tried to pull back from energy purchases that help finance the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Europe has restricted oil imports from Russia, but natural gas is still allowed. And while companies in France are importing the most, one analysis found EU countries overall imported 7 per cent more Russian LNG, natural gas that has been chilled and liquified for easier ocean transport, in the first half of this year compared to the same period a year ago.
Oleh Savytskyi, a founder of non-profit Razom We Stand, which campaigns for tougher sanctions on Russian fossil fuels, said the EU’s goal of phasing out all Russian fossil fuels by 2027 was “appallingly off track.” He said countries buying Russian LNG are sabotaging the continent’s energy transition and contributing billions to Russia’s war effort.
TotalEnergies, the French energy giant that accounted for the largest share of the imports in a list of cargoes between January and June seen by The Associated Press, said it was bound by contracts signed before Russia’s Ukraine invasion.
Niger joins Mali in cutting ties with Ukraine
04:12
Arpan Rai
Niger’s junta has cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine over remarks from Kyiv which showed Ukraine’s support for groups involved in fighting in neighbouring Mali that killed dozens of soldiers and Russian Wagner fighters in July.
The move follows Mali’s decision on Sunday to sever relations with Kyiv following comments by Ukraine’s military spy agency about the fighting in northern Mali in which Tuareg rebels said they killed at least 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers.
GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov has not confirmed Kyiv’s involvement in the fighting, but in comments published on public broadcaster Suspilne’s website on Monday, 29 July, he said the Malian rebels had received the “necessary” information to conduct the attack, adding “and not only information”.
The incident appeared to be Wagner’s heaviest defeat since it stepped in two years ago to help Mali’s military authorities fight insurgent groups.
In a televised address, spokesperson Abdourahamane Amadou said Niger had decided to act in solidarity with the government and people of Mali by cutting ties with Ukraine with immediate effect.
Ukraine has already condemned Mali’s decision to sever relations as short-sighted and hasty, saying Kyiv rejected the allegation of Ukrainian support for international terrorism.
Explosions rock Kyiv but no damage or casualties reported
04:12
Alex Croft
Several explosions rang out in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv late last night, witnesses said, after an air raid siren was sounded by the authorities.
Officials said air defence units successfully intercepted the incoming missiles into the Ukrainian capital.
New explosions were heard a half hour after the original blasts, the witnesses said. Shortly before midnight, a group of Shahed drones was reported on the border of Kyiv and Chernihiv Oblasts, heading for Kyiv.
No damage or casualties was seen on ground, according to the preliminary reports, said Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military authorities.
Ukrainian air defence units were operating in the city and in the surrounding Kyiv region, authorities in Kyiv said.
Zelensky meets with Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Staff to discuss ongoing battles
03:54
Alex Croft
President Volodymyr Zelensky has met with his armed forces chiefs to discuss the situations in Pokrovsk, Toretsk, and Kharkiv.
Pokrovsk, where Russia is concentrating many of its attacks, suffered 41 onslaughts from Russia in the last day, as Ukraine reported 133 clashes in total on the frontline.
Russian forces today claimed they have captured the village of Tymofiivka as troops continue to advance towards the city, which is a key strategic supply route for Ukraine.
Zelensky’s posted on Telegram: “Question number one is the situation at the front. The fronts of Pokrovsk, Toretsk, and Kharkiv were in the spotlight.”
Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, confirmed he was present at the meeting.
Also discussed was Ukraine’s drone and missile production, with Zelensky hoping to become less reliant on the western military aid which has been so crucial for the war effort.
Pictured: Scenes of devastation in downtown Kharkiv following Russian strikes
03:33
Alex Croft
Casualties increase to five after Russian missile attack on central Kharkiv, authorities say
03:12
Alex Croft
More details and images are emerging on the previously reported attack on central Kharkiv, where casualties have now increased to five.
A medical facility was damaged in the missile attack, according to the city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov.
Two people have been hospitalised and five injured in the strike, which reportedly saw a Russian Iskander missile strike the Shevchenkivskyi district of central Kharkiv, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
The attack damaged a health centre, multiple cars, and other civilian infrastructure facilities, with local reports adding it set off a fire.
The chief of Kharkiv’s military administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said: “The attack on Kharkiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district: around 10 in the morning, [Russian] occupation forces targeted the area with an Iskander missile.
“Doctors treated at least five injured civilians. Two women have been hospitalised for surgery and the rest were treated on an outpatient basis.”
There are fears there may be other casualties under the rubble.
Ukrainian snipers kill five Russian soldiers
02:49
Alex Croft
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) claims it has killed five Russian soldiers on the Toretsk front, who were approaching its position.
Two snipers from the SOF’s 3rd Regiment have been credited with killing two of the soldiers from 40 metres away, before detecting another five soldiers and neutralising three of them.
The remaining two soldiers were injured but successfully retreated, the SOF claimed on Telegram.
The 3
