Nato chief Mark Rutte has alleged that North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where Vladimir Putin’s forces are seeking to repel Ukraine’s forces following their incursion in August.
Speaking after Russian officials claimed on Monday to have blocked an attempt by an “armed group” to breach the border from Ukraine into the nearby Bryansk region, Mr Rutte said he could confirm the deployment of North Korean soldiers in Kursk.
Their presence in Russia marks “a significant escalation” in North Korea’s involvement in the conflict and “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war”, Mr Rutte said, following a briefing to Nato officials and diplomats from a South Korean delegation.
It came as Mr Putin claimed Russia would use “a range of responses” if the US and its Nato allies allowed Ukraine to strike inside his country with Western long-range weapons.
On the frontline, Russia lost nearly 200 soldiers, with 80 confirmed fatalities in Ukraine’s east in the past 24 hours where a fierce battle is underway, military officials said.
Key Points
- North Korean troops deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, Nato chief says
- Russian troops thwart another attempted Kursk-like incursion, official says
- Russia loses nearly 200 soldiers in past 24 hours, Ukraine says
- ‘Ukraine plus Northern Europe’ co-operation format gaining speed, says Zelensky
- South Korea to brief Nato on North Korean troops in Russia
Pentagon says North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to Russia
03:13
Arpan Rai
North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to Russia to train and likely fight against Ukraine within “the next several weeks,” the Pentagon said last night, in a move that Western leaders say will intensify the almost three-year war and jolt relations in the Indo-Pacific region.
Some of the North Korean soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said, and were believed to be heading for the Kursk border region, where Russia has been struggling to push back a Ukrainian incursion.
Earlier yesterday, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte confirmed recent Ukrainian intelligence reports that some North Korean military units were already in the Kursk region.
North Korean deployment represents “a significant escalation” in Pyongyang’s involvement in the conflict and “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war,” he has said.
Ukraine ‘sabotages railway bridge in Berdyansk', sources claim
03:00
Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s military intelligence forces and resistance fighters sabotaged a railway bridge in the Russian-occupied city of Berdyansk, a military intelligence source has claimed. to the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 28.
The bridge between the Vodokanal utility company building and a car wash at Skhidnyi Avenue was blown up after several explosions overnight, the source told the Kyiv Independent.
Berdyansk – a port city in the Zaporizhzhia region – has been occupied by Russia from the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Trump presidency ‘would be rocky’ for Nato members, says ex-CIA analyst
02:00
Andy Gregory
A Trump presidency would “be rocky” for Germany, France and other Nato members not spending 2 per cent of their GDP on defence, a former Trump administration official has suggested.
“I think it’s going to be rocky for them, and for Nato members not paying the 2 per cent. It’s a big deal for Trump,” Fred Fleitz, a former CIA analyst, now at the America First Policy Institute Centre for American Security, told the Financial Times.
Trump could look to Minsk-type deal to end Ukraine war, report suggests
01:00
Andy Gregory
If elected US president, Donald Trump could seek to reimagine the Minsk agreements, which aimed to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and 2015 between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists, a longtime adviser has told the Financial Times.
But this time there would be enforcement mechanisms with consequences for breaching the deal, policed by European troops – as opposed to Nato or UN peacekeeping forces, the aide said, adding: “There are two things America will insist on. We will not have any men or women in the enforcement mechanism. We’re not paying for it. Europe is paying for it.”
Watch: Putin avoids denying reports of North Korean troops in Russia
Monday 28 October 2024 23:59
Andy Gregory
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Monday 28 October 2024 23:01
Andy Gregory
Russian forces are making swift and “significant tactical advances” into the eastern Ukrainian city of Selydove, war monitors have said.
Open source data suggests Russian forces advanced in September at their fastest rate since March 2022, despite Ukraine taking a part of Russia’s Kursk region.
Those rapid advances have continued in the past week as Russian forces appear to be charging towards – or even into – the city of Selydove, which is less than 10 miles south of its main target, the larger city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider Donetsk region’s defences.
Our foreign affairs reporter Tom Watling reports:
In wartime Ukraine, football fans bury rivalries and find a moment of calm at matches
Monday 28 October 2024 22:01
Andy Gregory
At football games in Ukraine, crowd sizes are determined by the capacity of the nearest bomb shelter.
For the first time since the full-scale war began in 2022, the Ukrainian Premier League is holding a full season with fans present, as martial-law bans on public gatherings have been eased.
Despite the constant threat of airstrikes, Dynamo Kyiv supporters eagerly snap up the 1,700 tickets available for each home game at the 16,000-seat Valeriy Lobanovskyi Stadium. Many fans are keen to experience a rare moment of calm, free from the country’s traditionally intense sporting rivalries.
Norway announces purchase of air defence missiles from US
Monday 28 October 2024 21:02
Andy Gregory
Norway has agreed with US authorities to buy air defence missiles for more than 4 billion Norwegian crowns (£280m), the Norwegian military has said, as it ramps up defence spending in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“With more and newer missiles, the Norwegian Armed Forces will have a better ability to protect Norway against air attacks,” Nato member Norway’s defence minister Bjoern Arild Gram said.
The missiles – which mark one of the largest weapons procurements ever for Norway’s armed forces – are primarily intended for Norway’s ground-based air defence system, but can also be included in the weapons inventory of F-35A fighter aircraft, the agency said.
Full report: UK sanctions Russian disinformation agency
Monday 28 October 2024 20:20
Andy Gregory
A Russian state-backed disinformation agency and three of its senior figures have been sanctioned by the UK over their attempts to destabilise Ukraine, the Foreign Office has said.
Martyn Landi has the full report:
Where does US presidential candidate Kamala Harris stand on Nato and Ukraine?
Monday 28 October 2024 19:41
Andy Gregory
US vice president Kamala Harris has run a presidential campaign on policies intended to appeal to a broad scope of Americans, especially those looking for an alternative to Donald Trump – but America’s allies will also be looking anxiously to Washington in the days to come.
Ms Harris’s position on foreign policy has not deviated far from Joe Biden’s. She has said she is “committed to pursuing global engagement” and defending democratic values at home and abroad.
Here’s what she has said about Nato and Ukraine:
ICYMI: BBC’s Steve Rosenberg confronts Putin on Ukraine war
Monday 28 October 2024 19:00
Andy Gregory
North Korean deployment to Russia ‘would be within international norms’, official insists
Monday 28 October 2024 18:25
Andy Gregory
A North Korean foreign ministry official would not confirm media reports about a troop deployment to Russia, the Reuters news agency reports.
But the official said that, if Pyongyang had taken such action, he believed it would be in line with international norms.
Nato chief claims Russia has suffered 600,000 casualties in Ukraine
Monday 28 October 2024 17:56
Andy Gregory
The allegedly planned deployment of North Korean troops to fight against Ukraine was a sign of Vladimir Putin’s “growing desperation” , Nato chief Mark Rutte has claimed.
“Over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Putin’s war and he is unable to sustain his assault on Ukraine without foreign support,” Mr Rutte said.
What has Putin said about North Korean troops in Russia?
Monday 28 October 2024 17:27
Andy Gregory
The Kremlin had initially dismissed reports about a North Korean deployment as “fake news”, after claims by Ukraine and South Korea of the North’s plans to send troops to Russia.
Speaking on Thursday, however, Vladimir Putin did not deny that North Korean troops were in Russia and said it was Moscow’s business how to implement a partnership treaty with Pyongyang.
No new limits on Ukraine’s use of US weapons if North Korea enters war, Pentagon says
Monday 28 October 2024 16:57
Andy Gregory
Ukraine would not see any new restrictions on the use of US weapons against North Korean forces if they engage in Russia’s war, the Pentagon has said, as it alleged that around 10,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to eastern Russia for training.
“A portion of those soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine, and we are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk Oblast near the border with Ukraine,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh.
While Nato chief Mark Rutte said earlier on Monday that military units from North Korea have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, Ms Singh declined to confirm that North Korean forces were present in Kursk.
“It is likely that they are moving in that direction towards Kursk. But I don’t have more details just yet,” Ms Singh said.
Kremlin denies interference in Georgian elections
Monday 28 October 2024 16:28
Andy Gregory
The Kremlin has denied any Russian interference in the Georgian parliamentary elections, as the country’s pro-Western president Salome Zourabichvili called the result a “Russian special operation” and urged residents to protest.
Georgia’s electoral commission said Georgian Dream – which has governed Georgia for 12 years – won Saturday’s election with nearly 54 per cent of the vote, but Ms Zourabichvili accused the party of resorting to Russian-style tactics and propaganda.
The Kremlin insisted on Monday that it was the West, not Moscow, that was trying to destabilise the situation.
Hungary’s Orban arrives in Georgia amid calls to protest election results
Monday 28 October 2024 15:59
Andy Gregory
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has arrived in Georgia after congratulating the ruling party on its victory in a parliamentary elections, over which the opposition and president have called for street protests.
Georgia’s electoral commission said Georgian Dream won Saturday’s election with nearly 54 per cent of the vote, in a blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast the vote as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe.
“The people of Georgia know what is best for their country, and made their voice heard today!” Mr Orban – widely viewed as the EU leader closest to Vladimir Putin – wrote on X.
The EU, US and Nato have called for a full investigation of alleged election irregularities, with president Salome Zourabichvili calling the result a “Russian special operation and accusing Georgian Dream of resorting to Russian-style tactics and propaganda. Georgian Dream and the electoral commission insist the vote was free and fair.
North Korea has sent 10,000 troops to fight in Ukraine ‘within weeks’, Pentagon claims
Monday 28 October 2024 15:31
Andy Gregory
North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to Russia to train and fight in Ukraine within “the next several weeks,” the Pentagon has said.
Some of those soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine, said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh .
“We are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk” region, she told reporters.
Defence secretary Lloyd Austin has previously warned that, should North Korea’s soldiers be used on the battlefield, they would be considered legitimate targets, and that their use would have serious implications for security in the Indo-Pacific as well.
UK sanctions three Russian agencies over ‘attempts to undermine Ukraine via disinformation’
Monday 28 October 2024 14:54
Andy Gregory
The UK has announced fresh sanctions – including asset freezes and travel bans – on three Russian agencies and three senior figures whom it accused of trying to use disinformation to “undermine and destabilise Ukraine and its democracy”.
The Foreign Office said Russia’s Social Design Agency (SDA) and its partner company Structura had attempted to deliver a series of “interference operations” designed to weaken international support for Ukraine. The third company named was public relations firm ANO DIALOG.
The government also accused the SDA of attempting to incite protests in half a dozen European countries.
The Foreign Office said: “However, despite Russian pouring money into these malign organisations’ interference activities, their lies have consistently struggled online, with bots and fake sites getting limited interaction. This has forced the SDA to consider buying social media views.
“Today’s sanctions send a clear message; we will not tolerate your lies and interference, and we are coming after you,” foreign minister David Lammy said.
Ukrainian minister urges West to lift restrictions on long-range weaponry
Monday 28 October 2024 14:39
Andy Gregory
Following Nato chief Mark Rutte’s confirmation of North Korean troops being deployed to Russia, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said that Kyiv had been warning about the issue for weeks, yet there had so far no strong response from allies.
“Now Nato Secretary General confirmed this. The bottom line: listen to Ukraine. The solution: lift restrictions on our long-range strikes against Russia now,” Mr Sybiha said on X.
Zelensky arrives in Iceland to discuss ‘victory plan’ for Ukraine war
Monday 28 October 2024 14:20
Andy Gregory
Volodymyr Zelensky has announced his arrival in Iceland to discuss his “victory plan” and hold talks with allies on bilateral cooperation.
“This marks my first working visit to Iceland, where I will participate in the Fourth Ukraine-Nordic Summit and hold bilateral talks,” the Ukrainian president said on X.
Mr Zelensky added that his discussions with the premiers of Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden would focus on financing domestic weapons production, long-range capabilities and training for Ukrainian forces, in particular.
Analysis | Putin’s desperate move to throw North Korean troops into Ukraine won’t bring the battlefield gains he thinks
Monday 28 October 2024 13:59
Andy Gregory
The deployment of North Korean troops in Russia to be used in Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a sign of desperation from the Russian president that amounts to no more than a quick-fix for frontline losses that is destined to cause longer-term problems, British former diplomats and analysts have warned.
“It’s a sign of desperation. They had to go to North Korea to bail them out for manpower and ammunition. It shows the weakness in the Russian military industrial complex and that they’re desperate for personnel,” said John Foreman, a British defence attaché to Moscow between 2019 and 2022 who specialised in analysing the Korean peninsula.
“If you want to be a great power, you shouldn’t be kowtowing to North Korea,” he added.
Our foreign affairs reporter Tom Watling has more in this report:
Mapped: Russian advances in eastern Ukraine
Monday 28 October 2024 13:40
Andy Gregory
Zelensky aide warns sanctions not enough to respond to North Korean involvement in war
Monday 28 October 2024 13:22
Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s top presidential official has insisted that sanctions will not be a sufficient response to North Korean involvement into Russia’s war in Ukraine and called for weapons supplies.
“North Korean troops are already in the Kursk region ... This is an escalation. Sanctions alone are not enough. We need weapons and a clear plan to prevent North Korea’s expanded involvement in the war in Europe,” Andriy Yermak, president’s chief of staff, said on X.
He said Ukraine’s allies should respond firmly since “the enemy understands strength”.
South Korean president says Northern troops could soon be sent to front lines of Ukraine war
Monday 28 October 2024 13:03
Andy Gregory
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has warned that the actual deployment of North Korean troops to the front lines of the war in Ukraine may come sooner than expected, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Mr Yoon was speaking on a phone call made at the request of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to share information on North Korean troops in Russia, according to Yonhap.
His remarks came after Nato chief Mark Rutte said North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region.
What we know about North Korean troops joining Russia’s war in Ukraine
Monday 28 October 2024 12:46
Andy Gregory
Nato has joined the US, Ukraine and South Korea in confirming reports of North Korea dispatching troops, estimated to be in the thousands, to aid Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said Pyongyang has sent around 3,000 troops – including special forces – to Russia’s far east for military training and acclimatising at the bases there, in what could be readiness for combat in the war.
The troops have been supplied with Russian military uniforms, weapons and false identification documents ahead of their deployment for combat, the NIS said.
Georgia’s president calls on West to back protests over election ‘marred by Russian propaganda’
Monday 28 October 2024 12:27
Andy Gregory
Georgia’s president has urged the West to support opposition protests of the official results of parliamentary elections which saw the governing party declared victorious amid voting irregularities and allegations of Russian meddling.
President Salome Zourabichvili, who refused to recognise the official results, told The Associated Press that the South Caucasus nation has fallen victim to Russian pressure aimed at derailing Georgia’s plans to join the European Union.
“We’ve seen that Russian propaganda was directly used,” said Ms Zourabichvili, a fierce critic of the governing Georgian Dream party. She accused the government of “working hand-in-hand with Russia,” and “probably” receiving help from Moscow’s security services.
On Sunday, Zourabichvili stood alongside opposition leaders and urged Georgians to join a rally on the main street of the capital, Tbilisi, on Monday night to protest what she called a “total falsification, a total stealing of your votes”.
The Central Election Commission said the Georgian Dream party received 54.8 per cent of Saturday’s votes with almost all ballots counted. The party, set up by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, has become increasingly authoritarian in the past year.
European Council president Charles Michel has urged Georgian officials to “swiftly, transparently and independently investigate” the electoral irregularities and said Georgian Dream should demonstrate its “firm commitment” to the EU.
Swiss president favours lifting ban on re-export of arms to Ukraine
Monday 28 October 2024 12:10
Andy Gregory
Switzerland’s president has said she is in favour of revising a re-export ban that currently prevents Swiss-made arms from being re-exported from another country to Ukraine.
“Personally, I think we need to make a step forward for our industry,” Viola Amherd, who is also defence minister, told reporters in Bern. “If we have a problem with out armaments industry that means we also have a security problem because it’s important to have technology and know-how.”
Swiss weapons sales have already fallen, with critics blaming the country’s neutral stance.
North Korean troops in Kursk ‘a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war’, says Nato chief
Monday 28 October 2024 11:55
Andy Gregory
Nato chief Mark Rutte has warned that the deployment of troops to Russia’s embattled Kursk region represents “a significant escalation” in North Korea’s involvement in the conflict – and marks “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war”.
Mr Rutte confirmed the deployment of North Korean troops after a high-level South Korean delegation –including top intelligence and military officials, as well as senior diplomats – briefed the alliance’s 32 national ambassadors at Nato’s headquarters in Brussels.
Nato is “actively consulting within the alliance, with Ukraine, and with our Indo-Pacific partners” on developments, Mr Rutte said, adding that he is due to talk soon with South Korea’s president and Ukraine’s defence minister.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” he said.
North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, Nato chief says
Monday 28 October 2024 11:15
Andy Gregory
Nato’s new chief Mark Rutte has warned that North Korean military units have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, parts of which are occupied by Ukraine following their incursion nearly three months ago.
“The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,” Mr Rutte told reporters after Nato officials and diplomats received a briefing from a South Korean delegation.
India’s Modi ‘can influence the end of Ukraine war’, says Zelensky
Monday 28 October 2024 10:55
Andy Gregory
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi could be a key broker in the end of the war in Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested.
Speaking to the Times of India, two months after Mr Modi visited Kyiv and vowed to be “a friend” to Ukraine, Mr Zelensky said: “Modi is the prime minister of a really huge country from the perspective of population, economy, influence and impact.”
“Modi can influence the end of the Ukraine war. This is the huge value of him in any conflict, this is the huge value of India,” he added.
Ukrainians in two regions without power after Russian strikes on energy infrastructure
Monday 28 October 2024 10:39
Andy Gregory
Parts of two Ukrainian regions have been left without power after Russian air strikes damaged local infrastructure, energy officials said.
National grid operator Ukrenergo said it was forced to implement emergency cuts in parts of the northeastern Sumy and central Poltava regions following overnight attacks by Russian forces.
Kyiv’s air force said it had destroyed 66 out of 100 drones launched by Russia, and that another 24 were “locationally lost”, but that “several” had struck civilian infrastructure. It offered no further details of damages.
Russia claims to seize village near Pokrovsk
Monday 28 October 2024 09:50
Andy Gregory
Russia’s defence ministry claims its forces have taken control of the village of Tsukuryne in the Pokrovsk district of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the RIA news agency reports.
It was not possible to verify the claims, however Russia has often claimed control of Ukrainian villages despite being yet to have actually done so.
Five children among at least 21 people injured in Russian attacks on Kharkiv
Monday 28 October 2024 09:33
Andy Gregory
At least 21 people including five children have been injured by Russian bombing in Kharkiv and the surrounding region, Ukrainian officials said.
Thirteen people were wounded in separate attacks on an apartment building and storage space in Kharkiv and another eight in the city of Chuhuiv just to the southeast, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Regional prosecutors accused Russia of striking Kharkiv with guided bombs and Chuhuiv from a multiple rocket-launch system.
Two people were also killed in Kherson late on Sunday after Russian forces shelled the centre of the front-line city, regional officials said.
Russia fires 100 drones at Ukraine in overnight attack, Kyiv says
Monday 28 October 2024 09:18
Andy Gregory
Ukrainian air defences destroyed 66 out 100 attack drones launched by Russia during an overnight strike, Kyiv’s air force said on Monday.
Another 24 were “locationally lost” but “several” others had struck civilian infrastructure, it added.
Watch: Zelensky taunts Putin by wearing ‘make russia small again’ T-shirt
Monday 28 October 2024 08:59
Andy Gregory
Two injured in ‘drone attack on ethanol plants’ in Russia
Monday 28 October 2024 08:45
Andy Gregory
Ukrainian drones targeted ethanol plants in Russia’s southern Voronezh region, Russian Telegram channels have claimed, as the regional governor said the attack injured two people, sparked a fire and damaged two industrial enterprises.
Firefighters have doused the fire in the region’s Anninsky district that injured two workers, said governor Alexander Gusev, adding that around 10 Ukrainian drones were destroyed or intercepted over the region late on Sunday, with debris damaging several buildings.
The Russian defence ministry said only one Ukrainian drone was destroyed over the Voronezh region, however, from a total of 21 downed over its territory overnight.
Explosions were heard near an ethanol spirit plant in the village of Krasnoye in the Novokhopersky district, claimed the Baza Telegram news channel, which has close links to Russia’s security services, as well as several other news channels on the app.
The SHOT breaking news channel said the fire broke out at a distillery in the village of Anna in Anninsky. Videos on social media showed large blaze at a building lighting up the dark. It was not possible to onfirm the date, however Reuters reported that the video had indeed been taking in Anninsky.
Estonian security chief says Russia suffering biggest losses over October
Monday 28 October 2024 07:30
Barney Davis
Russian troop casualties over October may reach around 40,000, Janek Kesselmann, the deputy commander of the Estonian Military Intelligence Center has said.
Kesselmann told ERR: “The advance of the Russian Federation armed forces has been made possible by massive bombings, including cluster bombs, killer drones and indirect fire.
“This effect is carried out by meat attacks, so to speak, where Russia cynically wastes its personnel.
“The losses in Russia are quite high. And it seems that this month will be one of the biggest losses in Russia
“We estimate that the enemy will lose somewhere around 40,000 soldiers both wounded and killed during the month.”
Furious Vladimir Putin blasts BBC journalist Steve Rosenberg
Monday 28 October 2024 07:11
Arpan Rai
A furious Vladimir Putin blasted BBC journalist Steve Rosenberg when challenged at a post BRICS press conference.
Putin was asked whether the Ukraine war went against the values put forward by the BRICS of justice, regional stability and security, and a fair world on Thursday (24 October).
It was the final question introduced by Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov who smiled as he claimed the BBC was “a rare guest these days”.
Putin hit back at the question saying: “Is it fair that for years our (Western) partners for years ignored our constant appeals not to expand NATO to the East? To lie to our face and violate all their obligations... to get into Ukraine and build military bases?”
Canadian armoured vehicles arrive in Ukraine
Monday 28 October 2024 06:30
Barney Davis
Canada has sent an undisclosed number of armoured vehicles to the Ukrainian frontline.
Ukraine’s Security Forces announced the arrival on X on Sunday,
“After training on the operation and maintenance of armoured combat support vehicles in the ‘ambulance’ version in Germany, the vehicles were loaded and sent to Ukraine.
“These vehicles will help Ukraine defend against the unlawful invasion of its territory,” the post says.
Ukraine drones target ethanol plant in Russia – reports
Monday 28 October 2024 06:11
Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s drones targeted an ethanol plant in Russia’s Voronezh region, Russian news Telegram channels reported last night.
The attack sparked a fire at an unspecified industrial facility and injured one person, according to the region’s governor.
Emergency services were dispatched to the fire, Alexander Gusev, governor of the Voronezh region in southern Russia, said on his Telegram channel.
He said that about 10 Ukrainian drones were destroyed or intercepted over the region late yesterday, with debris falling onto an industrial enterprise and sparking a fire.
The Baza news Telegram channel close to Russia’s security services and several other Russian news Telegram channels reported that two explosions were heard near the Ethanol Spirit plant in the village of Krasnoye.
While Kyiv has not issued a comment on the reported attacks, it has often said that its drone attacks inside Russia target infrastructure key to Russia’s war efforts and are in response to Moscow’s continued strikes on Ukraine‘s territory.
In pics: Ukrainian troops train on Leopard tanks near frontline
Monday 28 October 2024 05:18
Arpan Rai
Russia says it destroys 21 Ukrainian drones overnight
Monday 28 October 2024 04:56
Arpan Rai
Russia’s air defence units destroyed 21 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s defence ministry said this morning.
Of these, 13 drones were destroyed over the border Belgorod region, six over the Bryansk region, also bordering Ukraine, while the remaining two were destroyed over the Voronezh and Kursk regions each, the ministry said.
ICYMI: Vladimir Putin denies having any contact with Donald Trump
Monday 28 October 2024 04:32
Barney Davis
Vladimir Putin has denied having any contact with former US president Donald Trump.
Speaking after the BRICS summit in Kazan on Thursday (24 October), the Russian president said: “This is something that has been constantly discussed for more than one year.
“At one time, we were accused of this, and Trump himself of being somehow connected with Russia. Then, as a result of an investigation in the United States itself, everyone came to the conclusion, including in the Congress, as far as I know, that this was complete nonsense, that nothing like this had ever happened.
“It didn’t happen before, and it doesn’t happen now.”
‘Ukraine plus Northern Europe’ co-operation format gaining speed, says Zelensky
Monday 28 October 2024 04:06
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky said cooperation within the ‘Ukraine plus Northern Europe’ format is gaining speed with more steps that can increase pressure on Russia expected in the coming week.
“They understand that it is necessary to create problems for the aggressor, so that Russia loses the opportunity to spoil the life of the world,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address last night.
“We will talk (in the coming week) with the ‘Nordics’ about new fundamental steps that can increase the pressure on Russia for this war and for the sake of honest diplomacy,” he said.
The five Nordic countries - Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland - are all now Nato countries and have all been staunch supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
Russia loses nearly 200 soldiers in past 24 hours, Ukraine says
Monday 28 October 2024 03:48
Arpan Rai
Russia lost nearly 200 soldiers, with 80 confirmed fatalities in Ukraine’s east where a fierce battle is underway, officials said.
Russian forces made 27 attempts to breach Ukrainian defences on the Pokrovsk front near Myroliubivka, Promin, Krutyi Yar, Vyshneve and Selydove but were met with strong resistance, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said.
Around 189 Russian soldiers on this front have been killed or injured, adding to Russia’s losses, the military officials said in a late night update.
In the past 24 hours, 142 combat clashes took place on the frontline and the most intense fighting was reported from Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts, with additional activity of Russian troops on the Kupiansk, Lyman and Vremivka fronts, the military officials said.
Russian troops thwart another attempted Kursk-like incursion, official says
Monday 28 October 2024 03:30
Arpan Rai
Russian forces blocked another cross-border incursion by Ukrainian troops into south-western Russia, a local official claimed.
An “armed group” attempted to breach the border between Ukraine and Russia’s Bryansk region yesterday but was beaten back, local governor Aleksandr Bogomaz said.
The Russian local official did not specify whether Ukrainian soldiers carried out the attack but claimed the situation was “stable and under control” by Russia’s forces in the evening.
Responsibility for previous incursions into Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions has been claimed by two murky groups: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion.
Bryansk region neighbours Kursk province, where Ukraine launched a surprise push on 6 August that rattled the Kremlin and constituted the largest attack on Russia since the second World War.
South Korea to brief Nato on North Korean troops for Russia
Monday 28 October 2024 03:10
Arpan Rai
A high-level delegation from South Korea will brief the North Atlantic Council about North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia today, Nato has said, after the US expressed grave concern over the possible use of the troops against Ukraine.
“Ambassadors from Nato’s Indo-Pacific partners – including Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea – have been invited to attend,” the military alliance added. The North Atlantic Council is Nato’s main decision-making body.
Ukrainian military intelligence said on Thursday that about 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were already in Russia, and training was taking place on five military bases.
Speaking on the same day, Russian president Vladimir Putin did not deny that North Korean troops were in Russia. But he said it was Moscow’s business how to implement a treaty with Pyongyang that includes a mutual defence clause to aid each other against external aggression.
Several injured in Russian air attacks on Kharkiv
Monday 28 October 2024 02:59
Arpan Rai
Several people were injured overnight in Russia’s multi-wave air attacks on the Ukrainian northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian military officials said early today.
Two people were hospitalised late yesterday after Russia hit the city of Kharkiv – the administrative centre of the wider Kharkiv region - with precision guided bombs and damaged several residential buildings, the city’s mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
There were more attacks on the city later in the night, Terekhov said, partially damaging several buildings.
At least four more people suffered various injuries in the Kharkiv region later in the night after Russia launched more attacks, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.
In an attack on the city of Chuhuiv, a residential building was damaged, Syniehubov said. He added there were no injuries in that attack.
Trump explains how he would stop the war in Ukraine
Monday 28 October 2024 02:30
Barney Davis
Donald Trump told podcaster Joe Rogan he would be able to negotiate the end of the war in Ukraine if he was elected.
Asked how he would avoid the course of WW3, he said: “I know both very well. If I told you exactly what I would do I could never get the deal done.”“I believe as President-elect I would get that war stopped and stopped fast.
“We have tremendous power in the US. I stopped other wars just by using tariffs.”
Everything we know about Kim Jong-un’s army joining Russian invasion
Monday 28 October 2024 01:01
Barney Davis
The US has joined Ukraine and South Korea in confirming reports of North Korea dispatching troops, estimated to be in the thousands, to aid Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Sunday 27 October 2024 23:00
Barney Davis
Russian forces are making swift and “significant tactical advances” into the eastern Ukrainian city of Selydove, war monitors have said.
Open source data suggests Russian forces advanced in September at their fastest rate since March 2022, despite Ukraine taking a part of Russia’s Kursk region.
Tom Watling reports:
Sunday 27 October 2024 21:45
Barney Davis
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said that a full withdrawal of Russian troops, and not just peace talks, were essential to ending his country’s more than 2-1/2-year-old war against Moscow.
The chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, was addressing an international meeting devoted to implementing a peace plan, one of several gatherings staged as a follow-up to last June’s world “peace summit” hosted by Switzerland.
“Don’t expect this war to end when the warring sides begin to talk to each other,” Yermak told the gathering, according to the president’s website.
“Don’t be deceived. This war will end when the last soldier of the occupying army returns home.”
Russian forces repel Ukrainian border attack in Bryansk
Sunday 27 October 2024 19:01
Barney Davis
Russian forces thwarted an attempt at another cross-border incursion by Ukraine into southwestern Russia, a local official reported on Sunday.
It came months after Kyiv staged a bold assault on its nuclear-armed enemy that