Vladimir Putin has expanded his military by tens of thousands after dozens were injured when a Russian glide bomb hit a high-rise building in northeastern Ukraine.
Mr Putin signed a decree increasing the overall size of the Russian armed forces by 180,000, bringing the total capacity to 2.39million people, Russia state news agency RIA reported.
It comes after at least 42 people were injured and one person was killed in a Russian aerial attack on a residential building in Kharkiv on Sunday.
Soon after the strike, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky again urged the West to allow his military to fire long-range US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles inside Russian territory.
“The only way to counter this terror is through a systemic solution—long-range capabilities to destroy Russian military aviation at its bases,” Zelensky said on X.
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky’s air force shot down 53 out of 56 Russian drones launched overnight as one person was injured and five homes were damaged in Kyiv.
In Kursk, thousands of Russians have been ordered to evacuate the region within 9.3 miles of the Ukrainian border, the governor said.
Key Points
- Putin expands military to 2.4m people
- Russia launches over 50 drones at Ukraine
- One killed, 42 injured in Putin’s guided bomb strike on Kharkiv
- Zelensky calls for long range missiles to be made available
- UK will not be ‘bullied’ by Putin, Foreign secretary says
Ukraine asks UN, ICRC to join humanitarian effort in Kursk
04:42
Arpan Rai
Ukraine has asked the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to join humanitarian efforts in Russia’s Kursk region.
Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said he had instructed his ministry to formally invite the UN and ICRC to work in the Kursk region when he visited the northeast Ukrainian region of Sumy on Sunday. The ministry confirmed that it had issued the requests.
“Ukraine is ready to facilitate their work and prove its adherence to international humanitarian law,” Sybiha said on X after the visit to Sumy, from where Ukrainian forces launched the cross-border attack.
He said the Ukrainian army was ensuring humanitarian assistance and safe passage to civilians in the Kursk region.
The foreign ministry said in a written statement that the invitations had been issued to the ICRC and UN, “taking into account the humanitarian situation and the need to properly ensure basic human rights in the territory of the Kursk region.”
The ministry said it had asked the ICRC to monitor Ukraine‘s compliance with the principles of international humanitarian law in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, which cover the protection of victims of international armed conflicts.
It was not immediately clear how or whether the UN or ICRC had responded.
Putin orders expansion of Russian army by 180,000 soldiers
04:41
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin ordered the regular size of the Russian army to increase by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million in a decree issued yesterday.
This is the third time he has expanded the Russian army’s ranks since sending the military into Ukraine in February 2022.
The overall size of the armed forces will need to be increased to 2.38 million people, of which Putin said 1.5 million should be active servicemen.
In addition, Russia mobilised over 300,000 soldiers in September and October 2022 in an exercise which prompted tens of thousands of draft-age men to flee the country.
The Kremlin has said that no new mobilisation is planned for now, however, and that the idea is to continue to rely on volunteers signing up to fight in Ukraine on lucrative contracts.
Iran president denies sending weapons to Putin
04:15
Arpan Rai
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian claims his government has not transferred any weapons to Russia since it took office in August.
Western powers have said they have evidence of Tehran delivering ballistic missiles to Moscow in September for its war in Ukraine, forcing them to impose fresh sanctions on Russia and Iran.
Asked whether Iran had transferred missiles to Russia, Mr Pezeshkian said: “It is possible that a delivery took place in the past... but I can assure you that since I took office, there has not been any such delivery to Russia.”
Reuters reported in February that Iran had provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, deepening the military cooperation between the two US-sanctioned countries.
Russia and Iran both denied the Western claims.
Nato chief says countries must make own decisions on long-range missiles
04:05
Arpan Rai
The outgoing head of Nato Jens Stoltenberg has welcomed talks on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russian territory, but any decision on the issue would have to be made by individual allies.
“I welcome these developments and these decisions but it’s for individual allies to make the final decisions,” Mr Stoltenberg told LBC radio. “Allies have different policies on this.”
The decision has been stalled in Washington as some US officials are deeply skeptical that allowing the use of such missiles would make a significant difference in Kyiv’s battle against Russian invaders.
President Vladimir Putin has issued a preemptive threat that the West would be directly fighting Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike it with Western-made long-range missiles.
Russia claims it retakes two villages in western Kursk
04:03
Arpan Rai
Russia says its forces have retaken control of two villages in its western Kursk region from Ukraine, continuing what Moscow says is a significant counter-offensive there.
Russia’s defence ministry said that its troops had retaken the settlements of Uspenovka and Borki. They lie about 12 miles (20 km) apart on the border with Ukraine’s Sumy region.
A senior Russian commander and pro-Kremlin war bloggers said last week that Russia had restored control over about 10 settlements in the region, an assertion that could not be independently confirmed.
Ukraine says its forces control about 100 villages in Kursk over an area of more than 1,300 square km (500 square miles), which Russian sources dispute.
The governor of Kursk region Alexei Smirnov ordered the evacuation of settlements in two districts situated within 15km (9 miles) of the Ukrainian border yesterday.
Growing fears in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
04:00
Alexander Butler
Ukraine denies links to 'delusional' suspect in Trump assassination attempt
03:00
Alexander Butler
Kyiv on Monday denied links to a man accused of trying to assassinate former US President Donald Trump, after it emerged that the suspect was a supporter of Ukraine who had said he wanted to recruit foreign volunteers to fight there.
Trump was safe on Sunday after the Secret Service foiled what the FBI called the second apparent assassination attempt on the Republican candidate for president in two months, capturing a gunman who had brought a rifle to Trump’s golf course.
Media interviews and social media posts showed that the reported suspect, Ryan Routh, 58, was a staunch supporter of Ukraine who had traveled there after Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Zelensky condemns Trump assassination attempt
02:00
Alexander Butler
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned on Monday what the FBI called an apparent assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and said political violence has no place anywhere.
“I am glad to hear that Donald Trump is safe and unharmed. My best wishes to him and his family,” Zelensky said on X.
What is a glide bomb?
01:00
Alexander Butler
Glide bombs, also called KAB – the Ukrainian acronym for guided aerial bomb, are old-fashioned “iron” aerial bombs of the sort that were dropped by bombers during the Second World War.
Russia is believed to have hundreds of thousands of such bombs in warehouses. It has converted them, cheaply and simply, into a type of guided bomb by fitting some with GPS guidance systems and attaching wings, which allow a gliding descent that extends their range considerably.
They have proved difficult to intercept and Ukrainian soldiers can no longer rely on their trenches and bunkers to protect them from the bombs, some weighing one and a half tons. They also pack 30-80 times as much explosive as the artillery shells their shelters were expected to withstand.
Glide bombs, missiles and drones: The aerial bombardment raining down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
Monday 16 September 2024 23:00
Alexander Butler
Mapped: The Russian targets Ukraine could hit with long-range missiles
Monday 16 September 2024 22:00
Alexander Butler
On Sunday, a Russian glide bomb destroyed a high-rise building in northeastern Ukraine, killing a 94-year-old woman while injuring dozens more.
The 165kg guided-warhead, likely launched hundreds of miles away in Russia, blew out the windows of the five-storey building in Kharkiv as flames ripped through a number of floors.
The strike was the latest aerial attack carried about by Russian forces in Ukraine - in which roughly 5,000 civilians have been killed in the same way since February 2022.
For Volodymyr Zelensky, the only realistic solution to ending this death and destruction is by using Western long-range missiles to fire at military sites deep within Russia - something he has pleaded for over months.
“The only way to counter this terror is through a systemic solution – long-range capabilities to destroy Russian military aviation at its bases,” he said on Sunday.
If Washington was to give Kyiv the go-ahead to use the weapons, despite Vladimir Putin’s warning of war, what Russian targets could Ukraine hit? The Independent takes a look below.
Watch: Zelensky calls for long range missiles to be made available to fire into Russian bases
Monday 16 September 2024 21:00
Alexander Butler
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile? The British weapon banned from use in Russia by Ukrainian troops
Monday 16 September 2024 20:00
Alexander Butler
Comment: In sharing nuclear secrets with Iran, Putin may have crossed his own ‘red line’
Monday 16 September 2024 19:00
Alexander Butler
Navalny ally calls on West to invest in Russia’s next generation to beat Putin
Monday 16 September 2024 18:00
Alexander Butler
Mapped: The Russian targets Ukraine could hit with long-range missiles
Monday 16 September 2024 17:00
Alexander Butler
Russia launches strikes across Ukraine involving 50 drones as Kyiv’s troops face intense fighting in east
Monday 16 September 2024 15:55
Alexander Butler
Ukraine fought off a massive Russian drone barrage across Ukraine – including Kyiv – in the latest aerial assault of Vladimir Putin’s 30-month-old invasion.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s air force shot down 53 out of 56 Russian droneslaunched overnight as one person was injured and five homes were damaged in the Kyiv region.
Air defence units destroyed nearly 20 drones that were heading towards Kyiv itself, the Ukrainian military said.
Russia evacuating some Kursk region border settlements, says governor
Monday 16 September 2024 14:30
Alexander Butler
The governor of Russia’s Kursk region Alexei Smirnov on Monday ordered the evacuation of residents of all settlements in the province’s Rylsky and Khomutovsky districts situated within 15km (9.3 miles) of the Ukrainian border.
Kursk region has been the scene of bitter fighting since a Ukrainian incursion in early August seized territory along the frontier. Russian troops have in recent days made efforts to push Kyiv’s forces back.
Putin ‘expands military to 2.4m people’
Monday 16 September 2024 13:22
Alexander Butler
Vladimir Putin has expanded his military by tens of thousands after dozens were injured when a Russian glide bomb hit a high-rise building in northeastern Ukraine.
Mr Putin signed a decree increasing the overall size of the Russian armed forces by 180,000, bringing the total capacity to 2.39million people, Russia state news agency RIA reported.
The last time the staffing level of the Armed Forces was increased was in December 2023. It was raised to 2,209,130 people, including 1,320,000 military personnel.
Editorial: Giving in to Putin’s blackmail now should not be an option
Monday 16 September 2024 13:00
Alexander Butler
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile? The British weapon banned from use in Russia by Ukrainian troops
Monday 16 September 2024 12:00
Alexander Butler
Russia launches over 50 drones at Ukraine
Monday 16 September 2024 11:11
Alexander Butler
Ukraine was forced to fight off a massive Russian drone barrage on Monday in the latest aerial attack of Vladimir Putin’s 30-month-old war.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s air force shot down 53 out of 56 Russian drones launched overnight as one person was injured and five homes were damaged in Kyiv.
Glide bombs, missiles and drones: The aerial bombardment raining down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
Monday 16 September 2024 11:00
Alexander Butler
What is a glide bomb?
Monday 16 September 2024 09:58
Alexander Butler
Glide bombs, also called KAB – the Ukrainian acronym for guided aerial bomb, are old-fashioned “iron” aerial bombs of the sort that were dropped by bombers during the Second World War.
Russia is believed to have hundreds of thousands of such bombs in warehouses. It has converted them, cheaply and simply, into a type of guided bomb by fitting some with GPS guidance systems and attaching wings, which allow a gliding descent that extends their range considerably.
They have proved difficult to intercept and Ukrainian soldiers can no longer rely on their trenches and bunkers to protect them from the bombs, some weighing one and a half tons. They also pack 30-80 times as much explosive as the artillery shells their shelters were expected to withstand.
Growing fears in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
Monday 16 September 2024 09:00
Alexander Butler
Watch: Zelensky calls for long range missiles to be made available to fire into Russian bases
Monday 16 September 2024 08:32
Alexander Butler
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile? The British weapon banned from use in Russia by Ukrainian troops
Monday 16 September 2024 07:53
Arpan Rai
The US is considering easing restrictions on long-range missiles being used by Ukraine so that they can hit targets deep inside Russia, a decision which would also free up the use of British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
Kyiv has made renewed pleas at high-level talks over the issue, with Ukraine calling it crucial for its defences against Russia’s invasion. US secretary of state Antony Blinken, UK foreign secretary David Lammy and president Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the issue at a meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday, with Mr Blinken saying the war has entered a “critical moment”.
Prime minister Keir Starmer and Joe Biden will “no doubt” talk about the use of long-range missiles, including more Storm Shadow cruise missiles, in Washington, Mr Blinken said.
Russian drone barrage injures one in Kyiv region
Monday 16 September 2024 07:44
Arpan Rai
A Russian overnight drone barrage injured one person and damaged five homes in Kyiv region, the regional authorities said today.
Governor Ruslan Kravchenko reported no damage to critical infrastructure in the region surrounding the capital.
Air defence units destroyed nearly 20 drones that were heading towards Kyiv itself, the Ukrainian military said.
“Russian attack drones were heading to Kyiv from different directions and in different groups,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Telegram. “According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or damage in Kyiv.”
Overall, during the attack over the central, northern and southern regions of Ukraine, the air force shot down 53 out of 56 Russian drones, it said in a statement.
Ukrainian troops advance in Kursk, Russian milbloggers say
Monday 16 September 2024 07:30
Arpan Rai
Ukrainian forces reportedly advanced in Kursk’s Glushkovsky and Russian forces reportedly recently recaptured territory in the area in the past 24 hours, reports cited by a US-based think tank said.
The Institute for the Study of War, monitoring the biggest incursion in Russia since the Second World War, cited a Russian military blogger’s report that Ukrainian forces advanced towards the southeastern outskirts of Volfino (southwest of Glushkovo).
It added: “Russian milbloggers claimed on 15 September (yesterday) that Russian forces recaptured Veseloye (southwest of Glushkovo), but ISW is unable to confirm this claim.”
Several Russian regiments are continuing to be in the defensive combat in Kursk fighting where Russia reportedly launched a counterattack last week.
‘Tug of war’ talks over long-range missiles helping Putin’s war on Ukraine, warns former defence secretary
Monday 16 September 2024 07:00
Jabed Ahmed
North Korea's foreign minister leaves for Russia, embassy in Pyongyang says
Monday 16 September 2024 06:54
Arpan Rai
North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui has flown to Russia to attend the fourth Eurasian Women’s Forum and the BRICS Women’s Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia’s embassy in North Korea said today.
“Russian ambassador (Alexander Ivanovich) Matsegora saw off North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui at the Pyongyang International Airport,” the embassy said in a post on its Vkontakte social network.
The embassy said that the minister’s speeches and participation in discussions are planned at the forum, which will take place 18 to 20 September.
Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, said in June that delegations from almost a hundred countries were expected at the forum.
“We will strive to ensure a record foreign representation in the entire history of the Forum,” Matviyenko said in June, according to a transcript provided on the Council’s website.
Vladimir Putin has attended previous meetings of the forum, but the Kremlin is yet to announce his participation in this year’s forum.
Warming ties between the countries reached a new high this year when Putin signed a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that included a mutual defence pledge during a visit to Pyongyang.
BREAKING: Ukraine downs 53 out of 56 Russian drones overnight
Monday 16 September 2024 06:32
Arpan Rai
Ukraine air force has downed 53 out of 56 Russian drones fired overnight, officials said.
Russia launched its eighth air attack in September on Kyiv overnight, with air defence units destroying nearly 20 drones that were heading towards the country’s capital, Ukrainian military said this morning.
“Russian attack drones were heading to Kyiv from different directions and in different groups,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Telegram. “According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or damage in Kyiv.”
The scale of the attack, which kept Kyiv under air raid alerts for about 3.5 hours, will only be known later today, he added.
Watch: West will not be bullied by Putin as talks continue on long-range strikes, says Lammy
Monday 16 September 2024 06:00
Jabed Ahmed
Fears rise in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
Monday 16 September 2024 05:09
Arpan Rai
The UK and the US have reportedly discussed their shared concern that Russia provided nuclear secrets to Iran in exchange for ballistic missiles for its Ukraine war.
Prime minister Keir Starmer and US president Joe Biden discussed the fact that Iran and Russia are strengthening their military cooperation during a summit in Washington on Friday, which also covered other key issues around Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, including Kyiv’s use of Western long-range missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia.
Mr Starmer and Mr Biden discussed intelligence pointing to a deal that would see the Kremlin providing Iran nuclear technology, sources on the British side told The Times.
If confirmed, such a deal would be especially alarming as Tehran is advancing its programme of uranium enrichment – a step towards developing a nuclear weapon.
Zelensky says his troops suffering in battlefield due to slow supplies
Monday 16 September 2024 05:07
Arpan Rai
Western arms are arriving too slowly to equip the armed forces properly and causing Ukrainian troops to suffer high losses, president Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN in an interview aired yesterday.
Russia has been gaining ground in parts of eastern Ukraine including around Pokrovsk. Capture of the transport hub could enable Moscow to open new lines of attack.
Mr Zelensky said the situation in the east was “very tough”, adding that half of Ukraine’s brigades there were not equipped.
“So you lose a lot of people. You lose people because they are not in armed vehicles... they don’t have artillery, they don’t have artillery rounds,” he said in an interview conducted on Friday.
The Ukrainian leader said weapons aid packages promised by the United States and European nations were arriving very slowly.
“We need 14 brigades to be ready. Until now... from these packages we didn’t equip even four,” he said.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Saturday said Washington was working on a “substantial” new aid package for Ukraine.
Watch: Hollywood actor Michael Douglas praises President Zelensky during Ukraine meeting
Monday 16 September 2024 05:00
Jabed Ahmed
2 killed in missile strike on Odesa
Monday 16 September 2024 04:56
Arpan Rai
Two people died in a missile attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, local officials said yesterday, as Moscow and Kyiv exchanged drone and missile attacks.
Oleh Kiper, Odesa’s regional governor, said the two who died in the suburbs of Odesa on Saturday night were a married couple, and that another person was wounded in the attack.
At least 41 people were wounded yesterday when a Russian aerial bomb struck a multistory residential building in Kharkiv, mayor Ihor Terekhov said, adding that the guided bomb hit the 10th floor of the building, with the fire spreading across four stories. Twelve other buildings were also damaged, he said.
The Ukrainian air force said Sunday it shot down 10 of the 14 drones and one of the three missiles Russia launched overnight.
Trump’s latest assassination suspect shows support for Ukraine
Monday 16 September 2024 04:54
Arpan Rai
The suspect in the Donald Trump’s assassination attempt, Ryan Wesley Routh, had shown support for Ukraine in some alleged social media profiles in his name.
The 58-year-old resident of Hawaii was identified as the suspect by the CNN, Fox News and The New York Times who cited unnamed law enforcement officials.
Some social media profiles by his name were found on X, Facebook and Linkedin by those news organisations.
The three accounts bearing Routh’s name suggest he was an avid supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia. In several of the posts, the social media user appeared to be trying to help recruit soldiers for Ukraine’s war effort.
Public access to the said Facebook profile was removed a few hours after the shooting.
Watch moving moment Ukrainian prisoner of war is reunited with her family
Monday 16 September 2024 04:53
Arpan Rai
The freed woman said: “I am so happy, I cannot express with words, I was waiting for this day for so long. I am so happy to see the Ukrainian flag. Thank you, friends.”
Ukraine saw 49 people returned from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday (13 September).
According to Zelensky, among those returned are servicemen of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, National Guard, National Police, State Border Service, and civilians.
Ed Davey joins calls to let Ukraine use Storm Shadow missiles in Russia
Monday 16 September 2024 04:35
Arpan Rai
Sir Ed Davey has said Ukraine should be allowed to use Western weapons to strike inside Russia, becoming the latest senior figure to urge a change of course from Sir Keir Starmer.
After Boris Johnson and five former defence secretaries called for Kyiv to be allowed to use British-made Storm Shadows to strike Russian targets, the Liberal Democrat leader joined a growing chorus calling for a shift in stance.
Foreign secretary David Lammy said on Sunday morning that talks are continuing with the US and allies about giving Kyiv permission to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to hit Russian airbases and military sites which are being used to launch attacks on Ukraine.
One killed, 42 injured in Kharkiv strike
Monday 16 September 2024 04:14
Arpan Rai
At least one person was killed and 42 were injured in a Russian-guided bomb attack on multi-storey apartment building yesterday in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Prosecutors in Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine said on Telegram that the body of a 94-year-old woman had been recovered from the ninth floor of the building.
Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said the fire sparked by the bomb had been extinguished. He put the injury toll at 42, including three children. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov had earlier said residents could be under the rubble.
Syniehubov posted photos of heavy damage to the top four of five storeys of the building, with smoke and fire billowing out of blown-out windows.
President Zelensky, in his nightly video address, said three other guided bombs had struck villages in Kharkiv region, where population centres have been a frequent target of Russian attacks near the Russian border.
Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian military says
Monday 16 September 2024 04:04
Arpan Rai
Russia launched a drone attack overnight on Kyiv, with air defence units engaged in repelling the strikes, Ukrainian military officials said this morning on Telegram.
Reuters’ witnesses reported a series of loud explosions in what sounded like air defence systems in operation.
The impact of the attack is not immediately clear.
Two people die in Ukraine's Odesa after Moscow and Kyiv exchange drone and missile attacks
Monday 16 September 2024 04:00
Jabed Ahmed
Two people have died in a missile attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, local officials said.
The Ukrainian air force said on Sunday it shot down 10 of the 14 drones and one of the three missiles Russia launched overnight, while the rest hit the suburbs of Odesa.
Oleh Kiper, Odesa’s regional governor, said the two who died Saturday night were a married couple, and that another person was wounded in the attack.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said it downed 29 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday over western and southwestern regions, with no damage caused by the falling debris. It also said another Ukrainian drone was shot down Sunday morning over the western Ryazan region.
Iran’s President to attend BRICS summit in Russia amid tensions with west
Monday 16 September 2024 03:00
Jabed Ahmed
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian will attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Russia, according to state media, amid tensions with the West over military cooperation between the two countries.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and was likely to use them in Ukraine within weeks. Cooperation between Moscow and Tehran threatened wider European security, he said.
The United States, Germany, Britain and France on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on Iran, including measures against its national airline Iran Air.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday that Tehran did not deliver any ballistic missiles to Russia and that sanctions imposed by the US and the three European countries against Iran were not a solution.
Iran’s ambassador in Russia Kazem Jalali confirmed on Sunday that Pezeshkian will attend the summit of the BRICS group of major emerging economies, scheduled to be held in Kazan, Russia from Oct. 22 to 24, according to Iran’s state media.
Pezeshkian will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin there, Jalali said.
Iran and Russia are set to sign a bilateral comprehensive cooperation agreement.
Ukraine renews calls on the West to approve long-range strikes on Russian territory
Monday 16 September 2024 02:00
Jabed Ahmed
UK needs to urgently ‘backfill’ its own stocks due to Ukraine war
Monday 16 September 2024 01:00
Jabed Ahmed
The war in Ukraine has created “capability gaps” for UK forces, armed forces minister Luke Pollard has admitted - saying that giving vital equipment to troops fighting Russian invaders meant the UK now needs to “backfill” its own stocks.
The minister insisted that kit had been given to Ukrainian troops “quite correctly” by the previous Tory government, with the backing of Labour.
But he added that this support had resulted in “some capability gaps, especially in the British Army”.
He said the UK had sent “nearly all” of its AS90 mobile artillery units to Ukraine, with Mr Pollard stating: “That has created a capability gap within how we operate.”
Mr Pollard added: “That was the right decision, absolutely the right thing to do. But there is a challenge now about what do we do in the interim period.”
Mr Pollard insisted that the conflict in Ukraine “should be the wake-up call we need to make the case for a stronger defence” as he insisted the review team had not been instructed to make cuts, but would instead seek to “right-size” the UK’s military capability.
Growing fears in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
Monday 16 September 2024 00:00
Jabed Ahmed
UK will not be ‘bullied’ by Putin, Foreign secretary says
Sunday 15 September 2024 23:00
Jabed Ahmed
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK would not be “bullied” by Vladimir Putin’s threats of war with Nato, as international talks continued about whether Ukraine will be allowed to use western missiles to strike inside Russia.
Talks between Sir Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden in Washington did not produce an agreement on whether the UK and US would give permission to Kyiv, but further discussions are due to take place at the United Nations later this month.
Mr Putin has warned that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that Nato countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia”.
But Mr Lammy told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “Putin said ‘don’t send tanks’. We sent them.
“Putin said ‘don’t send any missiles’. We sent them.
“Putin threatens every few months to use nuclear weapons.”
Mr Lammy added: “We won’t be bullied by Putin’s shameless grandstanding.
“What he should now do is cease his aggression and leave Ukraine.”
Starmer, Biden and Zelensky to meet at UN General Assembly later this month
Sunday 15 September 2024 22:00
Jabed Ahmed
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said further talks would take place involving Sir Keir Starmer, Joe Biden and the Ukrainian president at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York later this month.
Asked whether the objections to making a decision were operational or political, Mr Lammy told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “I am not going to discuss the operational details of that kit. And the reason I’m not going to do that is because I’m not going to assist (Vladimir) Putin as we head into the winter.
“This is a long-standing request of Zelensky. He’s now been making it for well over a year.
“I understand why he makes that and, of course, it’s important for us to discuss the detail of that with our closest allies, and we continue to do that.
“But we head to UNGA and the UN General Assembly, where both Biden and the Prime Minister will meet Zelensky and as we head into the G7 foreign ministers (meeting) and the G20.
Boris Johnson and five former defence secretaries urge PM to let Ukraine fire UK missiles on Russia
Sunday 15 September 2024 21:00
Tom Watling
Watch: Ukraine will eventually use UK long missiles in war against Russia, says ex-Army boss
Sunday 15 September 2024 20:00
Jabed Ahmed
Full report: Two people die in Ukraine's Odesa after Moscow and Kyiv exchange drone and missile attacks
Sunday 15 September 2024 18:57
Jabed Ahmed
Exclusive: Navalny ally calls on West to invest in Russia’s next generation to beat Putin
Sunday 15 September 2024 17:58
Jabed Ahmed
Read the full interview from my colleague Tom Watling:
The inside story of how Putin torpedoed Starmer’s first big foreign policy ‘tough decision’ moment
Sunday 15 September 2024 17:17
Tom Watling