Russian forces have hit a centre for the elderly in the Ukrainian city of Sumy and targeted the country’s energy sector in a new wave of air strikes, killing at least one civilian, Kyiv officials said.
During a strike on the northern city of Sumy, a Russian guided bomb hit a five-storey building, officials said.
One person was killed and 12 wounded, the interior ministry said on the Telegram app.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said rescue teams were checking whether people were trapped under rubble.
A UN monitoring body said attacks on the power grid probably breached humanitarian law, while the International Energy Agency said in a report that Ukraine’s electricity supply shortfall in the critical winter months could reach about a third of expected peak demand.
Earlier, a drone attack by Ukraine “wiped off the face of the Earth” a major Russian weapons depot in the Tver region, Ukrainian intelligence sources said.
Sources in the country’s SBU security service told The Kyiv Independent that “an extremely powerful detonation began” at the Russian defence ministry’s warehouse in Toropets following a drone strike.
Key Points
- Russia launches fresh air strikes on Ukraine’s energy network
- Ukrainian energy systems face a difficult winter, EU says
- North Korean ammo ‘destroyed’ in Tver arms depot strike
- Zelensky says ‘victory plan’ is ready
- Harris, Trump to meet Zelensky next week
Russia targets power grid with air strikes
22:10
Jane Dalton
Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s energy sector and hit an old people’s centre in the city of Sumy in a new wave of airstrikes on Thursday, killing at least one civilian, Ukrainian officials said.
A UN monitoring body said attacks on the power grid probably violated humanitarian law while the International Energy Agency said in a report that Ukraine‘s electricity supply shortfall in the critical winter months could reach about a third of expected peak demand.
During a daytime strike on the northern city of Sumy, a Russian guided bomb hit a five-storey building, regional and military officials said.
One person was killed and 12 wounded, the interior ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.
Women disproportionately hit by power cuts, says UN
20:25
Jane Dalton
Women have been disproportionately hit by power cuts caused by Russian air strikes on vital infrastruture, a new UN report says.
Attacks on electricity infrastructure facilities this year have led to the deaths of 18 civilians and 84 being injured, according to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
Drivers, older people and those with limited mobility are also among those to have suffered from blackouts, it says.
“From the onset of the electricity shortage, living conditions in Ukraine deteriorated, as cooking, cleaning, and food storage dependent on electricity became more difficult,” the report says.
“Since women in Ukraine spend substantially more time per week on unpaid domestic work, they have been disproportionately affected, with half of women reporting that electricity cuts have had a major impact on food preparation and storage.
“Individuals with low mobility, older persons and families with small children struggled to safely leave or reach apartments in high-rise buildings with elevator service cuts.
“Widespread traffic-light outages created road hazards for drivers and pedestrians, while commuters faced challenges reaching their employment due to public transport disruptions.”
Russia 'makes new advance in Donetsk’
19:25
Jane Dalton
Russian forces have taken control of the village of Heorhiivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the RIA state news agency has cited the Defence Ministry as saying.
It would be the latest in a series of reports by Russia of gains in eastern Ukraine, although Reuters could not independently verify it.
The scale of losses is huge – and Russia is bearing the brunt
18:45
Jane Dalton
In case you missed it: The Independent’s frontline reporter Askold Krushelnycky looks at how death tolls on both sides are assessed:
Germany set to hand Ukraine €400m extra for weapons and drones
17:45
Jane Dalton
Germany is set to approve close to €400m in additional military aid to Ukraine, according to a finance ministry letter.
The funds are in addition to around €8bn budgeted for Ukraine in 2024 and a fresh package of tanks, vehicles, radars, weapons and other equipment.
Germany is Ukraine’s biggest supporter in Europe in terms of military aid.
“In view of the continuously deteriorating military situation in Ukraine, there is a serious risk that Ukraine, without significantly increased material support, could be defeated in its defence campaign,” the letter said.
Following a request by the defence ministry, the finance ministry in the letter is asking for the approval of the extra expenditure from the budget committee of the lower house of parliament.
The funds will be used to buy ammunition, fighting vehicles, drones and protective equipment, among other items.
German aid to Ukraine will be cut to €4bn next year, according to the draft of the 2025 budget, as the country hopes Ukraine will be able to meet the bulk of its military needs with loans from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets approved by the Group of Seven.
Germany delivered another substantial military aid package to Ukraine.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 19, 2024
The package includes:
◾️22 Leopard 1A5 tanks
◾️22 MRAPs
◾️5 BV206 tracked all-terrain vehicles
◾️1 Warthog All Terrain Tracked Carrier
◾️3 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns
◾️2 TRML-4D air surveillance… pic.twitter.com/Awk5YjQQuu
Russia launches fresh air strikes on Ukraine’s energy network
16:59
Jane Dalton
Russia has targeted Ukrainian energy facilities in a new wave of air strikes, Ukrainian officials have said, despite a UN monitoring body saying attacks on the power grid probably violated humanitarian law.
Regional officials said civilian infrastructure had also been damaged, and the International Energy Agency warned of an electricity shortfall in Ukraine this winter.
Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down all 42 drones and one of four missiles launched by Russia.
Three people were killed in shelling near Krasnopillia in the Sumy region on Wednesday evening and two were wounded in shelling of the frontline region on Thursday that damaged a medical institution, local prosecutors said.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said power cuts had been introduced in 10 regions, and the IEA said in a report that electricity supply shortfall in the winter months could reach about a third of expected peak demand.
The European Union said a fuel power plant was being dismantled in Lithuania to be rebuilt in Ukraine.
Kyiv says the targeting of its energy system is a war crime, and the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for four Russian officials and military officers for the bombing of civilian power infrastructure. Moscow says power infrastructure is a legitimate military target.
Russian funds to be used for heating in Ukraine
16:15
Jane Dalton
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen is heading to Ukraine tomorrow, with the promise of €160m (£134m) in fresh energy funds to heat homes, hospitals and schools through the winter.
Much of the funds will come the proceeds of the Russian assets held in the EU. “It is only right that Russia pays for the destruction it caused,” she said.
We’re ramping up drone production, vows Putin
15:13
Jane Dalton
Vladimir Putin has said Russia is ramping up drone production by around 10 times to nearly 1.4 million this year to ensure Russian armed forces grab victory in Ukraine.
“In total, about 140,000 unmanned aerial vehicles of various types were delivered to the armed forces in 2023,” Putin said. “This year, the production of drones is planned to increase significantly. Well, to be more precise, almost 10 times.”
“Whoever reacts faster to these demands on the battlefield wins,” Mr Putin said at a meeting in St Petersburg about developing drone production.
Since Russia sent tens of thousands of soldiers into Ukraine in February 2022, both Russia and Ukraine have bought drones abroad and ramped up their own production for a range of targets - from artillery to energy infrastructure.
Nearly 190 clashes in the past day, Ukraine says
12:59
Joe Middleton
Intense battles continued on the eastern Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts as Ukraine’s General Staff recorded 187 combat clashes over the past day.
Residential areas in Kharkiv - near the northeastern border - were also struck by Russian guided missiles, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
But Pokrovsk and Kurakove, both towns near the eastern city of Donetsk, faced the brunt of Russian assaults in the past day.
Ukrainian forces repelled 46 assaults towards the various settlements around the town of Pokrovsk, a key strategic city for the movement of Ukrainian supplies.
On the Kurakhove front, around 50 kilometres south of Pokrovsk and 50 kilometres west of Donetsk, 40 attacks were repelled.
Ukraine’s operation in Russia’s Kursk region is ongoing, with Russian forces striking their own territory 19 times with 39 guided bombs.
ICYMI: Ukraine boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk released after brief detention in Poland
12:30
Joe Middleton
Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk was dramatically led away in handcuffs as he passed through a Polish airport.
Usyk, who was due in London, was detained in Krakow but spoke out soon after to clarify the incident was a misunderstanding.
In footage posted to social media, the heavyweight world champion was seen being led away into a lift by five police officers.
Lessons from Red Sea and Ukraine's Black Sea fight help prep Navy for possible conflict with China
12:05
Tom Watling
EU to send 160 million euros from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine
11:12
Tom Watling
The sum of €160 million from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets will be allocated to meet Ukraine‘s urgent humanitarian needs for this winter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced.
She added that a fuel power plant is being dismantled in Lithuania and will be rebuilt in Ukraine, where 80 per cent of the country’s thermal plants have been destroyed.
“We aim to restore 2.5 gw of capacity, which is 15 per cent of Ukraine‘s needs,” Von der Leyen said.
I’ve witnessed the horrific cost of Putin’s war – as casualties hit 1m
10:42
Tom Watling
Photos from the frontline
10:18
Tom Watling
Below we have some of the latest photos from the frontline on Ukraine.
Russia and Pakistan to strengthen economic ties
10:00
Alex Croft
The two countries hope to boost their bilateral trade, it was announced in a joint press conference in Islamabad.
With Russia facing economic isolation following Western sanctions, trade between Russia and Pakistan hit $1 billion dollars last year.
"Even today, we looked at how to expand our relationship, and overcome this constraint of the banking system, which you know are facing sanctions, which obviously constrains our relationship, the volume of our relationship could have been much bigger," Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
Moscow will also support Pakistan’s bid to join the BRICS alliance, currently consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan applied in 2023.
Ukraine boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk released after brief detention in Poland
09:45
Alex Croft
Heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk has been released after being briefly detained at Krakow airport in Poland, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“I was disappointed by this attitude towards our citizen and champion,” Mr Zelensky said, following a phone call with Usyk. “Our champion has been released, and he is no longer being detained.”
He posted a photo of Usyk with Ukraine’s Consul General in Krakow after the athlete was released.
It was not immediately clear why the 37-year-old was detained. He is one of Ukraine’s most prominent athletes known abroad, and has organised and participated in different projects aiding his country’s efforts to resist Russia’s invasion.
Alexander Butler reports:
Mapped: Russia launches counterattack in Kursk after sending ‘significant’ forces to the region
09:29
Alex Croft
Mapped: Russia launches counterattack in Kursk after sending ‘significant’ forces to the region
Russia has brought in “significant” reinforcements to carry out a sweeping counterattack on the western flank of Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, maps and analysis have revealed.
Russia’s initial response appeared muted as Vladimir Putin’s interest remained trained on an offensive towards the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region despite Kyiv’s hopes that their Kursk incursion would force Moscow to relocate troops away from that fight in the east.
But footage last week of a column of Russian tanks, believed to belong to a specialist Russian airborne forces (VDV) unit known to be among some of Moscow’s more elite troops, towards the western flank of Ukraine’s attack has presaged a rapid counteroffensive in that direction.
Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Operational Command “Siversk”, told Ukrainian TV late last week that Moscow had bolstered its Kursk forces from 11,000 at the time of the Ukrainian incursion to up to 45,000.
Fronteligence Insight, a Ukrainian group that tracks the war and is known to have close ties to the military, added that those forces have been bolstered by numerous anti-aircraft and air defence systems.
While territorial defence units are being used to “contain Ukrainian forces”, the group wrote in an update, more mobile units such as tank battalions and air-assault regiments, supported by motor rifle units, are likely being tasked with “breaking through ad-hoc Ukrainian defences”.
Our foreign affairs reporter Tom Watling has more details:
Nearly 190 clashes in the past day, Ukraine says
09:10
Alex Croft
Intense battles continued on the eastern Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts as Ukraine’s General Staff recorded 187 combat clashes over the past day.
Residential areas in Kharkiv - near the northeastern border - were also struck by Russian guided missiles, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
But Pokrovsk and Kurakove, both towns near the eastern city of Donetsk, faced the brunt of Russian assaults in the past day.
Ukrainian forces repelled 46 assaults towards the various settlements around the town of Pokrovsk, a key strategic city for the movement of Ukrainian supplies.
On the Kurakhove front, around 50 kilometres south of Pokrovsk and 50 kilometres west of Donetsk, 40 attacks were repelled.
Ukraine’s operation in Russia’s Kursk region is ongoing, with Russian forces striking their own territory 19 times with 39 guided bombs.
Ukrainian energy systems face a difficult winter, EU says
08:48
Alex Croft
The European Union believes that Ukraine is expected to face some blackouts after its energy system has been battered by Russian strikes.
But Katarína Mathernová, ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine, does not believe the situation will be catastrophic.
"I would certainly expect that there are going to be some blackouts,” Ms Mathernová told European Pravda.
“But from all the discussions that I’ve been having and the scenarios that we have had, the situation is not going to be catastrophic. It’s going to be difficult, it’s not going to be a pleasant winter."
Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odessa face the most difficult months ahead due to their centralised heating systems.
Ms Mathernová added that the EU will be prepared in case a catastrophic scenario causes many to flee Ukraine - but said she does not expect this to be the case.
Two killed in Russian attacks on Sumy region
08:29
Alex Croft
Overnight Russian attacks on the Sumy region have left two dead, the area’s military administration said.
Writing on Telegram, it said Russia fired 10 times at border areas with 38 explosions recorded.
Two civilians were killed and two more were wounded, it added according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Russia bombarded around eight settlements in northeastern Ukraine, including Sumy city.
Aerial bombs, mortars and first-person viewed (FPV) drones were used in the strikes.
Ukraine war and Gaza in focus at Washington meetings next week
08:11
Arpan Rai
More than 130 world leaders will meet at the United Nations next week, faced with wars in the Middle East and Europe threatening to spread, frustration at the slow pace of efforts to end those conflicts, and worsening climate and humanitarian crises.
While the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Russia’s war in Ukraine are set to dominate the annual high-level UN General Assembly, diplomats and analysts say they don’t expect progress toward peace.
“The wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan are going to be the three main crisis-points in focus at the General Assembly. I don’t think we are likely to see breakthroughs on any of them,” said Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres last week told Reuters that the wars in Gaza and Ukraine were “stuck with no peaceful solutions in sight.”
Volodymyr Zelensky will address the high-level General Assembly gathering for the third time since Russia invaded his country. He is due to address a meeting on Ukraine of the 15-member Security Council on Tuesday and the General Assembly on Wednesday.
My Zelensky has a plan to push Russia to diplomatically end the war that he wants to present to Joe Biden this month. He also wants to share it with both of Biden’s potential successors, Ms Harris and Mr Trump.
Ukraine downs all 42 Russian drones, missile in overnight attack
07:12
Arpan Rai
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down all 42 drones and one of four missiles used by Russia during an overnight attack.
“The air attack of the enemy was repulsed by aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, mobile fire groups and units of the Defence Forces of Ukraine. As a result of the anti-aircraft battle, all 42 attack UAVs were shot down!” it said on the Telegram channel.
The threat posed by ballistic weapons was also being countered, the Ukrainian Air Force said, without providing details of any damage caused by the three missiles that were not intercepted.
Russian aerial assets were downed over a host of Ukrainian regions including Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Kherson.
Russia claims two settlements in Kursk region recaptured
06:37
Arpan Rai
Russia says it has taken back two more villages – Nikolayevo-Darino and Darino – from Ukrainian forces who seized control of part of the western Russian region of Kursk last month.
The claim came in a report by a senior Russian commander, Major General Apti Alaudinov, and there has been no response yet from Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces, which provides daily updates on frontline developments.
However, Russian advances in Kursk were seen in the past 24 hours, according to a US-based think tank.
“Russian forces recently recaptured territory in the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast amid continued Russian counterattacks in the area on 18 September. Geolocated footage published on 17 and 18 September indicates that Russian forces recently advanced eastward along two forested areas southeast of Korenevo and south of Obukhovka (southeast of Korenevo),” said the Institute for the Study of War.
Indian ammunition reaches Ukraine despite Moscow’s protests
06:12
Arpan Rai
Artillery shells sold by Indian arms makers have been diverted by European customers to Ukraine and New Delhi has not intervened to stop the trade despite protests from Moscow, officials said.
At least 11 Indian and European government and defence industry officials, as well as a Reuters analysis of commercially available customs data, confirmed the trade of weapons, Reuters reported.
The transfer of munitions to support Ukraine’s defence against Russia has occurred for more than a year, according to the sources and the customs data. Indian arms export regulations limit the use of weaponry to the declared purchaser, who risks future sales being terminated if unauthorised transfers occur.
The Kremlin has raised the issue on at least two occasions, including during a July meeting between Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and his Indian counterpart, three Indian officials said.
The foreign and defence ministries of Russia and India did not respond to questions. In January, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a news conference that India had not sent or sold artillery shells to Ukraine.
One killed, two wounded in Zaporizhzhia
06:01
Arpan Rai
One elderly woman was killed and two other women were wounded by Russian strikes in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, governor Ivan Fedorov said today.
Russian forces shelled the region 161 times over the past 24 hours, damaging infrastructure facilities and residential buildings, he said on Telegram.
Russian anger boils up after ammo depot attack: 'What are you doing????'
05:21
Arpan Rai
Russians lashed out against their own authorities online on Wednesday after the town of Toropets was hit in a Ukrainian drone attack yesterday, blowing up a critical ammunition depot.
“Why wasn’t the ammunition underground?! What are you doing???? In Kudino, houses were blown away! Why is the forest burning and no one is there... What kind of negligence is this!!!!” one woman posted on a Toropets chatroom on the social media sit VK.
Some war bloggers asked how drones could trigger such large blasts at what was thought to be a highly fortified facility.
“Russian milbloggers largely criticised Russian authorities for poorly constructing the facility and accused Russian forces of possibly mishandling missiles and artillery ammunition stockpiles at the facility,” the Institute for the Study of War said.
Messages of support from other parts of the country and offers of help to people fleeing the town were also there.
Some people were asking whether buildings at specific addresses were still standing. “People, does anyone know what’s happened to Kudino village??? They told me nothing is left of our house,” posted one woman.
Another woman replied: “It’s horror there.” Kudino is a village 4.5km (2.8 miles) northeast of Toropets.
Kamala Harris, Donald Trump to meet Volodymyr Zelensky next week
04:02
Arpan Rai
US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris plans to meet Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington next week, a person familiar with the matter said.
Donald Trump has also said he will “probably” meet Volodymyr Zelensky, who will be in the US next week to address a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Russia’s war in his country.
“Probably, yes,” Mr Trump said in response to a question from a reporter about whether he will meet the Ukrainian leader. Trump did not provide further details.
In recent months, some other world leaders who have visited the US for summits and meetings with president Biden have ended up meeting with Trump as well. Trump faces Democratic vice president Kamala Harris in the 5 November election.
Mr Zelensky said in August he wanted to present a peace plan to Mr Biden, Ms Harris and Mr Trump. While Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky talked over the phone in July, they have not talked in person since the Republican leader’s 2017-2021 term.
Zelensky says ‘victory plan’ is ready
03:53
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky says his “victory plan”, intended to bring peace to Ukraine while keeping the country strong and avoiding all “frozen conflicts”, was now complete after much consultation.
“Today, it can be said that our victory plan is fully prepared. All the points, all key focus areas and all necessary detailed additions of the plan have been defined,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
“The most important thing is the determination to implement it.
There was, he said, no alternative to peace, “no freezing of the war or any other manipulations that would simply postpone Russian aggression to another stage”.
Mr Zelensky pledged last month to present his plan to Joe Biden, presumably next week when he attends sessions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly.
While providing daily updates on the plan’s preparation, he has given few clues of the contents, indicating only that it aims to create terms acceptable to Ukraine, now locked in conflict with Russia for more than two and a half years.
Released Russian dissident Kara-Murza visits US Congress
Wednesday 18 September 2024 23:59
Reuters
Russian activist Vladimir Kara-Murza shook his head in disbelief as he addressed politicians and diplomats in a US Senate hearing room on Tuesday, just weeks after he was released from prison in Siberia in a major prisoner swap.
“The word surreal doesn’t even come close to describing what I feel now,” the dissident said at an event intended to highlight what participants described as the plight of hundreds of prisoners still detained in Russia for their political beliefs.
Coinciding with Kara-Murza’s visit, Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will introduce this week the Bridge Act, legislation intended to protect Russians and Belarusians working to support democracy in their home countries.
Ukraine ‘used 100 domestically produced drones’ in Tver arms depot attack
Wednesday 18 September 2024 22:58
Andy Gregory
More than 100 domestically produced exploding drones were deployed in the attack on the Russian arms depot in Tver, a Ukrainian intelligence official told the Associated Press.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti earlier quoted regional authorities as saying air defence systems were working to repel a “massive drone attack” on Toropets.
North Korean ammo ‘destroyed’ in Tver arms depot strike
Wednesday 18 September 2024 22:01
Andy Gregory
Among the ammunition destroyed in the attack on the Tver arms depot were North Korean KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles, a Ukrainian intelligence source has told the Associated Press.
Russia and North Korea signed a landmark pact in June that envisioned mutual military assistance between Moscow and Pyongyang.
UK Foreign Office summons Russian ambassador over expulsion of diplomats
Wednesday 18 September 2024 21:02
Andy Gregory
The UK has summoned Russia’s ambassador following what it described as an “unprecedented and unfounded public campaign of aggression” by Moscow, including accusations against Foreign Office staff.
Russia’s FSB security service said last week it had revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow after accusing them of spying and sabotage work, accusations Britain described as “malicious and completely baseless”.
“This pattern of behaviour is completely unacceptable, deeply unprofessional, and beneath the standards of conduct between states,” a spokesperson for the Foreign Office said, calling on Russia to “stop this activity immediately”.
“This is the latest development in a deliberate campaign by Russia to undermine and threaten UK security and democracy and deter our support for Ukraine, through disinformation, acts of sabotage in Europe and direct harassment and restrictions against our diplomatic missions in Russia,” they added.
Nasa satellites pick up intense heat as Tver blast sparks vast fires
Wednesday 18 September 2024 20:11
Andy Gregory
Nasa satellites picked up intense heat sources emanating from an area of about five square miles at the site of the blast in Russia’s Tver region, while earthquake monitoring stations picked up what sensors thought was a small earthquake in the area.
ICYMI: Ukraine prisoners of war reunited with families after Russia exchange
Wednesday 18 September 2024 19:22
Andy Gregory
Lessons from Ukraine’s Black Sea fight help US Navy prepare for possible conflict with China
Wednesday 18 September 2024 18:31
AP
The US Navy is taking lessons from its combat in the Red Sea over the past year and what Ukraine has done to hold off the Russians in the Black Sea to help US military leaders prepare the service for a potential future conflict with China.
From drones and unmanned surface vessels to the more advanced operation of ship-board guns, the Navy is expanding its combat skills and broadening training. It is also working to overcome recruiting struggles so it can have the sailors it needs to fight the next war.
Admiral Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations, is laying out a series of goals, including several that will be highly challenging to meet, in a new navigation plan she described in an interview with The Associated Press. The objective is to be ready to face what the Pentagon calls its key national security challenge – China.
“I’m very focused on 2027. It’s the year that that President Xi told his forces to be ready to invade Taiwan,” Ms Franchetti said. “We need to be more ready.”
Pictured: Ukrainian drone attack ‘hits Russian arms depot'
Wednesday 18 September 2024 17:46
Andy Gregory
Social media chatroom describes ‘horror’ in Tver after arms depot blast
Wednesday 18 September 2024 17:03
Reuters
A Toropets chatroom on the Russian social media site VK was flooded with messages of support from other parts of the country and offers of help to people fleeing the town.
Some people were asking whether buildings at specific addresses were still standing.
“People, does anyone know what’s happened to Kudino village??? They told me nothing is left of our house,” posted one woman.
Another woman replied: “It’s horror there.” Kudino is a village 4.5 km (2.8 miles) northeast of Toropets.
Footage of Tver blast appears consistent with 200 tonnes of explosives detonating, expert suggests
Wednesday 18 September 2024 16:29
Andy Gregory
The size of the main blast shown in unverified social media footage of the blast at the Tver arms depot was consistent with 200-240 tonnes of high explosives detonating, George William Herbert of the California’s Middlebury Institute of International Studies told Reuters.
Russian minister claimed in 2018 that Tver arms depot was impervious to nuclear attack
Wednesday 18 September 2024 16:01
Andy Gregory
According to an RIA state news agency report from 2018, Russia was building an arsenal for the storage of missiles, ammunition and explosives in Toropets – the site of the mass Ukrainian drone attack.
Dmitry Bulgakov, then a deputy defence minister, told RIA in 2018 that the facility could defend weapons from missiles and even a small nuclear attack. Bulgakov was arrested earlier this year on corruption charges, which he denies.
“It [the concrete facilities] ensures their reliable and safe storage, protects them from air and missile strikes and even from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion,” RIA quoted Mr Bulgakov as saying at the time.
Brazil’s Lula and Putin ‘discuss China’s peace plan for Ukraine'
Wednesday 18 September 2024 15:29
Andy Gregory
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the former’s office said, adding that they discussed topics including the Ukraine war and an upcoming Brics summit.
The two leaders “talked about themes that will be addressed at the BRICS summit next month in Kazan, bilateral relations, and Brazil’s and China’s peace proposal for the conflict between Russia and Ukraine”, the Brazilian government said.
‘Thirteen injured’ in attack at Russian arms depot
Wednesday 18 September 2024 14:58
Andy Gregory
At least 13 people were injured in the Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian arms depot in Tver, Russia's health ministry has claimed.
State news agency Tass quoted regional governor Igor Rudenya as saying that no citizens sustained serious injuries and nobody was killed.
Chernobyl fires likely to blame for elevated radiation levels, Norway says
Wednesday 18 September 2024 14:40
Andy Gregory
Norway has said that elevated levels of radioactive caesium it had detected near the Arctic border with Russia were likely due to a forest fire near Chernobyl in Ukraine, the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident.
The Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA) said on Tuesday that it had measured “very low” levels of radioactive caesium at Svanhovd and Viksjoefjell near the Arctic border with Russia.
The authority said it detected elevated levels of radioactive caesium at Svanhovd during the week to Tuesday and at Viksjoefjell from 5 to 12 September, but that the levels did not pose a risk to humans or the environment.
“DSA always finds caesium at all air filter stations in Norway, and this often comes from stirred-up dust from old fallout from the Chernobyl accident,” it said on Wednesday. “This time it is most likely that the forest fire around Chernobyl is to blame.”
ICYMI: Michael Douglas meets Ukrainian president Zelensky
Wednesday 18 September 2024 14:11
Andy Gregory
Finland’s president says Israeli arms needed to bolster security
Wednesday 18 September 2024 13:48
Andy Gregory
Finland’s president Alexander Stubb defended his country’s decision to buy arms from Israel despite the war in Gaza, saying it had no link to Finland’s unwillingness to recognise an independent Palestinian state at the present time.
Finland is acquiring a ground based, high altitude, missile defence system called David’s Sling from Israel. Helsinki considers the system a high priority for its own defence due to neighbouring Russia’s ongoing missile attacks on civilian and military targets in Ukraine.
Mr Stubb, who took office in March, has defined his and Finland’s new foreign policy stance as “values-based realism”, which he has said was about “achieving things in the world as it is”, instead of “promoting only the world how I want to see it”.
He added: “I only look at realism, in other words, the fact that we need those weapons. So that’s when I look at Finnish security.”
Watch: Donald Trump says he ‘got along great with Putin'
Wednesday 18 September 2024 13:12
Andy Gregory
Top US diplomat says Zelensky’s victory plan ‘can work’
Wednesday 18 September 2024 12:52
Andy Gregory
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said last month that his recently announced plan for victory includes not only battlefield goals but also diplomatic and economic wins.
The plan has been kept under wraps but the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told reporters on Tuesday that Washington officials have seen it.
“We think it lays out a strategy and a plan that can work,” she said, adding that the United States will raise the plan with other world leaders next week at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Mapped: Russia launches counterattack in Kursk after sending ‘significant’ forces to the region
Wednesday 18 September 2024 12:26
Andy Gregory
Russia has brought in “significant” reinforcements to carry out a sweeping counterattack on the western flank of Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, maps and analysis have revealed.
Russia’s initial response appeared muted as Vladimir Putin’s interest remained trained on an offensive towards the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region despite Kyiv’s hopes that their Kursk incursion would force Moscow to relocate troops away from that fight in the east.
But footage last week of a column of Russian tanks, believed to belong to a specialist Russian airborne forces (VDV) unit known to be among some of Moscow’s more elite troops, towards the western flank of Ukraine’s attack has presaged a rapid counteroffensive in that direction.
Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Operational Command “Siversk”, told Ukrainian TV late last week that Moscow had bolstered its Kursk forces from 11,000 at the time of the Ukrainian incursion to up to 45,000.
Fronteligence Insight, a Ukrainian group that tracks the war and is known to have close ties to the military, added that those forces have been bolstered by numerous anti-aircraft and air defence systems.
While territorial defence units are being used to “contain Ukrainian forces”, the group wrote in an update, more mobile units such as tank battalions and air-assault regiments, supported by motor rifle units, are likely being tasked with “breaking through ad-hoc Ukrainian defences”.
Our foreign affairs reporter Tom Watling has more details:
Ukraine boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk released after brief detention in Poland
Wednesday 18 September 2024 12:07
via AP news wire
Heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk has been released after being briefly detained at Krakow airport in Poland, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“I was disappointed by this attitude towards our citizen and champion,” Mr Zelensky said, following a phone call with Usyk. “Our champion has been released, and he is no longer being detained.”
He posted a photo of Usyk with Ukraine’s Consul General in Krakow after the athlete was released.
It was not immediately clear why the 37-year-old was detained. He is one of Ukraine’s most prominent athletes known abroad, and has organised and participated in different projects aiding his country’s efforts to resist Russia’s invasion.
Nato must respond to Russian breaches of alliance’s airspace, Romania says
Wednesday 18 September 2024 11:47
Andy Gregory
Nato must respond to incidents in which Russian missiles or drones fired at Ukraine enter the alliance's airspace, Romanian defence minister Angel Tilvar has warned.
His remarks come just days after Romania reported once again that a Russian drone had breached its airspace during overnight attacks on “civilian targets and port infrastructure” across the Danube River in Ukraine.
Kremlin labels Nato chief comments about Putin ‘extremely provocative and dangerous’
Wednesday 18 September 2024 11:21
Andy Gregory
The Kremlin has criticised “dangerous” comments by Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg that allowing Ukraine to use Western long-range weapons to strike Russia would not be a red line that would prompt an escalation by Moscow.
In an interview with The Times, Mr Stoltenberg dismissed a warning by Vladimir Putin last week that letting Ukraine use such weapons to strike deep inside Russian territory would mean the West was directly fighting Russia.
“There have been many red lines declared by him before, and he has not escalated, meaning also involving Nato allies directly in the conflict,” said Mr Stoltenberg, whose tenure as head of the military alliance ends in October.
