Ukraine-Russia – live: Putin’s defences fail as Kyiv counteroffensive ‘breaks through on southern front’

Ukraine has claimed to have broken through the first line of Russia’s defences in several locations and made gains in the Zaporizhzhia region.

“There is an offensive in several directions and in certain areas. And in some places, in certain areas, this first line was broken through," Hanna Maliar, deputy defence minister, told local TV last night.

Her comments were backed up the United States, which said on Friday that Kyiv had made notable progress on the southern front in the last 72 hours.

Earlier the Russian defence ministry claimed that its forces have destroyed three unmanned boats "being used in an attempt to target the Crimea Bridge”.

The ministry alleged Ukraine was behind the attack, the Kyiv Independent reported.

Key Points

• Ukraine counteroffensive ‘breaks through’ in several locations

• Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to attack Crimea bridge

• Russia puts ‘Satan II’ sarmat nuclear missile ‘on combat duty’

• Drones attack Russian town home to nuclear plant

• Putin ‘sinking ship’ to slow Crimea Bridge attacks

• Zelensky makes rare boast on attacks inside Russia

Dodging a constant assault of Russian missiles – the war weary keep fighting in Ukraine’s blood-soaked east

16:50 , Eleanor Noyce

The missile aimed at the mayor’s office took an estimated 64 seconds to fly 55 miles and detonate in shrapnel and flames after being fired by Russian forces.

Thankfully for Oleksandr Goncharenko, the mayor of Kramatorsk – near the frontline in east Ukraine – it missed the target by 200 metres, hitting a garden square.

The municipal headquarters was swiftly moved to another building for safety. But that building was bombed as well, resulting in a move to yet another location, dodging the missiles coming from the city of Horlivka which has been captured by Vladimir Putin’s forces.

There is plenty of pride in the cities around the frontline in managing to keep Putin’s forces at bay, writes Kim Sengupta from Druzhkivka. But it has come at the cost of crushing loss:

Dodging Russian missiles, the war weary keep fighting in Ukraine’s blood-soaked east

Ukraine tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky named suspect in fraud probe - SBU

16:20 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine‘s main security agency accused tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky of fraud and money laundering on Saturday, naming one of the country’s most prominent businessmen a suspect in a criminal investigation.

The move against Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine‘s richest men and a one-time supporter of President Volodymyr Zelensky whose election he backed in 2019, comes as Kyiv is trying to signal progress during a wartime crackdown on corruption.

“It was established that during 2013-2020, Ihor Kolomoisky legalised more than half a billion hryvnias ($14 million) by withdrawing them abroad and using the infrastructure of banks under (his) control,” the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement.

Kolomoisky, who has previously denied allegations of wrongdoing, could not be reached for comment.

The SBU published pictures on the Telegram messaging app of a group of detectives at the door of his home, with Kolomoisky being served documents and signing them.

The businessman, who has been under U.S. sanctions since 2021, is seen as one of the class of oligarchs who amassed huge industrial wealth after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and have wielded outsize political and economic influence.

Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Zelensky and his team tried to clip their wings with legislation requiring oligarchs to register and stay out of politics.

The war has eroded their power as lucrative industrial assets have been destroyed in the east and south, and their television channels have been broadcasting under a centralised wartime signal.

Before he won the presidency, Zelensky rose to prominence as a comedian and played the role of president on a show aired on a Kolomoisky-owned TV channel. He denies Kolomoisky has had any influence over the government.

EU's Gentiloni confident over budget rule deal by year-end deadline

15:50 , Eleanor Noyce

European Union Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni said on Saturday he was confident an agreement over re-implementing EU budget rules would be reached by year-end, ruling out an extension of their suspension into 2024.

The EU rules, called the Stability and Growth Pact, have been on hold since 2020 to help governments deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine on energy and food prices.

The rules, which limit budget deficits and debt, are due to be re-implemented in 2024 and the EU is racing to establish a new rule book acceptable to all member states, with Italy favouring a more lenient approach than some northern European governments.

“I’m confident, I’d say I have to be confident, that a deal (over the new budget rules) can be reached by year-end,” Gentiloni told reporters on the sidelines of the European House Ambrosetti economic forum in Cernobbio.

“Suspension won’t be extended to 2024,” he added.

Gentiloni’s comments appeared to contrast with remarks on Monday by Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, who said a deal was probably out of reach by the end-2023 deadline, something the European Commission was now coming to terms with.

Italy is preparing a difficult 2024 budget in which it will seek to meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s tax-cutting promises while at the same time reducing the deficit while faced with an economic slowdown.

Gentiloni said failing to reach a deal on reviving the rules would mean a return to previous budget rules that did not help promote economic growth and cut sovereign debt in the bloc.

He said European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde “often reminds us that reaching this agreement is also fundamental in the overall assessment that the ECB makes of the market situation”.

State support and investment programmes to counter COVID’s economic impact sent many EU states’ debt levels soaring beyond the Stability Pact’s current 60% of GDP limit.

Russian-made combat trainer aircraft joins Iran’s Air Force

15:19 , Matt Mathers

Iran’s news agencies are reporting that a Russian-made YAK-130 combat trainer aircraft is in the country and has joined the Air Force.

The report by ISNA said the advanced combat trainer aircraft is able to meet the training needs of pilots to learn to fly 4th-generation fighters.

In April, Iran announced that it had finalized a deal to buy Su-35 fighter jets from Russia.

Iran and Russia have a close relationship, especially in military equipment.

Iranian drones have been a key element of Russia’s continued war on Ukraine.

Nobel Foundation withdraws invitation to Russia, Belarus and Iran to attend ceremonies

14:46 , Matt Mathers

The Nobel Foundation on Saturday withdrew its invitation for representatives of Russia, Belarus and Iran to attend this year’s Nobel Prize award ceremonies after the decision announced a day earlier "provoked strong reactions."

Several Swedish lawmakers said Friday they would boycott this year’s Nobel Prize award ceremonies in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, after the private foundation that administers the prestigious awards changed its position from a year earlier and invited representatives of the three countries to attend, saying it "promotes opportunities to convey the important messages of the Nobel Prize to everyone."

Some of the lawmakers cited Russia’s war on Ukraine and the crackdown on human rights in Iran as reasons for their boycott. Belarusian opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Friday called on the Swedish Nobel Foundation and the Norwegian Nobel Committee not to invite representatives of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko’s "illegitimate regime to any events."

Ukraine troops ‘moving forward’ - Zelensky

13:38 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainian troops are “moving foward”, president Zelensky has said as he hit out at critics in the West who claimed his counteroffensive was not moving quickly.

"Ukrainian forces are moving forward. Despite everything, and no matter what anyone says, we are advancing, and that is the most important thing. We are on the move," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Some fear the West’s support could begin to falter as colder and wetter weather slows progress on the battlefield later in the year.

The West has poured in many billions of dollars to help the counteroffensive and Kyiv says it needs more.

13:00 , Matt Mathers

Hundreds of Bosnian Serbs waved flags of Serbia and Russia and banners of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday as they staged a protest in support of their separatist leader who seeks union with neighboring Serbia.

The protests were held at the unmarked internal border in Bosnia that separates the country into two entities — the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat federation — as called for under the U.S.-mediated peace deal that ended the country’s 1992-95 war.

Full report:

Bosnian Serbs stage protests in support of their separatist leader

Scholz dismisses talk of keeping nuclear energy option open in Germany

12:45 , Matt Mathers

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed a suggestion by a junior coalition partner that the country should keep open the option of using its closed nuclear power plants, declaring that atomic energy is a “dead horse” in Germany.

Germany switched off its last three nuclear reactors in April, completing a process that received wide political support after Japan‘s Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster in 2011. But some argued for a rethink after energy prices spiked because of the war in Ukraine.

Full report:

Scholz dismisses talk of keeping nuclear energy option open in Germany

Dodging a constant assault of Russian missiles – the war weary keep fighting in Ukraine’s blood-soaked east

12:17 , Matt Mathers

There is plenty of pride in the cities around the frontline in managing to keep Putin’s forces at bay, writes Kim Sengupta from Druzhkivka. But it has come at the cost of crushing loss

Read Kim’s full piece here.

Investigate disappearance of British military volunteer in Ukraine - father

11:44 , Matt Mathers

Scotland Yard must investigate the disappearance of a British military volunteer in Ukraine, his father has said.

Daniel Burke, 36, has not been seen since leaving his flat in southeast Ukraine on 11 August.

“We want the investigation to be kept going as much as possible, and I would love to see a British police investigation too,” his father Kevin told The Daily Telegraph.

Cargo ships depart Ukraine despite Russian threats

11:20 , Matt Mathers

Two cargo vessels have left Ukraine despite Russian threats and are in the Black Sea, maritime officials said.

The Anna-Theresa, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier carrying 56,000 tons of pig iron, left the Ukrainian port of Yuzhny on Friday and is close to Bulgarian territorial waters, Ukrainian infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.

A second vessel - the Ocean Courtesy, travelling under a Marshall Islands flag - left the same port on Friday with 172,000 tons of iron ore concentrate.

It arrived at the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta shortly before noon on Saturday, according to global ship tracking website MarineTraffic. The website does not say if the vessel is to move on from the Romanian port.

The two vessels sailed through a temporary corridor for civilian ships from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports to the Bosporus, Mr Kubrakov tweeted.

ICYMI: Foreign Office confirms death of British volunteer in Ukraine

11:01 , Matt Mathers

The Foreign Office has confirmed the death of a British man who, his family said, had been fighting in Ukraine.

Samuel Newey, 22, from Solihull in the West Midlands, was “killed in action” on Wednesday in eastern Ukraine, his brother, Daniel Newey, said in a social media post.

He wrote on Facebook: “I cannot put into words how broken I feel.”

Ellie Ng reports:

Foreign Office confirms death of British volunteer in Ukraine

Russia’s pro-war influencers cashing in on Ukraine conflict

10:40 , Matt Mathers

Pro-war influencers in Russia are raking in big advertising revenues from their social media coverage of the conflict, it has been reported.

A BBC investigation found they share ads for anything from cryptocurrency to fashion, next to graphic videos of drone strikes and false claims about Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Pro-war influencers, often embedded within the Russian army, have gained millions of followers on Telegram after president Vladimir Putin banned Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, the report said.

With its leader dead, can the Wagner group rise and ride again?

10:20 , Matt Mathers

Russian authorities recently confirmed that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash near Moscow.

But can the mercenary group, which operates in several African countries, rise again under a new leader?

The answer is critical for its arch-nemesis Vladimir Putin, writes Mary Dejevsky:

The RAAC concrete ‘ticking time bomb’ that schools were warned about years ago

Ex-Zelensky ally facing charges over ‘financial manipulation’ of oil and gas holdings

09:58 , Matt Mathers

A former ally of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has been charged with the “financial manipulation” of his oil and gas holdings.

Oligarch Igor Kolomoisky was charged and had his home raided by security forces.

The Security Service said in its official statement that Mr Kolomoisky is accused of laundering over Hr 500 million ($13.5 million) in 2019-2020.

Mr Kolomoisky backed Mr Zelenksy in his campaign for president in 2019.

Putin to meet Erdogan in Russia for talks on grain deal

09:30 , Matt Mathers

Russian president Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan on Monday in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Kremlin said on Friday.

Two Turkish sources said on Thursday that the meeting would primarily discuss Black Sea grain exports.

UN secretary-general, António Guterre,  said on Thursday that he had sent Russia "a set of concrete proposals" aimed at reviving a deal that allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, where Russia controls Ukraine’s sea lanes.

ICYMI: Russian students are returning to school, where they face new lessons to boost their patriotism

09:00 , Matt Mathers

Clad in white shirts and carrying bouquets, children across Russia flocked back to school Friday, where the Kremlin‘s narratives about the war in Ukraine and its confrontation with the West were taking an even more prominent spot than before.

Students are expected each week to listen to Russia’s national anthem and watch the country’s tricolor flag being raised. There’s a weekly subject loosely translated as “Conversations about Important Things,” which was introduced last year with the goal of boosting patriotism.

A new high school history textbook has a chapter on the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the “special military operation” — the Kremlin’s euphemism for the war, and some basic military training is included in a course on self-defense and first aid.

Dasha Litvinova reports:

Russian students are returning to school, where they face new lessons to boost their patriotism

Russia trying to ‘distract’ Ukraine counteroffensive - MoD

08:34 , Matt Mathers

Russia is trying to “distract” Ukraine’s counteroffensive by attacking in different locations, thereby dividing its own troops, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said.

“Ukrainian Forces continue to take offensive action on the Orikhiv axis in southern Ukraine, with units reaching the first Russian main defensive line,” the MoD said in a statement.

“Russian forces, primarily composed of the 58 Combined Arms Army and Russian Airborne Forces elements, seek to halt the Ukrainian counter-offensive whilst maintaining their own offensive on the northern axis around Kupiansk.

“Russian forces are likely seeking to distract Ukraine from its counter-offensive, thereby forcing it to divide its forces between Orikhiv and Kupiansk.

“Given that Russia has made modest gains near Kupiansk since the Ukrainian counter-offensive began in June, they are highly likely seeking to capitalise on these by continuing to resource the axis.

“However, Russia risks dividing its forces as it seeks to prevent a Ukrainian breakthrough.”

Kremlin - Two drones downed near border as Ukraine shells village

08:09 , Matt Mathers

The Russian defence ministry said on Saturday that it had downed two Ukrainian drones over Belgorod region, a border province that comes under regular attack from Kyiv’s forces.

Separately, the governor of neighbouring Kursk region said that a village on the border had come under shelling from Ukraine, with one woman injured.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory have picked up in recent weeks, with dozens of drones striking Russia at once some days.

Drone attacks inside Putin’s Russia will only increase, says senior Ukraine official

07:36 , Matt Mathers

Drone strikes on Russian soil are only set to increase as Ukraine brings Moscow’s invasion home, a senior Kyiv official has said.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky said that it has increased strikes on Russian-occupied areas and would also ramp up attacks within Russia itself. Kyiv does not generally directly claim attacks outside of Ukraine, with Mr Podolyak saying such strikes would be carried out by “agents” or “partisans”.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Drone attacks inside Putin’s Russia will only increase, says senior Ukraine official

Kremlin designates Nobel Prize-winning journalist a ‘foreign agent'

07:15 , Matt Mathers

Russian authorities on Friday designated Nobel Prize-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov as a "foreign agent," a move often aimed at critics of Kremlin policies.

Russian news agencies quoted the justice ministry as saying Muratov, editor of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper and a co-laureate of the 2021 Nobel peace prize, was one of several Russian nationals added to the list.

So-called foreign agents have been subjected to police searches and other punitive measures. While Muratov is still in Russia, many on the list have left the country since the February 2021 invasion of Ukraine, dubbed a "special military operation" by the Kremlin.

The justice ministry said Muratov "created and disseminated material (produced by) foreign agents and used it to spread negative opinions of Russia’s foreign and domestic policies on international platforms".

Under Russian law, individuals and organizations receiving funding from abroad can be declared foreign agents, potentially undermining their credibility with the Russian public. Those deemed foreign agents must mark their published work with a disclaimer noting their status.

Novaya Gazeta and Muratov earned a reputation abroad for investigative reporting that was often critical of the Kremlin.

Putin says Russia's ICBM will make enemies 'think twice'

06:30 , Stuti Mishra

The head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency said that the country has deployed an advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that president Vladimir Putin once said will make Russia's enemies "think twice."

Agency head Yuri Borisov said Sarmat missiles have been placed on combat duty, according to Russian news agencies. Further details were not reported.

The Sarmat is one of several advanced weapons whose development Mr Putin announced in 2018. The silo-based missile, capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, is intended to replace the R-36 ICBMs that are known by the NATO reporting name of Satan.

The Sarmat reportedly has a short initial launch phase, allowing little time for surveillance systems to track it.

In 2022, about two months after sending troops into Ukraine, Mr Putin said the Sarmat would "reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats and make those who, in the heat of aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice."

Bosnian Serbs stage protests in support of their separatist leader

06:00 , Stuti Mishra

Hundreds of Bosnian Serbs waved flags of Serbia and Russia and banners of Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday as they staged a protest in support of their separatist leader who seeks union with neighbouring Serbia.

The protests were held at the unmarked internal border in Bosnia that separates the country into two entities — the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat federation — as called for under the US-mediated peace deal that ended the country’s 1992-95 war.

Read more:

Bosnian Serbs stage protests in support of their separatist leader

Crowd flocks to see Putin in Russian village

05:30 , Stuti Mishra

A crowd of dozens thronged and cheered Russian president Vladimir Putin as he made an unannounced visit to a village near Moscow yesterday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that Mr Putin visited the village of Turginovo, where he has ancestral ties, to see places associated with his family.

Video posted by local news sites showed dozens of residents flocking to the beaming president after he emerged from a car in the village square at dusk.

"Good health, strength and good luck," one woman said. "Thank you for coming to see us. For remembering us."

During a stop lasting only a few minutes, Mr Putin expressed surprise that a science teacher at the local school was undertaking a doctoral degree and promised improved conditions to attract qualified people to the area.

Residents told him they needed more and better housing.

"Yes, yes, I agree, We'll do everything gradually," Mr Putin told them during the encounter lasting only a few minutes.

"My best wishes on the start of the school year."

Ukraine says counteroffensive has 'broken through' on southern front

05:00 , Stuti Mishra

Ukraine says its troops have broken through Russia's first line of defence in several places, though they then encountered even more heavily fortified Russian positions.

Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv's troops, in a much-vaunted counteroffensive against Russian forces, were advancing in the Zaporizhzhia region. Washington also said yesterday that Kyiv had made notable progress on the southern front in the last 72 hours.

"There is an offensive in several directions and in certain areas. And in some places, in certain areas, this first line was broken through," Ms Maliar told Ukrainian television yesterday night.

She added, however, that Kyiv's troops battling to advance through heavily mined areas for almost three months had now run into major defensive Russian fortifications.

"Our armed forces have to overcome a lot of obstacles in order to move forward," she said.

Russia labels Nobel-winning journalist 'foreign agent'

04:30 , Stuti Mishra

Russian authorities designated Nobel Prize-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov as a "foreign agent," a move often aimed at critics of Kremlin policies.

Russian news agencies quoted the Justice Ministry as saying Mr Muratov, editor of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper and a co-laureate of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, was one of several Russian nationals added to the list.

So-called foreign agents have been subjected to police searches and other punitive measures. While Mr Muratov is still in Russia, many on the list have left the country since the February 2021 invasion of Ukraine, dubbed a "special military operation" by the Kremlin.

The justice ministry said Mr Muratov "created and disseminated material (produced by) foreign agents and used it to spread negative opinions of Russia's foreign and domestic policies on international platforms".

Under Russian law, individuals and organisations receiving funding from abroad can be declared foreign agents, potentially undermining their credibility with the Russian public. Those deemed foreign agents must mark their published work with a disclaimer noting their status.

Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to attack Crimea bridge

03:53 , Stuti Mishra

The Russian defence ministry has claimed this morning that its forces have destroyed "three unmanned boats being used in an attempt to target the Crimea bridge".

The ministry alleged Ukraine was behind the attack, the Kyiv Independent reported.

What is Russia’s ‘Satan II’ hypersonic intercontinental nuclear missile?

02:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia has said that Moscow’s RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), nicknamed “Satan II” – capable of carrying ten or more nuclear warheads – has been rolled out on “combat duty”.

The head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said that the missiles had entered active duty, the state-run news agency RIA reported. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Sarmat missiles would be deployed for combat duty “soon”.

Prior to that, defence committee deputy chairman Aleksey Zhuravlyov had used it as a threat when he was interviewed by state broadcaster TV Russia 1 in May regarding Sweden and Finland’s aspirations towards joining Nato in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined the alliance earlier this year, while Sweden is still waiting to be ratified.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

What is Russia’s ‘Satan II’ intercontinental nuclear missile?

White House official discusses anti-corruption efforts with Ukraine delegation

01:30 , Eleanor Noyce

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met on Friday with a delegation comprised of the heads of Ukrainian anti-corruption institutions and reiterated American support for anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine, the White House said in a statement.

KEY QUOTE

“Mr. Sullivan underscored the vital importance to any democratic society of independent, impartial law enforcement and judicial institutions capable of investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating corruption cases no matter where they lead,” the White House said on Friday after the meeting.

“Mr. Sullivan also reiterated steadfast U.S. support for anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine and for Ukraine‘s brave defense of its democracy against Russian aggression.”

THE TAKE

Ukraine has made a crackdown on graft a priority as it presses on with a counteroffensive 18 months into Russia’s invasion.

Uprooting corruption is also a key element in the country’s bid to join the European Union and to seek more assistance from partners to support its fight against Russia and its rebuilding efforts that will cost billions of dollars.

BY THE NUMBERS

Ukraine ranks 116th out of 180 countries on campaign group Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index.

A Transparency-commissioned opinion poll in June found that at least 77% of Ukrainians believe corruption is among Ukraine‘s biggest problems.

U.S. to send its first depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine - sources

Saturday 2 September 2023 00:30 , Eleanor Noyce

The Biden administration will for the first time send controversial armor-piercing munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, according to a document seen by Reuters and separately confirmed by two U.S. officials.

The rounds, which could help destroy Russian tanks, are part of a new military aid package for Ukraine set to be unveiled in the next week. The munitions can be fired from U.S. Abrams tanks that, according to a person familiar with the matter, are expected be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks.

One of the officials said that the coming aid package will be worth between $240 million and $375 million depending on what is included.

The value and contents of the package were still being finalized, the officials said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Although Britain sent depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine earlier this year, this would be the first U.S. shipment of the ammunition and will likely stir controversy. It follows an earlier decision by the Biden administration to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite concerns over the dangers such weapons pose to civilians.

The use of depleted uranium munitions has been fiercely debated, with opponents like the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons saying there are dangerous health risks from ingesting or inhaling depleted uranium dust, including cancers and birth defects.

A by-product of uranium enrichment, depleted uranium is used for ammunition because its extreme density gives rounds the ability to easily penetrate armour plating and self-ignite in a searing cloud of dust and metal.

While depleted uranium is radioactive, it is considerably less so than naturally occurring uranium, although particles can linger for a considerable time.

The United States used depleted uranium munitions in massive quantities in the 1990 and 2003 Gulf Wars and the NATO bombing of former Yugoslavia in 1999.

Belarus says Polish helicopter crossed border, Warsaw denies it

Friday 1 September 2023 23:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, summoned a Polish diplomat to protest what it said was a Polish military helicopter’s violation of its border on Friday, but a military official in Warsaw denied any incursion had occurred.

The Belarusian State Border Commission said the Polish Mi-24 military helicopter crossed the border “at an extremely low altitude, flew to a depth of up to 1,200 metres into the territory of Belarus, and then turned back”.

Belarus’ Foreign Ministry, in a statement quoted by the official BelTA news agency, said it had summoned the Polish charge d’affaires and demanded an investigation.

“Appropriate explanations were demanded from the Polish side and the conduct of a thorough investigation into the incident,” the ministry statement said.

In Warsaw, Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Goryszewski, a Polish military operational command spokesman, flatly denied the Belarusian allegation.

“I do not confirm this information. None of the Polish helicopters crossed the border into Belarus. Such a border crossing could not have happened and it did not happen. Our radar systems are unambiguous,” Goryszewski said.

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski had earlier called for “great caution” in considering statements by the Belarus military, led by President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994.

“These services are a direct extension of Lukashenko’s regime,” Jablonski told private broadcaster Polsat.

Poland’s longstanding poor relations with Belarus have deteriorated further in recent weeks, and Warsaw, along with the Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania, has suggested Poland could close its borders if ties worsen further.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in July accused NATO member Poland of harbouring territorial ambitions in Belarus.

NASA spacecraft around moon spots likely crash site of Russia's lost lunar lander

Friday 1 September 2023 22:40 , Natalie Crockett

A NASA spacecraft around the moon has found the likely crash site of Russia’s lost lunar lander.

The Luna 25 lander slammed into the moon last month, a harsh end to Russia’s first moon mission in almost half a century. Based on observations by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA said Thursday that it appears the impact created a crater 33 feet (10 meters) across.

This fresh crater is about 250 miles (400 kilometers) short of the spacecraft’s intended landing site at the lunar south pole, and farther north. NASA’s spacecraft found no evidence of a crater in this spot in pictures taken during a flyover last year.

Read more on this story here:

NASA spacecraft around moon spots likely crash site of Russia's lost lunar lander

Russia declares Nobel-winning editor Dmitry Muratov to be a foreign agent

Friday 1 September 2023 21:55 , Natalie Crockett

Russian authorities on Friday declared newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to be a foreign agent, continuing the country’s moves to suppress critics and independent reporting.

Russian law allows for individuals and organizations receiving funding from abroad to be declared foreign agents, a pejorative term that potentially undermines their credibility with the Russian public. The status also requires designees to mark any publications with a disclaimer stating they are foreign agents.

Muratov was chief editor of Novaya Gazeta, which was widely respected abroad for its investigative reporting and was frequently critical of the Kremlin. Muratov was a co-laureate of the 2021 Nobel prize; he later put up his Nobel medal for auction, receiving $103.5 million which he said would be used to aid refugee children from Ukraine.

Read more here:

Russia declares Nobel-winning editor Dmitry Muratov to be a foreign agent

Bosnian Serbs stage protests in support of their separatist leader

Friday 1 September 2023 21:15 , Natalie Crockett

Hundreds of Bosnian Serbs waved flags of Serbia and Russia and banners of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday as they staged a protest in support of their separatist leader who seeks union with neighboring Serbia.

The protests were held at the unmarked internal border in Bosnia that separates the country into two entities — the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat federation — as called for under the US-mediated peace deal that ended the country’s 1992-95 war.

The Serb protesters chanted slogans against Bosnia being a single state. They briefly blocked traffic between the two entities, but there were no major incidents reported.

Read more here:

Bosnian Serbs stage protests in support of their separatist leader

Poland's military denies that Polish helicopter crossed Belarus border

Friday 1 September 2023 20:40 , Eleanor Noyce

A Polish helicopter did not cross the Belarus border on Friday, a Polish military operational command spokesman said, denying a claim from Minsk that such an incursion took place.

“I do not confirm this information, none of the Polish helicopters crossed the border into Belarus, such a border crossing could not have happened and it did not happen, our radar systems are unambiguous,” Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Goryszewski said.

Drone attacks inside Putin’s Russia will only increase, says senior Ukraine official

Friday 1 September 2023 20:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Drone strikes on Russian soil are only set to increase as Ukraine brings Moscow‘s invasion home, a senior Kyiv official has said.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky said that it has increased strikes on Russian-occupied areas and would also ramp up attacks within Russia itself. Kyiv does not generally directly claim attacks outside of Ukraine, with Mr Podolyak saying such strikes would be carried out by “agents” or “partisans”.

“As for Russia... there is an increasing number of attacks by unidentified drones launched from the territory of the Russian Federation, and the number of these attacks will increase,” Mr Podolyak told Reuters. “This is the stage of the war when hostilities are gradually being transferred to the territory of the Russian Federation”.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Drone attacks inside Putin’s Russia will only increase, says senior Ukraine official

White House official discusses anti-corruption efforts with Ukraine delegation

Friday 1 September 2023 20:21 , Eleanor Noyce

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met on Friday with a delegation comprised of the heads of Ukrainian anti-corruption institutions and reiterated American support for anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine, the White House said in a statement.

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

Friday 1 September 2023 20:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has been raging for one year now as the conflict continues to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.

Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russia’s neighbour needed to be “demilitarised and de-Nazified”, a baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.

Read more:

Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine

Russian students are returning to school, where they face new lessons to boost their patriotism

Friday 1 September 2023 19:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Clad in white shirts and carrying bouquets, children across Russia flocked back to school Friday, where the Kremlin‘s narratives about the war in Ukraine and its confrontation with the West were taking an even more prominent spot than before.

Students are expected each week to listen to Russia’s national anthem and watch the country’s tricolor flag being raised. There’s a weekly subject loosely translated as “Conversations about Important Things,” which was introduced last year with the goal of boosting patriotism.

A new high school history textbook has a chapter on the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the “special military operation” — the Kremlin’s euphemism for the war, and some basic military training is included in a course on self-defense and first aid.

Dasha Litvinova reports:

Russian students are returning to school, where they face new lessons to boost their patriotism

Belarus says Polish military helicopter violated border

Friday 1 September 2023 19:10 , Eleanor Noyce

A Polish military helicopter violated the Belarusian border, the Belarusian State Border Committee said on Friday.

“The Polish Mi-24 military helicopter crossed the state border at an extremely low altitude, flew to a depth of up to 1,200 meters into the territory of Belarus, and then turned back,” the Committee said in a statement.

The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had summoned the Polish charge d’affaires and demanded an investigation into the incident.

Russia's Putin says he will meet China's Xi soon

Friday 1 September 2023 19:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping soon, following earlier reports that he planned to visit China in October.

Russia has turned increasingly to China as its most powerful ally since alienating the West last year with its decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, what it calls a “special military operation”.

China has declined to blame Moscow for the war and condemned Western sanctions on Russia, even as it has profited by securing discounts for oil and gas that Russia can no longer sell to Europe.

Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov said in July that Putin planned to visit China in October at the time of its third “Belt and Road” forum, responding to an invitation issued by Xi during a high-profile state visit to Russia in March.

Putin and Xi had already heralded an era of much closer ties, and a shared rejection of a Western-based world order, by signing a “no limits” partnership agreement in Beijing last year, weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine.

But Putin, speaking in a televised meeting with selected schoolchildren on the first day of the school year, did not explicitly confirm that he would travel to China again.

Putin is not known to have travelled abroad since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March, just before Xi’s visit, on suspicion of war crimes in Ukraine.

“Quite soon we will have events, and there will be a meeting with the president of the People’s Republic of China,” he said, according to Russian news agency Interfax.

“He (Xi) calls me his friend, and I am happy to call him my friend, because he is a person who does a lot for the development of Russian-Chinese relations.”

Last week, Putin participated remotely in a summit of the BRICS countries, with Brazil, India, China and the host, South Africa.

He will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a 9-10 September meeting of the Group of 20 leading industrialised and developing countries in India.

Russia says Denmark's demand to reduce embassy staff demonstrates its 'hostile stance'

Friday 1 September 2023 18:57 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Denmark’s demand that it reduce its Copenhagen embassy’s staff is another manifestation of its hostile stance.

“The necessary conclusions will, of course, be drawn,” ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Denmark, a NATO member, has decided to cap the number of Russian diplomats allowed at the Copenhagen embassy to five and administrative staff to 20, forcing Moscow to cut its staffing, the Danish foreign ministry said in a statement earlier on Friday.

Ukraine's Zelensky expected at UN this month - Albania UN envoy

Friday 1 September 2023 18:36 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York this month and take part in a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine, Albania’s U.N. Ambassador Ferit Hoxha told reporters on Friday.

Albania is president of the 15-member council for September. World leaders are due to begin gathering in New York from 18 September for the high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.

The Security Council meeting on Ukraine is due to be held on 20 September.

Ukraine says troops breach Russian lines, heavier defences lie ahead

Friday 1 September 2023 18:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine said on Friday its troops had broken through Russia’s first line of defences in several places, though they have then encountered even more heavily-fortified Russian positions.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv’s troops, in a much-vaunted counteroffensive against Russian forces, were advancing in the Zaporizhzhia region. Washington also said on Friday that Kyiv had made notable progress on the southern front in the last 72 hours.

“There is an offensive in several directions and in certain areas. And in some places, in certain areas, this first line was broken through. In some areas it was not broken through, the situation is different there,” Maliar said on television.

She added, however, that Kyiv’s troops who have been battling to advance through heavily-mined areas for almost three months had now run into major defensive Russian fortifications.

“Where we have already moved to the next line... the enemy is much more fortified there and, in addition to the mining, we also see concrete fortifications, for example, under the main commanding heights, and our armed forces have to overcome a lot of obstacles in order to move forward,” she said.

In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States had “noted over the last 72 hours or so some notable progress by Ukrainian armed forces ...in that southern line of advance coming out of the Zaporizhzhia area”.

“They have achieved some success against that second line of Russian defenses,” Kirby said, adding it was up to Ukraine on how to capitalise on that success.

“That is not to say...that they aren’t mindful that they’ve still got some tough fighting ahead of them as they try to push further south” or that Russia could launch a counter effort, he added.

Russia-led alliance holds military drills in Belarus

Friday 1 September 2023 18:00 , Eleanor Noyce

More than 2,000 troops from a Russia-led security alliance have opened military exercises in parts of Belarus near the borders of Nato countries.

The exercises of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) include troops from Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

Armenia is also a member of the CSTO but did not send any of its forces; in January, Armenia said it would not host CSTO drills this year amid tense relations with Russia.

Belarus’s defence ministry said the exercises, which are to last until Wednesday, will prepare for joint operations, including responses to a nuclear accident.

The exercises are taking place in three western Belarus regions that border Nato members Poland and Lithuania.

Polish foreign minister Zbigniew Rau said the purpose of the military exercises is to destabilise the region.

Belarus hosts Russian forces and equipment that have been used in the war in Ukraine, although Belarusian forces have not taken part.

Russia also says it has deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Ukraine‘s Joint Forces commander General Serhii Naiev said Ukraine has strengthened its border with Belarus for the exercises.

The key to Ukraine punching through Russia’s defences – and putting Putin’s forces on the back foot

Friday 1 September 2023 17:35 , Eleanor Noyce

Long-range strikes by drone and missile and a raid on territory in occupied Crimea that took Russian forces by surprise – all part of Kyiv’s recent push towards the peninsula that is a symbol of Vladimir Putin‘s territorial ambitions.

Perhaps most significant of all is the capture of the key village of Robotyne, about three hours drive east of Crimea. Gaining that foothold will help Ukraine build a foundation to punch through to the coastline of the Sea of Azov.

Kyiv has been stepping up drone attacks on Crimea as it looks to break key supply lines from the Russian-occupied peninsula, writes Askold Krushelnycky in Ukraine:

The key to Ukraine punching through Russia’s defences | Askold Krushelnycky

What next for the Wagner Group in Russia?

Friday 1 September 2023 17:20 , Eleanor Noyce

The Wagner founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is confirmed to have died in a plane crash – a turn of events that appears to leave his Wagner Group fighters rudderless and facing a highly uncertain future.

Prigozhin, a convict, turned gourmet restaurateur, turned warlord, was onboard an Embraer private jet flying from Moscow to St Petersburg when it came down over the Tver region, killing everyone on board. Two other senior commanders, Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov, were also on the passenger list.

The crash came exactly two months after Prigozhin led his men in a mutiny that gravely embarrassed Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, his fighters leaving their posts in southern Ukraine to occupy the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don before marching on Moscow along the M4 highway.

Joe Sommerlad has more:

What next for the Wagner Group in Russia?

ICYMI: Putin’s forces pushed back in southern Ukraine – as Zelensky claims new long-range weapon

Friday 1 September 2023 17:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine’s forces have pushed back Russian troops in areas of the country’s south and east as Kyiv pushes on with its counteroffensive – with President Volodymyr Zelensky also claiming that his country has developed a new long-range weapon.

The pronouncement by Mr Zelensky that the unnamed weapon reached a target more than 700km (400 miles) away comes a day after a wave of airstrikes across six regions in Russia. Those strikes included an assault that caused a huge fire at a military airbase in Pskov in northern Russia, damaging several giant military transport planes. That airbase is roughly 700km from the Ukrainian border.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Putin’s forces pushed back in south Ukraine – as Zelensky claims new weapon

Russia reports more drone attacks as satellite photos indicate earlier barrage destroyed 2 aircraft

Friday 1 September 2023 16:35 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian officials said Friday that air defenses intercepted drones heading toward three of the country’s western regions, while satellite images indicated that a major drone barrage earlier in the week destroyed at least two Ilyushin Il-76 military transport planes at a Russian air base.

Regional governors said defense systems stopped three drones in the Kursk, Belgorod and Moscow regions.

Moscow airports briefly halted flights but no major damage or injuries were reported, according to Russian authorities.

Drones aimed at targets inside Russia — and blamed by Moscow on Ukraine — have become almost a daily occurrence as the war has entered its 19th month and Kyiv’s forces pursue a counteroffensive. Recently, the drones have reached deeper into Russia.

More here:

Russia reports more drone attacks as satellite photos indicate earlier barrage destroyed 2 aircraft

Baltic Sea drills to focus for first time on repelling Russian attack

Friday 1 September 2023 16:15 , Eleanor Noyce

Major naval drills about to start in the Baltic Sea involving some 30 ships and more than 3,000 Western service members will for the first time practice how to respond to a Russian assault in the region, Germany’s navy chief said on Friday.

“We are sending a clear message of vigilance to Russia: Not on our watch,” Vice-Admiral Jan Christian Kaack told reporters in Berlin. “Credible deterrence must include the ability to attack.”

The two-week Northern Coasts exercise, set to start on 9 September, will see troops from all NATO countries on the Baltic Sea, plus soon-to-be member Sweden and non-Baltic allies the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, train side by side. They will practise amphibious operations and strikes from sea to land.

The U.S. navy will send the Mesa Verde into the drills, Kaack said, a ship of more than 200 metres (656 ft) length, designed to transport and land some 800 marines in an amphibious assault.

Securing the sea routes through the Baltic Sea is another focus of the exercise that will take place off the coasts of Latvia and Estonia.

“Finland and the Baltic states depend to almost 100% on the maritime supply routes through the Baltic Sea,” Kaack noted.

“Should the Suwalki Gap be blocked - and this can be done easily as there are only two roads and one railroad line - then we are left with the sea routes only, and that’s where we will then have to make our way through.”

The Suwalki Gap, a narrow land corridor of some 65 kilometres (40 miles), is the only connection linking the Baltic states to Poland and NATO’s main territory in Europe.

It will be the first exercise of this size that the German navy, the biggest navy on the Baltic Sea according to Kaack, will command from its new maritime headquarters in Rostock which just reached operational readiness.

US sees Ukrainian progress in south, no immediate comment on Russian missile reports

Friday 1 September 2023 16:01 , Eleanor Noyce

The United States has seen notable progress by Ukrainian forces in the south near the Zaporizhzhia area in the last 72 hours, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday.

Kirby also said he was not in a position to confirm reports that Russia’s nuclear capable Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles were put on combat duty.

Putin says to meet China's Xi soon

Friday 1 September 2023 15:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he will soon hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“Soon enough we will have a meeting with the Chinese president,” Putin said.

“He (Chinese President Xi) calls me his friend, and I am happy to call him my friend, because he is a person who does a lot for the development of Russian-Chinese relations.”

Drone strikes on Russian soil will increase - senior Ukraine official

Friday 1 September 2023 15:35 , Eleanor Noyce

A senior Ukrainian official said on Friday that drone strikes on Russian soil were set to increase and that recent such attacks showed that the war in Ukraine was gradually shifting to Russia.

In an interview, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak also ruled out peace talks for now, saying any negotiations would amount to “capitulation” on the part of Ukraine and the democracies that support it.

Ukraine had ramped up its strikes on occupied areas, and attacks inside Russia itself would also increase, carried out by “agents” or “partisans”, Podolyak said.

“As for Russia ... there is an increasing number of attacks by unidentified drones launched from the territory of the Russian Federation, and the number of these attacks will increase,” Podolyak told Reuters.

“Because this is the stage of the war when hostilities are gradually being transferred to the territory of the Russian Federation,” he said in the interview in his office in the heavily-defended government district in Kyiv.

Drone attacks on Russia have sharply increased in scale and frequency in recent weeks, culminating this week with strikes that hit six Russian regions in one night and destroyed transport planes in a blaze at a military airfield.

Ukraine generally cheers such attacks while stopping short of openly claiming direct responsibility for them. Its Western allies forbid it from using weapons they donate to strike Russia, although they say Kyiv has the right to carry out such attacks on military targets with its own weapons.

As the attacks have increased in frequency, Kyiv has touted its progress in developing long-range strike weapons to give it an answer to Russia’s long-running campaign of air strikes on Ukrainian cities.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday praised what he said was the use of new Ukrainian weaponry with a range of 700 km - roughly the distance from Ukraine‘s border to Pskov, where a Russian military airbase was engulfed in flames a day earlier.

Denmark orders Russia to reduce Copenhagen embassy staff

Friday 1 September 2023 15:34 , Eleanor Noyce

Denmark has decided to cap the number of Russian diplomats allowed at the Copenhagen embassy to five and administrative staff to 20, forcing Moscow to cut its staffing, the Danish foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.

“The decision to introduce parity in the size of the two embassies means that the Russian embassy in Copenhagen must reduce its current staffing,” the ministry said.

The reduction must be implemented by 29 September, the ministry added.

It was not immediately clear how many diplomats and other employees would have to leave the Russian embassy.

Denmark and Russia have been in long-term negotiations regarding visas for employees at the Danish embassy in Moscow with the aim of maintaining well-functioning embassies in both Denmark and Russia, the Danish foreign ministry said.

“The negotiations have not led to results due to repeated Russian attempts to include visa requests for Russian intelligence officers as part of those negotiations,” the ministry said in a statement.

Russian, Belarus ambassadors invited again to Nobel Prize ceremony

Friday 1 September 2023 15:19 , Eleanor Noyce

Ambassadors from Russia, Belarus have been invited again to Stockholm’s Nobel Prize awards ceremony this year after being left out last year because of the Ukraine invasion, the Nobel Foundation said on Thursday.

The foundation also invited the leader of the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats to the ceremony and separate banquet for the first time. It has repeatedly snubbed long-time Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson, including in 2022 when the party came second in parliamentary elections, arguing his party was not deemed to be in keeping with the prizes’ tenets.

Five of the six Nobel prizes are awarded in Stockholm every year after a nomination process that is kept secret for the next 50 years. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo where separate festivities are held.

The Nobel Foundation said ambassadors from all countries that are diplomatically represented in Sweden and Norway, respectively, will be invited to the prize award ceremonies in December. Last year, the foundation left out the ambassadors of Russia and its ally Belarus.

The foundation said it sought to include even those who did not share the values of the Nobel Prize.

“It is clear that the world is increasingly divided into spheres, where dialogue between those with differing views is being reduced,” Vidar Helgesen, executive director of the Nobel Foundation, said in a statement.

“To counter this tendency, we are now broadening our invitations to celebrate and understand the Nobel Prize and the importance of free science, free culture and free, peaceful societies,” he added.

This year’s laureates will be announced in early October, while the festive awards ceremonies and subsequent banquets are set to take place on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

Sweden Democrats leader Akesson swiftly said he would not attend.

“Unfortunately I’m busy that day,” he wrote in a Facebook post commenting on the invitation.

Putin says Russia to allocate 1.9 trillion roubles to annexed Ukrainian territories

Friday 1 September 2023 15:02 , Eleanor Noyce

President Vladimir Putin said Russia planned to allocate 1.9 trillion roubles ($20 billion) from the federal budget over the next two-and-a-half years to the development of the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow last year declared to be part of its territory.

Moscow does not control any of the regions in its entirety and the unilateral annexation has been recognised by only a handful of countries allied to Russia, while being condemned by Ukraine and three-quarters of U.N. member states.

Ukrainian children head below ground at start of new school year

Friday 1 September 2023 14:49 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukrainian children began their second straight school year in wartime on Friday, some heading to new classrooms underground, others bracing to run to bomb shelters to take cover from Russian missiles and drones.

Many, at home and abroad, stayed online for a fourth year, their education ravaged by Russia’s invasion and COVID-19.

Russian air attacks have totally destroyed 1,300 schools since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to data by the U.N. Children’s Fund, which recorded damage to many other schools.

Education Minister Oksen Lisovyi reported this week that 84% of schools were now equipped with operational shelters.

“When he was studying online, there was not always an opportunity to get to a bomb shelter,” said Mariia Doloban, 32, whose 8-year-old son Oleksii starts the year at a new school in the capital Kyiv with a proper bomb shelter.

“But at school, he will take cover every time the air raid siren goes off.”

Doloban was one of millions of refugees who fled Ukraine, but like many others has since returned, saying she feels better back home than abroad, where children either study remotely or struggle in local schools.

They fled the southern city of Kherson for Thessaloniki in April 2022, but her son Oleksii felt lost in a Greek school.

“Whenever I asked what he was doing at school, he often said that he was sleeping during classes because he was bored and could not understand anything,” said Doloban, who found herself bouncing around Ukrainian cities for a year after leaving Greece and is now living out the outskirts of the capital.

Oleksii told his father, a doctor on the front line, in a video call that he was worried about starting school, but joined in with the other children dancing in a welcome ceremony on their first day.

The ‘Vampire’ rocket system helping Ukraine shoot down Russia’s kamikaze drones

Friday 1 September 2023 14:34 , Eleanor Noyce

The massive drone attack across multiple regions of Russia into Wednesday marked Ukraine‘s largest attack on Russian soil since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion 18 months ago.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said it is one of 25 such attacks on Russia during August as Kyiv increases its attempts to “bring the war home” to Russia and destroy equipment that would be used on the frontline in Ukraine. The MoD believes that Russian air defences are likely having difficulty detecting and destroying the drones, given the number of drones hitting their targets.

Read more:

The ‘Vampire’ rocket system helping Ukraine shoot down Russia’s kamikaze drones

US House Foreign Affairs Committee chair calls Russia-China alliance the biggest threat since WWII

Friday 1 September 2023 14:10 , Eleanor Noyce

The chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee said Friday that a partnership between the Russian and Chinese leaders worried him, adding, “We have never seen a threat this large scale to Europe and the Pacific, I would argue, since World War II.”

An alliance between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin “provides a very big challenge I think for the free world in this great power competition that we find ourselves in,” Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said during a visit to Sweden.

Read more:

US House Foreign Affairs Committee chair calls Russia-China alliance the biggest threat since WWII

Russia says it destroyed 281 Ukrainian drones in a week

Friday 1 September 2023 13:55 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia’s defence ministry said it had destroyed a total of 281 Ukrainian drones over the past week, including 29 over the western regions of Russia, indicating the scale of the drone war now under way between Russia and Ukraine.

“281 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed, including one Tu-141 Strizh, as well as 29 Ukrainian UAVs in the western regions of the Russian Federation,” the ministry said on Friday.

Russia for its part has repeatedly struck Ukraine with waves of one-way drones with explosive payloads, which are far cheaper than missiles and can be difficult, and expensive, for air defence systems to intercept.

Ukrainian aerial drone strikes deep inside Russia have increased since two drones were destroyed over the Kremlin in early May. Drone strikes on the Russian capital have become increasingly common in recent months.

A Ukrainian drone on Friday attacked a town that is home to one of Russia’s biggest nuclear power stations, though no damage to the plant was reported, Russian officials said.

It is unclear whether the drone attacks will affect perceptions of the war among the population in Russia, where public statements of opposition are treated as civil or criminal offences.

Two more ships leave Ukrainian Black Sea port under temporary corridor

Friday 1 September 2023 13:38 , Eleanor Noyce

Two cargo vessels have left a port near Odesa, Ukraine‘s deputy prime minister said on Friday - the third and fourth to transit from deep-water Ukrainian ports through the Black Sea since Russia withdrew from a safe-passage deal for grain ships.

Oleksandr Kubrakov said the Liberia-flagged Anna-Theresa and Marshall Islands-flagged Ocean Courtesy bulk carriers had left the port of Pivdennyi through a temporary corridor for civilian vessels.

Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbour in February 2022, and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of the U.N.-backed Ukrainian grain deal in July.

In response, Ukraine announced a “humanitarian corridor” hugging the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria. Two vessels stuck in Ukrainian ports during the invasion have thus far been able to use it to leave.

Kubrakov’s ministry, responsible for Ukraine‘s infrastructure, said in a Facebook post that the Anna-Theresa had been in port since 22 February 2022, and the Ocean Courtesy from 16 February of the same year.

LSEG interactive map data showed the two vessels more than 10 km (6 miles) from the shore on Friday, under way using their engines and heading south-east.

The Anna-Theresa and Ocean Courtesy were, respectively, carrying 56,000 metric tons of pig iron and 172,000 tons of iron ore concentrate, Kubrakov wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko, who is from Odesa, posted on the Telegram app on Friday that two ships were seen near the city. He posted a photograph showing two distant ships. Reuters could not immediately verify the date or location of the photo.

The grain agreement had allowed Ukraine, a major agricultural exporter, to ship tens of millions of tons of produce to other countries during Russia’s invasion.

What is Russia’s ‘Satan II’ hypersonic intercontinental nuclear missile?

Friday 1 September 2023 13:10 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia has said that Moscow’s RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), nicknamed “Satan II” – capable of carrying ten or more nuclear warheads – has been rolled out on “combat duty”.

The head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said that the missiles had entered active duty, the state-run news agency RIA reported. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Sarmat missiles would be deployed for combat duty “soon”.

Prior to that, defence committee deputy chairman Aleksey Zhuravlyov had used it as a threat when he was interviewed by state broadcaster TV Russia 1 in May regarding Sweden and Finland’s aspirations towards joining Nato in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined the alliance earlier this year, while Sweden is still waiting to be ratified.

Joe Sommerlad has more:

What is Russia’s ‘Satan II’ intercontinental nuclear missile?

Russian attacks kill one civilian, wound three in Ukraine

Friday 1 September 2023 13:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

One man was killed in Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Friday and three people were wounded in a missile attack in the central region of Vinnytsia overnight, Ukrainian authorities said.

The 34-year-old man was hit in a residential area of Kherson close to 12:50 p.m. local time (0950 GMT), the military administration there said.

The three civilians were wounded when a Russian missile struck a business in Vinnytsia region, the regional governor said.

“They are being provided with all necessary assistance,” Serhiy Borzov wrote on the Telegram messaging service.

Ukraine‘s air force said it shot down a second missile fired overnight. The missile was downed over the central Kirovohrad region, the local governor said on Telegram.

Russia puts ‘Satan II’ sarmat nuclear missile ‘on combat duty’

Friday 1 September 2023 12:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said on Friday that the country’s Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of carrying ten or more nuclear warheads, had been put on combat duty, state news agency RIA reported.

It has been nicknamed Satan II.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Sarmat missiles would be deployed for combat duty “soon”.

Russia says Sarmat intercontinental missiles put on combat duty - RIA

Friday 1 September 2023 11:46 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The head of Russia‘s space agency Roscosmos said on Friday that the country’s Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of carrying ten or more nuclear warheads, had been put on combat duty, state news agency RIA reported.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Sarmat missiles would be deployed for combat duty “soon”.

Putin ‘sinking ship’ to slow Crimea Bridge attacks

Friday 1 September 2023 11:04 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The UK defence ministry said Moscow is employing a range of underwater defence systems to prevent attacks following the Crimea Bridge explosion.

The ministry said: “As of 29 August, imagery confirms Russia has created an underwater barrier of submerged ships and containment booms to deter against Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (USV) attacks against the Crimean Bridge.”

Friday 1 September 2023 10:19 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that he told United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres that online meetings held on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace formula in August were “unacceptable”.

Foreign Office confirms death of British volunteer in Ukraine

Friday 1 September 2023 09:36 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Foreign Office has confirmed the death of a British man who, his family said, had been fighting in Ukraine.

Samuel Newey, 22, from Solihull in the West Midlands, was “killed in action” on Wednesday in eastern Ukraine, his brother, Daniel Newey, said in a social media post.

He wrote on Facebook: “I cannot put into words how broken I feel.”

Foreign Office confirms death of British volunteer in Ukraine

Russian missile hits private enterprise in central Ukraine

Friday 1 September 2023 09:08 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian forces struck a private enterprise with a long-range cruise missile in the central Ukrainian region of Vinnytsia, wounding three people, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday.

“Unfortunately, there are victims - three civilians, they are being provided with all necessary assistance,” Governor Serhiy Borzov wrote on Telegram messenger, adding that unspecified property and cars had been damaged.

Kyiv’s air force said it shot down a second missile fired as part of the overnight attack. The missile was downed over the central Kirovohrad region, the local governor said on Telegram.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, conducts regular air strikes on Ukrainian centres far from the front line. Moscow says its strikes are only intended to degrade Ukraine‘s ability to fight.

The two missiles reported by Ukrainian officials contrasted with earlier in the week when Ukraine reported the largest Russian missile and drone attack on the capital for months.

The ‘Vampire’ rocket system helping Ukraine shoot down Russia’s kamikaze drones

Friday 1 September 2023 08:44 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The massive drone attack across multiple regions of Russia into Wednesday marked Ukraine‘s largest attack on Russian soil since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion 18 months ago.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said it is one of 25 such attacks on Russia during August as Kyiv increases its attempts to “bring the war home” to Russia and destroy equipment that would be used on the frontline in Ukraine.

The MoD believes that Russian air defences are likely having difficulty detecting and destroying the drones, given the number of drones hitting their targets.

For Ukraine, their own mission to down drones coming from Russia, a constant menace throughout the war, is being added by the US-made ‘Vampire’ rocket system.

Chris Stevenson reports:

The ‘Vampire’ rocket system helping Ukraine shoot down Russia’s kamikaze drones

Putin’s forces pushed back in southern Ukraine – as Zelensky claims new long-range weapon

Friday 1 September 2023 08:22 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine’s forces have pushed back Russian troops in areas of the country’s south and east as Kyiv pushes on with its counteroffensive – with President Volodymyr Zelensky also claiming that his country has developed a new long-range weapon.

The pronouncement by Mr Zelensky that the unnamed weapon reached a target more than 700km (400 miles) away comes a day after a wave of airstrikes across six regions in Russia. Those strikes included an assault that caused a huge fire at a military airbase in Pskov in northern Russia, damaging several giant military transport planes. That airbase is roughly 700km from the Ukrainian border.

Mr Zelensky’s remarks are almost certainly part of the information war with Russia over Moscow’s 18-month invasion, although he did not give details on the new weapon other than the fact it was produced by Ukraine’s Ministry of Strategic Industries. But it is certainly the clearest suggestion that Kyiv was behind the attack.

Putin’s forces pushed back in south Ukraine – as Zelensky claims new weapon

Flight restrictions at Moscow's Vnukovo airport lifted

Friday 1 September 2023 07:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Moscow’s Vnukovo airport resumed operations from 7.28 a.m. local time (04.28 GMT) after restrictions linked to attempted drone attack, state news agency TASS reported on Friday citing the airport.

Russia heavily guarding Kerch Strait as threat from Ukraine grows, says UK MoD

Friday 1 September 2023 07:20 , Arpan Rai

Russia is resorting to multiple defences to protect the Kerch Strait owing to its heavy dependence on the Crimean bridge which aids its military supplies, the British Ministry of Defence said today.

Moscow is “employing a range of passive defences such as smoke generators and underwater barriers, alongside active defence measures such as air defence systems, to strengthen the survivability of water crossings and minimise damage from future attacks,” it said.

The Kerch Strait is a bottleneck for military logistics support to Russian forces in occupied areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts and Russia is heavily reliant on the Crimean bridge and ferries to cross the Straits, the MoD noted.

“The bridge’s importance for both logistics and symbolism of Russian occupation mandates these extensive protection measures,” it said in an update.

“As of 29 August 2023, imagery confirms Russia has created an underwater barrier of submerged ships and containment booms to deter against Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (USV) attacks against the Crimean Bridge. At the southern part of the bridge, this includes several vessels 160 metres apart. These are located at the same place as the Ukrainian “Sea Baby” USV attacks on 17 July 2023,” the latest intelligence update read.

In September last year, the Russian Navy briefly trialled radar decoys on barges for several days, likely to deter radar seeking missiles, the UK MoD said.

“Other countermeasures to protect the bridge include the use of TDA-3 truck-mounted smoke generators, with an exercise conducted on 24 May 2023. This smoke was activated to deter incoming air threats on 12 August 2023,” it added.

Drones attack Russian town home to nuclear plant

Friday 1 September 2023 06:51 , Arpan Rai

A Ukrainian drone attacked the Russian town of Kurchatov, home to a nuclear power plant in the Kursk region, early this morning, governor Roman Starovoit said.

Emergency services were assessing the damage suffered by an administrative building and a residential one in the attack, he said on his official Telegram channel.

The regional official did not mention any potential damage to the Kursk nuclear power plant or give details of the targeted buildings.

The Soviet-era Kursk nuclear power station has the same graphite-moderated reactors as the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

An explosion and fire at the Chernobyl plant in 1986, in then Soviet Ukraine, was the world’s worst nuclear accident, spreading radiation across Europe.

Currently three RBMK-1000 reactors in Kursk are operational with one shut down, according to Russia’s state nuclear corporation.

Drone downed near Moscow, says mayor

Friday 1 September 2023 05:51 , Arpan Rai

Russian air defences shot down a drone that was approaching the city this morning, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

“Today, air defence forces near Lyubertsy thwarted another attempt to fly a drone to Moscow. There were no preliminary casualties or damage. Emergency services are working at the scene of the incident,” he said.

The drone was downed near Lyubertsy, southeast of the Russian capital, he said.

Ukraine says ‘need ammunition, not advice’ after criticism on counteroffensive

Friday 1 September 2023 05:47 , Arpan Rai

The Ukrainian ministry of defence has shot back at the growing criticism of Ukraine’s counteroffensive amid several reports that officials in the US are not pleased with the gains in the slow-moving warfare.

“It seems like everyone is now an expert of Ukrainian warfare. While we appreciate all the attention, we’d like to humbly remind you that if we listened to what non-Ukrainians said in February 2022, we would no longer exist,” the ministry of defence said in a minute-long video shared on social media.

Thanks all the same but we need ammunition, not advice, it added.

Zelensky makes rare boast on attacks inside Russia

Friday 1 September 2023 05:10 , Arpan Rai

President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to boast about the Pskov attack twice a day after Moscow reported attempted Ukrainian drone strikes in six Russian regions.

One of the strikes caused a huge fire at a military air base in Pskov in northern Russia, damaging several giant military transport planes on the tarmac.

“The results of our weaponry – new Ukrainian weaponry – 700km away,” he said in his nightly video address. “And the task is to do more.”

Ukraine’s Western allies generally forbid Kyiv from using weapons they supply to attack Russian territory, but say Ukraine has a right to attacks military targets with its own weapons.

Ukrainian troops hit Russia's main defensive lines

Friday 1 September 2023 04:57 , Arpan Rai

After months of fighting their way through heavy minefields, Ukraine’s forces have finally reached the main Russian defensive lines in recent days, south of the village of Robotyne, which they captured last week in the Western Zaporizhzhia region.

They are now advancing between the nearby villages of Novopokropivka and Verbove, looking for a way around the anti-tank ditches and rows of concrete pyramids known as dragon’s teeth that form Russia’s main fortifications visible from space.

A breakthrough would provide the first test of Russia’s deeper defences, which Ukraine hopes will be more vulnerable and less heavily mined than areas its troops have traversed so far.

A Ukrainian commander in the area told Reuters last week that his men had breached the most difficult line, reaching less heavily defended areas, and now expected to advance more quickly. Kyiv rarely gives details of its offensive operations.

In a statement yesterday, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar reported unspecified successes near Novopokropivka, without giving details.

She also said Ukrainian forces were advancing near Bakhmut, in the east, the only city Russia captured in its own offensive earlier this year. Heavy battles were engulfing villages south of the city, she said.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, reported a “positive dynamic” near Bakhmut.

Ukrainian MP urges Grant Shapps to ‘personally visit Ukraine’

Friday 1 September 2023 04:08 , Arpan Rai

A Ukrainian MP has urged newly appointed defence secretary Grant Shapps to “personally come to Ukraine” to establish good relations.

Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun considered Mr Wallace a “friend” of Ukraine and expressed her gratitude for his time as defence secretary after four years.

“Ben Wallace is a friend to Ukraine and we very much appreciate everything that he has done,” she said from Kyiv. She has urged Mr Shapps to visit Ukraine to gain a “better understanding” of the situation.

It comes after Mr Wallace formally resigned from his position yesterday, prompting a mini-reshuffle.

Ukrainian MP urges new Defence Secretary Shapps to ‘personally visit Ukraine’

Ukraine tells critics of counteroffensive to ‘shut up'

Friday 1 September 2023 04:02 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine has asked critics of the pace of its three-month-old counteroffensive to “shut up”, serving the sharpest rebuke yet of Kyiv’s frustration at leaks from Western officials who say its forces are advancing too slowly.

“Criticising the slow pace of (the) counteroffensive equals ... spitting into the face of (the) Ukrainian soldier who sacrifices his life every day, moving forward and liberating one kilometre of Ukrainian soil after another,” Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters yesterday.

“I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine and try to liberate one square centimetre by themselves,” he said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Spain.

Several US and other Western officials have suggested that the grinding war’s counteroffensive stage was falling short of expectations but did not choose to be quoted on their claims. Some of the officials have pointed holes in Ukraine’s strategy and blamed it for concentrating its forces in the wrong places.

In its pushback against more than a year old Russian invasion, Ukrainian forces have recaptured more than a dozen villages and has managed to penetrate Russia’s first line of defence.

The counteroffensive has been backed by billions of dollars worth Western military equipment as nation’s rallied against Moscow’s unjust war on Ukraine.

Ukraine war: Zelensky makes long-range weapon claim a day after strike deep inside Russia

Friday 1 September 2023 02:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday his country has developed a weapon that hit a target 700 kilometres (400 miles) away, in an apparent reference to the previous day’s strike on an airport in western Russia.

Zelensky said on his Telegram channel the weapon was produced by Ukraine’s Ministry of Strategic Industries but gave no other details.

On Wednesday, a four-hour wave of drones that Moscow blamed on Ukraine hit an airport near Russia’s border with Estonia and Latvia, damaging four Il-76 military transport planes, according to local reports.

Zelensky makes long-range weapon claim after strike deep inside Russia

Poland and South Korea defense ministers discuss security cooperation, support for Ukraine

Friday 1 September 2023 01:00 , Eleanor Noyce

The defense ministers of Poland and South Korea held talks in Warsaw Thursday on security and support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s aggression, as well as on further cooperation in the armaments sector.

Poland is purchasing tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons and military equipment from South Korea as it upgrades its defense potential with concern rising because of the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

The new equipment is also replacing that which Poland has given to Ukraine to help it defend itself against the Russian invasion.

Read more:

Poland and South Korea defense ministers discuss security cooperation, support for Ukraine

Foreign Office confirms death of British volunteer in Ukraine

Friday 1 September 2023 00:01 , Eleanor Noyce

The Foreign Office has confirmed the death of a British man who, his family said, had been fighting in Ukraine.

Samuel Newey, 22, from Solihull in the West Midlands, was “killed in action” on Wednesday in eastern Ukraine, his brother, Daniel Newey, said in a social media post.

He wrote on Facebook: “I cannot put into words how broken I feel.

“I also cannot emphasise how proud I am of my little brother.”

Foreign Office confirms death of British volunteer in Ukraine

Putin’s forces pushed back in southern Ukraine – as Zelensky claims new long-range weapon

Thursday 31 August 2023 23:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine’s forces have pushed back Russian troops in areas of the country’s south and east as Kyiv pushes on with its counteroffensive – with President Volodymyr Zelensky also claiming that his country has developed a new long-range weapon.

The pronouncement by Mr Zelensky that the unnamed weapon reached a target of more than 400 miles (700 kilometres) away comes a day after a wave of drone strikes across six regions in Russian. Those strikes included an assault that caused a huge fire at a military air base in Pskov in northern Russia, damaging several giant military transport planes on the tarmac. That air base is roughly 400 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Chris Stevenson has the full story:

Putin’s forces pushed back in south Ukraine – as Zelensky claims new weapon

UN chief sends Russia bid to revive Black Sea grain deal

Thursday 31 August 2023 22:08 , Eleanor Noyce

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday that he had sent Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “a set of concrete proposals” aimed at reviving a deal that allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea.

Russia quit the deal in July - a year after it was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey - complaining that its own food and fertiliser exports faced obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need. Guterres’ letter comes ahead of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan. Two Turkish sources told Reuters the pair will meet on Monday and primarily discuss Black Sea grain exports.

The Black Sea grain deal was intended to combat a global food crisis that the United Nations said had been worsened by Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine are both leading grain exporters.

“I believe we presented a proposal that could be the basis for a renewal, but a renewal that must be stable,” Guterres told reporters, without elaborating on details of the proposal.

“We cannot have a Black Sea initiative that moves from crisis to crisis, from suspension to suspension. We need to have something that works and that works to the benefit of everyone,” he said.

A Russian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters earlier on Thursday “there are no revelations” in Guterres’ letter to Lavrov and that it just “sums up of previous U.N. ideas, which didn’t fly.” Lavrov said earlier on Thursday, after meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Moscow, that Russia sees no sign that it will receive the guarantees that will allow it to resume the Black Sea grain deal.

Russia has said that if demands to improve its own exports of grain and fertiliser were met, it would consider resurrecting the Black Sea agreement. One of Moscow’s main demands is for the Russian Agricultural Bank to be reconnected to the SWIFT international payments system. The EU cut it off in June 2022.

Russia earns less from oil and spends more on war. So far, sanctions are working like a slow poison

Thursday 31 August 2023 21:10 , Maanya Sachdeva

The Russian ruble’s wobble in value has exposed a crack in president Vladimir Putin‘s fortress economy, a vulnerability quickly plastered over by the Kremlin‘s economic team in a move that allowed the currency to regain its footing, at least for now.

Yet the patch — an emergency interest rate increase — cannot hide the dilemma at the heart of the Russian economy: how to fund the military while not undermining the national currency and overheating the economy with corrosive and politically embarrassing inflation.

Read more here:

So far, Russia sanctions are working like a slow poison

ICYMI: Putin jails Russian soldiers for refusing to return to Ukraine

Thursday 31 August 2023 20:10 , Maanya Sachdeva

Two Russian soldiers have been jailed for refusing to return to the frontline in Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

In an intelligence update posted on Twitter, the ministry said two Russian soldiers were sentenced to serve at least two years in a penal colony by a military court for refusing to obey orders to return to the front in Ukraine.

It comes after Russian independent media outlet Mediazona reported that Russia was convicting close to 100 soldiers a week for refusing to fight.

Martha McHardy has the full story:

Putin jails Russian soldiers for refusing to return to Ukraine

Russia destroys Ukrainian drone over Bryansk region - Defence Ministry

Thursday 31 August 2023 20:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian anti-aircraft units destroyed a Ukrainian drone on Thursday over Bryansk region in the south of the country, the Defence Ministry said on Telegram.

Bryansk region has been the target of several of Ukraine‘s recent attempts to launch drone strikes on Russian territory.

Ukraine thanks Ben Wallace for inspiring other countries to support embattled nation

Thursday 31 August 2023 19:10 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ukraine‘s Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov thanked Ben Wallace on Thursday for his “energy and dedication”, after Rishi Sunak appointed ex-energy minister Grant Shapps the UK’s new defence secretary.

Mr Reznikov wrote on X/Twitter:“His authority has inspired other countries to join in assisting Ukraine.”

Mr Shapps vowed to continue to support Ukraine against Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “barbaric invasion” in a post on X, shortly after his appointment was announced.

Lukashenko says demands by Poland and Baltics for Wagner to quit Belarus are 'stupid'

Thursday 31 August 2023 18:10 , Maanya Sachdeva

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said demands by Poland and the Baltic states for the withdrawal of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group from Belarus were “groundless and stupid”, state news agency BELTA reported on Thursday.

BELTA quoted Lukashenko as saying that opposition to Wagner’s presence in Belarus was unjustified as long as foreign troops are stationed in Poland and the Baltics, which are all members of NATO.

Wagner, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash in Russia last week, relocated some of its fighters to Belarus under a deal brokered by Lukashenko to end a brief mutiny by the mercenary army against the Russian defence establishment in June.

Poland and its neighbours see Wagner’s presence in Belarus as a security threat, and Warsaw in response has moved some of its own troops eastwards towards the Belarus border.

BELTA quoted Lukashenko as saying that Poland and the Baltics had no right to complain about Wagner in Belarus as long as they had “even one foreign serviceman” on their soil

“In the meantime, these are groundless and stupid demands,” he said.

What next for the Wagner Group as leader presumed dead in plane crash?

Thursday 31 August 2023 17:40 , Maanya Sachdeva

Options for the mercenary group – in the wake of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s demise – include complete dissolution, nationalisation into the conventional Russian army or finding a new leader.

In any case, Russian president Vladimir Putin is set to hold the key to the group’s future.

Read more here:

What next for the Wagner Group in Russia?

Who is Grant Shapps, the man taking over as Defence Secretary?

Thursday 31 August 2023 17:10 , Maanya Sachdeva

Grant Shapps will take the reins at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) against a backdrop of war in Europe and with his predecessor Ben Wallace warning the world will become more insecure and unstable.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new defence secretary:

Who is Grant Shapps, the man taking over as Defence Secretary?

British man killed in Ukraine ‘acted with courage, morality and honour’

Thursday 31 August 2023 16:40 , Maanya Sachdeva

A British man has died while fighting Russian forces in Ukraine.

Sam Newey, 22, died while serving on the frontline in Ukraine. The 22-year-old was killed in action in Eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, according to his brother.

His brother paid tribute to him on social media, saying he was “broken” at the news of his death, but said he was “proud” of his younger brother.

Read more here:

British man killed in Ukraine ‘acted with courage, morality and honour’

Russia says it will deepen ties with North Korea, doesn't confirm Putin-Kim letter exchange

Thursday 31 August 2023 16:10 , Maanya Sachdeva

Russia said on Thursday it intended to develop ties with North Korea, while not confirming a statement by the White House that Russian president Vladimir Putin had exchanged letters with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The White House said on Wednesday it was concerned that arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea were advancing actively, and said Putin and Kim had written to each other pledging to increase their cooperation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not answer directly when asked by reporters if the letter exchange had taken place.

“Moscow and Pyongyang maintain good, mutually respectful relations. We intend to develop them further. Contacts are being made at various levels,” he said, calling North Korea “a very important neighbour”.

Washington has warned before that North Korea could provide more weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine.

Earlier this month the United States imposed sanctions on three entities it accused of being tied to arms deals between North Korea and Russia.

First Indian companies sanctioned over trade with Russia, report reveals

Thursday 31 August 2023 15:40 , Maanya Sachdeva

Sanctions were slapped on two Indian firms over their alleged ties to a Russian state-owned diamond major, revealed a report that underscored the first instance of the country’s businesses coming under American penalties imposed after the Ukraine invasion.

Full story here:

First Indian companies sanctioned over trade with Russia, report reveals

Prigozhin's right-hand man in Wagner buried quietly near Moscow

Thursday 31 August 2023 15:10 , Maanya Sachdeva

The co-founder and military commander of the Wagner was buried near Moscow on Thursday, after dying in an unexplained plane crash that also killed his boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Dmitry Utkin, 53, whose call-sign “Wagner” gave the private army its name, was buried in Mytishchi, on the outskirts of the capital, in a ceremony cordoned off by Russian military police, according to the popular online news channel Shot.

Prigozhin had been buried on Tuesday in an equally discreet ceremony in his hometown of St Petersburg that contrasted starkly with his loud and often foul-mouthed presence on social media.

Before helping to found Wagner as Prigozhin’s shadowy right-hand man, Utkin served as a special forces officer in the GRU military intelligence service, where he held the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He fought for Wagner to support Moscow’s military campaigns in Syria and Ukraine, and was photographed in 2016 at the Kremlin with president Vladimir Putin.

At the end of June, a source told Reuters that Utkin was the leader of an armed convoy of Wagner mutineers that advanced towards Moscow to back Prigozhin’s demand that the military leadership resign over its failures in what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Zelensky says Ukraine has developed a long-range weapon, a day after a strike deep inside Russia

Thursday 31 August 2023 14:10 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday his country has developed a weapon that hit a target 700 kilometers (400 miles) away, in an apparent reference to the previous day’s strike on an airport in western Russia.

Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel the weapon was produced by Ukraine‘s Ministry of Strategic Industries but gave no other details.

On Wednesday, a four-hour wave of drones that Moscow blamed on Ukraine hit an airport near Russia’s border with Estonia and Latvia, damaging four Il-76 military transport planes, according to local reports.

The airport is in Russia’s Pskov region, about 700 kilometers (400 miles) north of the Ukrainian border.

In all, six Russian regions were targeted in the barrage amid the 18-month war.

It was not immediately clear whether the drones were launched from Ukraine or inside Russia.Kyiv officials normally neither claim nor deny responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, though they sometimes refer obliquely to them.

Zelenskyy’s remark was the clearest hint that Ukraine was behind the strike.

Ukraine defence minister Kuleba tells critics of counteroffensive to ‘shut up’

Thursday 31 August 2023 14:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba hit out on Thursday at critics of Kyiv’s tactics in its counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion, saying they were spitting in the faces of Ukrainian soldiers and should “shut up”.

“Criticising the slow pace of (the) counter-offensive equals ... spitting into the face of (the) Ukrainian soldier who sacrifices his life every day, moving forward and liberating one kilometre of Ukrainian soil after another,” Mr Kuleba told reporters at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Toledo, Spain.

The New York Times last week quoted US and other Western officials as saying that the offensive had made limited progress because Ukraine had too many troops in the wrong places.

“I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine and try to liberate one square centimetre by themselves,” Kuleba said, standing alongside Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.

Ukraine reports some battlefield 'successes' in the south, east

Thursday 31 August 2023 13:38 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ukrainian troops have secured some new “successes” in the south and east as they try to push forward their counteroffensive against Russian forces, the deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Thursday.

Kyiv’s forces have been making slow progress against Russian minefields and trenches blocking a southern push intended to reach the Sea of Azov and split Russian forces.

“There have been some successes, in particular in the direction of Novodanylivka-Novoprokopivka,” Ms Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app, referring to two southeastern villages in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Novoprokopivka lies further south of the strategic settlement of Robotyne, which Ukraine said on Monday it had liberated.

She also said Kyiv’s forces were pressing on with their offensive operations south of the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian troops in May.

Heavy fighting raged on in the villages of Klishchiivka, Kurdyumivka and Andriivka, Ms Maliar said.

She added that “active” fighting was also underway on the Lyman front in the east, where Russian troops had attempted to advance near the villages of Novoyehorivka and Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region.

Britain’s Royal Navy tracks Russian vessels close to UK waters

Thursday 31 August 2023 13:30 , Maanya Sachdeva

Britain’s Royal Navy said in a statement on Thursday that its warships and patrol aircraft tracked a series of Russian vessels close to its waters in what it called “a concerted monitoring operation”.

The Royal Navy said submarine hunting frigates and P8 Poseidon patrol aircraft monitored movements of the Russian Navy in the Channel, North Sea and North Atlantic, without specifying when the operation had taken place.

The Russian vessels included corvettes Boikiy and Grad, cruiser Marshal Ustinov, the Udaloy-class destroyer Severomorsk, as well as others, according to the statement.

Britain is a key defence supplier for Ukraine and Russia has condemned the help Britain has provided to Kyiv.

The Royal Navy routinely tracks the movements of Russian warships sailing near its waters.

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website