Ukraine-Russia war - live: Putin’s Black Sea navy HQ hit in missile strike as Kyiv breaches frontline defences

Ukraine has struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in a missile attack that left a serviceman missing and the main building smouldering, according to military chiefs on both sides.

Within hours, US president Joe Biden reportedly told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that he would provide Kyiv with ATACMS long-range missile, as Canada pledged to give an extra £393.5m in military aid to Ukraine over the next three years.

Following the attack in the port city of Sevastopol in Crimea, the Russian defence ministry initially said one service member was killed but later changed that to say he was missing.

It said its air defence systems responding to the attack shot down five missiles. Firefighters battled the blaze, and more emergency forces were brought in.

At the same time, Ukrainian tanks penetrated Putin’s final line of defence in western Zaporizhia Oblast, signalling a big breakthrough, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

It is the first instance of Ukrainian tanks advancing through Russia’s strong defensive layer of anti-tank ditches and obstacles, said the institute.

Key Points

• Ukrainian missile strikes Sevastopol

• Ukrainian counteroffensive pushes through Putin’s final line of defence

• Zelensky warns energy terror has begun

• Putin’s spies ‘hacking Ukrainian files for Russian war crimes evidence’

• US ‘to give Kyiv ATACMS long-range missiles’

• In pictures - Trudeau gives Zelensky a warm welcome

Ukraine’s Zelensky meets the leader of Sudan

16:00 , Nick Ferris

Ukraine’s Zelensky met the leader of Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on Saturday

Zelensky said that he held an impromptu meeting in Ireland’s Shannon airport, where they discussed Russia-funded armed groups.

“We discussed our common security challenges, namely the activities of illegal armed groups financed by Russia,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

He thanked Sudan, which is currently in the middle of a deadly civil war, for its support for Ukraine.

ICYMI: US ‘to give Kyiv ATACMS long-range missiles’

15:30 , Nick Ferris

US President Joe Biden has informed Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington will provide Kyiv with ATACMS long-range missiles, NBC News reported on Friday.

Kyiv has repeatedly asked the Biden administration for Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to help attack and disrupt supply lines, air bases and rail networks in Russian occupied territory.

But the White House did not disclose any decision on ATACMS when Zelensky visited Washington on Thursday for talks with Biden, even as it announced a new $325 million military aid package for Kyiv.

ATACMS are designed for “deep attack of enemy second-echelon forces,” a US Army website says, and could be used to attack command and control centers, air defences and logistics sites well behind the front line.

Senior Russian generals injured in Friday’s missile strike on Crimea

15:09 , Nick Ferris

Senior Russian generals were injured in Friday’s missile strike on Crimea, Ukraine’s intelligence chief has claimed.

Kyrylo Budanov told Voice of America on Saturday that at least nine people were killed and 16 injured as a result of Kyiv’s attack on the Black Sea Fleet on Friday.

He claimed that Alexander Romanchuk, a Russian general commanding forces along the key southeastern front line, was “in a very serious condition” following the attack.

He added that chief of staff, Lieutenant General Oleg Tsekov is also unconscious.

Budanov’s claim could not be independently verified.

Ukraine’s military have also offered more details about Friday’s attack on Sevastopol.

It said the air force conducted 12 strikes on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, targeting areas where personnel, military equipment and weapons were concentrated. It said two anti-aircraft missile systems and four Russian artillery units were hit.

Ukraine continues to strike Crimea a day after striking Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters

14:15 , Nick Ferris

Ukraine launched another missile attack on Sevastopol in occupied Crimea on Saturday, a Russian official said, a day after an attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet left a serviceman missing and the main building smoldering.

Sevastopol was put on air raid alert for about an hour after debris from intercepted missiles fell on the city, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on the messaging app Telegram.

Ferry traffic in the area was also halted and later resumed.Loud blasts were also heard near Vilne in northern Crimea, followed by rising clouds of smoke, according to a pro-Ukrainian Telegram news channel that reports on developments on the peninsula.

Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, has been a frequent target for Ukrainian forces since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the neighboring country almost 19 months ago.

‘Senior’ Russian naval officers were killed in Russian naval headquarters attack, says Ukraine

13:30 , Nick Ferris

‘Senior’ Russian naval officers were killed and injured in a missile strike on Russia’s naval headquarters in Sevastopol, says Ukraine.

“The details of the attack will be revealed as soon as possible and the result is dozens of dead and wounded occupants, including senior fleet commanders,” the Ukrainian army said. It said the strike happened when “a meeting of the Russian navy’s leadership” was taking place.

The claims have yet to be verified by non-Ukrainian media.

Following the attack , the Russian defence ministry said its air defence systems responding to the attack shot down five missiles. Firefighters battled the blaze, and more emergency forces were brought in.

Ukraine breaks through Russian lines in south, says general

13:00 , Nick Ferris

Kyiv’s army has broken through Russian lines in southern Ukraine, the general leading the Southern counteroffensive said on Friday.

Ukraine launched its counteroffensive to claw back territory from Russian forces in June, but critics have said that progress so far has been slower than expected.

Kyiv has in recent weeks reported making strategic advances in the Zaporizhzhia region, with new reports of a breakthrough emerging on saturday.

“On the left flank we have a breakthrough and we continue to advance further,” General Tarnavskiy told CNN.

He nonetheless acknowledged that the advance had been “Not as fast as it was excepted, not like in the movies about the Second World War”. But it is important “not to lose this initiative”, he said.

Ukraine inflicting ‘hell’ on Russian lines near Bakhmut

12:30 , Nick Ferris

Ukrainian heavy artillery is inflicting ‘hell’ on Russian lines near Bakhmut, Ukrainian commanders have told Reuters.

Heavy weapons supplied by the West in the fierce battle raging on the outskirts of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia in May, are inflicting significant damage on enemy lines.

Following the capture of the key village of Klishchiivka last week, the 155 millimetre howitzers provided by the US and its NATO allies are proving key in the Ukrainian counteroffensive, say commanders.

“They (the Russians) hate our hardware”, said Unit commander Oleksandr. “That’s what we gather from our intercepts. We hear that we keep giving them hell and they keep wondering how much ammunition we have left.”

Oleksandr, 30, described Klishchiivka - a village close to the devastated town of Bakhmut - as “one of the places they (the Russians) were clinging to.”

“We will see what’s next. We will develop our success,” he said.

Why ATACMS could make a big difference in Ukraine’s counter-offensive

12:00 , Nick Ferris

Nicknamed “attack’ems”, ATACMS stands for “Army Tactical Missile System”.

Sources in Washington have told numerous media outlets that President is set to begin providing the missiles to the Ukrainian army.

They have an 180 mile range, are guided, can be fired in any weather, and can be fired from Ukraine’s existing fleet of missile launchers.

Ukraine’s commanders have been requesting them for some time, as they are able to hit targets deep into Russian supply lines.

US generals have until now been reluctant to hand over the missles however, reports Sky, over concerns as to how Russia would react, as well as concerns over the size of the American stock of ATACMS.

Ex-Wagner commander arrested in Norway for attempting return to Russia

11:30 , Nick Ferris

Norwegian police have arrested a former commander of the Wagner mercenary group on suspicion that he tried to illegally cross the border back into Russia after seeking asylum in Norway earlier this year, his lawyer said on Saturday.

At the time of his arrival in Norway, Andrei Medvedev said he was seeking asylum after witnessing the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners brought to the frontline in Ukraine. Medvedev described running as Russian guards fired shots at him.

Now, police said in a statement late on Friday that a man in his 20s had been taken into custody for attempting to illegally cross the Russian border, but did not name him. An officer with the Finnmark local police declined to give the arrested man’s identity.

But Medvedev’s arrest was due to a misunderstanding, his Norwegian lawyer Brynjulf Risnes told Reuters.

“He was up there to see if he could find the place where he crossed (into Norway in January). He was stopped when he was in a taxi. He was never near the border ... It was never his intention to cross the border (into Russia),” Risnes said.

One-month anniversary of Wagner boss Prigozhin’s death marked with Kremlin silence

11:02 , Nick Ferris

It remains a mystery why Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private jet plummeted into a field northwest of Moscow. But the Russian military leaders he tried to oust remain in power, and the Wagner mercenary army is under new management.A month after Prigozhin was killed in a suspicious plane crash, the Kremlin is keeping the demise of the outspoken Wagner chief as low-key as possible, reports AP.

Putin was absent from Prigozhin’s funeral and troops prevented the media from entering Porokhovskoye Cemetery in St. Petersburg during his burial on August 29 .Prigozhin’s funeral was “the culmination of a covert operation aimed at his elimination,” Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told AP. It was an event “shrouded in secrecy and involved deceptive tactics,” she said.Makeshift memorials that sprouted on the streets of several cities honoring the 62-year-old Prigozhin have been quietly removed by authorities. Recruitment billboards for the Wagner Group have also vanished.

A surveillance camera is now mounted on a nearby tree and a 24-hour guard monitors Prigozhin’s well-tended grave.

Victory for Zelensky as US ‘agrees’ to send long-range missiles to Ukraine

08:00 , Nick Ferris

US President Joe Biden is planning to provide Ukraine with advanced long-range missiles in order to assist with the ongoing counter-offensive against Russia’s invasion, reports US media.

Biden reportedly told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he would provide Kyiv with ATACMS long-range missile, which have a range of 190 miles, and would enable Kyiv to hit Russian targets deep behind the front line.

The news comes as at least one Ukrainian missile hit the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in annexed Crimea on Friday.

The attack was reportedly carried out using Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of 150 miles, and are supplied by Britain and France.

Following the attack on Sevastopol, the Russian defence ministry said its air defence systems responding to the attack shot down five missiles. Firefighters battled the blaze, and more emergency forces were brought in.

Why has Poland stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine?

07:00 , Tara Cobham

Poland has announced it will no longer be sending weapons to Ukraine amid growing tension between Warsaw and Kyiv after a ban on Ukrainian grain imports was extended.

Prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he would instead be investing the money in arming Poland, which has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies since Russia invaded last year, with the most “modern weapons”.

The announcement coincides with tensions reaching boiling point between the two neighbours after Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said some countries were “feigning solidarity by indirectly supporting Russia” with a ban on grain imports.

Alexander Butler reports:

Why has Poland stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine?

Zelensky gets standing ovation as he calls on Canada to ‘stay with’ Ukraine

06:48 , Stuti Mishra

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called on Canada to “stay with” his country in its war against Russia, in his first visit to the country since the start of the invasion.

The Ukrainian president arrived in Canada’s capital Ottawa late on Thursday night and addressed the parliament on Friday where he sought to bolster support from Western allies for Ukraine’s war.

“Moscow must lose once and for all. And it will lose,” Mr Zelensky said.

Read more:

Zelensky gets standing ovation as he calls on Canada to ‘stay with’ Ukraine

Key war developments on Friday beyond Crimea

06:00 , Tara Cobham

In other war developments on Friday beyond those in Crimea, ongoing shelling in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region killed one man and injured another, according to regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin.

In the northeast, regional Gov. Oleh Synyehubov said over 14 settlements came under attack in Kharkiv. There were no casualties, the governor said.

Russian forces also struck Kremenchuk in the central Poltava region, killing one person and injuring 31 others including three children, regional Governor Dmytro Lunin said.

In pictures: Russia’s Black Sea navy HQ hit in missile strike

05:00 , Tara Cobham

Zelenskyy accuses Russia of ‘genocide’ at Canadian Parliament

04:00 , Tara Cobham

The Ukrainian President accused Russia of “genocide” in his address to the Canadian Parliament on Friday.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy captioned a post on X: “In my today’s address to the Parliament of Canada I emphasized that what Russian occupiers are doing to Ukraine is genocide. And when we want to win, when we call on the world to support us, it’s not just about an ordinary conflict. It’s about saving lives of millions of people.”

What are Abrams tanks and why is US sending them to Ukraine?

03:00 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine’s military has reportedly succeeded in driving tanks through Russia’s defensive line in western Zaporizhzhia, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a major breakthrough after Vladimir Putin’s forces spent the winter establishing a tough obstacle course of anti-tank ditches, artillery nests and other obstructions.

The institute could not confirm that Ukrainian troops had followed suit at the breakthrough point near Verbove but the news is nevertheless a welcome indication that Kyiv’s counteroffensive is bearing fruit as it seeks to drive the invader from its territory.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is currently in North America seeking to shore up support from his US counterpart Joe Biden and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and has already flown out of Washington with the promise of a new $325m military aid package for his country that will include air defence systems and other weaponry to help it through what promises to be another trying winter of combat.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

What are Abrams tanks and why is the US sending them to Ukraine?

Friday’s attack among several recently launched by Ukraine on Crimea

02:00 , Tara Cobham

The attack on Friday is one of several recently launched by Ukraine in the Crimea area.

The Institute for the Study of War said satellite imagery this week showed that Ukrainian strikes had significantly damaged a communications command center in Verkhnosadove, just outside Sevastopol.

Russian-installed authorities in Sevastopol accused Ukraine on 13 September of carrying out the biggest attack in Crimea in weeks, one on a strategic shipyard that damaged two ships undergoing repairs and caused a fire at the facility.

Two days earlier, Ukraine claimed it had recaptured strategic gas and oil drilling platforms in the Black Sea that Russia seized in 2015. Russia had used the platforms for electronic warfare equipment and to launch helicopters, and Ukraine said getting control of them would help it regain Crimea.

In pictures: The fight in Donetsk

01:00 , Jane Dalton

Moscow court refuses to hear appeal by detained US journalist

Saturday 23 September 2023 00:01 , Jane Dalton

ICYMI earlier this week: A Moscow court has rejected an appeal by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich challenging an extension of his detention on spying charges:

Moscow court refuses to hear appeal by detained US journalist Evan Gershkovich

Friday 22 September 2023 23:04 , Jane Dalton

Members of Russia’s Youth Army military-patriotic movement held a ceremony to unveil a memorial in Leningrad to Russian soldiers killed in the war.

Grain dispute won’t harm our relations, says Polish president

Friday 22 September 2023 22:00 , Jane Dalton

A dispute between Poland and Ukraine over grain imports will not significantly affect the countries’ good bilateral relations, the Polish president said on Friday, as he moved to ease tensions over the issue.

Poland decided last week to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports, shaking Kyiv’s relationship with a neighbour that has been seen as one of its staunchest allies since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.

“I have no doubt that the dispute over the supply of grain from Ukraine to the Polish market is an absolute fragment of the entire Polish-Ukrainian relations,” President Andrzej Duda told a business conference.

“I don’t believe that it can have a significant impact on them, so we need to solve this matter between us.”

Double blow for Putin

Friday 22 September 2023 21:05 , Jane Dalton

In full: Russia’s Black Sea fleet headquarters were in flames after a fiery missile attack, bringing yet more woe to Vladimir Putin after Ukraine’s tanks reportedly broke through his final line of defence in western Zaporizhzhia:

Double blow for Putin as navy attacked and Ukraine forces ‘punch through front line’

Don’t insult us, Polish PM tells Zelensky

Friday 22 September 2023 19:56 , Jane Dalton

Poland’s prime minister has told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky not to “insult” Poles, amid the simmering row over grain imports.

Poland decided last week to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports, shaking Kyiv’s relationship with a neighbour that has been seen as one of its staunchest allies.

Mr Zelensky angered his neighbours when he told the United Nations General Assembly in New York that Kyiv was working to preserve land routes for grain exports, but that the “political theatre” around grain imports was only helping Moscow.

“I... want to tell President Zelensky never to insult Poles again, as he did recently during his speech at the UN,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.

US 'promises Ukraine long-coveted long-range missiles’

Friday 22 September 2023 19:15 , Jane Dalton

President Joe Biden has reportedly promised Volodymyr Zelensky that the US will provide his country with a long-range missile system that his armed forces could use to attack targets in Russian-occupied territory or in Russia itself:

Biden promised Ukraine long-coveted ATACMS long-range missiles, report says

Russian aggression must end with our victory, says Zelensky

Friday 22 September 2023 19:00 , Jane Dalton

The Ukrainian leader won enthusiastic applause in Canada’s parliament when he said Russian destruction of communities and cities such as Mariupol must not go unpunished.

“This Russian aggression must end with our victory,” he said, delivering his speech in English.

Recalling how Canada always defended justice, he thanked the parliamentarians for “being on the right side”, for their political and economic support and being an example of leadership.

Equipment including air-defence systems and artillery shells had helped save thousands of lives, he said.

Through manipulation of energy sources, Russia was trying to break his country, Mr Zelensky went on.

Canada promises Kyiv nearly £400m in military aid

Friday 22 September 2023 18:47 , Jane Dalton

Canada will give an extra C$650m (£393.5m) in military aid to Ukraine over next three years, prime minister Justin Trudeau told his country’s parliament, watched by Volodymyr Zelensky.

He also announced new funding to support Ukrainians’ mental health.

Standing ovation for Zelensky

Friday 22 September 2023 18:29 , Jane Dalton

Canadian politicians gave Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena a standing ovation as they arrived in the parliament chamber.

Putin’s spies ‘hacking Ukrainian files for Russian war crimes evidence’

Friday 22 September 2023 18:08 , Jane Dalton

Moscow’s spies are using hackers to target computer systems at law-enforcement agencies in Ukraine in an attempt to obtain evidence of alleged Russian war crimes, Ukraine’s cyber defence chief says.

The hackers, working across Russia’s foreign, domestic and military intelligence agencies, have stepped up digital intrusion campaigns targeting the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office and departments documenting war crimes, according to Yurii Shchyhol, head of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP), which handles cyber defence in the country.

“There’s been a change in direction, from a focus on energy facilities towards law-enforcement institutions which had previously not been targeted that often,” Mr Shchyhol told Reuters.

“This shift, towards the courts, prosecutors and law enforcement units, shows that hackers are gathering evidence about Russian war crimes in Ukraine” with a view to following Ukraine’s investigations, he added.

The espionage activity will be flagged in an report by the service, due to be published on Monday.

Watch Zelensky address

Friday 22 September 2023 17:56 , Jane Dalton

Mr Zelensky is due to address the Canadian parliament at 6pm UK time. Watch live:

Live: Zelensky addresses Canadian parliament in first visit since Russian invasion

Abrams tanks: why the US is sending them to Ukraine

Friday 22 September 2023 17:40 , Jane Dalton

The US has pledged to send 31 M1 Abram battle tanks, worth an estimated $400m, to Ukraine. They are “much better protected than anything the Soviets built, or anything the Russians currently have”:

What are Abrams tanks and why is the US sending them to Ukraine?

US ‘to give Kyiv ATACMS long-range missiles’

Friday 22 September 2023 17:02 , Jane Dalton

US President Joe Biden has informed Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington will provide Kyiv with ATACMS long-range missiles, NBC News reported on Friday.

Kyiv has repeatedly asked the Biden administration for Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to help attack and disrupt supply lines, air bases and rail networks in Russian occupied territory.

But the White House did not disclose any decision on ATACMS when Zelensky visited Washington on Thursday for talks with Biden, even as it announced a new $325 million military aid package for Kyiv.

ATACMS are designed for “deep attack of enemy second-echelon forces,” a US Army website says, and could be used to attack command and control centers, air defences and logistics sites well behind the front line.

‘I have a lot of warm words and thanks'

Friday 22 September 2023 16:09 , Lydia Patrick

Zelensky says he does not have time to see ‘the beautiful country’ of Canada but promises he will visit again ‘after the victory’.

He expressed his gratitude for Canadian support.

Zelensky arrives in Canadian parliament

Friday 22 September 2023 16:01 , Lydia Patrick

Justin Trudeau welcomes Volodymyr Zelenskey in the Canadian Parliament.

Trudeau jokes he ‘sees these people every day’ as he lets Zelenskey go ahead of him to greet his colleagues.

Watch live below

Live: Zelensky addresses Canadian parliament in first visit since Russian invasion

Ukraine confirm attack on Black Sea HQ

Friday 22 September 2023 15:55 , Lydia Patrick

Ukraine‘s military confirmed it had attacked the Russian Black Sea fleet’s headquarters, but gave few details.

Ukraine‘s defence forces successfully struck the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet command in the temporarily occupied Sevastopol,” it said on the Telegram messaging app.

Watch live - Zelensky addresses Canadian parliament in first visit since Russian invasion

Friday 22 September 2023 15:38 , Lydia Patrick

Live: Zelensky addresses Canadian parliament in first visit since Russian invasion

Unprecedented cyber attack, officaials say

Friday 22 September 2023 15:30 , Lydia Patrick

Crimea was hit by a cyberattack after Ukraine attacked Russia’s Black Sea fleet headquarters, officials say.

Oleg Kryuchkov, adviser to the Russian governor of the region, wrote on Telegram.

Oleg Kryuchkov

Everything we know about significant Ukrainian breakthrough in Zaporizhzhia

Friday 22 September 2023 15:15 , Lydia Patrick

Ukrainian tanks appeare to have broken through Russia’s final line of defence in western Zaporizhzhia, signalling a major breakthrough for Kyiv’s counteroffensive.

A report published by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Ukrainian armoured vehicles were behind the Russian defence line – known as the Surovikin line – for the first time, and involved in fighting near the village of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region.

“Ukrainian forces have brought heavy equipment beyond the anti-vehicle ditch and the dragons’ teeth for the first time,” said George Barros, an analyst for ISW, on X, formerly known as Twitter. He added: “Forces have been widening their breach of the lines for the past several weeks and may be preparing for a new push.”

The reported breakthrough comes as Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky looked to Canadian’s prime minister Justin Trudeau for further military support, after securing a $325m defence package from US President Joe Biden on Thursday.

Some 577 days into the conflict, experts see the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive to liberate Zaporizhzhia as the key to breaking Russia’s backbone, and potentially winning the war.

Read the full report here

Ukrainian forces ‘smash through Russian front line’ in counteroffensive breakthrough

In pictures - Ukrainian children hospital host party for patients

Friday 22 September 2023 14:43 , Lydia Patrick

Just in - Photo of the Sevastopol strike

Friday 22 September 2023 14:27 , Lydia Patrick

Why has Poland stopped sending weapons to Ukraine?

Friday 22 September 2023 14:16 , Lydia Patrick

Poland has said it will stop exporting weapons to Ukraine as a week of escalating tensions between the two countries reached boiling point over a ban on grain imports.

Prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he would instead invest the money in arming Poland, which has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies since Russia invaded last year, with the most “modern weapons”.

The row between the neighbouring countries began last week when Poland imposed an import ban on Ukrainian grain, including wheat and maize, after an EU-brokered deal expired.

The deal, which ended on 15 September, allowed Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia to ban the sale of Ukrainian grain, which they claim has flooded the European market and undercut domestic grain prices since Putin’s invasion, damaging their economies.

But Ukraine launched a legal challenge at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Monday after Poland reinstated the ban, claiming the country had failed to meet its “international obligations”.

Read the full story here

Poland stops sending arms to Ukraine as row over grain imports grows

Update - Russian serviceman not killed in Sevastapol strike

Friday 22 September 2023 14:10 , Lydia Patrick

The Russian defence ministry has updated its earlier statement to say that one servicemember is missing in action, not killed as it earlier said, as a result of the strike on Sevastopol.

In pictures - Pope Francis meets Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican

Friday 22 September 2023 14:08 , Lydia Patrick

Russia say they have intercepted Crimea cruise missiles

Friday 22 September 2023 14:02 , Lydia Patrick

“Over the territory of the Republic of Crimea, air defence has shot down cruise missiles,” the Moscow-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said on Telegram.

He did not specify how many missiles were shot down.

IYMI - Zelensky makes passionate plea to US lawmakers on key Washington visit

Friday 22 September 2023 14:00 , Lydia Patrick

Volodymyr Zelensky made a passionate plea to American lawmakers at Capitol Hill as his second trip to Washington – since the Ukraine invasion – came to an end.

The Ukrainian president got a $325m aid package from the Biden administration as he wrapped up his second visit, said to be more muted compared to the hype that surrounded his earlier one.

However, senate majority leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday summed up an impassioned plea made by the wartime president to American lawmakers even as Republicans debate flow of financial aid to Ukraine for more than 20 months now.

“There was a single sentence that summed it all up, and I’m quoting him verbatim. Mr Zelensky said: ‘If we don’t get the aid we will lose the war’,” Mr Schumer told reporters.

Zelensky makes passionate plea to US lawmakers on key Washington visit

Hungary’s foreign minister to meet Russia’s Lavrov on UN sidelines

Friday 22 September 2023 13:57 , Lydia Patrick

Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will meet Sergey Lavrov his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, he has told Hungarian public TV channel M1.

Hungary has openly criticised EU’s sanctions against Russia, but so far supported all the agreed measures.

Russia plans huge defence spending hike in 2024

Friday 22 September 2023 13:45 , Lydia Patrick

Russia plans a huge hike in defence spending next year, swelling to 6% of gross domestic product (GDP), up from 3.9% in 2023 and 2.7% in 2021, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Moscow doubled its target for defence spending in 2023 to more than $100 billion, Reuters reported exclusively in August, as the costs of the war in Ukraine spiral and place growing strain on Moscow’s finances.

Rising war costs are supporting Russia’s modest economic recovery this year with higher industrial production, but have already pushed budget finances to a deficit of around $24 billion - a figure compounded by falling export revenues.

Ukrainian missile strikes Sevastopol

Friday 22 September 2023 13:30 , Lydia Patrick

Russia suffered another blow as Ukraine carried out a fiery missile strike on the main headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, killing one serviceman, the Russian Defense Ministry said

Photos and video showed large plumes of smoke over the building in Sevastopol in annexed Crimea.

The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said no one was injured outside the burning headquarters, and he didn’t provide information on other casualties.

Firefighters battled the blaze, and more emergency forces were being brought in, an indication the fire could be massive.

Sevastopol residents said they heard explosions in the skies and saw smoke, Russian news outlets reported. Images circulated in Ukrainian Telegram channels showed clouds of smoke over the seafront.

A stream of ambulances arrived at the fleet’s headquarters, and shrapnel was scattered hundreds of meters around, the Tass news agency reported.

The Defense Ministry said five missiles were shot down by Russian air defense systems responding to the attack on Sevastopol. It was not immediately clear if the headquarters was hit in a direct strike or by debris from an intercepted missile.

Oleg Kryuchkov, an official with the Crimean administration, said one cruise missile downed near Bakhchysarai, about 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) inland, sparked a grass fire.

Razvozhayev said civilian infrastructure wasn’t damaged but did not mention the impact on the fleet headquarters.

Kremlin says Russian asset owners may sue over proposed Western tax

Friday 22 September 2023 13:00 , Lydia Patrick

The owners of Russian assets frozen in the West may sue relevant governments if they decide to impose a windfall tax on them, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt signaled support on Thursday for a European Union plan to impose a windfall tax on profits generated by frozen Russian sovereign assets to help finance the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Russia refute claims of Ukrainian breakthrough

Friday 22 September 2023 12:45 , Lydia Patrick

Russian-appointed officials in occupied Zaporizhzhia dismiss the Ukrainian breakthrough and say they have struck a Ukrainian assaualt group in the Robotyne area.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Vladimir Rogov, as reported in CNN said:: “Our attack drones have hit an assault group of Ukrainian militants who tried to break through to our positions on the Orikhiv direction between the villages of Robotyne and Verbove.

Ukrainian prime minster warns energy terror has begun

Friday 22 September 2023 12:30 , Lydia Patrick

Ukraine’s prime minister says Russia is retargeting Ukraine’s energy supply in a ‘terror campaign’ to leave millions of Ukrainians freezing this winter, report the Guardian.

Last winter millions of Ukrainians faced brutally harsh conditions as Russia struck Ukraine’s energy grid so residents couldn’t access electricity, heating, and water.

Denys Shmygal said, as reported in The Guardian, at an economic forum in Kyiv: “We understand that the stage of energy terror in this heating season has already begun.”

“We see it in the first attacks on regional power substations in the last two weeks,” he said, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency

He vows the country is better prepared for Russia’s tactics to freeze Ukraine.

He added, as reported in The Guardian: “But we are better prepared for it, because we understand what the enemy is preparing for and what threats and challenges we all face.”

ICYMI - Polish president criticises Zelensky in damning ‘drowning’ statement

Friday 22 September 2023 12:15 , Lydia Patrick

The Polish President, Andrzej Duda, hit out at Ukrainian President Zelenskey as he compared him to a ‘drowning man’.

Rifts between the countries have intensified since Poland stopped providing Ukraine with weapons.

He said on Tuesday: “Ukraine is behaving like a drowning person clinging to everything he can... but we have the right to defend ourselves against harm being done to us,” he told a press briefing in New York.

“A drowning person is extremely dangerous, he can pull you down to the depths... simply drown the rescuer,” Duda said.

Therefore, he continued: “We must act to protect ourselves from the harm being done to us because if the drowning person... drowns us, he will not get help.

“So we have to take care of our interests and we will do it effectively and decisively,” Duda said.

Ukrainian missile strikes Sevastopol

Friday 22 September 2023 12:00 , Lydia Patrick

At least one Ukrainian missile struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea navy in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Friday, causing a fire, local governor Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on the Telegram messaging app.Razvozhayev said another strike was possible and urged locals to avoid the city centre where the building is located. Firefighters were at the site, he said.Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been a frequent target of Ukrainian attacks in the course of the 19-month war.

Kremlin says it’s ‘alert’ to potential Polish threats

Friday 22 September 2023 11:45 , Lydia Patrick

Russia says they are alert to potential threats from Poland, saying they are an“aggressive” country and a problem for their ally Belarus.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also predicted a widening rift between Poland and Ukraine after Warsaw said on Thursday it would not send new arms deliveries to Ukraine.

In pictures - A warm welcome

Friday 22 September 2023 11:30 , Lydia Patrick

ICYMI: Polish President slates Zelensky in damning TV report

Friday 22 September 2023 11:43 , Lydia Patrick

In a recent spate Polish President, Andrzej Duda, called labelled Zelensky as a ‘drowning man’

Tensions between Poland and Ukraine intensified as Poland refused to provide Ukraine with more weapons amidst the grain row.

In footage from a TV interview, he used the analogy of drowning, to say the Ukrainian President was bringing down his rescuers.

He said: “Ukraine is like a drowning man who will drag down those who are trying to help him.

“They say a drowning person is grasping at straws and indeed a drowning person is grasping anything he can.”

‘Ukrainian scheme should be blueprint for future crises'

Friday 22 September 2023 11:00 , Lydia Patrick

A former refugee minister urges successors to use the Homes for Ukraine scheme as a template to welcome other civilians hit by war.

The Conservative peer and former Watford MP was elevated to the House of Lords in March 2022, and appointed the minister for refugees.

Lord Harrington, who stood down from the role in September last year, recounted his experience of it in the Lords chamber.

As of September 18, 132,900 people have arrived in the UK under the sponsorship scheme, with a further 54,400 arriving under a family reunion scheme, according to Government figures.

He told peers: “In Syria, with the Syrian crisis which was equally tragic in so many ways if not more, we had basically sourced from a humanitarian point of view which families to bring over here, based on the grounds of vulnerability which the UNHCR did for us.”

The Tory peer added: “The Homes for Ukraine scheme came out of actually trying to think laterally about another way to settle refugees, because quite clearly without going into all of the asylum stories, there was no capacity in hotels or other ways to do it.”

The former minister listed efforts to reduce visa processing times, and performing checks on the people volunteering their homes as some of the large-scale challenges facing the Government when the scheme was in its infancy.

Lord Harrington told peers: “I think it is the biggest movement of people into the UK that we have had since the Second World War. I am not saying it is perfect, there are a lot of faults and various adaptations of the policy are needed for the future.”

He urged ministers to learn lessons from the scheme to prepare for future refugee crises.

He added: “I hope those lessons are learned and I hope that when the Ukrainian crisis, which of course I hope is over very soon, that is then not forgotten about.”

How have Canada helped Ukrainian war efforts so far?

Friday 22 September 2023 10:45 , Lydia Patrick

Canada has provided more than $8.9 billion Canadian (US$6.6 billion) in support to Ukraine in what Trudeau’s government calls the highest per-capita direct financial support to Ukraine in the Group of 7 industrial nations.More than 175,000 Ukrainians have come to Canada since the war started and n additional 700,000 have received approval to come as part of an initiative that supports temporary relocation of those fleeing the war. The initiative allows for an open work permit for three years with pathways to permanent residency and citizenship.

Hope as the ‘impossible’ happens

Friday 22 September 2023 10:30 , Lydia Patrick

Social media users react to the Ukrainian breakthrough in Zaporizhia which signals hope for the counteroffensive effort.

One man is optimistic the attack could bring a turn in the tide, he said:

War map shows ‘penetration’ of Russian front line

Friday 22 September 2023 10:15 , Alex Ross

This map published by the Institute for the Study of War appears to show Ukrainian advances in occupied Zaporizhzhia, with the think tank claiming Kyiv’s counteroffensive had breached Russia’s front line.

In its report on the situation on the ground, the group said: “The Ukrainian ability to bring armored vehicles to and through the most formidable Russian defenses intended to stop them and to operate these vehicles near prepared Russian defensive positions are important signs of progress in the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

“Russian forces currently defending in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast have been unable to prevent Ukrainian forces from making gradual but steady advances since mid-August.”

The ISW has claimed that Russian losses in the region have ‘significantly increased’ over the past week due to key Ukrainian counteroffensives.

Zelensky arrives in Canada

Friday 22 September 2023 10:00 , Lydia Patrick

Volodymyr Zelensky has landed in Canada in his latest North American visit to shore up support from Western allies against Russia’s continuing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president reached Canada late on Thursday for an unannounced visit shortly after he left Washington and concluded meetings with US president Joe Biden and lawmakers in Washington.

Mr Zelensky was received by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on the tarmac of the Ottawa airport, marking his first visit to the country since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.

Visuals showed the Ukrainian leader and the country’s first lady Olena Zelenska being warmly greeted by Mr Trudeau as the three shook hands.

Mr Zelensky will address the Canadian parliament on Friday as part of his campaign. The war-time president will be joined by Mr Trudeau, who will also deliver a speech.

Read more about Zelensky’s surprise Canadian trip here

Zelensky heads to Canada after Washington in a first since invasion