Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s drones rain down on Kyiv in attack that lasted two hours

Russian drones rained down on Kyiv in an aerial attack that lasted two hours overnight, with blasts ringing out across the city and debris falling on several of its central districts, Ukrainian officials said.

Reporters on the ground heard at least five blasts across the capital early on Sunday, while Ukrainian media footage showed a number of cars damaged. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that one person was injured in the attacks and a fire broke out near one of the city’s parks.

“Drones came onto the capital in groups and from different directions,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that drone debris sparked a fire in an apartment.

Ukraine’s Land Forces said air defence systems destroyed 25 out of 32 Russia-launched Iran-made Shahed drones on Sunday, as Moscow conducts near-nightly assaults on Ukraine’s territory.

Meanwhile, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces estimated 600 Russian troops were killed in one day on Friday, bringing the total lost since February 2022 to 268,140.

The headquarters of the United Russia political party in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Polohy was destroyed in an attack on the same day, according to the mayor of Melitopol, reported the Kyiv Independent.

Key Points

• Ukraine says Russia launches overnight drone attack on Kyiv

• ‘600 members of Putin’s forces killed in one day’ as party HQ destroyed

• British man who went to fight in Ukraine found dead

• IAEA ‘deeply concerned’ by ‘increased military activity’ around Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant

• Signs indicate Russia turning to isolated North Korea to replenish military supplies

US army chief fears Kyiv has only 30 days left for offensive

14:34 , Tara Cobham

Kyiv could have as little as 30 days left for its counter-offensive against Moscow, fears the head of the US military.

General Mark Milley said Ukraine only has around 30 to 45 days left before poor weather conditions hinder its offensive, telling the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg it will become “very difficult to manoeuvre” once the rains come.

Luke O'Reilly reports:

Ukraine has around 45 days left before weather hinders offensive – US army chief

Foreign aid workers killed in Russian missile attack in Ukraine

10:56 , Tara Cobham

Two foreign aid workers were reportedly killed in eastern Ukraine on Sunday as Russian shelling hit a van carrying a team of four working with a Ukrainian NGO.

The four volunteers from the Road to Relief NGO, which helps evacuate wounded people from front-line areas, were trapped inside the van as it flipped over and caught fire after being struck by shells near the town of Chasiv Yar, the organization said on its Instagram page.

Road to Relief said Canadian Anthony Ihnat died in the attack, while German medical volunteer Ruben Mawick and Swedish volunteer Johan Mathias Thyr were seriously injured.

The organisation added that it could not trace the whereabouts of the van's fourth passenger, Emma Igual, a Spanish national who was the organization's director. Hours later, Spain's acting foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares told Spanish media that authorities in Madrid had received "verbal confirmation" of the 32-year-old Igual's death.

The volunteers were on their way to assess the needs of civilians on the outskirts of Bakhmut, Road to Relief said, in reference to the eastern town that saw the war's longest and bloodiest battle before falling to Moscow in May. Ukrainian forces have held on to Bakhmut's western suburbs and are pushing a counteroffensive in the area.

Zelensky says a big breakthrough could lie ahead in counter offensive as Kyiv make gains

22:00 , Lydia Patrick

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian troops had made advances on the southern front and made movements near Bakhmut in the east.

“Over the past seven days we have made an advance in the Tavria (southern) sector,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

“There is movement in the Bakhmut sector. Yes, there is movement.”

Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were holding their ground on other fronts in the east -- Avdiivka and Maryinka near the focus of Russia’s main attacks, and Lyman and Kupiansk, also subject to Russian attempts to advance further north.

Near Avdiivka, the head of the local military administration said Ukrainian troops took advantage of Russian forces focusing on one sector to advance and capture part of the village of Opytne south of the city.

“In my opinion, this is very significant,” Vitaliy Barabash told national television. “To be frank, the enemy overlooked this southern direction a bit.”

Zelensky and other officials have said the counter offensive requires time, dismissing criticism in the Western media that it is proceeding too slowly because of tactical errors.

In an interview with The Economist published on Sunday, Zelensky said making steady progress was essential to maintaining morale.

He suggested a big breakthrough could lie ahead.

G20 summit doesn’t end with ‘family photo’

21:00 , Lydia Patrick

The G20 summit did not end in the usual harmonious manner this Sunday as some members question the and omission of Russia and ‘careful’ language used in the communiqué.

Earlier drafts of the declaration reportedly featured stronger language when it comes to Russia, but a senior European Union official who was part of the negotiations told reporters here at the summit venue on Sunday that it would have spelled the end of the G20 as an organisation if they had not agreed to the watered-down version.

The official said: “Ukraine was the most contentious issue. Extremely different positions were on the table to find the consensus, but it was India’s presidency and we believe in consensus so we had to accept that.”

Read the full story here:

G20 summit ends with no ‘family photo’ and criticism of watered-down declaration

Russian general says Ukraine is a ‘stepping stone’ to the rest of Europe

20:00 , Lydia Patrick

General Andrey Mordvichev spoke out in a TV interview with Russia state TV warning Ukraine is just the beginning to the rest of Eastern Europe.

He also told the presente he expects the war to last a very long time.

As reported in Newsweek, Mordvichev said: “I think there’s still plenty of time to spend. It is pointless to talk about a specified period. If we are talking about Eastern Europe, which we will have to, of course then it will be longer.”

The interviewer then asked if Ukraine was merely a stepping stone.

He responded: “Yes, absolutely. It is only the beginning.”

US Secretary of State defends decision to accept G20 statement - despite criticism

19:30 , Lydia Patrick

Anthony Blinken defended the United State’s decision to agree with the summit’s declaration amid Ukrainian complaints the statment doesn’t do enough to condemn Russia.

During an interview on ABC’s This Week he said:“I was in the room when all the leaders spoke today with President Biden and it was very clear from everything that they said that not only do they want to see this war end, but they want to see it end on just and durable terms and it was also very clear that the consequences of Russia’s aggression are being felt throughout the G20 countries and throughout the developing world.”

“I think it’s very important that the G20 spoke as one,” Blinken added.

Ukrainian foreign ministry Oleg Nikolnko hit out at the statement, saying the language used did not go far enough to condemn Russia.

Blinken routinely pledges his support for Ukraine on social media.

Russia are becoming savvy to Ukranian military tactics, says head of military intelligence

18:30 , Lydia Patrick

Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov spoke at the Yalta European Strategy forum in Kyiv last night.

Ukranian and international policy makers gathered to dicuss the war’s progression.

As reported in The Guardian, Budanov said:

Kyrylo Budanov

ICYMI: British man fighting in Ukraine found dead in water with his hands bound

18:00 , Lydia Patrick

A British man who fought in Ukraine was found dead in a body of water with his hands tied behind his back, his family have revealed.

Jordan Chadwick, 31, who travelled to Ukraine in early October 2022, was fighting in the International Legion.

Mr Chadwick, known as Joe, was from Burnley in Lancashire. He served as a Scots Guard in the British Army from 2011 to 2015.

His mother, Brenda Chadwick, told the BBC her family was “devastated” by her son’s death.

She said: “Although we are extremely proud of his unwavering courage and resilience, his death has been devastating.

Read the full story here

British man fighting in Ukraine found dead in water with his hands bound

ICYMI: Ukraine says G20 summit declaration ‘nothing to be proud of’

17:00 , Lydia Patrick

The Ukrainian foreign ministry hit out at G20’s joint declaration for omitting the mention of Russia and put forward his own corrected version.

The G20 member country’s reached an agreement on Saturday but there was a notable difference in language regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict in comparison with last year’s document.

There were disagreements between European countries who were keen to use strong language to condemn Moscow’s invasion yet Russia and China wouldn’t accept any mention of war.

Nikolenko said:

Moscow hold local elections in occupied regions of Ukraine

16:15 , Lydia Patrick

Russian authorities have reported multiple attempts to sabotage voting in local elections taking place in occupied areas of Ukraine.

Votes are taking place this weekend in 79 regions of Russia, with ballots for governors, regional legislatures, city and municipal councils, as well as in the four Ukrainian regions Moscow annexed illegally last year - the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia provinces - and on the Crimean peninsula, which the Kremlin annexed in 2014.

Kyiv and the West have said balloting in the occupied areas of Ukraine is a violation of international law.

Russian electoral officials on Sunday reported attempts to sabotage voting in the occupied regions, where guerrilla forces loyal to Kyiv had previously killed pro-Moscow officials, blown up bridges and helped the Ukrainian military by identifying key targets.

A drone strike in the early hours of Sunday destroyed one polling station in the Zaporizhzhia province, deputy chairman of Russia’s Central Election Commission Nikolai Bulaev told reporters. He said no staff were at the station at the time of the attack.

A Russian-appointed official in the neighbouring Kherson region said that a live grenade was discovered on Saturday near a polling station there. Marina Zakharova said the grenade was hidden in bushes outside the station, and that voting had to be halted while emergency services disposed of it.

Local residents and Ukrainian activists have alleged that Russian poll workers make house calls accompanied by armed soldiers in both provinces, detaining those who refuse to vote and pressuring them into writing “explanatory statements” that could be used as grounds for a criminal case.

ICYMI: Russia turning to old ally North Korea to replenish ammunition

15:42 , Lydia Patrick

Russia’s supplies are depleting after a year and a half of fighting in Ukraine - and they’re turning to Kim Jong Un.

It is believed the isolated Asian country has tens of millions artillery shells and rockets that could help the Russian army.

United States officials expect North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Russia in the coming days to seal a possible deal on munitions transfer with President Vladimir Putin.

Alexander Gabuev, head of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center said: ““We know that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited recently for artillery shells predominantly, and most likely that will be discussed between Putin and Kim Jong Un.”

Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, visited North Korea in July 2023, as the first Russian defence chief to visit the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Whilst the Kremlin have refused to comment about the nature of an arms deal, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov expressed their close ties.

He said: : “North Korea is our neighbor, and we will further develop our relations without looking back at other countries’ opinion.”

Read the full story here:

Russia is turning to old ally North Korea to resupply its arsenal for the war in Ukraine

Russia says will return to grain deal once all conditions met

15:02 , Tara Cobham

Russia will return to the Black Sea grain deal “the same day” as Moscow's conditions for export of its own grain and fertilisers to the global markets are met, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Sunday.

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 insufficient Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need.

"When all the necessary actions for removing obstacles for our grain and fertiliser exports are implemented, the same day we will return to the collective implementation of the Ukrainian part of the 'Black Sea initiative'", Lavrov told a briefing after attending a two-day G20 summit in New Delhi.

Recap: Musk sparks fury by admitting he thwarted Ukrainian drone attack

13:30 , Tara Cobham

Elon Musk has admitted that his refusal to grant Ukraine permission to use his Starlink satellite network was an attempt to prevent a drone attack on a Russian naval fleet – with one Ukrainian official saying that his country is paying “the price of a cocktail of ignorance and big ego”.

The Starlink satellite internet service, which is run by the technology billionaire’s SpaceX company, has been a digital lifeline both for Ukraine’s military and for civilians in areas where Russia’s invasion has left infrastructure devastated or jammed.

An extract of a new biography of Musk, published by CNN on Thursday, said that the drones – packed with explosives – “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly” during the thwarted assault last year, after Musk ordered his engineers to turn off the network. Musk is said to have feared that a strike on the ports of Russian-occupied Crimea would amount to a “mini Pearl Harbor”. Having apparently spoken to the Russian ambassador to the United States – who is reported to have told him that an attack on Crimea would trigger a nuclear response – Musk is then said to have ordered his engineers to turn off Starlink coverage “within 100km of the Crimean coast”.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Elon Musk sparks fury by admitting he thwarted Ukraine drone attack on Russian ships

Russia claims it destroyed US-supplied Ukrainian speedboats

13:00 , Tara Cobham

Russia’s defense ministry said in the early hours of Sunday that Moscow’s forces earlier destroyed three US-supplied Ukrainian speedboats that had been travelling toward Crimea.

The claim could not be independently verified.

Too early to judge Ukraine’s summer offensive as failure, says US military head

12:20 , Tara Cobham

It is too early to say whether Ukraine's summer offensive has failed, the head of the US military has said.

Speaking to the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, General Mark Milley said: "That offensive kicked off about 90 days ago. It has gone slower than the planners anticipated. But that is a difference between what Clausewitz called war on paper and real war.

"So these are real people in real vehicles that are fighting through real minefields, and there's real death and destruction, and there's real friction.

"And there's still a reasonable amount of time, probably about 30 to 45 days, worth of fighting weather left.

"So the Ukrainians aren't done. This battle is not done. They haven't finished the fighting part of what they're trying to accomplish. So we'll see, it's too early to say how this is going to end. They at least have achieved partial success in what they set out to do, and that's important. And then the rains will come in. It'll become very muddy.

"It'll be very difficult to manoeuvre at that point, and then you'll get the deep winter. And then at that point, we'll see where things go. But right now, it is way too early to say that this offensive has failed or not failed."

In pictures: Russian drones rain down on Kyiv for hours overnight

12:18 , Tara Cobham

Local elections take place across Russia but Ukraine ‘not on agenda’

10:12 , Tara Cobham

Local elections kicked off in Russia this weekend in 79 regions, with voters are casting their ballots for governors, regional legislatures, city and municipal councils.

Russian authorities are also holding local elections in the four regions of Ukraine that Moscow annexed illegally last year — the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia provinces. Voting for federal and local legislators is also underway on the Crimean peninsula, which the Kremlin annexed in 2014. Balloting in the occupied areas of Ukraine has been denounced by Kyiv and the West as a sham and a violation of international law.

In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s seat is up for grabs, although he is running for re-election again and is unlikely to lose a race in which all contenders come from Kremlin-backed parties. Sobyanin was appointed mayor in 2010 and has since won mayoral elections twice: in 2013, despite now-imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny running against him, and 2018. Governors in 20 other Russian regions are also vying for office this year.

Local elections take place across Russia, but Ukraine is 'not on the agenda'

South Korea pledges additional $2 bln aid to Ukraine

09:26 , Tara Cobham

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Sunday the country will provide an additional $2 billion in aid to Ukraine starting in 2025 over the longer term, in addition to the $300 million previously pledged for next year, Yonhap news reported.

Yoon made the comment at a session of the G20 summit held in New Delhi, India, Yonhap said.

Ukraine says Russia launches overnight drone attack on Kyiv

08:03 , Tara Cobham

Russia launched an air attack on Kyiv early on Sunday, with blasts ringing out across the Ukrainian capital and its region for almost two hours and drone debris falling on several of the city's central districts, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine's Land Forces said that the country's air defence systems destroyed 25 out of 32 Russia-launched Iran-made Shahed drones, most of which targeted Kyiv and the Kyiv region.

Reuters witnesses heard at least five blasts across Kyiv, and Ukrainian media footage showed a number of cars damaged.

"Drones came onto the capital in groups and from different directions," Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's city military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that one person was injured in the historic Podil neighbourhood and a fire broke out near one of the city's parks.

Debris from downed drones fell on the Darnytskyi, Solomianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Podil districts, Klitschko and the city's military administration said.

In the Shevchenkivskyi district, drone debris sparked a fire in an apartment, which was quickly extinguished. There were no immediate reports of injuries, Popko said on the Telegram messaging app.

There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attacks. Moscow has been conducting near-nightly assaults on Ukraine's territory. A Russian attack killed 17 on Wednesday in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka, according to Ukrainian officials.

Signs indicate Russia turning to isolated North Korea to replenish military supplies

07:12 , Anuj Pant

Russia’s military arsenal has been depleted enough for it to turn to isolated North Korea amid its now year-and-a-half-long invasion of Ukraine.

The country is set to host a regional summit on Sunday that could see the participation of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un who, reports said, could reach the country by armoured train.

The visit is significant as Russia faces depleted reserves due to its invasion. And estimates cited by The Associated Press have revealed that North Korea has tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets that could give a huge boost to the Russian army.

US officials have said they expected Mr Kim to seal a deal to transfer munitions to Russia in the coming days, in a marked reversal from the 1950s during the Korean war, when it was the Soviet Union that supplied weaponry to the North.

“We know that Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has visited recently for artillery shells predominantly, and most likely that will be discussed between Putin and Kim Jong-un,” Alexander Gabuev, head of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.

ICYMI: Elon Musk sparks fury by admitting he thwarted Ukrainian drone attack on Putin’s naval fleet

06:58 , Anuj Pant

Elon Musk has admitted that his refusal to grant Ukraine permission to use his Starlink satellite network was an attempt to prevent a drone attack on a Russian naval fleet – with one Ukrainian official saying that his country is paying “the price of a cocktail of ignorance and big ego”.

The Starlink satellite internet service, which is run by the technology billionaire’s SpaceX company, has been a digital lifeline both for Ukraine’s military and for civilians in areas where Russia’s invasion has left infrastructure devastated or jammed.

An extract of a new biography of Musk, published by CNN on Thursday, said that the drones – packed with explosives – “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly” during the thwarted assault last year, after Musk ordered his engineers to turn off the network.

Musk is said to have feared that a strike on the ports of Russian-occupied Crimea would amount to a “mini Pearl Harbor”.

Having apparently spoken to the Russian ambassador to the United States – who is reported to have told him that an attack on Crimea would trigger a nuclear response – Musk is then said to have ordered his engineers to turn off Starlink coverage “within 100km of the Crimean coast”.

Read more below.

Elon Musk sparks fury by admitting he thwarted Ukraine drone attack on Russian ships

Russia ships Su-30 fighter jets to Myanmar junta

06:08 , Anuj Pant

The Myanmar junta government has received its first shipment of Russian Su-30 fighter jets, the country’s trade minister told Russian state-run media.

Russia and Myanmar had signed a contract last year for the delivery of six Su-30SME fighter jets, according to Russian state-run RIA.

“Two aircraft have already been delivered,” Charlie Than, Myanmar’s trade minister, told the state-run news agency.

The minister was speaking on the sidelines of a Russian economic summit in Vladivostok. He also said a number of bilateral agreements will be signed at the East Economic Forum, including on developing tourism between the two countries.

Myanmar has seen the junta increase its grip on the country ever since it launched a military coup in 2021.

The US has also warned Russia against backing Myanmar’s military rulers and said its supply of weapons to the country is fueling a conflict that has become a catastrophe for Myanmar.

Just in: Ukraine says it downed 25 drones launched by Russia early on Sunday

05:47 , Anuj Pant

At least 25 of the 32 drones launched by Vladimir Putin’s forces early on Sunday have been drowned, Ukraine’s land forces said.

The announcement comes as Kyiv was subjected to aerial attacks overnight, with witnesses hearing as many as five blasts, reported Reuters. The scale of the attack has not yet been ascertained.

India avoids condemnation of Russia to produce united G20 declaration

05:36 , Anuj Pant

India has defied expectations to produce a New Delhi Declaration backed by all countries at this weekend’s G20 summit at the expense of any meaningful condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announced “the good news” shortly before 1600 local time [1000 GMT] on the first day of the G20 leaders’ summit in Delhi – much to the surprise of many observers and analysts, who felt that the Ukraine issue would stand in the way of a consensus on any joint statement at all, much less an early one.

Ukraine rejected the joint statement, saying “the G20 has nothing to be proud of in the part about Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”.

Ukraine does feature in the full 37-page declaration released by the Indian foreign ministry on Saturday, which says leaders “highlighted the human suffering and negative added impacts of the war in Ukraine” without directly mentioning Russia.

“There were different views and assessments of the situation,” it adds, in something of an understatement.

Read more below.

India avoids condemnation of Russia to produce united G20 declaration

ICYMI: What are depleted uranium shells?

05:30 , Anuj Pant

The depleted uranium anti-tank rounds soon to be in Ukraine’s military stockpiles have kicked up a debate over its use in the continuing Russian invasion.

Announced by the Pentagon in the latest military tranche on Wednesday, the controversial rounds have spread alarm among Vladimir Putin’s ministers who have warned against the escalation yet again.

Britain has already promised armour-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium to Ukraine in March. Prime minister Rishi Sunak had backed drawing out the rounds from the UK military’s stockpiles ultimately “to degrade and deter – primarily – Russian aggression”.

But what are these depleted uranium munitions?

Read more below.

Ukraine: What are depleted uranium shells and why are they controversial?

Russia claims to have downed eight drones over Crimea

05:15 , Anuj Pant

Vladimir Putin’s defence ministry has claimed it destroyed eight drones over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula in the early hours of Sunday even as overnight drone attacks were launched on capital Kyiv.

The incident, reported by Reuters, could not be independently verified. Russia accused Ukraine of launching the drones.

The Russian defence ministry has also not said if there were any casualties. Ukraine’s officials have not commented on the incident yet.

Putin launches overnight aerial attacks on Kyiv

04:48 , Anuj Pant

Air attacks were launched on Kyiv early on Sunday, with blasts heard across the capital. Drone debris fell on its central districts and the scale of the attack has not been ascertained yet.

Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said one person was injured in the Podil neighbourhood and a fire broke out near one of the city’s parks.

The debris from the downed drones fell on the Darnytskyi, Solomianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Podil districts, according to the city’s military administration and Mr Klitschko.

The debris also sparked a fire in the Shevchenkivskyi district, but this was immediately put out, according to officials.

Reuters cited its witnesses as saying they heard at least five blasts.

India avoids condemnation of Russia to produce united G20 declaration

03:00 , Joe Middleton

India has defied expectations to produce a New Delhi Declaration backed by all countries at this weekend’s G20 summit, at the expense of any meaningful condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announced “the good news” shortly before 1600 local time [1000 GMT] on the first day of the G20 leaders’ summit in Delhi – much to the surprise of many observers and analysts, who felt that the Ukraine issue would stand in the way of a consensus on any joint statement at all, much less an early one.

Ukraine does feature in the full 37-page declaration released by the Indian foreign ministry on Saturday, which says leaders “highlighted the human suffering and negative added impacts of the war in Ukraine” without directly mentioning Russia. “There were different views and assessments of the situation,” it adds, in something of an understatement.

India avoids condemnation of Russia to produce united G20 declaration

British man fighting in Ukraine found dead in water with his hands bound

02:00 , Joe Middleton

A British man who fought in Ukraine was found dead in a body of water with his hands tied behind his back, his family have revealed.

Jordan Chadwick, 31, who travelled to Ukraine in early October 2022, was fighting in the International Legion.

His mother, Brenda Chadwick, told the BBC her family was “devastated” by her son’s death.

Mr Chadwick, known as Joe, was from Burnley in Lancashire. He served as a Scots Guard in the British Army from 2011 to 2015.

British man fighting in Ukraine found dead in water with his hands bound

Elon Musk sparks fury by admitting he thwarted Ukrainian drone attack on Putin’s naval fleet

01:09 , Lydia Patrick

Elon Musk has admitted that his refusal to grant Ukraine permission to use his Starlink satellite network was an attempt to prevent a drone attack on a Russian naval fleet.

The Starlink satellite internet service, which is run by the technology billionaire’s SpaceX company, has been a digital lifeline both for Ukraine’s military and for civilians.

In posts on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the billionaire denied accusations that he had turned off the Starlink network in the area, but said that he had not agreed to a request from Ukraine to activate it all the way to the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, which is currently (as it was at the time) occupied by Russia and home to its Black Sea fleet.

“The Starlink regions in question were not activated. SpaceX did not deactivate anything,” Musk said.

“There was an emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol,” he added, “the obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor. If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”

Read the full story here

Popular messaging service says it will combat Russian ‘fake news'

Sunday 10 September 2023 00:09 , Lydia Patrick

The founder of Japanese technnology enterprise Rakuten Group says messaging service Viber will block any attempt at Russian propaganda ‘unlike other social media’.

Hiroshi Mikiani told Reuters: “Unlike other social media, we’ve made it crystal clear we’re going to block all these fake news and propaganda of Russia.”

Viber, which launched in 2010 and was acquired by Rakuten in 2014, has a 98% market penetration rate in Ukraine and is also popular in Russia.

The billionaire entrepreneur has previously been vocal in his support for Ukraine and made a 1 billion yen ($6.77 million) donation to its government at the start of the invasion.

Rakuten has announced plans to work with Ukraine‘s largest mobile operator, Kyivstar, to provide Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) telecommunications technology that uses software to run network functions on the cloud, something Mikitani has touted as a technology of the future.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive will withstand severe Winter conditions, says intelligence chief

Saturday 9 September 2023 22:18 , Lydia Patrick

Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Russian forces will continue to fight throughout harsh cold conditions, Kyiv’s intelligence chief said on Saturday.

Kyrylo Budanov said: “Combat actions will continue in one way or another. In the cold, wet and mud, it is more difficult to fight. Fighting will continue. The counteroffensive will continue.”

The comments, made at a conference in Kyiv hosted by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, inidicate Ukraine does not plan to halt its push when the weather worsens later this year.

Vadym Skibytskyi, an official from Ukraine‘s military spy agency, said earlier on Saturday that Russia currently had 420,000 servicemen inside Ukraine.

The push in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, now centred around the villages of Robotyne and Verbove, is seen as a crucial part of an operation that seeks to split Russia’s occupying forces in half in the south, but remains far from that goal.

“Our counteroffensive is happening in several directions,” Budanov said, acknowledging that progress had been slower than he had wanted and describing the situation as difficult.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed.

Russia shoots down three drones in Crimea

Saturday 9 September 2023 20:18 , Lydia Patrick

Drone attacks on Russian-occupied territory and inside Russia itself have increased sharply across the summer, with Kyiv seeking to back-up its counteroffensive against Vladimir Putin’s forces on the ground in Ukraine by disrupting Moscow as much as it can.

The latest such strike came on Saturday when Russian air defence shot down three enemy drones in northwestern Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed head of the peninsula’s administration.

Rishi Sunak said that G20 leaders have agreed to a “very strong” joint message about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Saturday 9 September 2023 19:20 , Lydia Patrick

The British prime minister expresses his support of a New Delhi declaration backed by all countries at the summit.

Defying the odds, India was able to get all G20 members to agree that “the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissable” in a 37-page declaration.

Mr Sunak told broadcasters, as reported by Reuters: “The news that we’ve just had, which I’m happy to share, is that under Prime Minister Modi and India’s presidency, the G20 have agreed a joint communique with very strong language about Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.

“What you’ll see in the communique is strong language, highlighting the impact of the war on food prices and food security, calling on Russia to re-enter the Black Sea grain initiative to allow exports to leave that part of the world and help feed millions of the most vulnerable people as well as the communique recognising the principles of the UN Charter respecting territorial integrity.

“So I think that is a good and strong outcome. And as you can see from this summit, Russia is completely isolated.”

Zelensky meets with Japanese foreign minister who vows support for reconstruction of Ukraine

Saturday 9 September 2023 17:00 , Rachel Flynn

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met on Saturday and agreed to begin discussions on security guarantees and cooperate on reconstructing Ukraine’s economy, the Japanese foreign ministry said.

The security guarantee discussions come after the G7 group of countries, of which Japan is a member, said in July that its members would begin bilateral security guarantee talks with Ukraine.

Hayashi also pledged support from both the public and private sectors in Japan to reconstruct Ukraine’s economy in the surprise visit to Ukraine, where he was accompanied by executives of Japanese firms, including Hiroshi Mikitani, founder and chief executive Rakuten Group, the ministry said.

Japan is planning to host a meeting on the economic reconstruction of Ukraine early next year.

In talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Hayashi was set to reiterate Japan’s firm support for Ukraine and the urgency of ending the Russian invasion with the help of the international community, the ministry said.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise visit to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy in March.

Romania finds new possible fragments of Russian drone on its territory

Saturday 9 September 2023 16:30 , Rachel Flynn

New fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian military were found on Romanian soil, the defence ministry said on Saturday.

Romania’s president, President Klaus Iohannis, said this indicated an unacceptable breach of Romania’s air space had occurred.

In a statement, Iohannis said he had informed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the pieces of drone - the second to crash in Romanian territory this week - and that Stoltenberg reiterated the alliance’s complete solidarity with Romania.

“The identification by Romanian authorities on Romanian territory near the border with Ukraine of new drone fragments ... indicates an unacceptable breach occurred of the air space of Romania, a NATO state, with real risks to the security of Romanian citizens in the area,” Iohannis said.

“I firmly condemn this incident caused by Russian attacks on Ukrainian Danube river ports.”

The attacks on Ukraine’s river ports, just hundreds of metres from the Romanian border, have increased security risks for NATO whose members have a mutual defence commitment.

The U.S. State Department said earlier this week it would rotate additional U.S. F-16 fighter jets to bolster NATO’s air policing mission in Romania.

Ukraine says G20 summit declaration is ‘nothing to be proud of’

Saturday 9 September 2023 15:45 , Rachel Flynn

The Ukrainian foreign ministry said on Saturday the G20’s joint declaration was “nothing to be proud of” and criticised it for not mentioning Russia.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko posted a screenshot of the relevant section of the joint declaration, with several pieces of the text crossed out in red and corrected with wording which reflects Ukraine’s position that it is a victim of unprovoked Russian aggression.

“It is clear that the participation of the Ukrainian side (in the G20 meeting) would have allowed the participants to better understand the situation,” he wrote on Facebook.

“Here’s what the main elements of the text could look like to be closer to reality,” he added.

Despite his disappointment with the overall G20 text, Nikolenko thanked Ukraine’s allies for doing their part to advance Ukraine’s position in the declaration.

“Ukraine is grateful to the partners who tried to include strong formulations in the text,” he said.

G20 summit statement calls for peace but avoids condemning Russia for Ukraine war

Saturday 9 September 2023 14:24 , Tara Cobham

The Group of 20 nations adopted a consensus declaration at a summit on Saturday that avoided condemnation of Russia for the war in Ukraine but called on all states to refrain from the use of force to seize territory.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of host India announced that the Leaders' Declaration had been adopted on the first day of the weekend summit.

The consensus came as a surprise as the group is deeply divided over the war in Ukraine, with Western nations earlier pushing for strong condemnation of Russia in the Leaders' Declaration, while other countries demanded a focus on broader economic issues.

There was no immediate reaction from most other members.

"We call on all states to uphold the principles of international law including territorial integrity and sovereignty, international humanitarian law, and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability," the declaration said.

"We ... welcome all relevant and constructive initiatives that support a comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine.

"The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible," the statement added.

Russia sticks to demands on Black Sea grain deal

Saturday 9 September 2023 11:27 , Tara Cobham

Russia said on Saturday it was sticking to its conditions for a return to the Black Sea grain deal which it quit in July.

In particular, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia needed its state agricultural bank - and not a subsidiary of the bank, as proposed by the United Nations - to be reconnected to the international SWIFT bank payments system.

"All our conditions are perfectly well known. They do not need interpretation, they are absolutely concrete and all this is absolutely achievable," Peskov said. "Therefore Russia maintains its responsible, clear and consistent position, which has been repeatedly voiced by the president."

The Black Sea deal was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022 to enable Ukraine to export grain by sea despite the war and help ease a global food crisis.

It was accompanied by an agreement to facilitate Russia's own exports of food and fertiliser, which Moscow says has not been fulfilled. Since quitting the grain deal, Russia has repeatedly bombed Ukrainian ports and grain stores, prompting Kyiv and the West to accuse it of using food as a weapon.

Moscow's uncompromising restatement of its position came five days after President Vladimir Putin met his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan and discussed the grain issue.

Russia appears to have drawn encouragement from Erdogan's statement at that meeting that Ukraine should "soften its approaches" in talks over reviving the deal, and export more grain to Africa rather than Europe. Ukraine said it would not alter its stand and would not be hostage to "Russian blackmail".

British man fighting in Ukraine found dead in water with his hands bound

Saturday 9 September 2023 10:45 , Tara Cobham

A British man who fought in Ukraine was found dead in a body of water with his hands tied behind his back, his family have revealed.

Jordan Chadwick, 31, who travelled to Ukraine in early October 2022, was fighting in the International Legion.

His mother, Brenda Chadwick, told the BBC her family was “devastated” by her son’s death.

Mr Chadwick, known as Joe, was from Burnley in Lancashire. He served as a Scots Guard in the British Army from 2011 to 2015.

Rachel Flynn reports:

British man fighting in Ukraine found dead in water with his hands bound

‘600 members of Putin’s forces killed in one day’ as party HQ destroyed

Saturday 9 September 2023 10:32 , Tara Cobham

Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost 600 of his troops in one day, according to Kyiv, while his conservative party’s headquarters in Ukraine was destroyed on Friday.

The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces is estimating that 600 of Moscow’s personnel were killed on Friday, bringing the total lost since February 2022 to 268,140.

Meanwhile, the headquarters of the United Russia political party in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Polohy was destroyed in an attack on the same day, according to the mayor of Melitopol, reported the Kyiv Independent.

Ivan Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app that local residents described Russians as “burned out” of the headquarters amid the “hellish pseudo-elections”. Alluding to casualties, he said: “Some went to the hospital, and some went straight to the morgue.”

IAEA ‘deeply concerned’ by ‘increased military activity’ around Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant

Saturday 9 September 2023 09:26 , Tara Cobham

Experts are “deeply concerned” by “increased military activity” in the region around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wrote on Friday of reports of “numerous explosions over the past week”, which could “pose a potential threat to nuclear safety and security at the site”.

Over the three days from last Saturday, the IAEA team heard around two dozen explosions, followed by several more in recent days - although there was no damage to the Russian-occupied facility itself.

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant “remains highly precarious”.

“The reports I receive from our experts indicate that the explosions occurred some distance away from the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant,” he said. “Nevertheless, I remain deeply concerned about the possible dangers facing the plant at this time of heightened military tension in the region.

“Whatever happens in a conflict zone, wherever it may be, everybody would stand to lose from a nuclear accident, and I urge that all necessary precautions must be taken to avoid it happening.”

British man who went to fight in Ukraine found dead

Saturday 9 September 2023 07:19 , Vishwam Sankaran

A 31-year-old British man who went to fight in Ukraine was found dead in a body of water.

The man, recognised as Jordan Chadwick from Burnley in Lancashire, fought as part of the foreign legion in Ukraine, and was killed under unknown circumstances, BBC reported.

An inquest into the possible cause of Mr Chadwick’s death will reportedly be held in February.

“His passion to support freedom and assist others with his skills led him to leave the UK and travel to the Ukraine in early October 2022,” his mother told BBC.

G20 summit in India begins with no consensus on Ukraine

Saturday 9 September 2023 06:37 , Vishwam Sankaran

The G20 summit hosted by India in New Delhi began with negotiators leaving a paragraph on Ukraine blank in the leaders’ draft declaration, Reuters reported.

The paragraph relating to Ukraine and the “geopolitical situation” was reportedly left blank, while those on several global issues, including climate change and cryptocurrency had consensus agreed upon by member nations.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, whose country has juggled good relations with both Russia and the West, said he does not want the war to dominate the meeting intended to highlight the Global South’s needs.

Zelensky discusses Ukraine peace efforts with Saudi Crown Prince

Saturday 9 September 2023 06:30 , Vishwam Sankaran

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud on Friday to discuss Ukraine’s path to peace.

Mr Zelensky’s office noted that the two leaders discussed ongoing cooperation between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia as an extension of the Jeddah peace talks held in August.

At the peace talks in August, global leaders discussed Ukraine’s 10-point plan for an end to Russia’s war.

On Friday’s call, Mr Zelensky “expressed gratitude” to the Saudi Crown Prince for the successful meeting in Jeddah.

‘Russia is actively trying to evade sanctions’ - Zelensky

Saturday 9 September 2023 04:00 , William Mata

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has tweeted in support of further sanctions being made to impact on Russia’s economic output.

“Russia is actively trying to evade sanctions,” he wrote on Twitter.

“The global sanctions offensive must be resumed. Three priorities are: more sanctions against Russia’s energy sector, real restrictions on the transfer of chips and microelectronics, and further blocking of the Russian financial sector.”

Pictures of the day: Friday, September 8

Saturday 9 September 2023 03:00 , William Mata

Russia holds elections in occupied Ukrainian regions in an effort to tighten its grip there

Saturday 9 September 2023 02:00 , William Mata

Local elections are being held this weekend in Russia as the Kremlin looks to tighten its grip on territories it seized from Ukraine a year ago.

The voting for Russian-installed legislatures in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions has already begun and concludes Sunday. It has been denounced by Kyiv and the West.

“It constitutes a flagrant violation of international law, which Russia continues to disregard,” the council of Europe, the continent’s foremost human rights body, said this week.

Kyiv echoed that sentiment, with the parliament saying in a statement that the balloting in areas where Russia “conducts active hostilities” poses a threat to Ukrainian lives. Ukrainian officials have urged other countries not to recognize the results of the vote, which the Foreign Ministry called “fake elections.”

EU rebukes its representative in Austria over 'blood money' comment on Russian gas imports

Saturday 9 September 2023 01:00 , William Mata

From earlier on Friday:

The European Union's executive branch strongly criticised the bloc's representative in Austria for accusing the country of paying “blood money” to Russia for gas supplies and said Friday he has been ordered back to Brussels.

EU representative Martin Selmayr said during an event on Wednesday that Austria continues to get 55 per cent of its gas from Russia — but no one, he noted, is out on Vienna's central Ringstrasse boulevard to protest that, the Austria Press Agency reported.

See the full article here.

German intelligence employee and acquaintance charged with treason for passing secrets to Russia

Saturday 9 September 2023 00:00 , William Mata

An employee of Germany’s foreign intelligence service and an acquaintance have been charged with treason for allegedly passing secret documents to Russia, prosecutors said Friday.

The intelligence officer, who has been identified only as Carsten L. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in Berlin on December 21 last year.

The second suspect, a self-employed German businessman identified as Arthur E., was arrested at Munich airport on January 22 as he arrived from the United States.

See the full article here.

Zelensky: ‘Our allies have eased up on sanctions’

Friday 8 September 2023 23:00 , William Mata

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that his country’s allies had eased up on sanctions imposed on Russia and called for a renewed drive to impose further punitive measures on Moscow.

“At this time, we see too long a pause by our partners in terms of sanctions,” he said in his nightly video address. “And very active Russian attempts to evade sanctions.”

Musk ‘feared being complicit in major act of war’

Friday 8 September 2023 22:07 , William Mata

Elon Musk said he refused a Ukrainian request to activate his Starlink satellite network in Crimea’s port city of Sevastopol last year to aid an attack on Russia‘s fleet there, saying he feared complicity in a “major” act of war.

The billionaire businessman made the comment on Twitter after CNN cited a excerpt from a new biography of Musk that says he ordered the Starlink network turned off near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt the Ukrainian sneak attack.

In the post on late on Thursday, Musk said he had no choice but to reject an emergency request from Ukraine “to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol.” He did not give the date of the request and the excerpt did not specify it.

“The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor,” Musk wrote. “If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”

Injury count now at 73

Friday 8 September 2023 22:05 , William Mata

The number of people injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine on Thursday night into Friday is now confirmed to be 73.

Kremlin forces carried out assaults on major cities as well as the home town of Volodymyr Zelensky. Four people died in total, including one policeman.

The strikes were among multiple Russian attacks across the country overnight, officials said.

"Elon Musk has taken over my world, and I don’t like it”

Friday 8 September 2023 22:00 , William Mata

For the comment section, Sean O’Grady says he is having issues with Elon Musk’s influence.

“The Twitter/X CEO has access to the world’s leaders, and the power to influence wars, the future of AI, and the tech that dominates our lives,” he writes, “But where should we draw the line?”

You can read Sean’s column here.

Musk irked Ukrainian generals by deactivating a satellite to stop it being used as part of a plan to strike Russian ships - and also drew the wrath of a British MP on Friday by saying both Russia and Ukraine need to work to a treaty.

Seventeen arrested in Cuba in connection with “network” to recruit foreign nationals for Ukraine fight

Friday 8 September 2023 21:00 , William Mata

Cuban authorities have arrested 17 people in connection with what they described as a network to recruit Cuban nationals to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

The head of criminal investigations for Cuba’s interior ministry, Cesar Rodriguez, said late Thursday on state media that at least three of the 17 arrested are part of recruitment efforts inside the island country.

He did not identify the alleged members of the network but said they had previous criminal records.

Some families started speaking up about the case on Friday, and at least one mother said that her son was promised a job in construction in Russia.

Cuba’s foreign ministry said on Monday that the government had detected a network operating from Russia to recruit Cuban citizens living both in Russia and in Cuba to fight in Ukraine.

It said authorities were working “to neutralise and dismantle” the network but gave no details.

“Cuba is not part of the war in Ukraine,” the foreign ministry said in a news release.

Cuba and Russia are political allies and Cubans do not require a visa to travel to Russia. Many go there to study or to work.

Message of courage from president Zelensky

Friday 8 September 2023 19:30 , William Mata

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has released a video intended to rally his troops as fighting continues.

He shared the short film on Twitter alongside a message.

“Ukraine is more than a country fighting Russian aggression,” the tweet read.

“It is a personal moral choice about what is truly valuable, what you believe in, and what your true priorities are.

“This war lays a moral foundation that transcends borders. It must be humanistic. It must prevail.”

‘Battlefield situation’ update for September 8

Friday 8 September 2023 19:00 , William Mata

In case you missed it, the British Ministry of Defence shared its daily update on the development in the battle for Ukraine.

It showed “likely Ukrainian advance” towards Bakhmut in the north east and Orikhiv in the south.

A tweet read: “The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is continuing.

“The map below is the latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 8 September 2023. “