Ukraine-Russia war – live: Thousands evacuated from Kharkiv as missile hits hotel used by UN in Zaporizhzhia

Nearly 12,000 civilians from 37 townn and villages near the northeastern front line of Ukraine were ordered to evacuate on Thursday as Russia ramped up an assault to capture the territory.

The local military administration in Kharkiv’s Kupiansk district asked residents to evacuate or sign a document saying they would stay at their own risk.

“Given the difficult security situation and the increasing amount of shelling by Russian terrorist forces in Kupiansk community, you have the opportunity to evacuate to a safer place,” the city administration said.

In Zaporizhzhia, at least one person was killed and 16 others sustained injuries as a Russian missile struck a hotel frequented by UN officials.

“I am appalled by the news that a hotel frequently used by United Nations personnel and our colleagues from NGOs supporting people affected by the war has been hit by a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia shortly ago,” said Denise Brown, the humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin is considering attending the G20 summit in person, a Kremlin source has claimed.

The summit is set to take place in September in New Delhi, India, focusing on the theme “One Earth, One Family, One Future.”

Key Points

• One killed as Russian missile hits hotel used by UN in Zaporizhzhia

• Russia claims two Ukrainian drones downed near Moscow

• New Wagner ‘tent city’ being built 15 miles from Belarus-Ukraine border, Kyiv group claims

• Independent TV: Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska’s interview with Bel Trew

• Drones targeting Moscow shot down as Putin ramps up border defences

• Putin ‘considers coming face to face with world leaders’ at G20 summit

Ukrainian drone jammed over Moscow, Russia says

10:15 , Maanya Sachdeva

A Ukrainian drone was jammed as it flew towards its target in Moscow, causing it to crash, Russia‘s defence ministry said.

The airspace over two Russian airports was also temporarily closed on Friday, with all arrivals and departures suspended, in a move that the RIA state news agency said was caused by suspected drone flights.

It was not immediately clear if the two incidents were related.

The airspace over Moscow’s Vnukovo airport and over Kaluga airport, some 150 km (95 miles) southwest of the Russian capital, later reopened, TASS news agency reported.

“From 10.50 a.m. (0750 GMT) the restrictions on flights were removed. At the current time the airport is working normally,” TASS quoted a source at Vnukovo airport as saying.

Earlier, the airport had said it was compelled to suspend all flights “for reasons beyond the control of the airport”, adding that some flights had been redirected to other airports in the Moscow region. It gave no further information.

Germany ‘in talks with MBDA over delivery of cruise missiles to Ukraine’

10:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

Germany is reportedly considering supplying Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles.

A security source told Reuters the government is talks with arms maker MBDA about the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, echoing a report by Spiegel magazine.

Kyiv has been pushing Berlin to supply it with the Taurus, a missile with a range of more than 500 km (311 miles) that is launched by fighter jets such as the Tornado, the F-15 or the F-18.

Cruise missiles are hard to detect by air defence radars as they fly at low altitudes. They are mainly used to hit high-value targets behind enemy lines such as command bunkers, ammunitions and fuel dumps, airfields and bridges.

While Britain and France have supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles, Berlin has been reluctant to follow in their footsteps amid concerns over the long range of the weapon and its potential use against targets inside Russia.

Technically, it is very easy to limit the range of a Taurus cruise missile, according to experts.

The talks between the German government and MBDA are focusing on such a modification as Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to prevent at all costs any Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory with the weapon, Spiegel reported.

In June, the Kremlin warned France and Germany that delivering cruise missiles to Kyiv would lead to a further round of “spiralling tension” in the Ukraine conflict.

Russia has been using long-range missiles to destroy targets in Ukraine including civilian infrastructure, and Ukraine has no easy way to respond to that.

The German military has some 600 Taurus missiles in its inventories, with some 150 among them ready for use, according to media reports. Spain and South Korea also operate the Taurus.

Moscow’s Vnukovo airport rsuspends flights due to suspected drone

09:30 , Maanya Sachdeva

The airspace over Moscow’s Vnukovo airport was temporarily closed on Friday, with all arrivals and departures suspended, and Russia‘s RIA news agency said the move was due to a suspected drone flight in the area.

The airport has reportedly since reopened.

“For reasons beyond the control of the airport, temporary restrictions on the landing and take-offs of aircraft were introduced in Vnukovo,” the airport said in an earlier statement.

“For safety reasons, some of the flights were redirected to other airports of the Moscow aviation hub,” it said, without commenting further.

There has been a number of drone attacks in the Moscow area in recent weeks that Russia has blamed on Ukraine.

Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years takes off

09:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft has blasted off on Russia‘s first moon mission in nearly 50 years, racing to land on Earth’s satellite ahead of an Indian spacecraft.

The launch from Russia‘s Vostochny spaceport in the Far East of the Luna-25 craft to the moon is Russia‘s first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union.

The spaceport is a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is key to his efforts to make Russia a space superpower and move Russian launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Russian lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on August 23, about the same day as an Indian craft which was launched on July 14.

The Russian spacecraft will take about 5.5 days to travel to the moon’s vicinity, then spend three to seven days orbiting at about 62 miles before heading for the surface.

Only three governments have managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China. India and Russia are aiming to be the first to land at the moon’s south pole.

The lunar south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe the permanently shadowed polar craters may contain water. The frozen water in the rocks could be transformed by future explorers into air and rocket fuel.

A previous Indian attempt to land at the moon’s south pole in 2019 ended when the lander crashed into the moon’s surface.

“The moon is largely untouched and the whole history of the moon is written on its face,” said Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at Britain’s Royal Observatory, Greenwich. “It is pristine and like nothing you get on Earth. It is its own laboratory.”

The Luna-25 is to take samples of moon rock and dust. The samples are crucial to understanding the moon’s environment ahead of building any base there, “otherwise we could be building things and having to shut them down six months later because everything has effectively been sand-blasted”, Mr Bloomer said.

Roscosmos, Russia‘s space agency, said it wants to show Russia “is a state capable of delivering a payload to the moon”, and “ensure Russia‘s guaranteed access to the moon’s surface”.

Sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine make it harder for it to access Western technology, impacting upon its space programme.

Multiple explosions in Kyiv, reports say

08:27 , Maanya Sachdeva

There have reportedly been multiple explosions in Kyiv within a few minutes, according to news reports.

The city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram that a Russian rocket had hit a children’s hospital in the capital, reporting that there were “no casualties”.

Shortly before, he had urged people to “stay in the shelters please” in a message on Telegram, the Guardian reported.

Blasts were also reportedly heard in the western city of Khmelnytskyi and Vinnytsia, in the western central region.

Ukraine announces ‘humanitarian corridor’ in Black Sea

08:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Ukraine has announced a “humanitarian corridor” to let dozens of cargo ships trapped in its ports since the outbreak of war last year sail into the Black Sea.

At least initially, the corridor appears to apply to vessels such as container ships that have been stuck in Ukrainian ports since the February 2022 invasion, and were not covered by the deal that opened the ports for grain shipments last year.

But it could be a major test of Ukraine’s ability to reopen sea lanes at a time when Russia is trying to reimpose its de-facto blockade, having abandoned the grain deal last month.

“Today a new temporary humanitarian corridor has started to work,” Oleh Chalyk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s navy, told Reuters.

“The corridor will be very transparent, we will put cameras on the ships and there will be a broadcast to show that this is purely a humanitarian mission and has no military purpose,” he said.

Biden will ask Congress for $13bn to support Ukraine

07:23 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

President Joe Biden will ask Congress to provide more than $13bn in emergency aid to Ukraine, another massive infusion of cash as the Russian invasion wears on and Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s deeply entrenched forces.

The last such request from the White House, made in November, was met and then some — Congress approved more than what Biden had requested.

But there’s a different dynamic this time.

A political divide on the issue has grown, with the GOP-led House facing enormous pressure to demonstrate support for the party’s leader Donald Trump, who has been very skeptical of the war. And American support for the effort has been slowly softening.

The White House also is expected to ask for $12bn to replenish federal disaster funds, according to the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about a request that had not yet been made public and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

More here.

Biden will ask Congress for $13B to support Ukraine, $12B for disaster fund, an AP source says

Nearly 1,000 Ukrainian marines to return home after training

07:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Nearly 1,000 Ukrainian marines are reportedly set to return home after more than six months of training by the UK military forces.

The training was announced by British prime minister Rishi Sunak during the Ukrainian president's visit to the UK in February.

The marines will head to the frontline after being trained in amphibious landings - using inflatable boats to conduct beach raids, Sky News reported.

The commandos were reportedly trained the use of Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons (NLAW) and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.

Russian billionaire condemns Putin’s ‘barbaric’ war

06:22 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The founder of Russia's largest technology company condemned Moscow's war in Ukraine, in a rare move against president Vladimir Putin.

Arkady Volozh, who left Yandex last year, in a statement called Russia's invasion of Ukraine "barbaric".

"I am categorically against it," he said, adding: " I have to take my share of responsibility for the country’s actions."

The billionaire lives in Israel and has previously faced criticism for not publicly speaking out against the war.

Ukraine asks thousands in Kharkiv to evacuate

06:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Authorities in Ukraine have reportedly ordered a mandatory evacuation of nearly 12,000 civilians from 37 towns and villages near the northeastern front line.

Residents have been asked to comply with the evacuation order or sign a document saying they would stay at their own risk, the local military administration in Kharkiv’s Kupiansk district said.

“Given the difficult security situation and the increasing amount of shelling by Russian terrorist forces in Kupiansk community, you have the opportunity to evacuate to a safer place,” the city administration said.

“Do not neglect your safety and the safety of your loved ones,” it said.

Aftermath of Russian rocket strike on Zaporizhzhia

05:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Ukrainian troops launch surprise raid across Dnipro River

05:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Ukrainian forces broke through Russia’s defensive lines after launching a surprise raid across the Dnipro River.

The river divides liberated Ukrainian territory on one bank and Russian-occupied land on the other, and for months it has served as part of the front line in southern Ukraine.

Russian military bloggers said that up to seven boats, each carrying up to six troops, arrived on the Russian-occupied bank, apparently under the cover of darkness, and advanced 800m.

Blogger Trinadtsatyi, posting on the Telegram messaging app to more than 150,000 followers, said a number of Russian soldiers were allegedly killed or taken captive during the raid. Images circulating on social media appeared to show captured soldiers.

Chris Stevenson has more.

Ukraine’s troops launch surprise raid across Dnipro River

Charting Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary group through the Ukraine war

04:34 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Since Vladimir Putin’s rise to power as Russia’s president 23 years ago, few things have rocked his leadership as much as the Wagner mercenaries, when they barrelled towards Moscow.

The “army within an army” who had been ruthlessly grinding away for months at the vanguard of some of the bloodiest fighting in eastern flanks Ukraine were now on the verge of triggering a war within a war - this time, against the Kremlin.

But the Russian president was spared that when the mutiny was halted in its tracks about 125 miles from the capital, in a deal between the leader of the mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Putin – brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Prigozhin himself was due to head to Belarus – although he has been pictured in Russia since – with an invitation for Wagner fighters to gather in Belarus.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports.

Charting Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary group through the Ukraine war

One killed as Russian missile hits hotel used by UN in Zaporizhzhia

04:06 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A Russian missile struck a hotel in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia last evening, leaving one dead and 16 injured.

National police said an Iskander missile hit the city at 7.20 pm local time. At least four children were among the 16 injured, the authorities said.

"Zaporizhzhia. The city suffers daily from Russian shelling. A fire broke out in a civilian building after the occupiers hit it with a missile," Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The UN Nations staff used the hotel when they worked in the town, said Denise Brown, the humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, in an emailed statement.

"I am appalled by the news that a hotel frequently used by United Nations personnel and our colleagues from NGOs supporting people affected by the war has been hit by a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia shortly ago," she said.

"I have stayed in this hotel every single time I visited Zaporizhzhia."

Poland to double troops at border with Belarus

03:47 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The Polish government announced that it is planning to deploy an additional 2,000 troops to its border with Belarus, twice the number the Border Guard agency had requested, as fears of illegal migration rise.

In an interview with state news agency PAP, a deputy interior minister, Maciej Wasik announced the decision and accused the Belarusian authorities of organizing illegal migration.

He said migration pressure on the Polish-Belarusian border area is growing, although it cannot compare to the situation two years ago.

More here.

Poland to double troops number at border with Belarus

Thursday recap: Russia intercepts drones heading for Moscow for the second straight day

02:00 , Sam Rkaina

Russian air defense systems on Thursday shot down two drones heading toward Moscow for the second straight day, officials said, with the attack disrupting flights at two international airports as Ukraine appeared to step up its assault on Russian soil.

One drone was downed in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow and another near a major Moscow ring road, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and the Russian Defense Ministry, which blamed the attack on Ukraine.

No casualties or damage were immediately reported.

Domodedovo airport, south of the city, halted flights for more than two hours and Vnukovo airport, southwest of the city, stopped flights for more than two and a half hours and redirected some incoming aircraft to other airports, according to Russian news agencies.

Biden ‘to ask Congress for $13B to support Ukraine'

01:00 , Sam Rkaina

President Joe Biden on Thursday will ask Congress to provide more than $13 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine, a source has told The Associated Press.

The last such request from the White House, made in November, was met and then some — Congress approved more than what Biden had requested. But there’s a different dynamic this time.

A political divide on the issue has grown, with the GOP-led House facing enormous pressure to demonstrate support for the party’s leader Donald Trump, who has been very skeptical of the war. And American support for the effort has been slowly softening.

Church burns after Russian strike on residential area of Zaporizhzhia

Thursday 10 August 2023 23:59 , Sam Rkaina

Three people have been killed in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Zelensky shared footage of a damaged church at the scene of the attack on Telegram, with fire still burning in the courtyard.

“Another attack by Russian terrorists. As of now, three people have been reported dead. My condolences to the families,” the post read.

“The rescue operation is underway. All victims will be provided with the necessary assistance. And this war crime of Russia will certainly face its sentence. And the response to Russian terrorists will be on the frontline - thanks to our heroic warriors.”

Ukraine’s counteroffensive has faltered – but who is to blame?

Thursday 10 August 2023 23:00 , Sam Rkaina

Mary Dejevsky writes: “Whatever happened to Ukraine’s spring counteroffensive? For the best part of six months, the prospect was keenly anticipated inside and outside Ukraine, as the move that would determine the course of the conflict, and – many hoped – send Russian forces packing. Now, not so much.

WAs summer starts to give way to autumn, some basic questions about the counteroffensive hang in the air. Has it been, and gone? Did it happen at all? If it did, what was the plan? And will similar talk accompany the arrival of spring 2024?”

Click here for the full view.

Sixty commercial ships stuck in Ukrainian ports since Russia’s invasion

Thursday 10 August 2023 22:00 , Sam Rkaina

Around 60 commercial ships have been stuck in the Ukrainian ports since Russia’s invasion, their fates unresolved by the deal that allowed grain exports to resume in July last year.

Many of the ships’ crews have been evacuated, leaving locally hired Ukrainian staff to help look after the vessels.

Since abandoning the grain deal, Russia has said it will treat any ships approaching Ukrainian ports as potential military vessels, and their flag countries as combatants on the Ukrainian side. Kyiv has responded with a similar threat to ships approaching Russian or Russian-held Ukrainian ports.

The United Nations has said Russia’s decision to quit the deal risks worsening a global food crisis, hurting poor countries the worst, by keeping grain from one of the world’s biggest exporters off the market.

Moscow says it will return to the grain deal only if it receives better terms for its own exports of food and fertiliser. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, co-sponsor of the grain deal alongside the U.N., says he hopes to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to rejoin it at talks this month.

“I think it will not be an exaggeration to say that President Erdogan is probably the only man in the world who can convince President Putin to return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

A German grain trader said: “People want more details about the Ukrainian temporary shipping channel announced today as it cannot work unless Russia gives a concrete commitment not to attack the ships.”

Questions over corridor’s viability

Thursday 10 August 2023 21:00 , Sam Rkaina

Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said: “Safe navigation for merchant shipping was one of the benefits of the Black Sea Initiative, which we hope can resume.”

“The obligations of International Humanitarian Law on land and sea must be upheld.”

Shipping and insurance sources familiar with Ukraine said they were not informed about the new corridor and there were questions over its viability. It was unlikely most ships would agree to sail at the moment, they said.

“Insurers and their backing banks will have to agree and they may say we do not like the risks,” one insurance source said.

“The possibility of multiple seafarer deaths (in the event of a ship being hit) has not been addressed, so this is another major question,” a shipping industry source said.

Ukraine announce “humanitarian corridor” in Black Sea

Thursday 10 August 2023 20:00 , Sam Rkaina

Ukraine announced a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea on Thursday to release cargo ships trapped in its ports since the outbreak of war, a new test of Russia’s de facto blockade since Moscow abandoned a deal last month to let Kyiv export grain.

At least initially, the corridor would apply to vessels such as container ships that have been stuck in Ukrainian ports since the February 2022 invasion, and were not covered by the deal that opened the ports for grain shipments last year.

But it could be a major test of Ukraine’s ability to reopen sea lanes at a time when Russia is trying to reimpose its de-facto blockade, having abandoned the grain deal last month. Shipping and insurance sources expressed concerns about safety.

In a statement, the Ukrainian navy said the routes had already been proposed by Ukraine directly to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The routes would “primarily be used for civilian ships which have been in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdenny since the beginning of the full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022.”

“Vessels whose owners/captains officially confirm that they are ready to sail in the current conditions will be allowed to pass through the routes,” the statement said, adding that risks remained from mines and the military threat from Russia.

Oleh Chalyk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s navy, said: “The corridor will be very transparent, we will put cameras on the ships and there will be a broadcast to show that this is purely a humanitarian mission and has no military purpose.”

Russia ‘attacks civilian building' in Zaporizhzhia

Thursday 10 August 2023 18:59 , Sam Rkaina

Russia attacked a civilian building in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Thursday evening, leaving one dead, Ukrainian officials said.

“Zaporizhzhia. The city suffers daily from Russian shelling. A fire broke out in a civilian building after the occupiers hit it with a missile,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.

Anatoliy Kurtev, Zaporizhzhia city council’s secretary, earlier said that Russia attacked “civilian infrastructure object”. According to Kurtev, nine people were injured.

Pictures posted by Kurtev show a big funnel in the ground, wrecked cars and a badly damaged four-storey building.

The same building appears on the video published by Zelensky. The crooked “hotel” sign is visible on one of its walls.

It’s the second strike on Zaporizhzhia in as many days. Two young women and a man were killed and nine other people were wounded in a Russian missile attack on Wednesday.

Russia intercepts drones heading for Moscow for the second straight day

Thursday 10 August 2023 18:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian air defense systems on Thursday shot down two drones heading toward Moscow for the second straight day, officials said, with the attack disrupting flights at two international airports as Ukraine appeared to step up its assault on Russian soil.

One drone was downed in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow and another near a major Moscow ring road, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and the Russian Defense Ministry, which blamed the attack on Ukraine.

No casualties or damage were immediately reported.

Domodedovo airport, south of the city, halted flights for more than two hours and Vnukovo airport, southwest of the city, stopped flights for more than two and a half hours and redirected some incoming aircraft to other airports, according to Russian news agencies.

Read more:

Russia intercepts drones heading for Moscow for the second straight day

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Thursday 10 August 2023 17:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage.

The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin’s spurious war to “de-Nazify” Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers – putting the official number at around 6,000 – and accuse its enemies of dishonestly briefing against it whenever outside estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses.

Read more:

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

ICYMI: Top US and EU lawmakers say West is too soft on Serbia when it comes to easing Kosovo tensions

Thursday 10 August 2023 17:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Senior lawmakers from the United States and Europe are calling for a change in the Western diplomatic approach toward Serbia and Kosovo amid concern that tensions between the two could rapidly spiral out of control.

In the letter, signed by U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his counterparts in Germany, the U.K., Ukraine and other countries, the lawmakers said U.S. and European Union negotiators were not putting enough pressure on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Serbia and its former province of Kosovo have been at odds for decades. Their 1998-99 war left more than 10,000 people dead, mostly Kosovo Albanians. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008 but Belgrade has refuses to recognize the move.

Lorne Cook reports:

Top US and EU lawmakers say West is too soft on Serbia when it comes to easing Kosovo tensions

Kremlin aide rewrites Russian history for a society at war

Thursday 10 August 2023 16:37 , Eleanor Noyce

In Vladimir Putin’s Russia, the Kremlin even writes the history textbooks.

Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky has published four history textbooks for 16- to 18-year-old schoolchildren giving a completely revised interpretation of the fall of the Soviet Union, the Putin era and the causes of the Ukraine war.

The books, which enter schools next month, reflect Putin’s historical view: pride at the achievements of the superpower Soviet Union, indignation at the humiliations of the Soviet collapse, and acclaim for the “rebirth” of Russia under the former KGB spy’s rule which began on the last day of 1999.

The final chapter of the 447-page “History of Russia 1945 - the start of 21st Century” focuses on the causes of the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two - the Ukraine war that has left several hundred thousand soldiers injured or dead.

Entitled “Russia Today - The Special Military Operation”, the chapter reflects Putin’s own disillusionment with the West after he offered Russia’s support to the United States during the 9/11 attacks in a gesture of post-Cold War friendship.

“The West became fixated with destabilising the situation inside Russia,” the book, a copy of which Reuters has reviewed, says on page 393. “The aim was not even hidden: to dismember Russia and to get control over its resources.”

Such an explicitly endorsed history of the kind that has for millennia been used by the powerful to influence their own legacies gives an insight into Putin’s own reasoning for war and the insecurities which may lace his domestic hegemony.

Russia’s youth, according to the book’s narrative, must understand the tragedy of the Soviet collapse, the perfidy of the West and the need to sacrifice themselves for the greatness of the Russian motherland.

What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know

Thursday 10 August 2023 16:22 , Eleanor Noyce

In a rare interview the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, has spoken to Independent TV about her work rebuilding Ukraine in the middle of war, the pressures on her family and concerns for the future of her country.

From the presidential palace, she told The Independent’s Bel Trew about the need to reconstruct cities despite the fighting raging on, about building cutting-edge facilities to treat the country’s’ war-wounded and fighting stigma on trauma around the country.

Watch the full interview on Independent TV, across mobile and connected TV.

What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know

Ukraine issues evacuation order as Russian forces push on the eastern front

Thursday 10 August 2023 16:05 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukrainian authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation Thursday of nearly 12,000 civilians from 37 towns and villages in the eastern Kharkiv region, where Russian forces reportedly are making a concerted effort to punch through the front line.

The local military administration in Kharkiv’s Kupiansk district said residents must comply with the evacuation order or sign a document saying they would stay at their own risk.

Hanna Maliar, Ukraine‘s deputy defence minister, had said the previous day that “the intensity of combat and enemy shelling is high” in the area.

The city of Kupiansk and the territories around it were under Russian occupation until September 2022, when Ukrainian forces conducted a rapid offensive operation that dislodged the Kremlin’s forces from nearly the entire Kharkiv region.

The re-taking of those areas strengthened Ukraine‘s arguments that its troops could deliver more stinging defeats to Russia with additional armament deliveries, which its Western allies duly provided.

But as Ukraine has pursued a slow-moving counteroffensive in recent weeks, Russian forces have struck back in some areas.

Ms Maliar said Russia “has formed an offensive group and is attempting to move forward” in the area in an effort to advance on the Ukrainian-held city of Kupiansk, which is an important rail junction.

It was not possible to independently verify either side’s claims.

Russia hosts military drills with Chinese navy in Pacific Ocean, defence ministry says

Thursday 10 August 2023 15:52 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia has hosted joint military drills with the Chinese navy in the Pacific Ocean, the defence ministry has said.

“As part of the air defence exercise, the crews of the ships worked out algorithms of actions to repel an attack by air attack means of a mock enemy from various heights and directions”, it said on Telegram.

The warships held drills with aircraft and helicopters and were allegedly practising repelling air raids.

Russia military push on eastern front prompts Ukraine to evacuate thousands of civilians

Thursday 10 August 2023 15:35 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukrainian authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation Thursday of nearly 12,000 civilians from 37 towns and villages in the eastern Kharkiv region, where Russian forces reportedly are making a concerted effort to punch through the front line.

The local military administration in Kharkiv’s Kupiansk district said residents must comply with the evacuation order or sign a document saying they would stay at their own risk. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar had said the previous day that “the intensity of combat and enemy shelling is high” in the area.

The city of Kupiansk and the territories around it were under Russian occupation until September 2022, when Ukrainian forces conducted a rapid offensive operation that dislodged the Kremlin’s forces from nearly the entire Kharkiv region.

The retaking of those areas strengthened Ukraine‘s arguments that its troops could deliver more stinging defeats to Russia with additional armament deliveries, which its Western allies duly provided. But as Ukraine has pursued a slow-moving counteroffensive in recent weeks, Russian forces have struck back in some areas.

Maliar said Russia “has formed an offensive group and is attempting to move forward” in the area in an effort to advance on the Ukrainian-held city of Kupiansk, an important rail junction.

It was not possible to independently verify either side’s battlefield claims.

Wagner tracker: Charting Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary group through the Ukraine war

Thursday 10 August 2023 15:21 , Eleanor Noyce

Since Vladimir Putin rose to power as Russia’s president 23 years ago, few things have rocked his leadership as much as Saturday 24 June when Wagner mercenaries barrelled towards Moscow.

The “army within an army” who had been ruthlessly grinding away for months at the vanguard of some of the bloodiest fighting in eastern flanks Ukraine were now on the verge of triggering a war within a war - this time, against the Kremlin.

But the Russian president was spared that when the mutiny was halted in its tracks about 125 miles from the capital, in a deal between the leader of the mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Putin – brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Prigozhin himself was due to head to Belarus – although he has been pictured in Russia since – with an invitation for Wagner fighters to gather in Belarus. Thousands are set to entered the country since.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain has more:

Charting Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary group through the Ukraine war

One killed in shelling of Russia's Bryansk region - governor

Thursday 10 August 2023 14:58 , Eleanor Noyce

One person was killed and two were wounded in Ukrainian shelling of the Russian village of Chausy in the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, the region’s governor said on Thursday.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine shelled the village of Chausy, Pogarsky district,” Alexander Bogomaz said on the Telegram messaging app. “Unfortunately, as a result of the shelling, one man died, two local residents were injured.”

Shelling of Russian territory along the Ukrainian frontier has become commonplace in recent months in Russia’s war in Ukraine, which it calls a “special military operation”.

Putin ‘considers coming face to face with world leaders’ at G20 summit

Thursday 10 August 2023 14:53 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian president Vladimir Putin is considering attending the G20 summit in person, a Kremlin source has claimed.

The summit is set to take place in September in New Delhi, India, focusing on the theme “One Earth, One Family, One Future.”

But Putin hasn’t ruled out his attendance, the Kremlin official told NBC News, seeking to “relaunch himself on the world stage” ahead of next year’s election.

Likewise, the official claimed that Putin is keen to win over countries that aren’t solid in their support for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

As world leaders condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin did not participate in the event in Bali in 2022.

Erdogan ‘probably the only man in the world’ who can convince Putin to rejoin Black Sea Grain Initiative - Ukrainian foreign minister

Thursday 10 August 2023 14:34 , Eleanor Noyce

Around 60 commercial ships have been stuck in the Ukrainian ports since Russia’s invasion, their fates unresolved by the deal that allowed grain exports to resume in July last year.

Many of the ships’ crews have been evacuated, leaving locally hired Ukrainian staff to help look after the vessels.

Since abandoning the grain deal, Russia has said it will treat any ships approaching Ukrainian ports as potential military vessels, and their flag countries as combatants on the Ukrainian side. Kyiv has responded with a similar threat to ships approaching Russian or Russian-held Ukrainian ports.

The United Nations has said Russia’s decision to quit the deal risks worsening a global food crisis, hurting poor countries worst, by keeping grain from one of the world’s biggest exporters off the market.

Moscow says it will return to the grain deal only if it receives better terms for its own exports of food and fertiliser. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, co-sponsor of the grain deal alongside the U.N., says he hopes to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to rejoin it at talks this month.

“I think it will not be an exaggeration to say that President Erdogan is probably the only man in the world who can convince President Putin to return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” Ukraine‘s Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

A German grain trader told Reuters: “People want more details about the Ukrainian temporary shipping channel announced today as it cannot work unless Russia gives a concrete commitment not to attack the ships.”

Putin says state-owned VTB bank to manage Russia's main shipbuilder

Thursday 10 August 2023 14:16 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday asked the state-owned VTB bank to manage the state’s 100% stake in United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), Russia’s largest shipbuilder, to solve financial problems at the firm.

Putin’s decision effectively transfers control of Russia’s premier shipbuilding assets to Moscow-based VTB, which has been run by Andrei Kostin, one of Russia’s most influential bankers, for the past 21 years.

USC builds civilian vessels as well as nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers and other warships. It operates about 40 shipyards, design offices and repair yards across Russia, employing 95,000 staff.

Putin told VTB CEO Kostin at a televised Kremlin meeting that he supported a government proposal to transfer the stake, but that there were many financial problems and “questions” at USC that needed resolving.

Kostin, a former diplomat, said the news of the transfer was unexpected, telling him: “Vladimir Vladimirovich - my reaction is: thank you for your trust.”

Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov specified that VTB would manage the stake in trust for five years. The bank’s shares were up over 4% at 1255 GMT.

Putin said he hoped VTB’s bankers could resolve the problems at USC, whose board chairman is Georgy Poltavchenko, a former KGB officer who served as governor of Putin’s hometown of St Petersburg from 2011 to 2018. USC’s general director is Alexei Rakhmanov.

“We work closely with both the corporation and the enterprises that are part of the corporation, so we know the problems, especially with regard to the organisation of financing,” Kostin said.

“I am sure that with your support we will cope with this task and will do our best to solve all the problems.”

Three detained after transporting counterfeit cancers drugs from Russia to Ukraine

Thursday 10 August 2023 14:13 , Eleanor Noyce

Three people have been detained after transporting counterfeit cancer drugs from Russia to Ukraine, security officials have confirmed.

“An investigation is ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. They face up to 10 years in prison”, the Security Service of Ukraine said.

The majority of the counterfeit drugs were manufactured in Russia and across several Middle Eastern countries, with the alleged dealers stashing them inside “disguised technological cavities” in their cars.

After being transported to Ukraine, the drugs were sold online and delivered using controlled pharmacies and postal services.

Fear of tech ‘brain drain’ prevents Russia from seizing Yandex for now - sources

Thursday 10 August 2023 13:53 , Eleanor Noyce

The Kremlin’s fear of a serious tech brain drain is the main factor preventing Moscow from nationalising Nasdaq-listed Yandex, often dubbed “Russia’s Google”, four people with knowledge of the company’s divestment plans told Reuters.

Yandex’s fate has been the subject of much speculation since it announced plans to pursue a corporate restructuring last November, a move that should ultimately see its main revenue-generating businesses inside Russia spun off from its Dutch-registered parent company.

As Russia’s leading tech company, boasting some of the country’s top developers among more than 20,000 staff, Yandex was one of the few Russian firms with genuine global ambitions before Moscow unleashed its war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Many of its staff have moved abroad, some relocating to Serbia, where its new offices are filling up quickly. Maksut Shadaev, the head of Russia’s ministry of digital affairs, told parliament in December that around 100,000 IT specialists had left Russia in 2022.

And at a company where staff know-how is crucial to maintaining a leading position in search technology, advertising and ride-hailing, a hostile takeover by the state that sparks a talent exodus could do serious damage, according to the sources.

“It’s obvious that if (nationalisation) happens, the company will gradually come to nothing,” said one of the people with knowledge of the talks. “And this is probably what is stopping tough action from being taken.”

The Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment. Yandex declined to comment. In a results filing late last month the company said its plans for the potential corporate restructuring were “progressing”.

Moscow has previous form. It seized assets in the Sakhalin oil and gas projects last year by presidential decree and has taken the Russian assets of four Western firms under “temporary control” in 2023, including handing the running of French food group Danone’s Russian subsidiary to the nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

Yandex co-founder Arkady Volozh, in a statement on Thursday criticising what he described as Russia’s “barbaric” invasion, said he had been focused on extricating “talented Russian engineers” from the country since the war started.

“These people are now out, and in a position to start something new, continuing to drive technological innovation,” he said. “They will be a tremendous asset to the countries in which they land.”

It is not yet clear whether Volozh’s comments may have any bearing on how Russia decides to proceed with the company.

ICYMI: Ukrainian troops launch surprise raid across Dnipro River and break through some of Russia’s defences

Thursday 10 August 2023 13:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukrainian forces broke through Russia’s defensive lines after launching a surprise raid across the Dnipro River.

The river divides liberated Ukrainian territory on one bank and Russian-occupied land on the other, and for months it has served as part of the front line in southern Ukraine.

Russian military bloggers said that up to seven boats, each carrying up to six troops, arrived on the Russian-occupied bank, apparently under the cover of darkness, and advanced 800m. Blogger Trinadtsatyi, posting on the Telegram messaging app to more than 150,000 followers, said a number of Russian soldiers were allegedly killed or taken captive during the raid. Images circulating on social media appeared to show captured soldiers.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Ukraine’s troops launch surprise raid across Dnipro River

ICYMI: Poland to double troops number at border with Belarus and accuses it of organising illegal migration

Thursday 10 August 2023 13:00 , Eleanor Noyce

The Polish government announced Wednesday that it is planning to deploy an additional 2,000 troops to its border with Belarus, twice the number the Border Guard agency had requested, as fears of illegal migration rise.

In an interview with state news agency PAP, a deputy interior minister, Maciej Wasik announced the decision and accused the Belarusian authorities of organizing illegal migration.

He said migration pressure on the Polish-Belarusian border area is growing, although it cannot compare to the situation two years ago.

Read more:

Poland to double troops number at border with Belarus

Russia to launch lunar spacecraft in race to find water on moon

Thursday 10 August 2023 12:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia made its final preparations on Thursday for the launch of its first lunar landing spacecraft in 47 years as it races to be the first power to make a soft landing on the south pole of the moon which may hold significant deposits of water ice.

For centuries, astronomers have wondered about water on the moon, which is 100 times drier than the Sahara. NASA maps in 2018 showed water ice in the shadowed parts of the moon and in 2020 NASA confirmed water exists on the sunlight areas.

A Soyuz 2.1v rocket carrying the Luna-25 craft will blast off from the Vostochny cosmodrome, 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow, on Friday at 0211 Moscow time and is due to touch down on the moon on Aug. 23, Russia’s space agency said.

The Russian lunar mission, the first since 1976, is racing against India which sent up its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander last month and more broadly with the United States and China which both have advanced lunar exploration programmes.

“The last one was in 1976 so there’s a lot riding on this,” Asif Siddiqi, professor of history at Fordham University, told Reuters.

“Russia’s aspirations towards the moon are mixed up in a lot of different things. I think first and foremost, it’s an expression of national power on the global stage.”

U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong gained renown in 1969 for being the first person to walk on the moon but it was the Soviet Union’s Luna-2 mission which was the first spacecraft to reach the moon’s surface in 1959 and the Luna-9 mission in 1966 was the first to do a soft landing on the moon.

But Moscow then focused on exploring Mars and since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has failed to send probes beyond the earth’s orbit. There is much riding on the Luna-25 mission - especially as the Kremlin says the West’s sanctions over the Ukraine war have failed to cripple the Russian economy.

“Let me put it this way: If Russia prevailed and the Indian probe succeeded, it would really be something,” Saddiqi said, pointing to the deterioration of Russia’s space programmes over the recent decades.

Voices: How Ukraine’s first lady struck a hammer blow against Putin via the UK

Thursday 10 August 2023 12:40 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska has repeatedly said that one of the most unexpected outcomes for Moscow after invading Ukraine is that “soft power fought back”.

I hadn’t quite appreciated what she meant until I interviewed her from the heart of Kyiv. There I learned first-hand how soft diplomacy can have an instant impact on the world stage.

Sitting in the bunker-like command centre in Kyiv, Mrs Zelenska was clear that one of the keys to ending this war was ending sanctions dodging by countries trading with Moscow through third nations.

Bel Trew reports:

How Ukraine’s first lady struck a hammer blow against Putin via the UK

Putin considering attending G20 summit in person, says Kremlin source

Thursday 10 August 2023 12:18 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian president Vladimir Putin is considering attending the G20 summit in person, a Kremlin source has claimed.

The summit is set to take place in September in New Delhi, India, focusing on the theme “One Earth, One Family, One Future.”

But Putin hasn’t ruled out his attendance, the Kremlin official told NBC News.

As world leaders condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin did not participate in the event in Bali in 2022.

Twelve missing after blast at factory northeast of Moscow

Thursday 10 August 2023 11:55 , Eleanor Noyce

Twelve people were missing on Thursday, a day after a blast at the site of an optical electronics factory 50 km (30 miles) northeast of Moscow killed one person and injured more than 60.

Investigators say pyrotechnic equipment was being stored in the rented warehouse on the grounds of the Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant where the blast occurred. At least 30 people were admitted to hospital, including six to intensive care.

The factory produces optical equipment for industrial and healthcare applications as well as for the Russian security forces.

Olga Vradiy, of the Moscow region branch of the federal Investigative Committee, said the technical director of Pyro-Ross, a now-bankrupt pyrotechnics firm, had been detained on suspicion of violating safety regulations, the Interfax news agency reported.

Vradiy also said the number of those listed as missing had risen to 12.

Around 38 apartment blocks in the surrounding area were damaged by the explosion, mostly with broken windows, along with two schools, a sports complex and a store, the governor of the Moscow region said on Wednesday.

The TASS news agency quoted emergency services as dismissing early reports that the blast could have been caused by a drone attack, many of which have taken place in Moscow and the surrounding area in recent weeks and months, attributed by Russia to Ukraine.

Ukraine's navy announces Black Sea humanitarian corridor but says Russian threat remains

Thursday 10 August 2023 11:49 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine‘s navy said a new temporary Black Sea “humanitarian corridor” had started working on Thursday and that the first ships were expected to use it within days.

Oleh Chalyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian navy, told Reuters that the corridor would be used by commercial ships blocked at Ukraine‘s Black Sea ports and for grain and agricultural products.

“Today a new temporary humanitarian corridor has started to work,” Chalyk said by phone.

“The corridor will be very transparent, we will put cameras on the ships and there will be a broadcast to show that this is purely a humanitarian mission and has no military purpose,” he said.

The navy said in a separate statement that the risk posed by mines in the Black Sea and the military threat from Russia remained.

Drones targeting Moscow shot down as Putin ramps up border defences

Thursday 10 August 2023 11:32 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian air defence systems shot down two drones heading towards Moscow for a second day straight, officials have said.

The attack disrupted flights at two international airports, with one drone downed in the Kaluga region south-west of Moscow and another near a major Moscow ring road, Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin and the Russian Defence Ministry stated. Officials have blamed the attack on Ukraine.

Domodedovo airport, south of the city, halted flights for more than two hours and Vnukovo airport, south-west of the city, stopped flights for more than two-and-a-half hours, according to Russian news outlets.

The news comes just one day after Russian president Vladimir Putin pledged to ramp up border defences following a surge in drone attacks.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said NATO-member Poland had already announced plans to strengthen its military, and he expected significant NATO forces and weaponry to be deployed in Finland, which has just joined the U.S.-led Western alliance.

On Wednesday, Russia claimed it shot down two Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow, one near a major airport to the south of the city and one to the west of the capital.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said while one drone was shot down near Domodedovo, where one of Russia’s biggest international airports is located. Another was downed near the Minsk motorway.

Kyiv has never claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russian territory.

Residents ‘receiving humanitarian aid’ under fire in Russian shelling attack - Ukrainian official

Thursday 10 August 2023 11:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Residents “receiving humanitarian aid” have come under fire in a Russian shelling attack, a Ukrainian official has said.

At least six were hospitalised with their injuries following a strike on Bilozerka in the southern Kherson region.

“The Russian army shelled Bilozerka with artillery. Six people were injured. Residents who were receiving humanitarian aid at that time came under fire,” local governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram.

Russian drones destroy Ukrainian fuel depot in Rivne region - governor

Thursday 10 August 2023 11:10 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian drones destroyed a fuel depot in Ukraine‘s western Rivne region in an overnight attack in the early hours of Thursday, causing a huge blaze, governor Vitaliy Koval said.

There were no casualties, he said.

“Today at night the Rivne region came under a massive drone attack,” Koval said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app. In the video, he stood in a field with a large fire raging in the background.

“The chemical and radiation level is normal. We do not plan to evacuate the population.”

The Ukrainian air force said that seven out of 10 Iranian-made “Shahed” drones were shot down during an overnight Russian attack which lasted from 23.00 on Wednesday until 04.00 on Thursday.

Koval said 45 rescuers and 14 units of special vehicles were working on the site to extinguish the fire.

In pictures: Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia in ruins after Russian attack

Thursday 10 August 2023 11:10 , Eleanor Noyce

Two young women and a man were killed and nine other people were wounded in a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia late on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

A Reuters reporter at the scene saw emergency workers lifting a body, putting it on a stretcher, and wrapping it into a black body bag. Rescuers sifted through debris and an ambulance was parked near damaged buildings.

“Three people dead and nine people injured including an 11-month baby - this is the result of the strike on the regional centre,” a statement from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said. “The Russian shell took away the lives of a 43-year-old man and young women who were 19 and 21.”

Officials said two of the people had been killed on the spot and a woman had died overnight at a hospital.

A video posted by Zelensky showed smoke rising from burning and badly damaged buildings next to a church.

Zaporizhzhia city council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said the church had been destroyed and about 15 high-rise buildings had been damaged. The authorities received requests from residents of at least 400 apartments to repair smashed windows and damaged balconies.

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

Thursday 10 August 2023 10:56 , Eleanor Noyce

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

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

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

Read more:

Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on verge of blackout - Energoatom

Thursday 10 August 2023 10:21 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine‘s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant again lost connection to its last remaining main external power line overnight and was switched to a reserve line, state-owned power generating company Energoatom said on Thursday.

Energoatom said Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was on the verge of a blackout as the reserve line had less than half the power capacity of the main power line.

“Such a regime is difficult for the reactor plant, its duration is limited by the project’s design and it can result in failure of the main equipment of the energy unit,” Energoatom said on Telegram.

The Zaporizhzhia plant with its six reactors has been controlled by the Russian military since the early days of Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.

It has become one of the focal points of the conflict, with both sides blaming each other for shelling around the site. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been trying to set up a safety mechanism to prevent accidents.

None of the plant’s six reactors produce electricity.

Separately, the station’s Russian-installed administration said the Number 4 reactor had been moved from a “hot” to a “cold” shutdown because of signs of a steam leak.

One of the six reactors needs to be in “hot shutdown” to produce steam for the plant’s own needs.

“Plant personnel found signs of leaks in the pipe section of steam generator No. 3,” the administration said on Telegram. “To meet the steam auxiliary needs of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the transfer of power unit No. 6 to a ‘hot shutdown’ state is being considered.”

Yandex co-founder Volozh slams Russia's 'barbaric' invasion of Ukraine

Thursday 10 August 2023 10:06 , Eleanor Noyce

The co-founder of Russian internet giant Yandex, Arkady Volozh, on Thursday condemned what he described as Russia’s “barbaric” invasion of Ukraine, days after criticism in Russia over his apparent efforts to distance himself from the country.

Volozh described himself as a “Kazakhstan-born Israeli tech entrepreneur” on a personal website, drawing some criticism in Russian media and on the Telegram messaging platform for apparently playing down his links to Russia.

He has also been criticised by those opposed to Russia’s actions for not speaking out more forcefully against the war.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it,” Volozh said in a statement. “I am horrified about the fate of people in Ukraine, many of them my personal friends and relatives, whose houses are being bombed every day.

“Although I moved to Israel in 2014, I have to take my share of responsibility for the country’s actions,” wrote Volozh, who holds both Russian and Israeli passports.

Volozh developed Yandex in Russia, creating the country’s largest tech company and ultimately taking it public on the U.S. Nasdaq stock exchange in 2011.

He stepped down as CEO and left the board of directors after the European Union included him on its list of sanctions against Russian entities and individuals in June 2022. Volozh called the EU’s decision “misguided”.

Yandex is pursuing a corporate restructuring that should ultimately see its main revenue-generating businesses inside Russia spun off from its Dutch-registered parent company, Yandex NV.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Yandex has sought to balance domestic pressure on one side with its Western investors on the other.

ICYMI: Ukrainian troops launch surprise raid across Dnipro River and break through some of Russia’s defences

Thursday 10 August 2023 09:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukrainian forces broke through Russia’s defensive lines after launching a surprise raid across the Dnipro River.

The river divides liberated Ukrainian territory on one bank and Russian-occupied land on the other, and for months it has served as part of the front line in southern Ukraine.

Russian military bloggers said that up to seven boats, each carrying up to six troops, arrived on the Russian-occupied bank, apparently under the cover of darkness, and advanced 800m. Blogger Trinadtsatyi, posting on the Telegram messaging app to more than 150,000 followers, said a number of Russian soldiers were allegedly killed or taken captive during the raid. Images circulating on social media appeared to show captured soldiers.

My colleague Chris Stevenson reports:

Ukraine’s troops launch surprise raid across Dnipro River

Russia intercepts drones heading for Moscow for the second straight day

Thursday 10 August 2023 09:36 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian air defense systems on Thursday shot down two drones heading toward Moscow for the second straight day, officials said, with the attack disrupting flights at two international airports as Ukraine appeared to step up its assault on Russian soil.

One drone was downed in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow and another near a major Moscow ring road, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and the Russian Defense Ministry, which blamed the attack on Ukraine.

No casualties or damage were immediately reported.

Read more:

Russia intercepts drones heading for Moscow for the second straight day

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Thursday 10 August 2023 09:20 , Eleanor Noyce

Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage.

The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin’s spurious war to “de-Nazify” Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers – putting the official number at around 6,000 – and accuse its enemies of dishonestly briefing against it whenever outside estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Three dead after Russian attack on Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia

Thursday 10 August 2023 09:05 , Eleanor Noyce

Two young women and a man were killed and nine other people were wounded in a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia late on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

A Reuters reporter at the scene saw emergency workers lifting a body, putting it on a stretcher, and wrapping it into a black body bag. Rescuers sifted through debris and an ambulance was parked near damaged buildings.

“Three people dead and nine people injured including an 11-month baby - this is the result of the strike on the regional centre,” a statement from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said. “The Russian shell took away the lives of a 43-year-old man and young women who were 19 and 21.”

Officials said two of the people had been killed on the spot and a woman had died overnight at a hospital.

A video posted by Zelensky showed smoke rising from burning and badly damaged buildings next to a church.

Zaporizhzhia city council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said the church had been destroyed and about 15 high-rise buildings had been damaged. The authorities received requests from residents of at least 400 apartments to repair smashed windows and damaged balconies.

Pictures posted by city officials on the Telegram messaging app showed several buses and a row of foldable tables and chairs set up outside near damaged buildings where residents and city workers were filling in papers to record the damages.

Ukrainian officials have reported a recent increase in the amount of Russian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia region in the south.

Zelensky’s office said the Russian military over the past 24 hours had conducted 82 strikes on 21 villages and towns across the Zaporizhzhia region, using artillery, missiles and drones.

The Ukrainian military launched an offensive on occupying Russian forces in the key Zaporizhzhia region at the start of the summer and reported steady advances in that direction.

Wagner tracker: Charting Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary group through the Ukraine war

Thursday 10 August 2023 08:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Since Vladimir Putin rose to power as Russia’s president 23 years ago, few things have rocked his leadership as much as Saturday 24 June when Wagner mercenaries barrelled towards Moscow.

The “army within an army” who had been ruthlessly grinding away for months at the vanguard of some of the bloodiest fighting in eastern flanks Ukraine were now on the verge of triggering a war within a war - this time, against the Kremlin.

But the Russian president was spared that when the mutiny was halted in its tracks about 125 miles from the capital, in a deal between the leader of the mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Putin – brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Prigozhin himself was due to head to Belarus – although he has been pictured in Russia since – with an invitation for Wagner fighters to gather in Belarus. Thousands are set to enter the country since.

Read more:

Charting Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary group through the Ukraine war

Russia shot down two military drones heading towards Moscow - mayor

Thursday 10 August 2023 08:40 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia’s air defence systems shot down two military drones heading towards Moscow on Thursday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Air defence systems shot down two combat drones flying towards the city, Sobyanin said on his official channel in Telegram.

Sobyanin said the drones were shot down around 4 a.m. Moscow time (0100 GMT), one of them near the town of Kaluga, and the second over Central Ring Highway surrounding the Russian capital.

Gazprom to send 42.4 mcm of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Thursday

Thursday 10 August 2023 08:35 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia’s Gazprom said it would send 42.4 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Thursday versus 42.3 million cubic metres a day earlier.

Kyiv says Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant switched to reserve power line

Thursday 10 August 2023 08:29 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine‘s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant again lost connection to its last remaining main external power line overnight and was switched to a reserve line, state-owned power generating company Energoatom said on Thursday.

Energoatom said that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was on the verge of a blackout as the reserve line had less than half of the power capacity of the main power line.

“Such a regime is difficult for the reactor plant, its duration is limited by the project’s design and it can result in failure of the main equipment of the energy unit,” Energoatom said on Telegram.

Zaporizhizhia nuclear power plant with its six reactors has been controlled by the Russian military since the early days of Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.

The plant has become one of the focal points of the conflict, with both sides blaming each other for shelling around the plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been trying to set up a safety mechanism to prevent accidents.

None of the plant’s six reactors produce electricity.