Ukraine-Russia war – live: Drone attack south of Moscow after two killed in Kherson shelling
Russia’s air defence systems repelled a drone attack over the Tula region near Moscow, Russia’s RIA news agency reported early on Monday.
Two of Moscow’s major airports, Vnukovo and Domedovo, directed flights to other destinations, the TASS state news agency said.
The incident came after two people were killed and at least eight injured when Vladimir Putin’s forces shelled southern Ukraine’s Kherson region on Sunday.
Kherson governor Oleksandr Prodkudin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said shelling from the Russian-held eastern bank of the Dnipro River had hit private homes in Beryslav, on the Ukrainian-held west bank. A man was killed in the nearby village of Lvove.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said the country’s forces had repelled Russian attacks on two villages near Bakhmut, where Kyiv has been trying to regain ground lost when the city fell to Moscow’s forces in May.
And North Korea has hit out at South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol after he criticised its cooperation with Moscow following leader Kim Jong Un’s Russia visit, saying it is “natural” and “normal” for neighbours to keep close relations.
Key Points
Ukrainian missile strikes Sevastopol
US ‘to give Kyiv ATACMS long-range missiles’
Ukrainian counteroffensive pushes through Putin’s final line of defence
Putin’s spies ‘hacking Ukrainian files for Russian war crimes evidence’
Two dead in Russian shelling of southern Ukraine - governor
Russia's Tula region under drone attack - Russia's RIA
‘Panic’ among Putin’s forces as they face “real threat” of Ukrainian forces encircling Russian forces
08:25 , Athena Stavrou
A Russian VDV source warned that there is a “real threat” of Ukrainian forces reaching and encircling the 56th VDV Regiment near Novofedorivka.
The source said on September 22 that Ukrainian forces were within 7km of encircling the 56th VDV Regiment and that the regiment would be in a difficult position if its commander did not make a decision to withdraw from Novofedorivka to other previously prepared positions.
Russian sources also reported that Ukrainian forces broke into Verbove on September 22 and continued attacking the settlement with armored vehicles as of yesterday, September 24. The source later reported that Ukrainian forces occupy half of Verbove as of September 24.
1,000 tons of grain stored in facilities attacked by Russia
11:30 , Athena Stavrou
Almost 1,000 tons of grain was stored in facilities attacked by Russia overnight in Odesa, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Monday.
The port was attacked by Russian missiles during the night. The south command of Ukraine’s armed forces said on the Telegram messaging app earlier that: “The sea port in Odesa suffered significant damage.”
Two confirmed dead following Russian aerial bomb attack in Beryslav
11:15 , Athena Stavrou
The death toll in Beryslav has risen to two following Russian aerial bomb attacks this morning.
Governor of Kherson Oblast, Oleksandr Prokudin, confirmed that a 73-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman died as a result of the attack.
He also confirmed via the Telegram messaging app that two more people, a 55-year-old man and a 59-year-old woman were injured.
Earlier, the governer said that Russian forces dropped four aerial bombs on the city in the Kherson Oblast region in southern Ukraine.
He said one of them hit the housing and exploitation office building while another destroyed a residential building.
10:55 , Athena Stavrou
Photos released by Ukraine’s Regional Prosecutor’s Office show destroyed buildings following the missile and drone strike on Odessa.
One woman was injured and buildings and port infrastructure were severely damaged in Russia’s overnight missile and drone attack on the port of Odesa in southern Ukraine, Ukraine‘s military said on Monday.
“The sea port in Odesa suffered significant damage, a fire broke out in the port’s hotel, which has not been functioning for several years,” the south command of Ukraine‘s armed forces said on the Telegram messaging app.
They added that firefighters “promptly eliminated” the fire.
‘Panic’ grips Putin’s military and milbloggers over Ukraine’s advances on battlefield
10:35 , Athena Stavrou
Ukraine’s advance on the southern frontline’s Verbove area has triggered “panic” for a Russian source affiliated to Vladimir Putin’s elite military unit VDV, according to a US-based war monitoring think-tank.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported that its forces captured new unspecified locations near Verbove on 24 September and top general Oleksandr Tarnavsky said more breakthroughs are coming for the war-hit nation that is deep into a counteroffensive against Mr Putin’s troops.
A VDV-affiliated source reported that Ukrainian forces broke into Verbove on 22 September and continued attacking the settlement with armoured vehicles as of Sunday, as per The Institute for the Study of War think-tank.
‘Panic’ grips Putin’s military and milbloggers over Ukraine’s advances on battlefield
Russia carries out controlled detonation of Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol
10:15 , Athena Stavrou
Mikhail Razvozhaev, the governor of Sevastopol, warned residents that the next controlled detonation of the Black Sea Fleet building would be carried out this morning.
He assured residents to not worry if they “hear loud noises” while the work is carried out at 11:25am.
He wrote on the Telegram messaging app: “The next controlled detonation to collapse emergency structures in the Black Sea Fleet building will be carried out at 11:25. Work will continue until approximately 14.00. If you hear loud noises, don’t worry. The situation is under control.”
On Friday, Ukrainian forces attacked the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The attack left a serviceman missing.
Drones attack Russia’s Tula region where thousands suffered power cut
09:55 , Athena Stavrou
Russia’s Tula region came under drone attack in the early hours of Monday as the country engaged its air defence systems to repel strikes, officials said.
The air defence was activated over the region bordering Moscow to its north, reported Russian news agency RIA.
The latest morning attacks caused limitation of air traffic as two of Moscow’s major airports – the Vnukovo and Domedovo – trimmed down operations on Monday. Flights flying into these airports were redirected to other airports, the Tass state news agency reported.
According to preliminary information, no damage or injuries were reported as a result of the attack, the Russian ministry of regional security said.
Drones attack Black Sea, Crimea and Russian city where thousands suffered power cuts
One person killed in southern Ukraine following aerial bomb attack
09:31 , Athena Stavrou
One person has been killed and several others are injured in southern Ukraine following Russian aerial bomb attacks this morning.
Oleksandr Prokudin, Governor of Kherson Oblast, shared the news following attacks on Beryslav.
He wrote on Telegram: “In the morning, Russian aviation attacked Berislav. The occupiers dropped four aerial bombs on the city. One of them hit the building of the housing and exploitation office. So far, it is known about one dead and several injured. Another aerial bomb destroyed a residential building.”
Ukrainian Ministry of Defence call Odesa attack a “pathetic attempt at retaliation"
09:25 , Athena Stavrou
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has called the Russian missile attack on Odessa a “pathetic attempt at retaliation”.
In a tweet, Ukraine claimed this morning’s attack was a retaliation to it’s own strike on the Russian Black Sea fleet headquarters in Sevastopol on Friday.
Last week’s attack saw “dozens dead”, according to Ukraine, while Russia say only one soldier is missing.
Russia has not commented on the claims that last night’s attack was a direct retaliation.
russian missiles struck a hotel in Odesa last night.
A pathetic attempt at retaliation for our successful hit on the russian Navy HQ in Sevastopol.
📷 Andrey Stavnitser pic.twitter.com/I9nlq0HYHD— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 25, 2023
Pictures show damage caused in Odesa after Russian missile attack
09:05 , Athena Stavrou
Ukrainian military and emergency services have issued photos of damage to infrastructure in Odesa following Russian missile attacks overnight.
Three Russian divisions actively defending against Ukrainian assaults
08:45 , Athena Stavrou
Elements of three Russian divisions are actively defending against Ukrainian assaults around the Orikhiv area in southern Ukraine according to US-based war monitoring think-tank, The Institute for the Study of War.
On September 24, Ukrainian forces launched attacks in three directions within the Orikhiv salient from Robotyne against Novoprokopivka, directly into Verbove’s western side and north of Verbove.
Elements of the Russian 42nd Motorized Rifle Division, 76th Air Assault Division and 7th Air Assault Division are have been deployed to defend against the assaults.
The 42nd Motorized Rifle Division are defending at the southernmost point of the Ukrainian salient and are engaging Ukrainian forces in Novoprokopivka while the Russian 76th Air Assault Division have been deployed to the western flank near Kopani towards Robotyne and counterattacking there. The 7th Air Assault Division are deployed on the eastern flank near the Verbove-Novopokrovka line and are counterattacking there also.
Ukrainian forces occupying half of Verbove after successful advance on Russian village
08:00 , Athena Stavrou
Russian sources reported to aUS-based war monitoring think-tank, The Institute for the Study of War, that Ukrainian forces broke into Verbove on September 22 and continued attacking the settlement with armored vehicles as of yesterday, September 24.
Geolocated combat footage posted on September 24 shows a Ukrainian BMP operating within Verbove’s westernmost village limits.
A Russian VDV-affiliated source reported that Ukrainian forces entered Verbove for the first time on September 22 and continued pushing east. The source later reported that Ukrainian forces occupy half of Verbove as of September 24.
The source also accused the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) of trying to conceal Ukraine’s tactical progress in Verbove, rhetorically stating: “For how long can Shoigu’s MoD hide the breakthrough in Verbove?”
The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces captured new unspecified locations near Verbove on September 24.
Ukrainian drones destroyed by Russian air defence overnight
07:45 , Athena Stavrou
Russia’s defence ministry said on Monday that it’s air defence systems destroyed four Ukraine-launched drones over the northwestern part of the Black Sea and over the Crimean Peninsula.
Separately, the ministry said that four other drones were destroyed overnight over Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions.
According to reports, Ukraine’s drone attack on the Kursk region damaged several private houses and an administrative building
It was not immediately known whether there was any damage or injuries as a result of the reported attacks.
Russian overnight missile attack injures one in southern Ukraine
07:20 , Athena Stavrou
One woman was injured and buildings and port infrastructure were severely damaged in Russia’s overnight missile and drone attack on the port of Odesa in southern Ukraine, Ukraine‘s military said on Monday.
“The sea port in Odesa suffered significant damage, a fire broke out in the port’s hotel, which has not been functioning for several years,” the south command of Ukraine‘s armed forces said on the Telegram messaging app.
They added that firefighters “promptly eliminated” the fire.
Ukraine‘s Air Force said that its air defence systems destroyed 19 Iranian-made Shahed drones, 11 cruise missiles and two hypersonic missiles that Russia launched on Ukraine overnight, vast majority directed at Odesa. Three other drones were destroyed earlier on Sunday, it said.
Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa region, said that a woman was taken to a hospital after a shrapnel injury in result of the blast wave. Ukraine‘s south military command posted on its Telegram messaging app several pictures showing a high-rise building with blown up windows and severe damage to its structure.
There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attack.
ICYMI: What are Abrams tanks and why is the US sending them to Ukraine?
07:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine’s military has reportedly succeeded in driving tanks through Russia’s defensive line in western Zaporizhzhia, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a major breakthrough after Vladimir Putin’s forces spent the winter establishing a tough obstacle course of anti-tank ditches, artillery nests and other obstructions.
The institute could not confirm that Ukrainian troops had followed suit at the breakthrough point near Verbove but the news is nevertheless a welcome indication that Kyiv’s counteroffensive is bearing fruit as it seeks to drive the invader from its territory.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is currently in North America seeking to shore up support from his US counterpart Joe Biden and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and has already flown out of Washington with the promise of a new $325m military aid package for his country that will include air defence systems and other weaponry to help it through what promises to be another trying winter of combat.
Joe Sommerlad reports:
What are Abrams tanks and why is the US sending them to Ukraine?
Russian airstrikes kill 2 and wound 3 in southern Ukraine as war enters 20th month
06:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian airstrikes on Sunday killed two people and wounded three others in southern Ukraine’s Kherson province, the region’s governor reported Sunday as the war in Ukraine entered a 20th month.
According to Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin, Russian forces struck the city of Beryslav, destroying an unspecified number of private houses. A woman was killed and three people were wounded, including a police officer, he said.
Another airstrike also killed a 67-year-old man in the village of Lvove, Prokudin said without specifying the type of weapons used in the attack.
Samya Kullab has more:
Russian airstrikes kill 2 and wound 3 in southern Ukraine as war enters 20th month
Inside Putin’s attempts to indoctrinate Russia’s youth by encouraging ‘self-sacrifice’
05:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian textbooks praising Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine are an attempt to encourage “self-sacrifice” among schoolchildren, experts have warned.
One chapter claims that Ukrainian membership of Nato could have led to a catastrophic war and “possibly the end of civilisation”, an outcome it says Russia had to prevent.
Alexander Butler reports:
Inside Putin’s attempts to indoctrinate Russian youth by encouraging ‘self-sacrifice’
One injured as Russia fires cruise missiles on Odesa
04:47 , Arpan Rai
One woman was injured and port infrastructure was damaged in southern Ukraine’s Odesa as Russia launched an overnight missile and drone attack, officials said.
A fire broke out in a non-residential high-rise in the city of Odesa, the administrative centre of the Odesa region, as a result of the attack, but was promptly extinguished, Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa region in southern Ukraine, said on his Telegram channel.
The scale of the attack and the full extent of the damage were not immediately clear.
Why did Russia invade Ukraine?
04:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has been raging for one year now as the conflict continues to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.
Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russia’s neighbour needed to be “demilitarised and de-Nazified”, a baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.
Read more:
Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine
ICYMI: Russia’s Lavrov rubbishes Ukraine peace plan and warns conflict will be resolved on battlefield
03:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has rubbished Ukraine’s 10-point peace plan and warned the conflict will be resolved on the battlefield if the West stuck to it.
Addressing the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Mr Lavrov dismissed the West as an “empire of lies” and said the plan promoted by Kyiv was “completely not feasible”.
In a letter to Mr Lavrov last month, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres outlined four measures the UN could facilitate to improve Russia’s grain and fertiliser exports in a bid to convince Moscow to return to the Black Sea deal, which allowed Ukraine to export grain through the corridor and helped address a global food shortage.
Read more:
Russia rubbishes Kyiv peace plan and warns conflict will be resolved on battlefield
Pope blames weapons industry for Russia-Ukraine war and 'martyrdom' of Ukrainian people
02:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Pope Francis on Saturday labeled the weapons industry as being a key driver of the “martyrdom” of Ukraine’s people in Russia’s war, saying even the withholding of weapons now is going to continue their misery.
Francis appeared to refer to Poland’s recent announcement that it is no longer sending arms to Ukraine when he was asked about the war during brief remarks to reporters while returning home from Marseille, France.
Francis acknowledged he was frustrated that the Vatican’s diplomatic initiatives hadn’t borne much fruit. But he said behind the Russia-Ukraine conflict was also the weapons industry.
Nicole Winfield reports:
Pope blames weapons industry for Russia-Ukraine war and 'martyrdom' of Ukrainian people
Ukraine says Russia lost ‘top’ navy commanders in Sevastopol missile strike
01:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine says its missile strike on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Crimea successfully targeted a meeting of senior naval officials, with “top” commanders among “dozens of dead and wounded”.
Kyiv launched the missile attack on the fleet based in the port city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea on Friday morning.
Ukrainian officials said the attack, targeting what is believed to be the best of Russia’s navy, was timed to coincide with the naval commanders’ meeting.
Read more:
Ukraine says Russia lost ‘top’ navy commanders in Sevastopol missile strike
ICYMI: Back in full force, UN General Assembly shows how the most important diplomatic work is face to face
Monday 25 September 2023 00:30 , Eleanor Noyce
There are two opposing theses about the U.N. General Assembly: It’s a place that shows the true power of words, where leaders inspire action with rousing speeches on the urgent issues of our times; or it’s a talking shop, where leaders perform for domestic audiences with political rhetoric on the cause of the day.
These dueling viewpoints were tested when the coronavirus pandemic shut down much in-person diplomacy for several years. After three years of virtual, then hybrid General Debates, the scores of top leaders who attended the annual U.N. summit this week exhibited the return of in-person diplomacy, and provided ammunition to those who advocate for its importance.
Read more:
Back in full force, UN General Assembly shows how the most important diplomatic work is face to face
North Korea says cooperation with Russia 'natural' for neighbours - KCNA
Sunday 24 September 2023 23:47 , Eleanor Noyce
North Korea on Monday slammed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for criticising its cooperation with Moscow following leader Kim Jong Un’s Russia visit, saying it is “natural” and “normal” for neighbours to keep close relations.
Yoon, speaking at the U.N. General Assembly last week, said that if Russia helped North Korea enhance its weapons programmes in return for assistance for its war in Ukraine, it would be “a direct provocation.”
In a piece carried by KCNA news agency, the North denounced Yoon for “malignantly” slandering its friendly cooperation with Russia, and said Yoon was serving as a “loudspeaker” for the United States.
“It is quite natural and normal for neighbouring countries to keep close relations with each other, and there is no reason to call such practice to account,” it said.
Kim returned home last week from a week-long trip to Russia in which he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to boost military and economic cooperation.
U.S. and South Korean officials have expressed concern that Russia could be trying to acquire ammunition from the North to supplement its dwindling stocks for the war in Ukraine while Pyongyang seeks technological help for its nuclear and missile programmes.
A Kremlin critic was transferred to a Siberian prison and placed in a 'punishment cell,' lawyer says
Sunday 24 September 2023 23:30 , Eleanor Noyce
An imprisoned Russian opposition figure has been transferred to a maximum security prison in Siberia and placed in a tiny “punishment cell,” his lawyer said Sunday.
Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., 42, earlier this year was convicted of treason for publicly denouncing Russia’s war in Ukraine and sentenced to 25 years in prison as part of the Kremlin’s relentless crackdown on critics. On Thursday, he arrived at IK-6 — a maximum security penal colony in the Siberian city of Omsk, his lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said in a Facebook post Sunday.
Dasha Litvinova has more:
A Kremlin critic was transferred to a Siberian prison and placed in a 'punishment cell,' lawyer says
Two dead in Russian shelling of southern Ukraine - governor
Sunday 24 September 2023 22:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian forces shelled southern Ukraine‘s Kherson region on Sunday, killing two people and injuring at least eight, the region’s governor said, as Ukraine‘s armed forces said they were keeping in check Russian advances in the east and south.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, newly returned from a visit to the United States and Canada, praised Ukrainian forces for successes in both areas of a three-month-old counteroffensive, but he gave no indication any new movement forward.
Kherson governor Oleksandr Prodkudin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said shelling from the Russian-held eastern bank of the Dnipro River had hit private homes in Beryslav, on the Ukrainian-held west bank. A man was killed in the nearby village of Lvove.
An air strike on Kherson, the region’s main town, injured at least five people and caused considerable damage to buildings.
The Russian military abandoned positions on the west bank of the river and in Kherson city late last year.
The General Staff of Ukraine‘s Armed Forces said the country’s forces had repelled Russian attacks on two villages near Bakhmut, where Kyiv has been trying to regain ground lost when the city fell to Moscow’s forces in May.
Russia's Tula region under drone attack - Russia's RIA
Sunday 24 September 2023 22:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s air defence systems were engaged in repelling a drone attack over the Tula region that borders Moscow’s region to its north, Russia’s RIA news agency reported early Monday.
Citing the ministry of regional security, the agency reported that according to preliminary information, there was no damage or injuries as a result of the attack.
Two of Moscow’s major airports, however, the Vnukovo and Domedovo, limited air traffic, directing flights to other airports, the TASS state news agency reported.
UNGA Briefing: There's one more day to go after a break — but first, here's what you missed
Sunday 24 September 2023 21:30 , Eleanor Noyce
It’s almost the end of the U.N. General Assembly high-level meeting that brings world leaders together at U.N. headquarters in New York. Here are the highlights of what happened Saturday at the United Nations and what to keep an eye on Tuesday, the last day (Monday’s off for Yom Kippur).
Read here:
UNGA Briefing: There's one more day to go after a break — but first, here's what you missed
ICYMI: Russian foreign minister lambastes the West but barely mentions Ukraine in UN speech
Sunday 24 September 2023 20:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s top diplomat lashed out at the U.S. and the West on Saturday as self-interested defenders of a fading international order, but he didn’t discuss his country’s war in Ukraine in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly.
“The U.S. and its subordinate Western collective are continuing to fuel conflicts which artificially divide humanity into hostile blocks and hamper the achievement of overall aims. They’re doing everything they can to prevent the formation of a genuine multipolar world order,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
“They are trying to force the world to play according to their own self-centred rules,” he said.
More here:
Russian foreign minister lambastes the West but barely mentions Ukraine in UN speech
Swiss ‘millionaire’s playground’ plays host to Ukraine refugees
Sunday 24 September 2023 19:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Zug, Switzerland’s wealthiest canton, is famous for its flawless alpine vistas and low taxes. And here in the rolling hills sits Kloster Menzingen monastery, a temporary home to 160 Ukrainian refugees who have fled their war-torn country.
“They were bombing my city last night,” explains law graduate Hana, 28, from Odesa, as she walks along the gloomy corridor in the southern wing of the convent.
“This is our life, waking up to news that our towns and cities are once more under siege,” she says.
Paddy Dowling has more:
Zelensky says he met top businessmen during U.S. visit
Sunday 24 September 2023 18:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday he met leading American entrepreneurs and financiers during a visit this week to the United States, where investment opportunities in Ukraine were discussed.
Zelensky said the businessmen, who included Michael Bloomberg, Larry Fink and Bill Ackman, were prepared to make major investments in rebuilding Ukraine after its war with Russia.
“The American entrepreneurs and financiers confirmed their readiness to make large-scale investments in our country immediately after the end of the war and the receipt of security guarantees,” he posted on Telegram, along with photos of the meeting.
“We are working for the victory and reconstruction of Ukraine.”
On a trip to the U.S. and Canada this week, Zelensky sought continued military and financial support for Kyiv’s effort to fend off Russia’s 19-month-old invasion.
Russian-installed head of Donetsk imposes 5-hour curfew
Sunday 24 September 2023 17:30 , Eleanor Noyce
The Russian-installed head of the Russian-annexed Ukrainian region of Donetsk has imposed a curfew, according to a decree published on Sunday.
Denis Pushilin banned the presence of civilians on streets and public places from 11 p.m. until 4 a.m. on Mondays-Fridays, according to the decree.
The decree forbade assemblies, rallies and demonstrations as well as other mass events in Russia-controlled parts of Donetsk region unless they were permitted by Operational Headquarters for Military Threat Response in Donetsk People’s Republic.
The decree signed by Pushilin on September 18 introduced “military censorship of postal mail and messages transmitted via telecommunications systems as well as control of telephone conversations”.
Among other steps entailed by Pushilin’s order was the establishment of checkpoints and security posts at borders with Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Heartwarming moment Russian bomb victim, 6, learns to ride bike again
Sunday 24 September 2023 16:30 , Eleanor Noyce
This is the heartwarming moment a six-year-old Ukrainian girl who lost her leg to a Russian missile strike learns to ride a bike again with the help of her prosthetic leg she named Kesha.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence posted footage of brave Marinya cycling a small tricycle through cones as she recovers from the bombing of Kherson in May last year.
The girl, the first Ukrainian child to be fitted with a prosthetic since the Russian invasion, manages to complete the course solo under the watchful eye of physiotherapists at The Kyiv Institute of Rehabilitation.
Barney Davis has the full story:
Heartwarming moment Russian bomb victim, 6, learns to ride bike again
Inside Putin’s attempts to indoctrinate Russia’s youth by encouraging ‘self-sacrifice’
Sunday 24 September 2023 15:33 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian textbooks praising Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine are an attempt to encourage “self-sacrifice” among schoolchildren, experts have warned.
One chapter claims that Ukrainian membership of Nato could have led to a catastrophic war and “possibly the end of civilisation”, an outcome it says Russia had to prevent.
Alexander Butler reports:
Inside Putin’s attempts to indoctrinate Russian youth by encouraging ‘self-sacrifice’
Russian airstrike on Kherson kills two
Sunday 24 September 2023 14:25 , Barney Davis
Russian airstrikes on Sunday killed two people and wounded three others in southern Ukraine’s Kherson province, the region’s governor reported Sunday as the war in Ukraine entered a 20th month.
According to Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin, Russian forces struck the city of Beryslav, destroying an unspecified number of private houses. A woman was killed and three people were wounded, including a police officer, he said.
Another airstrike also killed a 67-year-old man in the village of Lvove, Prokudin said without specifying the type of weapons used in the attack.
The communities hit both are located in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Kherson region, where the Dnieper River that bisects the province has marked a battle line since Russian troops withdrew across it in November 2022, a retreat that boosted the invaded country’s morale.
Kindergarten struck in another wave of Russian missiles on Nikopol and Sumy
Sunday 24 September 2023 14:01 , Barney Davis
Ukrainians were injured by shrapnel after Russia initiated a fresh wave of artillery assaults on the Nikopol region.
The city of Nikopol itself suffered severe damage to a department store building and a kindergarten, according to local reports.
These attacks resulted in the injury of a 25-year-old man who has since been hospitalised with shrapnel wounds and is currently fighting for his life according to Serhii Lysak, the head of the military administration in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Despite more strikes across the neighbouring regions, the Sumy regional military administration did not receive any reports of injuries.
Heartbreaking images of a Ukrainian train taking soldiers away from family to the frontline
Sunday 24 September 2023 13:00 , Barney Davis
Associated Press has been recording the heartbreaking separations of soldiers and their families as they board the same train line to take them to the frontline.
Every day, around seven in the morning, passengers on the Kyiv-Kramatorsk route leave the relative safety of the capital and head east to frontline areas where battles between Ukrainian forces and Russian troops rage and Russian strikes are frequent with imprecise missiles that slam into residential areas.
The passengers are a mix of men and women that offer up a slice of Ukrainian society these days. They include soldiers returning to the front after a brief leave, women making the trip to reunite for a few days with husbands and boyfriends serving on the battlefields, and residents returning to check on homes in the Donetsk region.
The connection was suspended for six months early in the war. The halt in April last year followed a Russian missile strike on the Kramatorsk railway station while passengers were waiting for evacuation. The strike killed 53 people and wounded 135 others in one of the deadliest Russian attacks.
Local media reports another air strike on the Russian city of Kursk
Sunday 24 September 2023 12:06 , Barney Davis
Ukrainian media is claiming another strike on the Russian city of Kursk hours after a drone strike hit an administrative building.
Black smoke can be seen pouring out of a large warehouse-type building in the bordering region.
There is currently no clear information on the scale of destruction or casualties with the attack coming on Kursk City Day.
The fresh strike came after Ukraine fired at least 19 “lethal” drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula, and three more over other regions of Russia, on Thursday.
Another strike in #Kursk. pic.twitter.com/PB0n2gewld
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 24, 2023
The Russian anti-aircraft units intercepted and destroyed over a dozen drones in the region, the ministry said on its Telegram channel.
“In the night an attempt by the Kyiv regime to commit a terrorist attack with lethal drones on sites in the Russian Federation was intercepted,” the ministry said.
Russia imposes overnight curfew on Ukrainians living in Donetsk
Sunday 24 September 2023 11:30 , Barney Davis
The Russian-installed head of the Russian-annexed Ukrainian region of Donetsk has imposed an overnight curfew, according to a decree published on Sunday.
Denis Pushilin banned the presence of civilians on streets and public places from 11 p.m. until 4 a.m. on Mondays-Fridays, according to the decree.
The decree forbade assemblies, rallies and demonstrations as well as other mass events in Russia-controlled parts of Donetsk region unless they were permitted by Operational Headquarters for Military Threat Response in Donetsk People’s Republic.
Ukraine’s ministry of defence post heartwarming footage of bomb victim learning to ride bike again
Sunday 24 September 2023 10:50 , Barney Davis
A Ukrainian girl who lost her leg in a Russian bombing raid has taken her first steps to recovery in heartwarming footage.
Maryna, 6, was filmed learning to ride a bike again by doctors helping her rehabilitation after she lost her leg in a missile strike in Kherson in May last year.
According to local reports, after suffering from severe trauma she initially refused to use the prosthetic left leg, but was talked around by doctors and even named it Kesha.
Maryna is Ukraine's first child to be fitted with a pediatric prosthesis.
In May 2022, a Russian missile struck the house in which she lived with her parents in the Kherson region. The child's leg was amputated above the knee at a hospital in Kryvyi Rih.
Today, 6-year-old Marina… pic.twitter.com/IoZ2zKsBim— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 24, 2023
Zelensky reveals he met top US businessmen to help rebuild Ukraine after Russian war
Sunday 24 September 2023 09:45 , Barney Davis
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he met leading American businessmen and financiers during a visit to the United States, where investment opportunities in Ukraine were discussed.
Zelenskiy said the businessmen, who included Michael Bloomberg, Larry Fink and Bill Ackman, were prepared to make major investments in rebuilding Ukraine after its war with Russia.
“The American entrepreneurs and financiers confirmed their readiness to make large-scale investments in our country immediately after the end of the war and the receipt of security guarantees,” he posted on Telegram, along with photos of the meeting.
Zelensky warned ‘not to insult Poland again' over UN speech
Sunday 24 September 2023 09:13 , Barney Davis
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned Volodymyr Zelensky to never “insult Poles again” after the Ukrainian leader suggested his country was playing political theatre over a long-standing frain dispute.
The Polish leader flashed a warning at Zelensky after the Ukrainian President offered a veiled criticism of Poland at the United Nations saying the dispute was “political theatre” and that “some of our friends in Europe” have “made a thriller from the grain.”
Poland decided last week to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports, shaking Kyiv’s relationship with a neighbour that has been one of its staunchest allies since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.
At a rally Morawiecki hit back: “I want to tell President Zelensky never to insult Poles again, as he did recently during his speech at the UN.
“The Polish people will never allow this to happen, and defending the good name of Poland is not only my duty and honor, but also the most important task of the Polish government” he added.
Why did Russia invade Ukraine?
Sunday 24 September 2023 07:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has been raging for one year now as the conflict continues to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.
Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russia’s neighbour needed to be “demilitarised and de-Nazified”, a baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.
Read more:
Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine
What are Abrams tanks and why is the US sending them to Ukraine?
Sunday 24 September 2023 06:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine’s military has reportedly succeeded in driving tanks through Russia’s defensive line in western Zaporizhzhia, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a major breakthrough after Vladimir Putin’s forces spent the winter establishing a tough obstacle course of anti-tank ditches, artillery nests and other obstructions.
The institute could not confirm that Ukrainian troops had followed suit at the breakthrough point near Verbove but the news is nevertheless a welcome indication that Kyiv’s counteroffensive is bearing fruit as it seeks to drive the invader from its territory.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is currently in North America seeking to shore up support from his US counterpart Joe Biden and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and has already flown out of Washington with the promise of a new $325m military aid package for his country that will include air defence systems and other weaponry to help it through what promises to be another trying winter of combat.
Joe Sommerlad reports:
What are Abrams tanks and why is the US sending them to Ukraine?
Pope blames weapons industry for Russia-Ukraine war and 'martyrdom' of Ukrainian people
Sunday 24 September 2023 05:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Pope Francis on Saturday labeled the weapons industry as being a key driver of the “martyrdom” of Ukraine’s people in Russia’s war, saying even the withholding of weapons now is going to continue their misery.
Francis appeared to refer to Poland’s recent announcement that it is no longer sending arms to Ukraine when he was asked about the war during brief remarks to reporters while returning home from Marseille, France.
Francis acknowledged he was frustrated that the Vatican’s diplomatic initiatives hadn’t borne much fruit. But he said behind the Russia-Ukraine conflict was also the weapons industry.
Nicole Winfield reports:
Pope blames weapons industry for Russia-Ukraine war and 'martyrdom' of Ukrainian people
Ex-Wagner commander arrested in Norway for attempting return to Russia
Sunday 24 September 2023 04:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Norwegian police have arrested a former commander of the Wagner mercenary group on suspicion that he tried to illegally cross the border back into Russia after seeking asylum in Norway earlier this year, the man’s lawyer said on Saturday.
Andrei Medvedev, who escaped Russia in January via its Arctic border with Norway, has described running as Russian guards fired shots at him. He has spoken about his time fighting in Ukraine as part of the Wagner group.
Police said in a statement late on Friday that a man in his 20s had been taken into custody for attempting to illegally cross the Russian border, but did not name him. An officer with the Finnmark local police declined to give the arrested man’s identity.
Crossing the border to Russia is only allowed at designated points. But Medvedev’s arrest was due to a misunderstanding, his Norwegian lawyer Brynjulf Risnes told Reuters.
“He was up there to see if he could find the place where he crossed (into Norway in January). He was stopped when he was in a taxi. He was never near the border ... It was never his intention to cross the border (into Russia),” Risnes said.
At the time of his arrival in Norway, Medvedev said he was seeking asylum because he feared for his life after witnessing the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners brought to the frontline in Ukraine.
Russian foreign minister lambastes the West but barely mentions Ukraine in UN speech
Sunday 24 September 2023 03:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s top diplomat lashed out at the U.S. and the West on Saturday as self-interested defenders of a fading international order, but he didn’t discuss his country’s war in Ukraine in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly.
“The U.S. and its subordinate Western collective are continuing to fuel conflicts which artificially divide humanity into hostile blocks and hamper the achievement of overall aims. They’re doing everything they can to prevent the formation of a genuine multipolar world order,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
“They are trying to force the world to play according to their own self-centered rules,” he said.
Read more:
Russian foreign minister lambastes the West but barely mentions Ukraine in UN speech
Russia’s Lavrov rubbishes Ukraine peace plan and warns conflict will be resolved on battlefield
Sunday 24 September 2023 02:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has rubbished Ukraine’s 10-point peace plan and warned the conflict will be resolved on the battlefield if the West continues its involvement.
Addressing the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Mr Lavrov dismissed the West as an “empire of lies” and said the plan promoted by Kyiv was “completely not feasible”.
In a letter to Mr Lavrov last month, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres outlined four measures the UN could facilitate to improve Russia’s grain and fertiliser exports in a bid to convince Moscow to return to the Black Sea deal, which allowed Ukraine to export grain through the corridor and helped address a global food shortage.
Read more:
Russia rubbishes Kyiv peace plan and warns conflict will be resolved on battlefield
Cracks in Western wall of support for Ukraine emerge as Eastern Europe and US head toward elections
Sunday 24 September 2023 01:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Once rock-solid, the support that Ukraine has gotten from its biggest backers for its fight against Russia is showing cracks.
Political posturing in places like Poland and Slovakia, where a trade dispute with Ukraine has stirred tensions, and Republican reticence in the United States about Washington’s big spending to prop up Ukraine’s military have raised new uncertainties about the West’s commitment to its efforts to expel Russian invaders more than 18 months into the war.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hopes to outlast allied backing for Kyiv, will be ready to capitalize if he sees Ukraine is running low on air defense or other weapons.
Read more:
Cracks in Western wall of support for Ukraine emerge as Eastern Europe and US head toward elections
Double blow for Putin as Black Sea navy attacked and Ukrainian forces ‘punch through Russian front line’
Sunday 24 September 2023 00:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s Black Sea fleet headquarters were in flames after a missile attack on Friday, bringing yet more woe to Vladimir Putin after Ukraine’s tanks reportedly broke through his final line of defence in western Zaporizhzhia.
Photographs show firefighters battling the blaze in the port city of Sevastopol while the Russian defence ministry confirmed one serviceman was missing in action as a result of the assault.
The attack took place less than 24 hours after Ukrainian armoured vehicles reportedly advanced over the front line – known as the Surovikin line – in western Zaporizhzhia for the first time, signalling a major breakthrough for Kyiv’s counteroffensive in the region.
Alex Ross has more:
Double blow for Putin as navy attacked and Ukraine forces ‘punch through front line’
Ukraine targets key Crimean city a day after striking the Russian navy headquarters
Saturday 23 September 2023 23:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine on Saturday morning launched another missile attack on Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, a Russian-installed official said, a day after an attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet left a serviceman missing and the main building smouldering.
Sevastopol was put on air raid alert for about an hour after debris from intercepted missiles fell near a pier, Gov. Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on the messaging app Telegram. Ferry traffic in the area was also halted and later resumed.
Loud blasts were also heard near Vilne in northern Crimea, followed by rising clouds of smoke, according to a pro-Ukrainian Telegram news channel that reports on developments on the peninsula. Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, has been a frequent target for Ukrainian forces since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the neighbouring country almost 19 months ago.
Read more:
Ukraine targets key Crimean city a day after striking the Russian navy headquarters
Trudeau pledges Canada's support for Ukraine and punishment for Russia
Saturday 23 September 2023 22:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced several support measures for Ukraine, including military, economic and humanitarian assistance, while also pledging an additional show of diplomatic backing through steps intended to punish Russia over the war.
“We’re continuing to impose costs on Russia and ensuring that those responsible for this illegal, unjustifiable invasion do not benefit from it,” Trudeau said Friday during during a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ottawa, the Canadian capital.
Zelenskyy also addressed Canada‘s Parliament on Friday. He flew into Ottawa late Thursday after meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden and lawmakers in Washington. He spoke at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
Brian P.d. Hannon reports:
Trudeau pledges Canada's support for Ukraine and punishment for Russia
Ukraine’s Zelensky stops over in Poland to award two volunteers
Saturday 23 September 2023 21:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky awarded two Polish volunteers state awards during a stopover on Saturday, but did not meet any officials as relations between the two countries are strained over grain imports.
Poland decided last week to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports, shaking Kyiv’s relationship with a neighbour that has been one of its staunchest allies since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.
Poland’s prime minister told Zelensky on Friday not to “insult” Poles, maintaining harsh rhetoric towards Kyiv ahead of elections on October 15. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has been criticised by the far right for what it says is the government’s subservient attitude to Ukraine.
Zelensky angered his neighbours when he told the United Nations General Assembly in New York that Kyiv was working to preserve land routes for grain exports, but that the “political theatre” around imports was only helping Moscow.
On Saturday, on his way back home, he handed awards to Bianka Zalewska, a journalist who helped transport wounded children to Polish hospitals, and Damian Duda, who gathered a medical team to help wounded soldiers near the front line.
Zelensky thanked all Poles who “from the first days opened their families, their homes, opened themselves up and helped”.
Latest pictures from the frontline
Saturday 23 September 2023 21:00 , Nick Ferris
Slapping West as ‘empire of lies’, Russia’s Lavrov dismisses U.N. bid to revive Black Sea grain deal
Saturday 23 September 2023 20:47 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday dismissed the West as an “empire of lies” and said the latest U.N. proposals to revive the Black Sea grain initiative would not fly because they do not deliver on promises made to Moscow.
Lavrov spoke after a week of intense global diplomacy at the annual gathering of world leaders at U.N. headquarters in New York where Ukraine and its Western allies sought to drum up support for Kyiv as it fights against Russia’s invasion.
In a letter to Lavrov last month, U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres outlined four measures the U.N. could facilitate to improve Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports in a bid to convince Moscow to return to the Black Sea deal, which allowed Ukraine to export grain through the corridor and helped address a global food shortage.
“We explained to the secretary general why his proposals won’t work. We don’t reject them. They’re simply not realistic. They cannot be implemented,” Lavrov said.
He said a 10-point peace plan promoted by Kyiv was “completely not feasible” and that the conflict would be resolved on the battlefield if Ukraine and the West stuck to it.
Lavrov added that Moscow left the Black Sea grain initiative because promises made to Russia - including on removing sanctions on a Russian bank and reconnecting it to the global SWIFT system - had not been met.
ICYMI: Senior Russian generals injured in Friday’s missile strike on Crimea
Saturday 23 September 2023 20:30 , Nick Ferris
Senior Russian generals were injured in Friday’s missile strike on Crimea, Ukraine’s intelligence chief has claimed.
Kyrylo Budanov told Voice of America on Saturday that at least nine people were killed and 16 injured as a result of Kyiv’s attack on the Black Sea Fleet on Friday.
He claimed that Alexander Romanchuk, a Russian general commanding forces along the key southeastern front line, was “in a very serious condition” following the attack. He added that chief of staff, Lieutenant General Oleg Tsekov is also unconscious.
Budanov’s claim could not be independently verified.
