Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s warplanes ‘drop bombs’ on civilian shipping lanes as Kyiv troops advance

Vladimir Putin’s warplanes have dropped “explosive objects” into the paths of civilian shipping lanes in the Black Sea, the region’s military command said.

“The occupiers are continuing to terrorise the paths of civilian shipping in the Black Sea with tactical aviation, dropping explosive objects into the likely paths of civilian vessel traffic,” it said.

“There were three such drops registered in the last 24 hours. However, the navigation corridor continues to function under the watch of the defence forces.”

Ukraine is trying to build up a new shipping lane without Russian approval to revive its vital seaborne exports. But Russia said it would consider any vessel a potential military target after it quit UN-brokered deal allowing Ukrainian goods to pass through.

It comes as Ukrainian troops have made confirmed advances against Russia on two fronts, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

“Geolocated footage posted on 30 October shows that Ukrainian forces have advanced northeast of Kurdyumivka (10km southwest of Bakhmut),” it said.

Ukrainian forces have also “marginally advanced” west of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia, according to geolocated footage seen by the think tank.

Key Points

• Ukraine preparing for ‘new wave’ of attacks on Avdiivka

• Russia attacks oil refinery, Kyiv says

• Ukraine ‘successfully’ hits Russia’s air defence system in Crimea

• Belarus leader Lukashenko says Ukraine and Russia are locked in a ‘stalemate’

• US says executing own soldiers is ‘barbaric'

• Putin pushes more soldiers to frontline despite failing offensive

Russia ‘regrouping for new attacks at Avdiivka’

08:34 , Holly Evans

Russian forces are trying to regroup and recover their losses near the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka before trying to press on with attacks to try to encircle the besieged settlement, Ukraine’s military said on Thursday.

“The enemy continues to try to encircle Avdiivka, but now not so actively - the enemy is trying to regroup and recover losses in order to attack further,” said Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesman for Ukraine’s Tavria military command.

Russia renewed a push to encircle the embattled town in mid-October, trying to overwhelm Ukrainian positions with constant barrages of artillery and waves of troops and fighting vehicles, according to local and military authorities in Ukraine.

North Korea has sent unspecified number of missiles to Russia

08:25 , Holly Evans

North Korea has likely supplied several types of missiles to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, along with its widely reported shipments of ammunition and shells, South Korea’s military said Thursday.

In a background briefing for local journalists, South Korea’s military said that North Korea is suspected of sending an unspecified number of short-range ballistic missiles, anti-tank missiles and portable anti-air missiles to Russia, in addition to rifles, rocket launchers, mortars and shells.

North Korea has been pushing to expand cooperation with Russia and China in the face of protracted security tensions with the United States and pandemic-caused domestic hardships. In an apparent sign of its economic troubles, the country is moving to close some of its overseas diplomatic missions.

Giorgia Meloni says European leaders are ‘tired of Ukraine war’ in prank call

07:54 , Holly Evans

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said European leaders are tired of the war in Ukraine and want to broker a deal with the Kremlin to end it, in a prank call with Russians posing as African diplomats.

She made the remarks during a call she believed she was having with a senior African Union official when she was in fact speaking with two prolific Russian pranksters and suspected Kremlin agents.

During the conversation with “Vovan and Lexus”, she said European leaders wanted a “way out” of the 20-month war in Ukraine.

Ukraine suffers most intense bombardment of Russian shelling in a single day this year, Kyiv says

07:32 , Holly Evans

Ukraine has suffered its most intense bombardment of Russian shelling so far this year as Vladimir Putin’s troops hit 118 settlements in just 24 hours, Ukraine’s interior minister has said.

Moscow fired millions of shells on cities, towns and villages on Wednesday – more than on any single day so far this year – reducing some to rubble across the eastern and southern parts of the country, Ihor Klymenko said in a post on social media.

“Over the last 24 hours, the enemy shelled 118 settlements in 10 regions. This is the highest number of cities and villages that have come under attack since the start of the year,” he wrote on Telegram.

Read the full story here

Ukraine suffers most intense bombardment of Russian shelling this year, Kyiv says

ICYMI - Nato chief says Russia must not be allowed ‘to take pieces of Ukraine’

07:00 , Lydia Patrick

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Russia must not be allowed to “continue to take pieces of Ukraine” as he backed arming Kyiv to give it an upperhand during negotiations.

“The stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield, the stronger they will be at the negotiating table. And when the war does end, we must ensure that history does not repeat itself. That Russia does not continue to take pieces of Ukraine,” the Nato chief said on Tuesday at the 75th Nordic Council in Oslo.

“Russia has lost. It has lost tens of thousands of soldiers. It has lost large amounts of military material. And it has lost political influence and is increasingly isolated,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

Nato chief says Russia must not be allowed ‘to take pieces of Ukraine’

Mapped - The front lines and counteroffences

06:00 , Lydia Patrick

Bulgaria expels Russian journalist

05:00 , Lydia Patrick

Bulgaria has expelled a Russian journalist for allegedly engaging in activities that pose a threat to the country’s national security, authorities said.

The State Agency for National Security said Alexander Gatsak, a correspondent for Russian state-run newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, was stripped of his residency rights and barred from entering Bulgaria and other European Union member nation.

The agency said Gatsak was summoned Sept. 29 to receive the expulsion order at the Interior Ministry migration office, but he did not show up and instead took refuge inside the Russian Embassy in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia.

ICYMI - South Korea’s spy agency says North Korea shipped more than a million artillery shells to Russia

04:00 , Lydia Patrick

South Korea’s top spy agency believes North Korea sent more than a million artillery shells to Russia since August to help fuel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, according to a lawmaker who attended a closed-door briefing Wednesday with intelligence officials.

North Korea and Russia have been actively boosting the visibility of their partnership in the face of separate, deepening confrontations with the United States.

South Korea's spy agency says North Korea shipped more than a million artillery shells to Russia

Kyiv - ‘Ukraine suffers most intense bombardment of Russian shelling in single day this year'

03:00 , Lydia Patrick

Ukraine has suffered its most intense bombardment of Russian shelling so far this year as Putin’s troops hit 118 settlements in just 24 hours, Ukraine’s interior minister has said.

Moscow fired millions of shells on cities, towns and villages on Wednesday - more than in any single day so far this year, reducing several to rubble across the east and southern parts of the country, Ihor Klymenko said in a post on social media.

“Over the last 24 hours, the enemy shelled 118 settlements in 10 regions. This is the highest number of cities and villages that have come under attack since the start of the year,” he wrote on Telegram.

The bombardments came as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky lamented the world’s expectation of a speedy victory on the battlefield.

Ukraine suffers most intense bombardment of Russian shelling this year, Kyiv says

ICYMI - Russian soldiers accused of killing family of nine as they slept in Russia-occupied Ukrainian town

02:00 , Lydia Patrick

Russian forces allegedly gunned down an entire family of nine, including two young children, as they slept in their beds in the Russia-occupied town of Volnovakha in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk, officials in Kyiv said.

Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Russian soldiers killed all members of the Kapkanets family on 27 October after the civilians refused to give them control of their house.

According to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office in Donetsk, the attackers were in army uniforms and had demanded the family house be vacated, leading to an argument.

“According to preliminary information, the occupiers have killed the whole of the Kapkanets family, who were celebrating a birthday and who had refused to hand their own house over to occupiers from Chechnya,” he said on his official Telegram channel.

Family of nine shot dead as they slept in Russian-occupied Ukrainian town

Moldovan president accuses Russia of 'buying' voters in local election

01:00 , Lydia Patrick

Moldova's pro-European president, Maia Sandu, accused Russia on Wednesday of "buying" voters in this weekend's local elections by funnelling money to pro-Moscow political parties.

Sandu, who has denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accused Russia of trying to oust her in a coup, said Moscow had channelled 90 million Moldovan lei (about $4.9 million) in two months in financing for "criminal groups". These include a banned party led by fugitive businessman Ilan Shor.

"Russia previously bought those people who were running Moldova," Sandu said in an interview with Jurnal TV, referring to corruption scandals in the ex-Soviet state before her 2020 landslide election.

"It no longer has that possibility. Now it is buying Moldovan citizens. The Kremlin uses various categories of people ... There are people who work for the Kremlin and they are going to Moscow to fetch money."

Russian officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Sandu's allegations.

Soros university in Vienna declared 'undesirable' in Russia

00:00 , Lydia Patrick

Russian has designated the Central European University (CEU) in Vienna, founded by billionaire financier and civil society activist George Soros, as an “undesirable organisation”, according to a list on its website.

Prosecutors had accused the CEU of discrediting Russia’s political leadership and the Russian forces that have invaded Ukraine in what Moscow calls a “special military operation”, and of recruiting staff to formulate a global anti-Russian agenda in the media, the Russian daily Vedomosti reported.

Since its foundation in 1991, CEU has been a gateway to the West for thousands of students from eastern Europe, offering U.S.-accredited graduate degree programs in an academic climate that celebrates free thought.

The university, which does not have a branch in Russia, rejected the accusations and said it was committed to academic excellence and critical independent inquiry.

It said the move would restrict its freedom to cooperate with Russian institutions and individuals, prevent Russian citizens from cooperating with it, and put its Russian students and employees at risk of political persecution.

It has therefore ceased cooperating with Russian partners and promoting its degree programmes in Russia.

CEU in 2019 moved the bulk of its courses from Budapest, Soros’s birthplace, to Austria after a long struggle with Hungary’s right-wing leader Viktor Orban, who accused it of encouraging mass immigration to Europe.

Russia's Kuzmichev put under formal investigation in France

Wednesday 1 November 2023 23:00 , Lydia Patrick

French investigative judges on Wednesday put Russian tycoon Alexey Kuzmichev under formal investigation, a source at the financial prosecutor’s office said.

Kuzmichev has been held for questioning since Monday and was put under formal investigation over allegations of laundering of tax evasion proceeds, money laundering and concealed work, the source said.

A lawyer for Kuzmichev declined to comment.

Ukraine needs new military capabilities as war moves to attritional fighting says army chief

Wednesday 1 November 2023 22:00 , Lydia Patrick

Ukraine‘s commander-in-chief said on Wednesday the war with Russia was moving to a new stage of positional warfare involving static and attritional fighting, a phase he warned could benefit Moscow and allow it to rebuild its military power.

In an article for The Economist, top general Valery Zaluzhnyi said the Ukrainian army needed key new military capabilities and technology, including air power, to break out of that kind of war.

He also called for Ukraine to build up its army reserves and expand the categories of Ukrainian citizens who can be called up for training or to be mobilised.

Wednesday 1 November 2023 21:00 , Lydia Patrick

More than 260 civilians have been killed in Ukraine after stepping on landmines or other explosives during the 20-month-old war with Russia, Ukraine‘s military said.

Kyiv estimates that 174,000 sq km of the country - about a third of its territory - is potentially strewn with mines or dangerous war detritus.

At least 571 people have received injuries during more than 560 incidents involving mines or explosive objects left behind by the fighting, the General Staff said on Telegram messenger.

Almost a quarter of the incidents occurred in fields, it added.

Some farmers take risks trying to work in areas thought to be contaminated with mines. On Wednesday, a tractor hit an unidentified explosive in southern Mykolaiv region, leaving two men wounded, the Interior Ministry said.

“One of them had two legs amputated, the other refused to be taken to hospital after being examined,” it added on Telegram.

Ukraine is in critical need of sappers. It now has about 3,000 specialists operating, but it needs 7,000 more to fully clear all the mines, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal was quoted as saying by Suspilne media.

That process would require around $37 billion in funding, a sum Kyiv is seeking to raise with the help of international partners.

ICYMI - Zelensky says Ukraine’s Black Sea assault ‘will go down in history’

Wednesday 1 November 2023 20:00 , Lydia Patrick

Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine’s success in the battle for the Black Sea “will go down in history books”, as he rallied troops in his nightly video address.

“Ukraine’s success in the battle for the Black Sea will go down in history books, although it’s not being discussed much today,” he added.

Mr Zelensky also warned against expecting instant success in Ukraine’s counter-offensive campaign as Russian forces showed signs of amping up fresh attacks on different sections of the frontline.

“We live in a world that gets used to success too quickly. When the full-scale invasion began, many people around the world did not believe that Ukraine would survive,” the war-time president said in his nightly video address.

He added: “Glory to all those who do not retreat, who do not burn out, who believe in Ukraine just as they did on February 24, and who have been fighting unwaveringly.”

Read the full report by Arpan Rai here...

Zelensky says Ukraine’s Black Sea assault ‘will go down in history’

ICYMI - Russian oligarch arrested in France in money laundering probe

Wednesday 1 November 2023 19:00 , Lydia Patrick

A Russian tycoon has been arrested in France in connection with alleged tax evasion and money laundering and for violating international sanctions, prosecutors have said.

Searches took place on Monday at Kuzmichev’s Paris home and in the Mediterranean Var region as part of the investigation, the French Financial Prosecutors office said, confirming a report in the French daily newspaper Le Monde.

The search was carried out during a dramatic raid involving 60 officers.

Kuzmichev was still being held in custody on Tuesday but has not yet been charged in the case.

French customs agents last year seized the oligarch’s 27-metre yacht “La Petite Ourse”, as part of sanctions by the European Union for his ties to president Vladimir Putin.

Read the full report by Tom Watling here...

Russian oligarch arrested in France in money laundering probe

Bulgaria expels Russian journalist

Wednesday 1 November 2023 18:00 , Alexander Butler

Bulgaria has expelled a Russian journalist for allegedly engaging in activities that pose a threat to the country’s national security, authorities said.The State Agency for National Security said Alexander Gatsak, a correspondent for Russian state-run newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, was stripped of his residency rights and barred from entering Bulgaria and other European Union member nation.The agency said Gatsak was summoned Sept. 29 to receive the expulsion order at the Interior Ministry migration office, but he did not show up and instead took refuge inside the Russian Embassy in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia.

Wagner group resumes recruitment under Prigozhin’s son

Wednesday 1 November 2023 17:30 , Alexander Butler

The mercenary group Wagner may have resumed recruiting soldiers under the leadership of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s son, Pavel Prigozhin, according to reports.

The organisation has become a unit of the Russian National Guard, hiring soldiers from Perm and Novosibirsk, Ukrainska Pravda said.

It quoted the Novosibirsk office of the Wagner Group as saying recruitment had been taking place for two or three days.

Russia shells over 100 settlements in 24 hours, Kyiv says

Wednesday 1 November 2023 16:30 , Alexander Butler

Russia has shelled over 100 settlements within the last 24 hours, more than in any single day so far this year, Ukraine said.

“Over the last 24 hours, the enemy shelled 118 settlements in 10 regions,” Ukraine’s interior minister, Igor Klymenko, said on social media.

“This is the highest number of cities and villages that have come under attack since the start of the year,” he added.

Corruption is biggest problem second to war, survey finds

Wednesday 1 November 2023 15:09 , Alexander Butler

The second largest problem in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion is corruption, according to research.

“The war is definitely the biggest problem of Ukraine and Ukrainians. However, if you ask what problems outside of the war are the most worrying for Ukrainians, then among the specified list, 63 per cent talk about corruption,” the research’s authors said.

The third largest problem is low salaries and pensions at 46 per cent, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology said.

North Korea sent ‘more than one million artillery shells’ to Russia

Wednesday 1 November 2023 14:10 , Alexander Butler

North Korea has sent more than a million artillery shells to Russia since August, according to South Korea’s national security agency.

Politician Yoo Sang-bum said the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) believes roughly two months of supplies were transported via ships and other means, accompanied by a North Korean weapons expert.

The US, South Korea and Japan issued a joint statement on Thursday condemning what they described as North Korea’s supply of munitions and military equipment to Russia.

Russian warplanes drop explosives on Black Sea shipping lanes, Kyiv says

Wednesday 1 November 2023 12:26 , Alexander Butler

Russian warplanes dropped “explosive objects” into paths of civilian vessels in the Black Sea three times in the last 24 hours, Ukraine said.

“There were three such drops registered in the last 24 hours. However, the navigation corridor continues to function under the watch of the defence forces,” the southern military command said.

Ukraine is trying to build up a new shipping lane without Russian approval to revive its vital seaborne exports. Russia said it would consider any vessel a potential military target after it quit a UN-brokered deal in July that allowed some food exports to flow despite the war.

Pictured: ‘Shark drone’ launch

Wednesday 1 November 2023 12:23 , Alexander Butler

Uzbek man sentenced for serving in Russian forces

Wednesday 1 November 2023 12:13 , Alexander Butler

An Uzbek man has been found guilty of serving in the Donetsk People’s Republic military between 2014 and 2015, a court heard.

Relatives of the convicted man claimed he did not participate in the war in Ukraine and was in Russia during over the period, the ISW said.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, the sentencing may heighten tensions between Russian and Central Asian authorities as Moscow seeks to coerce migrants into joining the war effort.

Russian attacks kill 3, injure 15 over past day

Wednesday 1 November 2023 11:02 , Alexander Butler

Russian forces carried out attacks against 13 of Ukraine’s oblasts over the past day, killing at least three people and injuring at least 15 others, local officials reported.

In Donetsk, one person was killed and two were wounded during Russian attacks on the region, according to the local military administration.

In Kharkiv, a Russian strike killed a man aged around 50 and injured a 52-year-old woman, its governor reported.

Another person was killed and eight others were injured in Russian attacks on Kherson, according to the region’s governor.

Russia fails to regain lost ground on two fronts

Wednesday 1 November 2023 10:02 , Alexander Butler

Russian forces failed to regain lost ground near Klishchiivka and Andriivka south of Bakhmut, and near Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said.

There were also 68 skirmishes with Russian forces recorded over the past day, according to the General Staff.

It comes as Ukraine is preparing for a new wave of attacks near the besieged town of Avdiivka, the head of the region’s military administration said.

Russian officials concerned with maintaining authoritarian rule, think tank says

Wednesday 1 November 2023 09:40 , Alexander Butler

Russian officials are “concerned” with maintaining authoritarian rule following antisemitic riots which were blamed on Western inteference, a think tank said.

“Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov’s reactions to the riots in Dagestan suggest that he is first and foremost concerned with maintaining the perception of his unwavering support of Putin,” the Institute for the study of War said.

“And secondly, he is concerned with demonstrating the strength of his authoritarian rule over Chechnya by threatening a violent response to potential future riots.”

Biden threatens to veto Israel-only aid bill

Wednesday 1 November 2023 09:10 , Alexander Butler

US President Joe Biden has threatened to veto a Republican bill which would provide aid to Israel but not Ukraine.

“In contrast to the President’s national security package, this bill provides no aid whatsoever to Ukraine. This is an urgent requirement,” the White House’s Office of Management and Budget said.

It comes as Mr Biden wants Congress to provide $106bn in funding to both Israel and Ukraine. But Republican speaker Mike Johnson, who was elected by the House last week, is sceptical about funding Ukraine’s war effort and said he would not back the president’s efforts.

Ukraine preparing for ‘new wave’ of attacks on Avdiivka

Wednesday 1 November 2023 08:32 , Alexander Butler

Ukraine is preparing for a new wave of attacks near the besieged town of Avdiivka, the head of the region’s military administration said.

“Our boys are preparing for a new wave,” military chief Vitaliy Barabash said. On Monday, Kyiv claimed Russia was preparing to conduct “meat assaults” by throwing troops at the front line without artillery cover.

The Storm-Z units, made up of penal convicts, are often destroyed after a few days and on average lose between 40 to 70 per cent of their personnel, according to a Russian milblogger.

One-way-attack systems most effective weapon used by Russia, MoD says

Wednesday 1 November 2023 08:19 , Alexander Butler

Russia’s small one-way attack weapons have been one of the “most effective” military capabilites Putin has used on the battlefield this year, the UK Ministry of Defence said.

“Russia’s Lancet small one-way-attack uncrewed aerial systems (OWA UAVs) have highly likely been one of the most effective new capabilities Russia has fielded in Ukraine over the last 12 months,” the ministry said.

“Russia deploys Lancets to attack priority targets and they have become increasingly prominent in the key counter-battery fight, striking enemy artillery.”

World expects success ‘too quickly’, Zelensky says

Wednesday 1 November 2023 08:04 , Alexander Butler

The world expects success on the battlefield “too quickly”, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.

In response to growing criticism Kyiv’s counteroffensive has been a failure, Mr Zelensky said: “The modern world is set up in such a way that it becomes accustomed to success too quickly. When the full-scale aggression began, many in the world did not think Ukraine would endure.”

Ukraine’s military said Russian forces were gearing up for fresh attacks in different sections of the front, but there has been little movement along the 1,000km frontline in recent months.

Russia attacks oil refinery, Kyiv says

Wednesday 1 November 2023 07:38 , Alexander Butler

Russia struck a Ukrainian oil refinery after launching scores of drones and a missile overnight, according to military officials.

The Kremenchuk oil refinery in Poltava, was set ablaze amid a broader attack which targeted military and critical infrastructure, Filip Pronin, head of the region’s military administration, said.

“The fire has been extinguished. The situation is under control,” he said on Telegram, adding that there were no reports yet of casualties as officials sought to gather more details of the destruction.

The air force said 18 of the 20 Russian-launched kamikaze Shahed drones were destroyed before reaching their targets, as was the missile.

ICYMI - US dismisses Putin’s claim that anti-Israel riot at Dagestan was organised by Ukraine and West

Wednesday 1 November 2023 07:00 , Lydia Patrick

The US has rejected Vladimir Putin’s claim that the Ukraine and the West were behind a riot in Russia’s Dagestan where thousands of people stormed an airport to target a flight landing from Israel.

Mr Putin on Monday, without presenting any evidence, accused unnamed Ukrainian agents of Western spy agencies of “trying to inspire” the rampage at the airport late on Sunday which injured more than 20 people.

The Russian president claimed the chaos was part of America’s efforts to weaken Russia.

None of those injured in the attack were Israeli nationals, reported The Associated Press.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller answered a question on Russia publicly blaming outsiders for the attack.

Ukraine received £2.3bn from international partners this month

Wednesday 1 November 2023 06:00 , Lydia Patrick

Ukraine has received about £2.3bn from international partners including the US and EU this month, according to its finance ministry.

The total sum included a $1.15bn grant from the US and 1.5bn euro as part of a macro-financial assistance package from the EU.

Overall, Ukraine has received £29bn in external funding so far in 2023. The World Bank estimated in December 2022 that Ukraine’s reconstruction could cost more than £518bn.

ICYMI - Ukraine bombards Russian forces with drones as Putin suffers losses in fight for Avdiivka

Wednesday 1 November 2023 05:00 , Lydia Patrick

Ukrainian forces fired more than 30 drones in a renewed assault over the weekend as Russian forces lost at least an entire brigade in their push for the eastern town of Avdiivka, officials said.

The Russian air defence systems destroyed 36 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea and the northwestern part of the Crimean peninsula, its defence ministry wrote on Telegram on Sunday, accusing Kyiv of carrying out a “terrorist attack”.

In a separate incident, local officials in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region near the Black Sea said an oil refinery was hit and set ablaze in the early hours of Sunday but did not explain what caused the fire. Several local media outlets said that the fire was caused by a drone strike or a crashed drone’s debris.

Officials in Kyiv have not issued a comment on the Russian defence ministry’s claims. The war-hit nation rarely acknowledges responsibility for attacks on Russia and Russian-occupied territories but has admitted that striking targets there helps its counteroffensive.

Ukraine bombards Russia with drones as Putin suffers losses in fight for Avdiivka

Air raid alerts in Crimea’s port of Sevastopol – officials

Wednesday 1 November 2023 04:40 , Arpan Rai

An air raid alert has been declared in the Crimean port of Sevastopol and traffic on the Crimean Bridge as well as sea transport were suspended, Russian-installed officials in the Crimean Peninsula said in the early hours today.

Sevastopol, where Russia parks it major naval fleet, has come under heavy attacks from Ukraine since September this year.

The Sevastopol shipyard attack in September was one of the biggest in recent weeks, even though the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, has been a frequent target in the 18-month old war.

Mapped - The Ukraine - Russia War

Wednesday 1 November 2023 04:00 , Lydia Patrick

Watch - Mike Johnson says Congress will pass 'stand-alone Israel funding bill' before supporting Ukraine

Wednesday 1 November 2023 03:00 , Lydia Patrick

Zelensky speaks with Bulgarian PM to strengthen Black Sea security

Wednesday 1 November 2023 02:00 , Lydia Patrick

Zelensky spoke with Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov on ways to further strengthen Black Sea security amid Russian military threats.

He said: “Ukraine strengthens global food security with the alternative Black Sea export corridor. I appreciate the joint naval demining initiative by Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey.”

Ukraine urges EU to cancel European film festival in Russia

Wednesday 1 November 2023 01:00 , Lydia Patrick

Ukraine has urged the European Union to cancel an upcoming film festival being held in Russia that was organised by the bloc’s Russian delegation.

“It is important to continue an effective sanctions policy not only in the economic sphere, but also in culture, in particular in cinema,” Ukraine’s Culture Ministry said.

The festival, which features over 20 films from across the continent, is set to be held online between 1 November and 15 November under the slogan of “Cinema Unites”.

US House Republicans' Israel-only aid bill faces opposition in Senate

Wednesday 1 November 2023 00:00 , Lydia Patrick

U.S. senators from both parties expressed doubts on Tuesday about House of Representatives Republicans’ plan to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel by cutting funding for the Internal Revenue Service, without providing aid to Ukraine.

In the first major legislative action under new Speaker Mike Johnson, House Republicans unveiled a standalone supplemental spending bill only for Israel on Monday, despite President Joe Biden’s request for a $106 billion package that would include aid for Israel and Ukraine and funding to boost competition with China in the Indo-Pacific as well as security along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Republicans have a narrow majority in the House, but Biden’s fellow Democrats control the Senate. To become law, the bill would have to pass both the House and Senate and be signed by Biden.

Democrats said the Republican bill would be dead on arrival in the Senate, even if it passed the House.

“The bottom line is it’s not a serious proposal,” Senate Democratic Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, told reporters.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate said he felt the four issues needed to be addressed.

“We need to treat all four of these areas, all four of them, Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the border,” McConnell told reporters.

Republicans are expected to pass the legislation in the House as soon as this week.

ICYMI - Putin ally Lukashenko calls for ceasefire in ‘stalemate’ Ukraine war

Tuesday 31 October 2023 23:00 , Lydia Patrick

Russia and Ukraine were locked in a serious stalemate in Moscow’s continuing invasion of the country and needed to sit down for peace talks, Belarusian president and Vladimir Putin’s close ally Alexander Lukashenko said.

“There are enough problems on both sides and in general the situation is now seriously stalemate: no one can do anything and substantively strengthen or advance their position,” Mr Lukashenko said.

“They’re there head-to-head, to the death, entrenched. People are dying,” he said over the weekend.

This marks the first time the Belarusian president has come forward seeking truce in the conflict and called for a “stop” command.

“We need to sit down at the negotiating table and come to an agreement,” Mr Lukashenko said in a question and answer video posted on the website of the Belarusian state news agency BelTA.

Putin ally Lukashenko calls for ceasefire in ‘stalemate’ Ukraine war

Irish Prime Minister addresses whether social welfare payments will be cut for Ukrainians

Tuesday 31 October 2023 22:00 , Lydia Patrick

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that if social welfare payments were to be cut for Ukrainians arriving in Ireland, it would be done via a joint memo.

He said: “The procedure for anything would be would be joint memo. So a memo that would be coordinated by my office, the Department of the Taoiseach, but will be brought forward by a number of ministers because we have to look at the whole thing in the round, how it impacts on schools, healthcare, on the housing situation as well.”

Asked when the memo would be brought to Cabinet, Mr Varadkar said: “I actually can’t say that. There have been some draft proposals brought forward by Minister (for Integration Roderic) O’Gorman, but they only related to accommodation and we’ve formed the view that we have to see it all in the round and take into account social protection, education, healthcare, housing, all of those things.

“So certainly not this week. Maybe in the next couple of weeks, but we don’t have a timeline as of yet.”

Ireland to ‘change offering’ to Ukrainian refugees

Tuesday 31 October 2023 21:00 , Lydia Patrick

Leo Varadkar has said that a joint proposal would be brought to Cabinet in the coming weeks to change the offering to Ukrainians arriving into the country.

The Taoiseach said Ireland was not going to refuse Ukrainian refugees or other asylum seekers, but that the Government “can’t be blind to (the) reality” that Ireland is seen as more attractive than other EU countries.

“We’re not going to turn anyone away,” he said on Tuesday as he opened a new road in Athy, Co Kildare.

“No Ukrainian who comes to Ireland is going to be told ‘you’re not welcome here’. Nobody coming from other parts of the world seeking international protection is going to be told to go away. They’ll have their application processed.

“But what we are saying is that we’re seeing increasing numbers of what are called secondary movements, Ukrainians who had been living in other parts of Western Europe for a number of months or even over a year, people seeking international protection, who may have fled a country where they weren’t safe but have actually been living in other parts of Western Europe for a number of months or a number of years, and that is different.

“And we do believe that part of the reason why we’re seeing those secondary movements is because the offering that we have in Ireland is different to that of other countries.”

He said that Ireland had accepted an “unprecedented” number of people from overseas from the war in Ukraine and others seeking international protection, compared to 3,000 or 4,000 in previous years.

“So you can see how much the situation has changed and we can’t be blind to that reality.”

As of October, 96,338 Ukrainian refugees had arrived in Ireland since the start of the war in February 2022.

The Government has said that as a further 30,000 to 50,000 were expected to arrive in the next year, it must change the open-ended accommodation it was offering, and potentially reduce entitlements to social welfare supports.

Russian soldiers accused of killing family of nine as they slept in Russian-occupied Ukrainian town

Tuesday 31 October 2023 20:00 , Lydia Patrick

Russian forces allegedly gunned down an entire family of nine, including two young children, as they slept in their beds in the Russia-occupied town of Volnovakha in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk, officials in Kyiv said.

Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Russian soldiers killed all members of the Kapkanets family on 27 October after the civilians refused to give them control of their house.

According to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office in Donetsk, the attackers were in army uniforms and had demanded the family house be vacated, leading to an argument.

“According to preliminary information, the occupiers have killed the whole of the Kapkanets family, who were celebrating a birthday and who had refused to hand their own house over to occupiers from Chechnya,” he said on his official Telegram channel.

The suspects came back later as the family slept and gunned down the members, as per media reports.

Family of nine shot dead as they slept in Russian-occupied Ukrainian town