Ukraine-Russia war – live: IOC bans Russian Olympic Committee for including annexed territories

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) was banned with immediate effect on Thursday for recognising regional organisations from four territories annexed from Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee said.

The IOC added the ROC would not be eligible for any funding after it recognised earlier this month Olympic Councils from the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia but that it would not affect any Russian athletes competing as neutrals.

“The unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional sports organisations which are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine (namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia) constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter,” the IOC said in a statement.

It comes after Russian and Ukrainian forces have been fighting fierce battles around the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka after Moscow launched one of its biggest military offensives in months.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were holding their ground on the third day of battle, but municipal officials said the Russian attacks were relentless.

Avdiivka, in Donetsk, has become a symbol of resistance since Russia’s invasion.

Key Points

• Russia steps up assault on symbolic town Avdiivka

• French police probe ‘poisoning’ of TV journalist who denounced war

• Ukraine says it prevented Russian saboteurs crossing border

• Death toll from Hroza missile strike rises to 59, Ukraine says

• Romania finds drone fragments on its soil

• White House warns Israel stretching its ability to support Ukraine

Russia’s ‘exhausted’ troops ‘suffer significant losses in key town Avdiivka’

07:47 , Tara Cobham

Russian troops are “exhausted” after suffering “significant” losses following their major attack on the key Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, a US war think tank has said.

Russian and Ukrainian forces fought fierce battles around the strategically important eastern town for a third day after Moscow launched one of its biggest military offensives in months.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on Thursday that Vladimir Putin’s troops are subsequently “exhausted”, according to Russian “Vostok” Battalion Commander Alexander Khodakovsky, who is now even “advocating for Russian forces to freeze the frontlines in Ukraine” in order to make replacements.

The ISW added that, in the face of relentless attacks, Ukrainian forces have managed to destroy at least 36 Russian armoured vehicles, including tanks, according to a Ukrainian reserve officer.

Avdiivka is described as a gateway to the city of Donetsk, the capital of the Donbas region, and has become a symbol of resistance since Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine says its forces are holding their ground around Avdiivka

09:20 , Tara Cobham

Ukrainian troops are holding their ground near the eastern town of Avdiivka in heavy fighting against Russian forces, the head of the president's office said on Friday.

Andriy Yermak said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukrainian forces were holding their positions "in difficult fighting" despite a large number of Russian reinforcements.

One killed and 12 hurt in Russian attack on Ukraine’s Pokrovsk

08:54 , Tara Cobham

One person was killed and 12 wounded in a Russian attack on the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on Friday, emergency services said.

The emergency services said in a statement that two administrative buildings had been damaged as a result of the attack and three people had been rescued from under rubble.

Ukraine holds out as Russia steps up relentless assault on Avdiivka

08:37 , Tara Cobham

The Ukrainian military continues to hold its ground in the face of Russia’s relentless assault on the eastern city of Avdiivka, Volodymyr Zelensky, as the battle intensified for a third day.

Russia has moved a large armoured column of three battalions, including some 2,000 troops, dozens of armoured vehicles and jets into the northern flank of the Avdiivka front for what has been described as the biggest military offensive in months.

The Ukrainian forces said they repelled more than 20 attacks by the Russian army in Avdiivka and the surrounding regions in the past 24 hours, in what was described as a blow to Moscow’s attempts to use the offensive to show the tide of the war turning in its favour.

Shweta Sharma reports:

Ukraine holds out as Russia steps up relentless assault on Avdiivka

Four Dutch companies fined for helping Russia build Crimea bridge

08:15 , Tara Cobham

The Dutch prosecutor has penalised four Dutch companies and eight people for breaching EU sanctions on Russia between 2014 and 2017 for helping Moscow build a bridge to Crimea, it said in a statement on Friday.

The eight people were sentenced to community service ranging from 20 to 60 hours while the companies paid fines totalling 160,000 euros ($169,000).

The companies involved supplied machines, machine parts and other services for the construction of the 19 kilometre (11.8 mile) long bridge spanning the Strait of Kerch, the prosecutor's office said.

"The Crimean bridge was built partly due to the use of Dutch knowledge and expertise," it added.

By committing the sanction violations, one company benefited from supplying the prohibited goods and services. This illegally obtained benefit amounting to 71,330 euros has been confiscated by the Dutch prosecutor.

The prosecutors' office did not name the companies involved.

IOC bans Russian Olympic Committee over annexed territories

08:04 , Tara Cobham

Russia has been suspended by the Olympic authorities with immediate effect after it tried to include four regions in eastern Ukraine under its sporting jurisdiction.

The land grab in sports administration saw Russia’s Olympic officials announce last week that they were accepting the local sports councils of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia as new members.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Russia’s suspension saying the move by the Russian Olympic Committee was a breach of the Olympic Charter, a set of rules and principles for international sports bodies.

Shweta Sharma reports:

French police probe ‘poisoning’ of journalist who denounced war

08:03 , Tara Cobham

French police are investigating the suspected poisoning of a Russian state TV journalist who denounced Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine live on air and later fell suddenly ill.

Marina Ovsyannikova, who escaped Russia after her on-air protest and settled in France, reported feeling suddenly ill as she left her Paris apartment and was hospitalised after she called emergency services.

She said she suspected she was poisoned, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, adding that they were examining her apartment and an investigation was underway.

Shweta Sharma reports:

French police probe ‘poisoning’ of journalist who denounced Putin’s war live on TV

Village in ruins

05:00 , Jane Dalton

The village of Velyka Novosilka, in the south of the Donetsk region has been almost reduced to ruins:

Putin could restart banned nuclear tests

03:45 , Jane Dalton

A recap: Vladimir Putin has told Russian lawmakers to find how best to revoke Moscow’s ratification of a critical nuclear treaty which bans Russia from testing atomic weapons shortly after he suggested the possibility of resuming such testing:

Putin could restart banned nuclear tests as Russian lawmakers review treaty

Life without power and under fire in Donetsk

02:30 , Jane Dalton

A 72-year-old woman takes care of her sick husband, 75, who spent more than a year in the basement of their home in Velyka Novosilka, Donetsk region.

The town has been constantly shelled since the beginning of Russia’s invasion. Before the war, it had a population of around 6,000. Today only around 600-700 people still live there, without electricity or water, and constantly taking cover from shelling in basements.

How journalist risked everything to protest against war on live TV

01:22 , Jane Dalton

This is how Marina Ovsyannikova put her career, her family - and even her life - on the line last March, to tell Russian viewers they were being lied to by state television:

Russian journalist who held ‘no war’ sign on TV says she was questioned for 14 hours

Putin wants worst-case scenario in Middle East, says Zelensky

Friday 13 October 2023 00:20 , Jane Dalton

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of wanting the worst-case scenario in the Middle East.

“I am grateful to everyone worldwide who is making efforts to prevent an explosion in the Middle East, and to hold terrorists accountable for their actions in Israel—against children and women, against ordinary people,” he said in his nightly address.

It was important to continue to deprive Russia of its ability to finance aggression through energy resources, he said.

US cobbles together global parts to build new weapons

Thursday 12 October 2023 23:10 , Jane Dalton

The US has cobbled together radars and other parts contributed by various countries to build a new missile launcher for Ukraine, in a Frankenstein-like programme for surface-to-air missiles:

Pentagon's 'FrankenSAM' program cobbles together air defense weapons for Ukraine

IOC bans Russian Olympic Committee

Thursday 12 October 2023 22:59 , Joe Middleton

The Russian Olympic Committee was banned with immediate effect on Thursday for recognising regional organisations from four territories annexed from Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee said.

The IOC added the ROC would not be eligible for any funding after it recognised earlier this month Olympic Councils from the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia but that it would not affect any Russian athletes competing as neutrals.

“The unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional sports organisations which are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine (namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia) constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter,” the IOC said in a statement.

US sanctions tanker owners for Russian oil above price cap

Thursday 12 October 2023 22:05 , Jane Dalton

The US has imposed the first sanctions on owners of tankers carrying Russian oil above the G7 price cap of $60 a barrel, one based in Turkey and one in the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to close loopholes on the mechanism designed to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.

The US, other G7 countries and Australia imposed the cap last year, seeking to reduce Russia’s revenues from seaborne oil exports as part of sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.

The cap bans Western companies from providing maritime services, including insurance, finance and shipping, for Russian seaborne oil exports sold above $60 a barrel, while seeking to keep oil flowing to markets. Caps also were imposed on Russian fuel exports.

French police probe ‘poisoning’ of TV journalist who denounced war

Thursday 12 October 2023 21:01 , Jane Dalton

French prosecutors are investigating the suspected poisoning of a Russian journalist who fled after denouncing the war in Ukraine on live television:

French police are probing possible poisoning of Russian journalist who denounced Ukraine war on TV

Nato to hold major nuclear exercise

Thursday 12 October 2023 20:00 , Jane Dalton

Nato will hold a major nuclear exercise next week, the alliance’s chief said, after Russia warned it would pull out of a global nuclear test ban agreement:

NATO will hold a major nuclear exercise next week as Russia plans to pull out of a test ban treaty

Girl, 4, and two other people ‘killed in drone attack on Russia'

Thursday 12 October 2023 18:55 , Jane Dalton

A four-year-old girl was among three people killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on a village in Russia that left her father in a coma and her mother seriously injured, authorities say.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the southern Belgorod region, said debris from the drone had destroyed one house and that three bodies - of a man, a woman, and a child - had been recovered from under the rubble. Two other houses had been damaged.

It was not immediately clear who the dead man and woman were or whether they were related to the child.

Dmitry Kiselyov, director-general of state media group Russia Today, was cited by the RIA news agency as saying that Khaybar Akifi, a 29-year-old man who worked for the Sputnik news agency, had been seriously injured in the incident, along with his wife, Olesya.

Amina, the couple’s four-year-old daughter, had been killed, he said.

Denmark and Czech Republic to send Kyiv heavy fighting gear

Thursday 12 October 2023 18:15 , Jane Dalton

The Czech Republic and Denmark will jointly supply heavy military equipment to Ukraine in the coming months, the Czech Defence Ministry says.

It said the supplies would be from Czech defence companies and financed from the Danish budget.

The joint plan was first announced last month.

The Czech ministry says the first shipment will include nearly 50 infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks, 2,500 hand guns, 7,000 rifles, 500 light machine guns, 500 sniper rifles and equipment for electronic warfare and intelligence.

The supplies will include new and modernised equipment.

The ministry said last month the first shipment would include 15 modernised T-72EA main battle tanks.

Nato warns of ‘united and determined’ response to pipeline attack

Thursday 12 October 2023 17:39 , Jane Dalton

The head of Nato has warned of a “united and determined response” if it turns out that damage to a gas pipeline and data cable running between member states Finland and Estonia was a deliberate attack.

Damage to the pipeline and telecommunications cable was confirmed on Tuesday after one of the two pipeline operators, Finland’s Gasgrid, noted a drop in pressure and possible leak on Sunday night during a storm.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc was working with Estonia and Finalnd as they try to establish the facts.

“If this is proven to be a deliberate attack on critical infrastructure it will be a serious incident and it would be met by united and determined response,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

The pipeline runs across the Gulf of Finland, part of the Baltic Sea that stretches eastward into Russian waters and ends at the port of St Petersburg.

White House warns Israel stretching its ability to support Ukraine

Thursday 12 October 2023 17:12 , Jane Dalton

The White House said it was “running out of runway” on supporting both Ukraine and Israel as US Republican lawmakers warned they would object to any funding request for military aid for the two crisis-hit nations:

White House warns Israel crisis is stretching its ability to support Ukraine

Russia set to scrap nuclear test ban treaty ratification

Thursday 12 October 2023 16:42 , Jane Dalton

Russia’s parliament will vote next week on withdrawing Moscow’s ratification of the global treaty that bans nuclear tests, politicians have said.

The move could provide Moscow with legal cover to conduct a test involving a nuclear explosion for the first time since 1990, even though it says it has no such intention.

Parliament’s lower house, the State Duma, said it would hold a first reading on the bill next Tuesday. Leonid Slutsky, head of the Duma’s international affairs committee, said he expected it to complete its passage two days later.

All 450 members of the Duma would sponsor the motion, Slutsky said, a sign that its unanimous approval is guaranteed.

Russia ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 2000; the United States has signed but never ratified it.

‘We must not give terror a single chance'

Thursday 12 October 2023 16:12 , Jane Dalton

Watch again as Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Nato’s Parliamentary Assembly on Monday:

Watch: Zelensky addresses Nato’s Parliamentary Assembly amid new Russian attacks

Drone fragments found in Romania after Russian attacks

Thursday 12 October 2023 15:40 , Jane Dalton

Romania’s defence ministry says it has found a drone crater near the country’s border with Ukraine following Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure last night.

Russia has been targeting Ukrainian ports and warehouses along the Danube between Ukraine and Nato member Romania since pulling out of a deal in July that had allowed Kyiv to export grain from its Black Sea ports. The strikes seem designed to choke off the main alternative route for Ukraine‘s farm exports.

In that time, Romania has reported isolated incidents of drone parts landing in the country, although it has said Romanian territory was not the intended target.

Authorities there have confirmed other drone fragments on its soil in recent weeks.

The defence ministry said there was a “possible explosion on impact” at the crater, measures had been taken to secure the area and forces would continue to monitor Romanian airspace.

“The Ministry of National Defence strongly condemns the attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against some objectives and elements of civil infrastructure in the Ukrainian ports on the Danube,” it said.

Russia steps up assault on symbolic town of Avdiivka

Thursday 12 October 2023 15:10 , Jane Dalton

Russia has pounded port and grain facilities in southern Ukraine and launched new attacks on the eastern town of Avdiivka in one of its biggest offensive operations in months.

Underlining the intensity and importance of the assault on Avdiivka, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were holding their ground. Ukraine’s military said it had repelled more than 10 Russian attacks near the town.

Russia is hitting back more than four months into a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the east and south that has encountered stiff Russian resistance.

Avdiivka, which is home to a big coking plant in the southwest of the Donetsk region, lies just northwest of the Russian-held city of Donetsk. A symbol of resistance to Russia’s invasion in February last year, it has helped ensure Moscow could not gain full control of a region it says it has annexed.

Russia has also intensified air strikes on Danube River ports in the southern Odesa region that have become Kyiv’s main route for food exports since Moscow quit a deal allowing shipments via the Black Sea in July.

Death toll from Hroza missile strike rises to 59, Ukraine says

Thursday 12 October 2023 13:03 , Tara Cobham

The death toll from a missile strike on the village of Hroza in northeastern Ukraine has risen to 59 after police finished identifying the victims, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Thursday.

Ukraine said a Russian missile hit a cafe in the village in the Kharkiv region last week as people gathered to mourn a fallen Ukrainian soldier. Moscow denies targeting civilians in its full-scale invasion, a position it repeated in response to a question at a Kremlin briefing about the strike on Hroza.

"The Russians killed 59 people with a direct hit with an Iskander (missile) on the village of Hroza," Klymenko said on the Telegram messaging app.

"All victims are local residents. They were pensioners, medics, farmers, teachers, entrepreneurs. All were civilians. Entire families of several generations died."

The toll is one of the biggest among civilians in any single Russian strike in nearly 20 months of the war.

Czech ministry ‘summons Russian envoy over Hroza attacks'

Thursday 12 October 2023 13:00 , Tara Cobham

The Czech Foreign Ministry will summon Russia's ambassador over Russian attacks on the Ukrainian hamlet of Hroza this month, CTK news agency reported on Thursday.

An air strike on Hroza in northeastern Ukraine earlier this month killed dozens. The Kremlin said after the attacks that the Russian military does not strike civilian targets in Ukraine.

Czech Republic and Denmark to supply military equipment to Ukraine

Thursday 12 October 2023 12:30 , Tara Cobham

The Czech Republic and Denmark will jointly supply heavy military equipment to Ukraine in the coming months, the Czech Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

It said the Czech-made supplies, financed from the Danish budget, would include tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, hand guns and ammunition.

Ukrainian troops 'holding ground' in eastern town of Avdiivka

Thursday 12 October 2023 12:00 , Tara Cobham

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday Ukrainian troops were holding their ground in the eastern town of Avdiivka, where fighting with Russian forces has intensified this week.

Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have redirected large numbers of troops and equipment to Avdiivka after months of besieging it, and are making their largest attack on the town since launching the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian accounts also indicate the fighting has intensified around Avdiivka as Moscow pushes back on the eastern front, more than four months after Kyiv began a counteroffensive in the east and south.

"Avdiivka. We are holding our ground. It is Ukrainian courage and unity that will determine how this war will end," Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app alongside photos from the area.

Vitaliy Barabash, head of the town's administration, has described the Russian push as "the largest-scale offensive action in our sector since the full-fledged war began."

Avdiivka is home to a large coking plant to the southwest of the Donetsk region. Much of the town has been reduced to rubble.

Russian parliament to vote on de-ratifying nuclear test ban treaty

Thursday 12 October 2023 11:43 , Tara Cobham

Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, will vote next week on withdrawing Moscow's ratification of the global treaty that bans nuclear tests, lawmakers said on Thursday.

The Duma said it would hold a first reading on the bill on Oct. 17. Leonid Slutsky, head of the parliament's international affairs committee, said he expected it to complete its passage two days later.

All 450 members of the Duma would sponsor the motion, Slutsky said.

President Vladimir Putin said last week that the Duma should look at withdrawing Russia's ratification of the treaty in order to "mirror" the position of the United States, which has signed but never ratified the pact.

Putin said he was not ready to say whether Russia should actually resume tests involving nuclear explosions for the first time since 1990.

Russia hits grain storage facility in Ukraine’s Odesa, says military

Thursday 12 October 2023 11:30 , Tara Cobham

A Russian drone strike hit a grain storage facility in the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa overnight, and some grain was damaged, a military spokesperson said on Thursday.

"Unfortunately, there was a hit on port infrastructure. A grain storage facility was damaged, there is damage directly to the grain itself," Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the southern military command, told an online briefing.

She did not say how much grain had been damaged.

Putin scales up attack on key town in eastern Ukraine

Thursday 12 October 2023 11:00 , Tara Cobham

Vladimir Putin’s forces have launched the “largest-scale offensive action” in eastern Ukraine’s Avdiivka town since the start of Russia’s invasion.

The major push on the battlefield comes after Avdiivka witnessed two days of intense fighting as Russian tanks and equipment were seen moving towards Ukrainian lines. Major attacks, including hundreds of rocket and artillery strikes on the town, have been underway since Tuesday.

“This is the largest-scale offensive action in our sector since the full-fledged war began,” said Vitaliy Barabash, the head of Avdiivka administration.

Arpan Rai reports:

Putin attacks key town in eastern Ukraine as three dead in drone strikes on Russia

Ukraine says it prevented Russian saboteurs crossing border

Thursday 12 October 2023 10:17 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine thwarted an attempt overnight by a Russian saboteur group to cross its northeastern border in the Sumy region, the commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Thursday.

"The saboteurs tried to cross the state border of Ukraine and intended to move further towards one of the civilian critical infrastructure facilities," Lieutenant General Serhiy Naev wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The eight-member group was repelled by Ukrainian fire, and there were no losses among Ukrainian troops, he said.

The group was detected by members of a territorial defence brigade, Naev said.

"Having suffered combat losses, the saboteur group retreated towards the state border," he said.

In a video posted with his message, Naev said there had been more than 10 attempts to cross the Ukrainian border in the last two months. All had been prevented and the enemy retreated after suffering losses, he said.

Russia did not immediately comment on Naev's Telegram post.

North Korea releases letters from Jong-un and Putin

Thursday 12 October 2023 10:00 , Tara Cobham

Kim Jong-un wrote to Vladimir Putin promising to boost ties as North Korea and Russia marked the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations.

The North Korean leader congratulated the Russian president on his victory over what he called “hegemony and pressure from imperialists”. He also wished his Russian ally luck in resisting pressure from their common nemesis West over Ukraine.

"I hope that the Russian people, who have set out to build a strong nation, will always achieve only victory and glory in their struggle to protect the country’s sovereignty, dignity, security and peace by crushing the imperialists’ persistent hegemonic policy and anti-Russia scheme to isolate and stifle it," the North Korean leader said, as reported by Pyongyang’s state media KCNA.

Arpan Rai reports:

North Korea releases letters from Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin exchange

Putin arrives in Kyrgyzstan on rare trip abroad

Thursday 12 October 2023 09:00 , Tara Cobham

President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday on a rare trip abroad for the Russian leader who was indicted earlier this year by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Ukraine.

Putin was to meet with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov on Thursday. He will take part on Friday in the Commonwealth of Independent States summit, which Kyrgyzstan is hosting. The leaders of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will also attend the summit. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will skip it, as Yerevan's relationship with Moscow has frayed amid mutual accusations.

It is the first time this year that the Russian president has traveled outside Russia and Russian-held territories of Ukraine. Earlier this year, Putin visited the partially occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson, as well as the annexed Crimean Peninsula.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the deportation of children from Ukraine. Countries that have signed and ratified the Rome Statute, which created the ICC, are now bound to arrest the Russian leader if he sets foot on their soil.

The Kremlin has said that Russia doesn't recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC and considers the warrant null and void.

Ukraine making gains on frontline, says US war think tank

Thursday 12 October 2023 08:31 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine is making gains on the frontline, according to a US war think tank.

Ukrainian forces have had successes as they continue with their counteroffensive near Bakhmut, in western Zaporizhia Oblast, east of Klishchiivka, Andriivka near Bakhmut, and west of Robotyne, said the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

In its assessment on Wednesday of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it stated: “Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations near Bakhmut and in western Zaporizhia Oblast and reportedly advanced in both sectors of the front on October 11.

“The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces were successful east of Klishchiivka and Andriivka near Bakhmut.

“The Ukrainian General Staff and Tavriisk Group Commander Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi reported that Ukrainian forces improved their tactical positions west of Robotyne.”

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant ‘hit by staff shortages'

Thursday 12 October 2023 08:27 , Tara Cobham

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been hit by staff shortages, according to a US war think tank.

Russian occupation authorities are “suffering staff shortages” at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), said the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on Wednesday.

In its assessment on Wednesday of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it reported Ukrainian Enerhodar Mayor Dmytro Orlov said only about 2,000 of the 11,000 staff who worked at the ZNPP prior to Russia’s occupation of Enerhodar continue to work there.

Shapps: No chance of losing focus on Ukraine despite conflict in Israel

Thursday 12 October 2023 06:00 , Joe Middleton

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has said there is “no chance” of losing focus on the war in Ukraine despite conflict in Israel and Gaza.

The Cabinet minister said it would be a “massive mistake” for Russian President Vladimir Putin to think the world’s attention is “in any way distracted and that should somehow give him a free hand”.

Mr Shapps is in Brussels for a meeting with his Nato counterparts, where he is also due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attend his first Nato-Ukraine Council.

Shapps: No chance of losing focus on Ukraine despite conflict in Israel

Former Australian PM had ‘China in mind’ when arming Ukraine

Thursday 12 October 2023 05:00 , Joe Middleton

Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday that he also had Beijing on his mind when he decided to help arm Ukraine given Western concern about the global expansion of authoritarianism.

Morrison, who was prime minister from 2018 to 2022, had repeated disputes with China, including in 2020 when Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, first identified in central China in 2019.

China responded by imposing tariffs on Australian commodities, including wine and barley, and limited imports of Australian beef, coal and grapes, moves described by the United States as “economic coercion”.

Speaking at a forum in Taipei, Mr Morrison said his decision to fund lethal defensive weapons for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion had a broader message.

“When my government took the decision for Australia to swiftly provide lethal aid to support and assist Ukraine following the illegal invasion by Russia, that decision was taken with as much of having Beijing in mind as Moscow,” Mr Morrison said.

“We did it certainly to support Ukraine in their time of need and to defend democracy there, but we also did it to demonstrate our alignment with a global Western resolve to resist the aggression of authoritarianism, especially given the tacit endorsement of that invasion by Beijing,” he added.

“As I said, I was as concerned about Beijing as I was about Moscow.”

Russian missile strike kills four in Ukrainian school, say officials

Thursday 12 October 2023 04:00 , Joe Middleton

A Russian missile struck a school in the town of Nikopol in the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk on Wednesday, killing at least four people, Ukrainian officials said.

“As a result of the Russian strike, four people died: a 72-year-old man and three women aged 69, 67 and 60,” Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on the Telegram messaging app, alongside video of emergency officials digging through ruins.

Two people who were injured were receiving medical assistance, he added.

Klymenko said earlier that the victims were employees of the educational institution.

Serhiy Lysak, the regional governor, said 50 private homes and two infrastructure facilities had been damaged.

Russia did not immediately comment on the incident.

Putin travelling on first trip abroad since ICC arrest warrant

Thursday 12 October 2023 03:00 , Joe Middleton

Vladimir Putin will visit Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, the presidential office of the Central Asian country said, in what would be the Russian leader’s first known trip abroad since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.

Putin has rarely travelled abroad since the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and is not known to have left Russia since the ICC issued in March a warrant for him on suspicion of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin denies those allegations.

“At the invitation of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov, on October 12 of this year, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, will make an official visit to the country,” the Kyrgyz presidential administration said in a statement on its website.

Putin agreed in May during talks with Japarov to visit Kyrgyzstan, but there has been no official confirmation yet from the Kremlin that the Russian president will travel there on Thursday.

The Russian leader is also due to travel to China next week for the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. Neither Kyrgyzstan nor China are members of the ICC, which was established to prosecute war crimes.

Moscow denies the ICC allegations and the Kremlin said the warrant was evidence of the West’s hostility to Russia, which opened a criminal case against the ICC prosecutor and the judges who issued the warrant.

Ukraine President Zelenskyy at NATO defense ministers meeting seeking more support to fight Russia

Thursday 12 October 2023 02:00 , Joe Middleton

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at NATO for Wednesday’s meetings with alliance defense ministers to further drum up support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

The U.S. is hosting a meeting of the Ukraine contact group to seek more weapons and ammunition for the war-ravaged country. NATO allies and partner countries will be waiting to hear precisely what kinds of military equipment Kyiv needs.

Following that meeting, the 31 allies and Ukraine will take part in the first NATO-Ukraine Council at this level. The forum was formally established in July as part of efforts to bring Kyiv closer to the alliance. It allows NATO and Kyiv to discuss issues of common interest and concern.

Ukraine President Zelenskyy at NATO defense ministers meeting seeking more support to fight Russia

Ukraine’s forces repel Russian attacks near Avdiivka as Putin’s troops launch new offensive

Thursday 12 October 2023 01:00 , Joe Middleton

Ukrainian soldiers successfully repelled attacks along the war frontline at Avdiivka on Tuesday as a new offensive from Russian soldiers erupted near the eastern Ukraine town, officials said.

“I can add that our defenders on the Avdiivka front repelled all the attacks of the enemy, no losses of lines and positions were sustained,” colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesperson of the joint press centre of defence forces, said.

He confirmed an escalation of Russian military offensive actions on the same front. He said Ukrainian forces repelled attacks in Keramika, Ocheretyne, Berdychiv, Stepove, Lastochkyne, Tonenke, Avdiivka, and Pervomaiske in Donetsk oblast.

Ukraine’s forces repel Russian attacks in east as Putin’s troops launch new offensive

Russia loses vote to rejoin UN’s top human rights body despite Putin’s charm offensive with stolen grain

Wednesday 11 October 2023 23:30 , Joe Middleton

Russia’s desperate bid to rejoin the UN’s top human rights body with a charm offensive involving stolen Ukrainian grain and arms was defeated by a significant majority in a General Assembly vote on Tuesday.

Russia received 83 votes from the 193-member UN, significantly more than the 24 countries who supported Moscow when it was booted out of the Human Rights Council in another vote more than one year ago.

Russia was competing against Albania and Bulgaria for two seats on the Geneva-based UNHRC, representing the East European regional group. Bulgaria secured 160 votes, Albania received 123, while the Vladimir Putin-led nation managed only 83.

Russia loses vote to rejoin UN top human rights body despite Putin’s charm offensive

Belgium's prime minister says his country supports a ban on Russian diamonds as part of sanctions

Wednesday 11 October 2023 22:30 , Joe Middleton

Belgium’s prime minister said his country, which has the biggest interest in the global diamond trade in the European Union, is supporting a ban on Russian diamonds as part of sanctions targeting President Vladimir Putin’s government for its war against Ukraine.

This came during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyya’s visit to Brussels on Wednesday. He has repeatedly asked for such a move since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

For months, the Group of Seven advanced economies and the EU have been working on a way to trace and restrict the trade in Russian diamonds to prevent it from skirting the sanctions. Russia exports about $4 billion worth of rough diamonds a year, nearly a third of the world’s total, according to various estimates.

Belgium's prime minister says his country supports a ban on Russian diamonds as part of sanctions

US Treasury Secretary tells Zelensky anti-corruption fight is key to Ukraine’s future

Wednesday 11 October 2023 21:37 , Joe Middleton

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday pledged continued US support for Ukraine for “as long as it takes,” and urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stay focused on fighting corruption and strengthening governance.

Yellen said the fourth meeting of a high-level roundtable on Ukraine, taking place during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, reflected “continued condemnation of Russia’s aggression and of the robust international support for Ukraine from its allies and partners.”

She said the United States would continue to provide robust economic support to Ukraine, but countries affected by Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian food exports also needed more help.

She welcomed Zelensky’s clear focus on fighting corruption and strengthening accountability and good governance, adding, “Continuing to address these difficult issues will be key to delivering the future that Ukrainians deserve.”

She said Ukraine‘s economic team had delivered sound policies and solid results in an unbelievably challenging situation, citing what she called the country’s “positive” performance on its $15.6 billion loan program from the IMF.

Russian missile strike kills four in Ukrainian school, say officials

Wednesday 11 October 2023 20:13 , Joe Middleton

A Russian missile struck a school in the town of Nikopol in the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk on Wednesday, killing at least four people, Ukrainian officials said.

“As a result of the Russian strike, four people died: a 72-year-old man and three women aged 69, 67 and 60,” Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on the Telegram messaging app, alongside video of emergency officials digging through ruins.

Two people who were injured were receiving medical assistance, he added.

Klymenko said earlier that the victims were employees of the educational institution.

Serhiy Lysak, the regional governor, said 50 private homes and two infrastructure facilities had been damaged.

Russia did not immediately comment on the incident.