Ukraine-Russia war – live: ‘Powerful explosion’ rocks central Moscow as Ukrainian drone downed near Kremlin
A building in central Moscow has been damaged in a drone attack in the early hours today, causing a “powerful explosion” heard across the business district of the Russian capital.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the drone was shot down by Russian air defence systems but that debris from the exploded drone fell on the city’s Expo Center, less than 5km (3.1 miles) from the Kremlin. A video published by Russian media outlets showed thick smoke rising next to skyscrapers.
The Russian defence ministry blamed the “Kyiv regime” for carrying out the “terrorist attack” but added that there were no casualties in the strike.
“The UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), after being targeted by air defence weapons, changed its flight path and fell on a non-residential building in the Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment area of Moscow,” the ministry said.
It comes as the United States approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands to defend against Russia’s invading forces, as soon as pilot training is completed.
Key Points
Moscow building damaged in drone attack
Russian ‘convict’ assault squads straining Ukraine’s northeastern front
Putin scrambles to convene currency control meeting over tumbling rouble
Russian troops flee cluster bombs as Ukraine says recaptures settlement
Ukraine hits out at ‘ridiculous’ suggestion it could give up land to Russia
Captured Ukrainian soldiers ‘tortured’ in Russian prison
US warns Russia and North Korea against military ties
Russian billionaire loses UK court bid to overturn sanctions
11:16 , Andy Gregory
A billionaire ally of Russian businessman Roman Abramovich on Friday lost his attempt at London’s High Court to overturn British sanctions imposed on him after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes magazine at $1.6bn, was sanctioned in March 2022 on the grounds of his association with former Chelsea Football Club owner Abramovich. His two private jets were also seized.
“In my view, it cannot properly be said that the Secretary of State has failed to strike a fair balance between the rights of Mr Shvidler and his family and the interests of the community,” the judge Neil Garnham said in his ruling as he dismissed Shvidler’s challenge.
The case is the first substantive challenge to British sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion.
ICYMI: Ukraine already preparing for ‘worst-case scenario’ winter siege, says UK
10:33 , Andy Gregory
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has said that Ukraine is already stockpiling fuel ahead of another challenging winter under siege from Russia, my colleague Maroosha Muzaffar reports.
The ministry said in its intelligence report that “despite the consistent pressures of war, Ukrainian efforts to build up fuel stockpiles will likely be successful in ensuring that it will have sufficient fuel reserves during the approaching winter period”.
It also noted that “Ukraine has been effective in mobilising its mining sector to maintain output, ensuring a continuous supply of coal is available for thermal power and heating plants in the winter, with substantial gas stocks providing a further reserve”.
“Despite Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure likely continuing this winter, Ukraine demonstrated last winter that it has the skilled workforce and expertise needed to operate and maintain the power network, even in wartime conditions,” it further noted in the defence intelligence report.
Even as British analysts acknowledged the likelihood of Russia resuming attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in winter, they highlighted the country’s ability to sustain its power network in the face of wartime challenges, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Ukraine already preparing for ‘worst-case scenario’ winter siege, says UK
Latest North Korean missile sparks new debate over possible Russian role
10:15 , Reuters
North Korea’s latest Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile – its first to use solid rocket fuel – has ignited new debate over a possible Russian role in the nuclear-armed state’s dramatic missile development.
In a report published on Thursday by the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Theodore Postol, professor emeritus at MIT, argued that the Hwasong-18 is likely the result of technical cooperation sourced to Russia.
The Hwasong-18 has been tested twice, including on 12 July, in what was the longest flight time ever for a North Korean missile test. It is the country’s first ICBM to use solid propellants, which can enable faster and easier deployment of missiles during war. The missile was first flown in April.
“The sudden appearance of these advanced capabilities is difficult to explain without cooperation from the Russian government and its scientists,” Professor Postol wrote, saying visual similarities suggest Russian may have decided to transfer an “advanced 50-ton solid propellant ICBM, the Topol-M, also known as the SS-27”, to North Korea.
Russia and North Korea have recently called for closer military ties but North Korea has denied having any “arms dealings” with Russia. Russia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to the new report.
Civilian killed in Russian shelling in Donetsk, Ukrainian official claims
09:56 , Andy Gregory
One person has been killed and two injured in Russian shelling in Donetsk, the head of Ukraine’s military district there claims.
Two people were injured in the village of Katerynivka, where Russia shelled two streets, while one person died in an attack 75 miles away on the village of Bohdanivka, Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram.
Watch: The Killers booed after bringing Russian fan on stage during Georgia concert
09:40 , Andy Gregory
Wagner mercenaries issue a chilling message on Poland’s doorstep: ‘We are here’
09:01 , Andy Gregory
Our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta reports from the Suwalki Gap:
Thousands of battled-hardened Wagner fighters arrived in Belarus under a deal ending the attempted coup against Vladimir Putin by the group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. No one thought that we had seen the last of them.
The mercenaries have moved towards the city of Grdno, according to the Polish military, and set up camp in the Brestsky area around six miles (10km) from Poland’s border.
And now, in a menacing turn, posters have begun to appear stuck next to Polish border posts with pictures of the fighters holding up signs in English saying “We are here. PMC [private military company] Wagner Group: Join us” with a QR code for would-be recruits. They have also appeared in Warsaw and Krakow. Poland’s interior minister Mariusz Kaminski said two Russians have been arrested over the matter.
Wagner mercenaries issue chilling message on Poland’s doorstep: ‘We are here’
Xi Jinping to attend BRICS summit in person – as warrant-hit Vladimir Putin to remain in Moscow
08:42 , Andy Gregory
China’s president Xi Jinping will attend the BRICS leaders’ meeting and visit South Africa next week, Beijing has said.
Leaders from the five BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg next week to discuss how to turn a loose club of nations accounting for a quarter of the global economy into a geopolitical force which can challenge the West’s dominance in world affairs.
Russian president Vladimir Putin, who faces an international arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, will dial in by video call instead of attending in person.
Expansion is expected to be high on the agenda, as some 40 nations have shown interest in joining, either formally or informally, according to South Africa. They include Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Egypt.
Russia and China holding joint naval exercises in East China Sea, says Moscow
08:25 , Andy Gregory
Russian and Chinese navy ships have been jointly patrolling the Pacific Ocean and holding naval exercises in the East China Sea, Russia’s Defence Ministry has said.
“A detachment of ships of the Russian Navy and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy is currently operating in the waters of the East China Sea and has travelled more than 6,400 nautical miles since the start of patrolling,” the ministry said in a statement.
Pictured: Moscow Expo Centre damaged in ‘drone attack'
08:06 , Andy Gregory
Russian officials claimed air defences shot down a Ukrainian drone which smashed into a building in the centre of Moscow in the early hours of Friday.
Pictures showed damage to Moscow’s Expo Center complex, which sits just over three miles from the Kremlin.
Moscow flights halted as ‘downed drone smashes into city centre building'
07:49 , Andy Gregory
Flights were suspended at four major airports around Moscow as officials claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian drone which smashed into a building in the centre of the Russian capital.
A witness with the Reuters news agency described hearing “a powerful explosion”, while images showed workers and emergency workers inspecting the damaged roof of a non-residential building which the drone appeared to have hit.
The Russian defence ministry and Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties after air defences destroyed a drone which then fell on a non-residential building of Moscow’s Expo Center complex – some three miles from the Kremlin – in the early hours of Friday.
Air-traffic was briefly suspended at four major airports around the capital - Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky - though later they reopened, and Russia’s air transport agency said seven flights had been redirected to alternative airports.
First ship to use Black Sea corridor ‘crosses Bosphorous Strait'
07:21 , Andy Gregory
The first vessel that used Ukraine’s Black Sea corridor is crossing through Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait, a witness has told Reuters.
The Hong-Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte container ship that left the Russian-blocked Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa earlier this week had been in the port since the day before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February.
Ukraine last week announced a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea to release cargo ships that have been trapped in its ports after the termination of the main grain exports deal last month.
Moscow has not indicated whether it would respect the shipping corridor, and shipping and insurance sources have expressed concerns about safety.
Ukraine said the corridor will be primarily used to evacuate ships that were stuck in Ukrainian ports. Local broadcasters have said the ship will anchor at Ambarli port in the south of Istanbul.
Russia creating pro-Kremlin information space with own books and journalists, says UK MoD
06:56 , Arpan Rai
Russian officials in illegally occupied areas of Ukraine are creating pro-Kremlin information space with own books, education system and journalists parachuted from Moscow, the British Ministry of Defence said.
“On 15 August, First Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration Sergey Kiriyenko travelled to Donetsk in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine to visit schools and check their integration into the Russian education system,” the ministry said.
It pointed to the occupation administration in Zaporizhzhia Oblast receiving instructions from Russia regarding the introduction of new standards for the accreditation of educational institutions.
“Journalists from Russia are also being employed in media outlets in the occupied regions. A new textbook on the history of Russia will be issued to schools in the occupied regions of Ukraine and throughout the Russian Federation from 1 September,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.
It added that the book “praises the so-called special military operation and describes Ukraine as an ultra-terrorist state”.
“Russia’s aim is to create a pro-Kremlin information space in the occupied regions in order to erode Ukrainian national identity,” the MoD said.
Ukraine’s pushback may fail in reaching Melitopol and Crimea this year – report
06:17 , Arpan Rai
Officials in the US intelligence community are forecasting failure in Ukraine’s counteroffensive goal of reaching the southeastern city of Melitopol, a blow to Kyiv’s aim of severing Russia’s land bridge to Crimea, officials said.
The officials have said they expect Ukraine’s forces to remain several miles outside of the city, reported The Washington Post.
At present, Kyiv’s troops are fighting back Russian forces in their push toward Melitopol from the town of Robotyne more than 50 miles away.
Russia’s tactics of defending occupied regions by mining swathes of lands and trenches, thereby blowing up expensive Western-supplied war vehicles and tanks, is one of the key factors behind the assessment.
The forecast is likely to spark internal questioning in Kyiv and Western capitals on the counteroffensive’s shortcomings despite seeing tens of billions of dollars poured in by Ukraine’s allies in the West.
Four Russian airports briefly suspend flights after attack in Moscow
05:45 , Arpan Rai
Authorities in Russia briefly suspended air traffic at four major airports around the capital – Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky – though later they reopened.
At least seven flights were redirected to alternative airports, Russia’s air transport agency said.
This comes in the wake of a Ukrainian drone attack after the aerial target smashed into a building in central Moscow in early hours today after Russian air defences shot it down, disrupting air traffic at all the civilian airports of the Russian capital.
Both Ukraine and Russia deny targeting civilians and civilians infrastructure in the nearly 18-month war.
Ukraine does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory, although officials, including president Volodymyr Zelensky, have publicly expressed satisfaction over them.
The warfare has seen drone air strikes deep inside Russia increase since a drone was destroyed over the Kremlin in early May. Civilian areas of the capital were hit later in May and a Moscow business district was targeted twice in three days earlier this month.
British-led coalition to provide Ukraine with anti-drone systems
05:30 , Arpan Rai
A British-led group of European countries will provide about £90m ($115m) of air defence equipment to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian attacks, officials said.
The package will include a £56m contract with the Norwegian defence company Kongsberg to provide vehicle-mounted Cortex Typhon systems, which are used to detect and destroy drones.
“These air defence systems have the capability and flexibility to be rapidly deployed to either protect Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure, or be put to use on the frontline,” said Britain’s defence minister Ben Wallace.
The coalition International Fund for Ukraine – a group of countries including Britain, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden – has also agreed two other contracts for air defence equipment, which will be revealed at a later date.
This comes amid rising numbers of attacks from both Ukraine and Russia as Ukraine seeks to dislodge Russian forces that have dug in across southern and eastern Ukraine since their invasion last year.
What each of the Republican candidates have said about the war in Ukraine
05:04 , Arpan Rai
As president Joe Biden likes to remind anyone who’ll listen, “This is not your grandfather’s Republican Party”.
One of the issues where that’s becoming more evident by the day is Ukraine.
John McCain, the late Arizona Senator and 2008 GOP presidential candidate, sounded the alarm about Russia for years, making him one of President Vladimir Putin’s “greatest antagonists,” the Arizona Republic noted in February 2022, days after the Russian invasion began.
During the last year of his presidency in 2008, George W Bush said he “strongly supported” eventual Nato membership for Ukraine and Georgia. Last year, in a viral gaffe, he mistakenly said Iraq when he meant to call the war in Ukraine “unjustified and brutal”.
His younger brother, Jeb Bush, a former Florida Governor, went to Europe in 2015 shortly before announcing his presidential campaign.
Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC:
What each of the Republican candidates have said about the war in Ukraine
US approves sending F-16s to Ukraine from Denmark and Netherlands
04:43 , Arpan Rai
The United States has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands as soon as pilot training is completed, a US official said.
Washington gave Denmark and the Netherlands official assurances that the United States will expedite approval of transfer requests for F-16s to go to Ukraine when the pilots are trained, the official said.
Denmark and the Netherlands had recently asked for those assurances. The US must approve the transfer of the military jets from its allies to Ukraine.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent letters to his Danish and Dutch counterparts assuring them that the requests would be approved, the US official said.
“I am writing to express the United States’ full support for both the transfer of F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine and for the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified F-16 instructors,” Mr Blinken said in a letter to the two officials.
He added: “It remains critical that Ukraine is able to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty.”
He said the approval of the requests would allow Ukraine to take “full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first set of pilots complete their training.”
Ukraine has actively sought the US-made F-16 fighter jets to help it counter Russian air superiority.
China’s defense minister promises to boost cooperation with Belarus
04:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu on Thursday visited Belarus and said his country would increase military cooperation with Russia‘s neighbour and ally, where Moscow is deploying tactical nuclear weapons.
Shangfu met with strongman president Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk and said “the purpose of my visit to Belarus is precisely the implementation of important agreements at the level of heads of state and the further strengthening of bilateral military cooperation.”
Full story here:
China's defense minister promises to boost cooperation with Russian ally Belarus
Moscow building damaged in drone attack
03:48 , Arpan Rai
A building in central Moscow has been damaged in a drone attack in the early hours today causing a blast heard across the business district of the Russian capital, officials said.
A witness in the area described it as “a powerful explosion”.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the drone was shot down by Russian air defence system but the debris from the exploded drone fell on the city’s Expo Center, less than 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) from the Kremlin.
A video published by Russian media outlets showed thick smoke rising next to skyscrapers.
The Russian defence ministry said that Ukraine was behind the drone attack.
No immediate comment was issued from Kyiv.
Ukraine has rarely claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russia and territories held by Russia.
ICYMI: How Ukraine’s first lady struck a hammer blow against Putin via the UK
03:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
Sitting with Olena Zelenska in the fortified presidential complex in Kyiv, her understated delivery belied a strong defiance of Russia’s invasion.
Britain’s sanctions against Moscow’s war machine were quickly expanded in the wake of her interview with The Independent’s International Correspondent Bel Trew.
Watch it here:
How Ukraine’s first lady struck a hammer blow against Putin via the UK
Ukrainian accounts of torture ‘go way beyond rogue Russian troops’, UN warns
02:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
Allegations of Ukraine’s civilians being snatched from their homes and abused in makeshift detention centres go “way beyond” the actions of rogue Russian soldiers, the UN’s special rapporteur on torture has warned.
Dr Alice Jill Edwards has written to Russian authorities detailing the accounts she has received of harrowing and widespread human rights abuses by Moscow’s troops in Ukraine since Vladimir Putin’s invasion – including electrocutions, mock executions and threats of genital mutilation.
Read Andy Gregory’s report here:
Ukrainian accounts of torture ‘go way beyond rogue Russian troops’, UN warns
How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?
01:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
Local independent media group Mediazone, branded a “foreign agent” by the Kremlin, work hard, operating within a tightly-controlled environment, to offer its own running total of Russian casualties in Ukraine based on what its journalists can corroborate from publicly available information, which currently puts the total at just 28, 652 as of its latest update of 28 July.
But there’s more to that story.
Joe Sommerlad reports:
How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?
Wagner tracker: Charting Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary group through the Ukraine war
Friday 18 August 2023 00:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
From Bucha to the battle for Bakhmut, we track Wagner’s bloody role in Vladimir Putin’s invasion:
Charting Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary group through the Ukraine war
Prague cancels performance by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko
Thursday 17 August 2023 23:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
A scheduled performance by Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko in the Czech capital has been cancelled over political pressures as Russia wages war on Ukraine, Czech officials said.
The announcement came days after the Prague government said that all its coalition parties “unequivocally” opposed the concert, calling it “insensitive”.
Prague’s Municipal House, where Netrebko’s 16 October performance was to take place, and the Nachtigall Artists Management, an agency that organised it, have agreed on the cancellation.
The soprano will not demand compensation, the organising agency confirmed.
The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine during the war.
The governing coalition in Prague is made up of the same political parties that comprise the Czech government.
Netrebko sued the Metropolitan Opera in New York City over its decision to cut ties with her last year for refusing to repudiate her support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Her 2023-24 season includes engagements with Berlin’s Staatsoper unter den Linden, the Vienna State Opera, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and the Paris Opera.
ICYMI: Why tensions have been growing along NATO’s eastern border with Belarus
Thursday 17 August 2023 22:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
Poland is deploying thousands of troops to its border with Belarus, calling it a deterrent move as tensions between the two neighbors ratchet up.
Those tensions between Poland — a NATO and European Union country — and Belarus, which is Russia’s ally in its war on Ukraine, have been building up in recent months on the border.
Here is why:
Why tensions have been growing along NATO’s eastern border with Belarus
Russia opens a criminal investigation into a leader of a prominent election watchdog
Thursday 17 August 2023 21:30 , Maanya Sachdeva
The Russian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into one of the leaders of a prominent independent election monitoring group, his lawyer said Thursday.
The case against Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of Russia’s leading election watchdog Golos, is the latest step in the months-long crackdown on Kremlin critics and rights activists that the government ratcheted up after sending troops into Ukraine.
Read more here:
Russia opens a criminal investigation into a leader of a prominent election watchdog
Lukashenko says Zelenskiy halted direct contacts between Ukraine and Belarus
Thursday 17 August 2023 21:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
There have been direct contacts between Ukraine and Belarus but Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky put a halt to them, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said during an online interview broadcast on Thursday.
The last such contact occurred a few months ago, he said during in the interview with Diana Panchenko, a pro-Russian Ukrainian journalist.
According to Mr Lukashenko, the topics discussed included a potential Belarus involvement in the war on Russian side, potential use of nuclear weapons and Wagner Group mercenaries, now stationed in Belarus.
“These questions accumulated. But we had these contacts, we talked. We don’t mind. And there are still proposals to continue this dialogue.”
Turkey ‘warned Russia after cargo ship incident’ in Black Sea
Thursday 17 August 2023 20:30 , Maanya Sachdeva
Turkish authorities warned Russian counterparts after an incident involving a cargo ship in the Black sea which took place within international waters, Turkish presidency said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.
“Following the incident with the ship counterparts from Russia are warned in an appropriate way to avoid these kinds of attempts that will escalate tensions in the Black Sea,” the presidency said.
On Sunday, Russia said in a statement its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship’s captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection.
Ukraine tells military-age citizens to 'overcome their fear' in recruitment campaign
Thursday 17 August 2023 20:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
Ukraine‘s defence ministry urged military-age citizens to update their data at army enlistment offices and “overcome their fear” in a campaign launched on Thursday as a summer counter-offensive grinds through its third month.
The campaign, which draws on slickly-produced videos and photo testimonials of prominent soldiers describing their fears, aims to break down a major obstacle in army recruitment, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said.
“We’re all living people and we all overcome this fear in order to win,” she said, noting that military-age citizens are duty-bound to keep their personal data at draft offices up-to-date.
As she outlined the campaign, Ms Maliar was careful to say that not all those who updated their personal data would automatically be mobilised into the army and that not all those who are mobilised would end up in a combat zone.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a general mobilization after Russia‘s February 2022 full-scale invasion and military reservists between the ages of 18 and 60 are eligible for conscription.
“Bravery conquers fear,” ran one of the campaign’s slogans. “Everyone has fears in a war. I do too,” a Ukrainian soldier who fought in Bakhmut was quoted as saying.
Putin not pushing Belarus to enter war with Ukraine, says Lukashenko
Thursday 17 August 2023 19:26 , Maanya Sachdeva
Russian president Vladimir Putin is not trying to push Belarus into joining the war in Ukraine, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said in an online interview published on Thursday.
“To involve Belarus... what will that give? Nothing,” said Mr Lukashenko, one of Putin’s closest allies, whose country borders Ukraine, Russia and three NATO countries including Poland.
“If you Ukrainians do not cross our border, we will never participate in this war. In this hot war. But we will always help Russia - they are our allies,” he said in the interview with Diana Panchenko, a pro-Russian Ukrainian journalist.
Mr Lukashenko warned that Belarus would respond in the event of external aggression, including through the use of nuclear weapons that Moscow has stationed on its territory.
“There can be only one threat - aggression against our country. If aggression against our country starts from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, we will respond instantly with everything we have,” he said.
What are hypersonic missiles and how powerful are they?
Thursday 17 August 2023 18:26 , Maanya Sachdeva
Russia is in the process of equipping its new nuclear submarines with hypersonic Zircon missiles, the head of Russia’s largest shipbuilder has said.
Here’s everything to know about “the next generation of arms”:
What are hypersonic missiles and how powerful are they?
Latest update on Ukraine fuel stockpiles from UK Ministry of Defence
Thursday 17 August 2023 17:26 , Maanya Sachdeva
Ukraine is already stockpiling fuel ahead of another challenging winter under siege from Russia, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
Read the full report by Maroosha Muzaffar here:
Latest update on Ukraine fuel stockpiles from UK Ministry of Defence
China to increase military cooperation with Belarus
Thursday 17 August 2023 17:04 , Andy Gregory
China will increase military co-operation with Belarus, Beijing’s defence minister Li Shangfu has said during a meeting with dictatorial leader Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk.
Mr Li said “the purpose of my visit to Belarus is precisely the implementation of important agreements at the level of heads of state and the further strengthening of bilateral military co-operation”.
Neither side gave details of what the co-operation will entail, but the two countries have agreed to hold joint military exercises next year.
Mr Lukashenko said on Thursday that China’s military assistance would not be directed against third countries, adding: “We need to secure our states and our peoples. We are absolute supporters of a multipolar world, territorial integrity and unity of the borders and territories established after the Second World War.”
Belarusian analyst Valery Karbalevich told Reuters that the visit of the Chinese defence minister is “an important signal not only to the EU and the US, but also to Ukraine”.
“With this visit, China marks the scope of its military interests and shows that it is interested in building up ties with Minsk and Moscow, including military co-operation, despite the dissatisfaction of Western countries,” he told The Associated Press.
“This is also a signal to Ukraine that the prolongation of the war can force China to take one side.”
US sanctions four FSB-linked individuals over Alexei Navalny poisoning
Thursday 17 August 2023 16:41 , Andy Gregory
The United States has imposed sanctions on four Russian individuals it accused of being involved in the 2020 poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The US Treasury Department in a statement said the four hit with sanctions are linked to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), with the State Department also set to announce visa restrictions.
“Today we remind Vladimir Putin and his regime that there are consequences not only for waging a brutal and unprovoked war against Ukraine, but also for violating the human rights of the Russian people,” said the department’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson.
“The assassination attempt against Aleksey Navalny in 2020 represents the Kremlin’s contempt for human rights, and we will continue to use the authorities at our disposal to hold the Kremlin’s willing would-be executioners to account.”
Navalny, who in the 2010s brought tens of thousands of people onto the streets, was detained in January 2021 after returning to Moscow from Germany where he had been treated for what Western doctors said was poisoning by a Soviet-era nerve agent.
The Kremlin, which at one point accused him of working with the CIA to undermine Russia, denied any involvement in what happened to him and denies persecuting Navalny.
Russia aiming to mass produce copy of Iranian attack drone, report suggests
Thursday 17 August 2023 16:16 , Andy Gregory
Russia is making steady progress toward its goal of mass producing a type of Iranian attack drone that could travel more than 1,000 miles and target Ukrainian cities, the Washington Post has reported, citing leaked documents about the plan.
Moscow is working on its own version of the Shahed-136, despite delays and sanctions that impact components needed from other countries, according to the documents obtained by a source involved in the work at the Russian Republic of Tatarstan’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone.
The report highlights Russia’s efforts to build its own drone factory, where it aims to manufacture 6,000 drones capable of launching coordinated “swarm attacks” by the summer of 2025. The documents suggest the Russian facility is about a month behind schedule.
Sunak praises ‘Saudi leadership on Ukraine’
Thursday 17 August 2023 15:52 , Andy Gregory
Rishi Sunak has highlighted Saudi Arabia’s “positive leadership on Ukraine” in a phone call with Mohammed bin Salman, Downing Street has said.
The prime minister “highlighted Saudi Arabia’s constructive and positive leadership on Ukraine following the recent talks in Jeddah and the leaders agreed on the importance of allies working together to end the bloodshed in Ukraine and support a just and lasting peace”, a No 10 spokesperson said.
She added: “The prime minister welcomed progress on the conflict in Yemen, where the UK will continue to back efforts to extend the ceasefire and alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
“The prime minister and crown prince said they would continue working closely together to progress UK-Saudi co-operation and looked forward to meeting in person at the earliest opportunity.”
In Anne Frank’s Amsterdam, Ukrainian children’s war diaries go on show in City Hall
Thursday 17 August 2023 15:31 , AP
The city where Anne Frank wrote her World War II diary while hiding with her family from the brutal Nazi occupation is hosting an exhibition about the Ukraine war with grim echoes of her plight more than three quarters of a century later.
The exhibition that opened at Amsterdam City Hall on Thursday offers a vision of the war in Ukraine as experienced by children caught in the devastating conflict.
“This exhibition is about the pain through the children’s eyes,” Khrystyna Khranovska, who developed the idea, said at the opening. “It strikes into the very heart of every adult to be aware of the suffering and grief that the Russian war has brought our children,” she added.
“War Diaries,” includes writings like those that Anne Frank penned in the hidden annex behind an Amsterdam canal-side house, but also modern ways Ukrainian children have recorded and processed the traumatic experience of life during wartime, including photos and video.
The Killers booed after bringing Russian fan on stage during Georgia concert
Thursday 17 August 2023 14:57 , Andy Gregory
Israel clinches largest-ever defence deal with Germany
Thursday 17 August 2023 14:33 , Andy Gregory
Israel has secured its largest-ever defense deal selling a sophisticated missile defense system to Germany for £2.75bn after the United States approved the deal, the Israeli defence ministry has said.
Although Israel has long had close economic and military links with western European countries, the deal with Germany could draw the attention of Russia, which Israel has maintained working relations with throughout the war in Ukraine.
Israel has repeatedly rebuffed requests to sell arms to Ukraine for fear of antagonising Russia.
Germany will buy the advanced defense system, coined Arrow 3, which is designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles. Israel sought approval for the deal from the US State Department because the system was jointly developed by the two countries.
Ukraine having ‘real successes’ in degrading Russia’s military, says expert
Thursday 17 August 2023 14:09 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine is having “real successes” in degrading Russia’s military capabilities, which is “going to matter in the long-term a lot more than taking a village here or a town there”, an expert has said.
“We tend to fixate on territorial movements of the battle lines, because it’s something we can track,” Mark Galeotti, director of the Mayak Intelligence consultancy, told The Independent. “But really if you think about it, the goal of war is to deprive the enemy of the will and capacity to keep fighting.
“ If you think of it in these terms, actually the Ukrainians are making real successes in degrading Russian capabilities, in terms of blasting supply lines and depots, destroying artillery pieces at a much quicker rate than they can replenish.”
“If we of this in the context of a war that’s going to last at least another year and quite possibly even longer, actually what Ukraine’s doing is going to matter in the long term a lot more than taking a village here or a town there,” he added.
While winter should give Russia a chance to replenish its stocks, Moscow is “increasingly relying on older artillery pieces that have been pulled out of stockpiles, rather than cutting-edge new systems, whereas the Ukrainians are getting cutting-edge new systems” such as the British AS90 self-propelled howitzer, Mr Galeotti said.
“So although one can be disappointed about the counteroffensive in the short term, in the long-term it’s leading to a situation where, come next spring, the Ukrainians are going to increasingly be fielding a competent 21st century army, while the Russians are fielding a 20th century army.”
Attacks on Russian soil could be ‘playing into Russia’s hands’, expert warns
Thursday 17 August 2023 13:48 , Andy Gregory
As it broadens its focus away from the fronline, Ukraine appears to have been adopting asymmetric tactics, such as the use of cheap drones to hit the Black Sea fleet and targets within Russia, such as Moscow and Belgorod.
While Ukraine rarely claims responsibility for such attacks, officials are happy to play up the impact on the Kremlin and say that more attacks will be forthcoming.
“It’s not just about taking territory, it’s about the psychological impact, it’s about degrading Russia’s logistic capabilities,” Dr Marina Miron, of King’s College London’s war studies department, told The Independent.
However, Dr Miron cautioned that attacks on Russian soil “might well be playing into Russia’s hands” by seemingly “reinforcing” Mr Putin’s narrative of the war, and lending him justification for a further mobilisation of citizens, while alienating Western allies fearful of escalation.
“From the information war perspective, it’s a double edged sword,” Dr Miron added.
Experts warn Ukraine’s frontline push is being damaged by West
Carlsberg boss ‘shocked’ by seizure of Russian business
Thursday 17 August 2023 12:43 , PA
The chief executive of brewing giant Carlsberg has said he was “shocked” when Vladimir Putin seized its business there.
Cees ’t Hart said the company had agreed a deal to sell its Russian operations in late June, but just weeks later a presidential decree transferred the business to the Russian Federal Agency for State Property Management.
August Graham has the full story:
Carlsberg boss ‘shocked’ by seizure of Russian business
ICYMI: Ukraine’s intelligence service claims responsibility for Crimean Bridge drone attack
Thursday 17 August 2023 12:35 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s security services have claimed responsibility for an attack on the vital bridge connecting Crimea to Russia last month.
The country’s intelligence bureau, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said it used remotely controlled sea drones carrying 850kg of explosives to target the Crimean Bridge, a critical supply link built by Vladimir Putin in 2018.
The drone strike on 17 July damaged the bridge and killed two civilians, according to Russian officials.
Ukraine does not usually claim responsibility for such attacks, but spy chief Vasyl Maliuk confirmed the security services’ involvement in an interview with CNN and warned the Russian president that more similar strikes will follow.
Mr Maliuk said the drones called “Sea Baby” were developed internally by the SBU, which has now released footage to CNN showing the pilot’s screen moments before the attack alongside CCTV of the immediate aftermath.
My colleague Maanya Sachdeva has the full report:
Ukraine’s intelligence service claims responsibility for Crimean Bridge drone attack
Up to Ukraine to decide when conditions are right for negotiations, says Nato chief
Thursday 17 August 2023 12:16 , Andy Gregory
It is up to Ukraine to decide when the conditions are right to join any peace negotiations, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg has said, emphasising the alliance’s unchanged stance in the wake of recent comments by a senior colleague.
“It is the Ukrainians, and only the Ukrainians, who can decide when there are conditions in place for negotiations, and who can decide at the negotiating table what is an acceptable solution,” Mr Stoltenberg said at a conference in Norway.
The statement followed remarks by Mr Stoltenberg’s chief of staff, Stian Jenssen, who said on Tuesday that Ukraine may ultimately give up territory to Russia as part of a deal to end the war. Mr Jenssen subsequently said he regretted his comments.
“His message, and which is my main message, and which is Nato’s main message, is, firstly, that Nato’s policy is unchanged – we support Ukraine,” Mr Stoltenberg said.
What are hypersonic missiles and how powerful are they?
Thursday 17 August 2023 12:02 , Andy Gregory
Russia is in the process of equipping its new nuclear submarines with hypersonic Zircon missiles, the head of Russia’s largest shipbuilder has said.
“Multi-purpose nuclear submarines of the Yasen-M project will... be equipped with the Zircon missile system on a regular basis,” Alexei Rakhmanov, chief executive officer of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, told RIA. “Work in this direction is already underway.”
Yasen-class submarines, also known as Project 885M, are nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines built to replace Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines as part of a programme to modernise the Russian navy’s fleet.
Sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles have a range of 560 miles and can travel at several times the speed of sound, making them extremely difficult to defend against them.
My colleagues Joe Sommerlad and Matt Mathers have more details here:
What are hypersonic missiles and how powerful are they?
Ukrainian artist paints group portraits for refugees to gift to UK hosts
Thursday 17 August 2023 11:24 , PA
A Ukrainian artist who paints family portraits for refugees to give to their UK hosts said she feels she is “doing something important” by “immortalising” Britons’ generosity and the impact of the war, reports Aisling Grace.
Olha Son, 35, fled Ukraine and moved in with a host family in Cornwall, before beginning to accept commissions from Ukrainian refugees who wanted to thank their British host families with a painting.
Ms Son has created numerous artworks showing Britons sheltering Ukrainian refugees with an umbrella decorated with a Union flag, which she said makes “almost 100% of the Brits cry”.
She said: “It’s like immortalising this phenomena of a British family who made a decision to open their doors to strangers from a different country, a different culture, in order to help in such a devastating situation as the war.”
Ukrainian artist paints group portraits for refugees to gift to UK hosts
No change seen in Russia’s nuclear posture, says Nato chief
Thursday 17 August 2023 11:04 , Andy Gregory
Nato has not detected any changes to Russia's nuclear forces and has seen no reason to reconsider its own corresponding setup, the military alliance’s chief Jens Stoltenberg has said.
“We haven’t seen any changes in their nuclear forces that trigger us to change our forces and the way those are arranged. So far we haven’t seen anything that demands that from our side,” Mr Stoltenberg told reporters in Norway.
Russia fines Google for refusing to delete content about Ukraine war
Thursday 17 August 2023 10:35 , Andy Gregory
Russia has fined Google the equivalent of £25,000 for refusing to delete content Moscow claimed was fake information about its war in Ukraine, state news agencies reported.
It is merely the latest effort by Russia in its crackdown on information about its 16-month war in Ukraine, with social media site Reddit also fined for the first time on Tuesday.
Watch: Russian navy officers point guns at crew after ordering cargo ship in Black Sea to halt
Thursday 17 August 2023 10:10 , Andy Gregory
Pressure on Ukraine to achieve ‘Hollywood’-style breakthrough against Russia ‘unrealistic’, say experts
Thursday 17 August 2023 09:48 , Andy Gregory
Western pressure on Ukraine’s counteroffensive to achieve a “Hollywood”-style breakthrough against Russia’s forces is “unrealistic” and Kyiv’s allies must be prepared for the war to “drag on far longer” than they imagined, experts have said.
With rains expected to muddy the battlefield in areas of the south and east of the country – including Zaporizhzhia – as soon as September, the “odds are getting longer” on the “triumphant breakthrough” many in the West were hoping for, analysts have told The Independent.
While Kyiv has made some advances and reclaimed a number of towns and villages, progress has been slow. However, Ukrainian forces are having “real successes” in degrading Russia’s military capabilities and zapping the morale of its increasingly stretched forces.
Those efforts to hit supply lines, and destroy weapons depots and artillery pieces, are “going to matter in the long-term a lot more than taking a village here or a town there”, said Mark Galeotti, director of the Mayak Intelligence consultancy – who still did not rule out a surprise breakthrough by Kyiv’s forces.
“Although one can be disappointed about the counteroffensive in the short term, in the long term it’s leading to a situation where, come next spring, the Ukrainians are going to increasingly be fielding a competent 21st-century army – while the Russians are fielding a 20th-century army,” he added.
You can read the full report here:
Experts warn Ukraine’s frontline push is being damaged by West
FSB 'thwarts attack' on comms station at uranium-enriching town in Siberia
Thursday 17 August 2023 09:29 , Andy Gregory
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claims to have thwarted a planned attack on communications stations in a uranium-enriching town in Siberia, Russian state news agencies reported.
The FSB claimed to have detained two members of the “Citizens of the USRR” collective, who supposedly planned to blow up communications stations of the state-controlled telecoms operator Rostelecom and the TransTelecom telecommunications company.
The “Citizens of the USRR,” a collective name for disparate groups, was deemed extremist by Russia’s justice ministry in 2022.
The purported attack is claimed to have been targeting Zelenogorsk, a town of around 65,000 people in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk, which has been involved since Soviet times in enriching uranium for Russia’s nuclear programme. It still remains a closed town, requiring a special entry permit to enter.
EU diverts funds aimed at Russia and Belarus towards Ukraine and Moldova
Thursday 17 August 2023 09:11 , Andy Gregory
The EU has transferred €135m (£115m) initially allocated for programmes with Russia and Belarus towards strengthening cooperation with Ukraine and Moldova, Brussels has announced.
“The decision ... is the result of the brutal war of Russia against Ukraine”, said the EU’s commissioner for cohesion and reforms, Elisa Ferreira.
The EU also decided that regions in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Poland which were supposed to participate in cooperation programs with Russia and Belarus may participate in other existing programs.
Wagner mercenaries issue chilling message on Poland’s doorstep: ‘We are here’
Thursday 17 August 2023 08:50 , Andy Gregory
Our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta reports from the Suwalki Gap:
Thousands of battled-hardened Wagner fighters arrived in Belarus under a deal ending the attempted coup against Vladimir Putin by the group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. No one thought that we had seen the last of them.
The mercenaries have moved towards the city of Grdno, according to the Polish military, and set up camp in the Brestsky area around six miles (10km) from Poland’s border.
And now, in a menacing turn, posters have begun to appear stuck next to Polish border posts with pictures of the fighters holding up signs in English saying “We are here. PMC [private military company] Wagner Group: Join us” with a QR code for would-be recruits. They have also appeared in Warsaw and Krakow. Poland’s interior minister Mariusz Kaminski said two Russians have been arrested over the matter.
Krakow is popular with British and other Western holidaymakers. Videos are circulating on social media of the poster being torn down by local people. Lukasz Wantuch, a councillor in Krakow, who published one of the photos said: “This is a provocation and this is happening here in Krakow”. Pyotr Komorowski, a student, said: “The aim is obvious, to scare tourists. That’s why they need to be removed quickly”.
Wagner mercenaries issue chilling message on Poland’s doorstep: ‘We are here’
Russia claims to shoot down drone over Belgorod
Thursday 17 August 2023 08:32 , Andy Gregory
Russia’s defence ministry claims to have thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian territory, the state-backed RIA news agency reported.
Interfax also said a drone had been downed over Russia’s southern Belgorod region, citing the defence ministry.
Ukraine has exported 820,000 tonnes of grain via Danube ports this month
Thursday 17 August 2023 08:21 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine exported 820,000 metric tonnes of grain in the first half of August via its ports on the Danube River, which is currently its main export route, the APK-Inform consultancy has said.
No comparative figures for previous periods were offered, but the data provides some insight into the extent to which Kyiv has been forced to adapt its export business in the face of Russia’s war.
Ukraine traditionally uses the Black Sea ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv to export most of its grain, but it was forced to switch to the Danube after Russia pulled out of the UN-brokered deal to keep those routes open in mid-July.
However, the exports through Danube could be affected by the recent Russian attacks on port infrastructure.
Kyiv said on Wednesday that Russian drone strikes damaged grain silos and warehouses at the river port of Reni on the Danube. Earlier this month, Russia attacked the Danube port of Izmail.
Ukraine’s first deputy farm minister Taras Vysotskiy told Kyiv’s national broadcaster that up to 5,000 tonnes of grain was destroyed in the attack on Reni.
Ukraine gearing up for winter with stockpiling fuel reserves – UK MoD
Thursday 17 August 2023 07:13 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian efforts to build up fuel stockpiles will likely be successful in ensuring that it will have sufficient fuel reserves during the approaching winter period despite the consistent pressures of war, the British Ministry of Defence said.
The war-hit nation has been “effective in mobilising its mining sector to maintain output, ensuring a continuous supply of coal is available for thermal power and heating plants in the winter, with substantial gas stocks providing a further reserve,” it said in its intelligence update.
It credited Ukraine’s endurance last winter where the country weathered Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with the help of skilled workforce and “expertise needed to operate and maintain the power network, even in wartime conditions”.
The attacks will likely continue this winter, the MoD said.
Sweden to explore whether Russia sanctions are complied with
Thursday 17 August 2023 06:24 , Arpan Rai
Officials in the Swedish government have instructed the National Board of Trade to explore whether a rise in exports to countries bordering Russia was triggered by attempts to circumvent sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.
“The increase (in exports) has given rise to suspicions that the sanctions are not fully complied with,” the Swedish foreign ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine struggling to defend northeast against Putin’s forces – 'mostly convicts' – says general
Thursday 17 August 2023 05:59 , Arpan Rai
The situation on the Kupiansk front in the northeastern region of Kharkiv is growing more difficult for Ukraine, says senior general Oleksandr Syrskyi, with Putin’s forces led by Russian assault squads “consisting mainly of convicts”.
“Due to the complication of the situation in the Kupiansk direction, I worked most of the day with units that lead the defence on the approaches to the city,” General Syrskyi was quoted as saying by Ukraine’s Military Media Centre.
“The enemy is trying to break through the defences of our troops every day, in different directions, with assault squads consisting mainly of convicts, with the aim of blockading and then capturing Kupiansk,” he said.
Kupiansk, a town with a pre-war population of around 27,000, was seized by Russia in the early days of the February 2022 invasion before Ukrainian troops recaptured it in a lightning offensive last September that embarrassed Moscow.
Losing Kupiansk a second time would be a major blow to Kyiv’s battlefield momentum at a time when its summer counter-offensive has so far failed to deliver significant territorial gains, except for a few villages such as Urozhaine in Luhansk.
Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine, including the peninsula of Crimea, most of the Luhansk region and large tracts of the regions of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Putin scrambles to convene currency control meeting over economic fears
Thursday 17 August 2023 04:47 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin was expected to speak to Russian policy makers yesterday over currency controls as the rouble continued to slide despite an extraordinary 3.5 percentage point interest rates hike, in signs of Moscow’s full-scale war weighing down its own economy.
The Russian president was expected to hear proposals from the finance ministry to require exporters to convert a chunk of the country’s foreign earnings into roubles, two people aware of the developments told the Financial Times.
Proposals drawn up by the Russian finance ministry would require exporters to sell up to 80 per cent of their foreign currency revenue within 90 days after delivery, the newspapers reported. It also sought a ban on companies that refused to comply from receiving government subsidies.
This is the first such proposal on increased currency control being debated in the Kremlin since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched in February last year.
In recent months, Russia’s rouble has become one of the world’s worst-performing currencies and the country’s central bank has stepped in to try to halt the slide.
The rouble’s decline is “not very welcome” to the Kremlin, said Janis Kluge, a Russian economy expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
While not a full-blown crisis, “this is the closest we came to a real economic problem since the start of the war,” he said.
The chaos at the start of sanctions was far worse, but since then, the rouble’s decline “is the first time that something seems to be not so much under control,” he said.
US condemns Russia’s attacks on grain infrastructure: ‘Putin doesn’t care'
Thursday 17 August 2023 03:56 , Arpan Rai
The United States has slammed Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s grain infrastructure and called on Moscow to return immediately to the grain deal.
Russian president Vladimir Putin does not care about global food security, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters after Ukraine earlier yesterday said Russia had attacked its grain storage facilities overnight.
Ukraine loses hope of using F-16 fighter jets this year
Thursday 17 August 2023 03:53 , Arpan Rai
A Ukrainian air force spokesperson has said Ukraine will not be able to defend itself using F-16 fighter jets during this autumn and winter against the continuing Russian invasion.
“It’s already obvious we won’t be able to defend Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets during this autumn and winter,” spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said at a joint telethon broadcast by Ukrainian channels.
“We had big hopes for this plane, that it will become part of air defence, able to protect us from Russia’s missiles and drones terrorism,” Mr Ihnat said, confirming Kyiv’s awareness of delays in receiving the warplanes it has been seeking from its Western allies.
Earlier in August, Mr Zelensky had announced training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets this month and said that the “delivery and combat use of F-16s by our pilots should take place as soon as possible”.
The supply of top-tier warplanes to the war-hit nation would be a signal that Russia’s invasion would end in defeat, Mr Zelensky had said. However, a former Nato commander has said the West’s promised assistance with F-16s for Ukrainian pilots has been slowed down as the war-hit nations’ allies do not wish to provoke Russia and launch a direct confrontation between nuclear powers.
US says working to identify alternative paths for Ukraine grain exports
Thursday 17 August 2023 02:30 , Maanya Sachdeva
The United States on Wednesday condemned Russia‘s continued attacks on Ukraine‘s grain infrastructure and said it was working with partners to identify alternative options to ensure Ukrainian grain exports.
“The United States ... calls for Russia to immediately return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a briefing, referring to a pact that had allowed export of Ukraine grain by the Black Sea.
Russia quit the deal on 17 July.
Patel said the US was seeking “to possibly find ways and corridors in which we can continue to get grain to the places it needs to go,” without providing details. He added that Washington has not seen any indication from the Russians that they wanted to go back to the deal.
Why tensions have been growing along NATO’s eastern border with Belarus
Thursday 17 August 2023 01:20 , Maanya Sachdeva
Poland is deploying thousands of troops to its border with Belarus, calling it a deterrent move as tensions between the two neighbors ratchet up.
Those tensions between Poland — a NATO and European Union country — and Belarus, which is Russia’s ally in its war on Ukraine, have been building up in recent months on the border.
Here is why:
Why tensions have been growing along NATO’s eastern border with Belarus
Putin accuses West of ‘adding fuel to fire’ with conflict in Ukraine
Thursday 17 August 2023 00:20 , Maanya Sachdeva
Vladimir Putin has accused Western countries of adding ‘fuel to the fire’ by funding the conflict in Ukraine.
Addressing participants of an international security forum, the Russian president shifted the blame for Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Putin said countries that were “pumping billions of dollars into the neo-Nazi regime” were “igniting the conflict even more, to draw other states into it.”
It comes as experts told The Independent that Western pressure on Ukraine’s counteroffensive to achieve a “Hollywood”-style breakthrough against Russia’s forces is “unrealistic.”
Watch the video here;
ICYMI: Warning as unexploded Russian mines wash up on Europe’s tourist beaches
Wednesday 16 August 2023 23:20 , Maanya Sachdeva
Russian mines are washing up on busy Black Sea tourist beaches, frequently exploding, and sometimes even killing holidaymakers.
As recently as Monday, a Russian mine exploded in the Romanian Black Sea resort of Costinesti, although it caused no injuries or damage, according to local reports. Meanwhile, another mine was also discovered in the water there.
My colleague Tara Cobham reports:
Warning as unexploded Russian mines wash up on Europe’s tourist beaches
Wagner mercenaries issue a chilling message on Poland’s doorstep: ‘We are here’
Wednesday 16 August 2023 22:20 , Maanya Sachdeva
Warsaw is sending 10,000 troops to its border with Belarus, with the mercenary group setting up camp and recruitment posters appearing announcing their presence. Kim Sengupta reports from the Suwalki Gap in Poland, a key spot in Nato’s defence of Europe, as provocations from Russia and Belarus also ramp up.
Full story for Premium subscribers here:
Wagner mercenaries issue chilling message on Poland’s doorstep: ‘We are here’
Sweden to explore whether Russia sanctions are complied with
Wednesday 16 August 2023 21:20 , Maanya Sachdeva
Sweden’s government said on Wednesday it had instructed the National Board of Trade to explore whether a rise in exports to countries bordering Russia was triggered by attempts to circumvent sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.
“The increase (in exports) has given rise to suspicions that the sanctions are not fully complied with,” the Swedish foreign ministry said in a statement.
