Ukraine-Russia war: Russia scrambles fighter jet to intercept US drone
Russia said it scrambled a fighter plane to deter a US air force reconnaissance drone from crossing its borders over the Black Sea.
“As the Russian fighter approached, the foreign reconnaissance UAV made a U-turn away from the state border of the Russian Federation,” Russia’s defence ministry said.
It comes after the British Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update that tensions remained high in the Black Sea with Ukraine carrying out attacks on skirmishes between Russian maritime and air forces.
Kyiv and Moscow have been fighting over oil and gas platforms near Crimea and Odesa, which are strategically important and can be used as missile launch sites or helicopter landing pads.
05:06 PM BST
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05:05 PM BST
Russia sends in elite troops to stop Ukrainian breakthrough
Russia has redeployed some of its most elite troops to the Zaporizhzhia region in an attempt to halt Ukrainian troops from reclaiming the area, according to The Institute for the Study of War.
The Kremlin’s forces have been relocated from the Kreminna area in Luhansk Oblast to the Robotyne area in western Zaporizhia Oblast, in a sign that Russia lacks military reserves.
Robotyne has been at the centre of heavy fighting, with Ukrainian forces making “tactically significant gains” in recent days.
Ukrainian and Western sources have reported that Kyiv’s forces may have got through Russia’s strongest defences in the area, though have not achieved a breakthrough so far.
04:47 PM BST
Watch: Comrades hold remembrance ceremony for killed 'ghost of Kyiv'
04:19 PM BST
Watch: Ukrainian forces clear village in the Donetsk region
04:02 PM BST
Ukraine says second ship departs Odesa after grain deal lapse
Ukraine said that a second cargo ship stuck in the port of Odesa had left via a temporary corridor set up after the Black Sea grain deal collapsed.
“The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier PRIMUS of a Singaporean operator has left the port of Odesa and is sailing through the temporary corridor established for civilian vessels,” Ukraine’s reconstruction ministry said.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said that the Liberian-flagged ship PRIMUS had begun sailing through a temporary corridor set up for civilian vessels.
The 2nd vessel blocked due to the war has left the port of Odesa and is now sailing through a temporary corridor.
The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier PRIMUS of a Singaporean operator has left the port of Odesa and is sailing through the temporary corridor established for civilian…— Oleksandr Kubrakov (@OlKubrakov) August 27, 2023
03:35 PM BST
Russian ships return from joint Pacific patrolling with Chinese ships
A detachment of Russia’s navy warships returned from more than three weeks of joint-patrolling of the Pacific Ocean with Chinese navy ships, the Russian Interfax news agency reported.
Warships of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, together with a detachment of Chinese navy ships travelled more than 7,000 nautical miles through the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Interfax reported citing the Fleet’s press service.
During the patrol, the Russian-Chinese detachment passed along the Kuril ridge, the agency reported.
The islands, off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, are known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories and have been at the core of decades of tension between the neighbours.
The Russian-Chinese warships also circled part of the Aleutian Islands archipelago. Most of the Aleutian Islands belong to the US state of Alaska, but the Commander Islands near the Kamchatka Peninsula are part of Russia.
02:40 PM BST
Pictured: People walk in front of destroyed Russian tanks installed on Khreschatyk street in Kyiv
02:21 PM BST
In Russia’s ‘city of zombies’, drone strikes have lost their power to shock
When Alyona, a young woman from Moscow, awoke to a loud bang at 4am, her first thought was that a crane had fallen over.
“It was such a loud sound – I have never heard anything like this before, even at a Rammstein gig,” she said, referring to the German metal band.
Across the road from Alyona’s home in a suburb in Moscow’s south-west, a Ukrainian drone had smashed into a block of flats. The attack in May that jolted her out of bed was one of the first to hit the Russian capital since the war in Ukraine began.
Read more from Nataliya Vasilyeva here
01:52 PM BST
In Pictures: Russian missile strikes hit residential area in Kyiv
01:48 PM BST
Ukraine’s Air Force makes plea for tools
The Ukrainian Air Force has made a plea for more tools to dispose of Russian “junk” and remove weapons from fighter jets.
Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesman for the air force, said that the focus of international donations tends to fall to F-16 aircrafts and pilot training, but troops need access to basic tools in order to fix and remove parts.
It also enables soldiers to extract anything useful from weapons.
He said: “It is necessary not only to train pilots but also to provide Ukraine with all types of weapons for this aircraft – missiles, bombs, ammunition – because in addition to jets, tools are needed to dispose of Russian junk.”
01:40 PM BST
Ukraine burns piano in 'farewell ceremony' for pilots
Farewell ceremony for the pilots of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade who tragically lost their lives in the skies of Zhytomyr region on August 25.
Major Viacheslav Minka
Major Serhii Prokazin
Captain Andrii Pilshchykov
From the first days of russian aggression, they defended… pic.twitter.com/YJ8y6JX8Hc— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) August 27, 2023
01:38 PM BST
Ukraine is ready for a productive September, says Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky has announced the start of preparations for a “productive” September for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president has pledged to keep up international relations to secure defense packages, security and sanctions.
“We have already started preparing a productive September for Ukraine. Our international activity will be no less intensive than in these weeks,” the president posted on Telegram.
The first issue is on his agenda is defense. “New defense packages for Ukrainian warriors. Artillery, armored vehicles, air defense and missiles, as well as mine clearance equipment. Each partner is aware of our needs. We are expecting decisions,” Mr Zelensky added.
Another is to guarantee security for Ukraine, stating “the next rounds of negotiations and the accession of new countries to the common security architecture are coming soon”.
“We are constantly adding content to the first Defense Industry Forum. Ukrainian content. International content. The free world needs more power to defend itself. Together we have this potential and we will demonstrate it,” Mr Zelensky stressed.
01:32 PM BST
In Pictures: Scenes from the battle of Irpin, part of an attempt by the Russian forces to encircle the city of Kyiv
12:50 PM BST
Shop used by Russians to transport weapons on fire
🔥 There is a big fire in the occupied #Berdyansk. The mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, reports that the shop where the Russians were transporting their equipment is on fire. #RussiaUkraineWar
Source: Fedorov in Telegram pic.twitter.com/7gbY3ylxys— Detector Media (@DetectorMediaEn) August 27, 2023
12:46 PM BST
Russia ‘steps up attack’ on Lyman and Kupiansk fronts
Russian troops have intensified their shelling and air strikes against Ukrainian positions in Lyman and Kupiansk, according to Kyiv Independent.
The Kremlin has concentrated over 100,000 troops in the Kupiansk-Lyman direction of the front in Kharkiv and Luhansk.
llia Yevlash, Eastern Force Grouping press officer, said on Sunday that there are 45,000 soldiers attacking towards Kupiansk and 48,000 towards Lyman.
Both of the towns had been occupied by Russian forces before Ukrainian troops seized the areas last year.
It follows reports by the British Ministry of Defence that Russian command will intensify its offensive on the regions in the coming months.
11:56 AM BST
In Pictures: Ukrainian pilots killed in mid-air crash
11:44 AM BST
Wagner boss died in plane crash, investigators confirm
Russian investigators say they carried out DNA testing to confirm that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner mercenary chief, died in the plane crash earlier this week.
The investigation committee said the identities of those who died in the crash match the names on the fight list.
“As part of the investigation into the accident with the crashed airplane in Tver region, molecular genetic studies have been completed. According to the results of the expertise, the identities of all 10 dead have been established, they coincide with the list specified in the passenger list,” the committee said.
Russia has named the dead as:
Sergey Propustin
Evgeniy Makaryan
Aleksandr Totmin
Valeriy Chekalov
Dmitriy Utkin
Nikolay Matuseev
Yevgeny Prigozhin
Commander Aleksei Levshin
Co-pilot Rustam Karimov
Flight attendant Kristina Raspopova
The identities have not been verified by an external body.
11:36 AM BST
Prigozhin’s death is ‘turning point in war’, says analysts
The “assassination” of the Wagner boss could be a turning point in the war as Ukraine seeks to exploit the “chaos” in the Kremlin, say analysts.
Ambassador Bill Taylor, vice president for Russia and Europe at the US Institute of Peace, told the BBC Today Programme on Sunday that the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin could evoke a strategic shift as Russia’s military chain is left “fragile and upset” by the incident.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Army is using the disorder in Russia to make “gradual, grinding, difficult progress in the counter-offensive” and despite losing fighters they are “encouraged” by the low moral among its leadership.
Mr Prigozhin died in a plane crash near Moscow on Wednesday, prompting speculation that a missile or bomb caused the incident.
11:30 AM BST
Leopard 1 tanks stored in the open as Switzerland rejects transfer to Ukraine
Nearly 100 Leopard 1 tanks are being stored out in the open in Italy after Switzerland blocked their transfer to Ukraine.
The tanks, owned by Swiss company RUAG, were to be refurbished and transferred to Ukraine but Switzerland rejected the sale over the country’s neutrality policy.
RSI photos show the tanks covered with green tarpaulin and stored in a depot near Gorizia, northeastern Italy - where they have been held since 2017.
A contract obtained by RSI revealed that RUAG planned to sell them to Germany’s arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall.
11:07 AM BST
In Pictures: Protest in Kyiv calls for relatives to be freed from Russian captivity
10:59 AM BST
Ukraine investigates incident that killed three pilots
Ukrainian authorities have launched an investigation after a mid-air collision between two warplanes in the west of the country killed three pilots.
Ukraine’s air force spokesman Yuri Ihnat told Ukrainian television on Sunday it wasn’t immediately clear how long the inquiry would take.
According to the air force’s Telegram page, two L-39 training military aircraft collided on Friday during a combat mission over Ukraine’s western Zhytomyr region.
Three pilots were killed, including Andriy Pilshchykov, a well-known pilot with the nickname “Juice” who was an outspoken advocate for Ukraine getting F-16 fighter jets.
Ukraine’s Vasilkiv tactical aviation brigade on Sunday identified the other two pilots killed in the collision as Viacheslav Minka and Serhiy Prokazin.
10:27 AM BST
In Pictures: Drone strike on Kursk, a city in western Russia
10:02 AM BST
Tensions remain high in the Black Sea, says MoD
Tensions remain high in the Black Sea with skirmishes between maritime and air forces, the Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update.
Conflict has broken out around gas and oil platforms near to Crimea and Odesa, which are valuable strategic sites that can be used as deployment bases.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 27 August 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/DkKEFsbkUp
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/Z9wqzhXMxT— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 27, 2023
09:47 AM BST
Wagner war graves 'wiped away'
The graves of Wagner mercenaries are being removed after the leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in an air crash.
The plane crashed on Wednesday shortly after taking off from Moscow.
Russian investigators have recovered 10 bodies and flight recorders from the scene.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has rejected allegations that Russia was involved in the downing of his plane on Tuesday.
Wagner is being purged from Russian history.
The graves of Prigozhin’s war criminals are being wiped away. pic.twitter.com/ZTwJWM7XsQ— Sarah Ashton-Cirillo (@SarahAshtonLV) August 25, 2023
09:28 AM BST
Russia shoots down two drones near border
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces shot down two drones overnight on Sunday in two regions bordering Ukraine.
One drone was shot down over the Bryansk region in Russia’s west and another in the Kursk region, just south of it, the defence ministry said on the Telegram messaging channel.
There was no further information about possible damage or casualties.
09:25 AM BST
Zelensky leads tributes to pilots killed in mid-air collision
The Ukrainian president has paid tribute to three pilots killed in a mid-air collision over Ukrainian territory on Saturday.
The crash killed a pilot that has been a public figure in the Ukrainian Air Force nicknamed ‘Juice’.
Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter: “Sadly, there is also tragic news.
“A catastrophe in the sky over the Zhytomyr region killed three pilots, including Andriy Pilschikov, callsign ‘Juice’.
“My heart goes out to the pilots’ friends and loved ones.
“Ukraine will never forget all those who defended its free sky.”
09:12 AM BST
In Pictures: Marines seize buildings occupied by Russians
09:09 AM BST
Russia launches overnight air attack on Ukraine
Russia launched an overnight air attack against Ukraine on Sunday, sending missiles over Kyiv and other parts of the country, authorities said.
The Ukrainian military reported shooting down four cruise missiles of up to eight total airborne targets detected, adding that the rest of the targets were “probably false”.
It also said there were no immediate reports of strikes.
Two people were reportedly wounded and 10 buildings damaged by falling missile debris in one unspecified area of the region.
“Enemy targets moving in the direction of Kyiv were destroyed by air defence forces,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app. The attack involved cruise missiles, he said.
All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts for about three hours early on Sunday before they were cleared at around 6 am.
