Ukraine-Russia war - live: Moscow air strike on distribution centre in Kharkiv kills six, says official

A Russian missile hit a postal distribution centre in Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv on Saturday killing six people and injuring 14, an official said.

Oleh Synehubov, the region’s governor said on Telegram that several of the injured were in serious condition in hospital.

“This is strictly a civilian site,” Synheubov said. “The Russians have inflicted more terror on Kharkiv‘s peaceful population.”

It comes as Ukrainian forces damaged and destroyed almost 50 Russian tanks in just 24 hours as Vladimir Putin’s troops launched a fresh offensive in the Donetsk region, according to a US war think tank.

The Insitute for the Study of War (ISW) said Russian forces launched a renewed attack near Adviika on Friday and “marginally advanced”, indicating Moscow’s commitment to offensive operations in the area “despite heavy materiel and personnel losses”.

This includes the damage and destruction of almost 50 Russian tanks and over 100 armored vehicles by Ukrainian forces during the past day of fighting, reported the Ukrainian General Staff on Friday, according to the ISW.

Key Points

• Six killed in Russia’s missile attack on Kharkiv postal centre, says Ukraine

• Russian forces launch renewed offensive near Avdiivka

• Kyiv forces make ‘breakthrough’ on Dnipro river

• Ukraine repels new Russian onslaught on eastern front, Zelenskiy says

• UN probe finds evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine

Ukraine reports record bomb attack numbers in Kherson

11:31 , Tara Cobham

Officials in southern Ukraine said on Sunday that the Russian military had used a record number of aerial bombs over the country's Kherson region in the past 24 hours.

Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military's Operational Command South, said 36 missiles had been recorded over the area, with some villages being hit by several strikes.

Six killed in Russia’s missile attack on Kharkiv postal centre, says Ukraine

07:38 , Tara Cobham

Six people have been killed and at least 14 injured in a Russian missile attack that hit a postal distribution centre in the war-devastated northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said.

"Russian missiles hit the Nova Poshta centre - an ordinary civilian object," President Volodymyr Zelenksiy said on the Telegram messaging app.

He posted a video showing s building with windows blown out and construction materials strewn about, with red trucks with Nova Poshta written in Ukrainian in front of it.

Oleh Synehubov, the governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which the city of Kharkiv is the administrative centre, said several of the injured were in serious condition in hospital.

Those killed and injured were employees of the postal centre, Synehubov said on Telegram. Police said the workers did not have time to run to the shelter, because the siren sounded a second before impact.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched against its neighbour in February 2022.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, was devastated in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Three Crimea-bound missiles downed, says Russia-installed governor

17:54 , Tara Cobham

Three Ukrainian missiles heading for targets in Crimea were downed on Sunday over a Russian-held area of Ukraine's southern Kherson region, the Russia-installed governor said.

Vladimir Saldo, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the missiles were downed over the town of Henichesk.

Russian troops occupied Kherson region in the first days of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but Ukrainian forces have regained control of the region's main town and areas on the west bank of the Dnipro River. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

Watch: Aftermath of Russian strike on Ukraine mail depot that killed six

16:00 , Tara Cobham

Six people died in a missile strike late on Saturday night (21 October) on a mail depot in the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Another 14 people were injured in the blast, which is believed to have been caused by a Russian S-300 rocket, Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said on social media.

All of the victims were employees of private Ukrainian postal and courier Nova Poshta.

In a statement, the company said that the air raid siren had sounded just moments before the attack, leaving those inside the depot with no time to reach shelter.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky described the strike as an attack on an “ordinary civilian object.”

Oliver Browning reports:

Russia says it thwarted Ukrainian attempts to cross Dnipro

15:19 , Tara Cobham

Russian forces have foiled several attempts by Ukrainian units to cross the Dnipro River in the southern Kherson region over the past day, Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday.

According to the ministry, Ukrainian "sabotage and reconnaissance" teams were stopped while trying to cross the river near the villages of Pridniprovske, Tiahynka and Krynky.

Russia also said it had destroyed Ukrainian personnel, water-crossing equipment and vehicles near the village of Stanislav. Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports.

On Friday the Institute for the Study of War, a US research group, said Ukrainian forces appeared to have broken through on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson.

Ukraine recaptured parts of the Kherson region late last year after months of Russian occupation. But Russian forces who left Kherson, the region's biggest city, retreated only as far as the other side of the Dnipro and have continued to shell the city from there.

Russia suffers 90% surge in casualties after attacks in Avdiivka, says MoD

14:00 , Tara Cobham

Recent Russian assaults in Avdiivka have contributed to a 90 per cent increase in Russian casualties recorded by the Ukrainian MoD, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

In its latest intelligence update on the invasion of Ukraine, the MoD estimates Vladimir Putin’s forces have suffered 150,000-190,000 permanent casualties since the conflict began, with the total figure including temporarily wounded in the region of 240,000-290,000.

Three injured in Russian shelling of Kupiansk, says local governor

13:08 , Tara Cobham

Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, three people have been injured in Russian shelling on the city of Kupiansk, local governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

The Ukrainian-held front-line city has been at the heart of fierce fighting as both Moscow and Kyiv push for battlefield breakthroughs amid the looming onset of wintry conditions.

Ukraine ‘likely repels intensified Russian offensive’ at Avdiivka

09:45 , Tara Cobham

Ukrainian forces have “likely repelled another intensified Russian offensive” towards Avdiivka over the past several days, a US war think tank has said.

The Institute for the Study of War added that Vladimir Putin’s forces have suffered “further heavy personnel and equipment losses” in the area, including 900 troops during attacks on Thursday.

Ukraine says it destroys six Russian drones and a missile overnight

08:30 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine's air defence systems destroyed six Russia-launched attack drones and a cruise missile overnight, Ukraine's Air Force said on Sunday, adding that in total Russia launched nine cruise missiles on Ukraine.

ICYMI: Russian forces launch renewed offensive near Avdiivka

07:00 , Matt Mathers

Russian forces launched a renewed offensive push near Avdiivka on Friday, according to a US war think tank.

The Insitute for the Study of War (ISW) said Moscow’s troops had “marginally advanced”.

It added the latest offensive indicated that the Russian military command “remains committed to offensive operations in the area despite heavy materiel and personnel losses”.

This includes the damage and destruction of almost 50 Russian tanks and over 100 armored vehicles by Ukrainian forces during the past day of fighting near Avdiivka, reported the Ukrainian General Staff on Friday, according to the ISW.

ICYMI: Lower house of Russian parliament votes to revoke ratification of global nuclear test ban

06:30 , Matt Mathers

The lower house of Russia’s parliament on Wednesday gave its final approval to a bill revoking the ratification of a global nuclear test ban treaty, a move Moscow described as putting it on par with the United States.

The State Duma lawmakers voted unanimously to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in the third and final reading on Wednesday. The bill will now go to the upper house, the Federation Council, which will consider it next week. Federation Council lawmakers have already said they will support the bill.

Full report:

Lower house of Russian parliament votes to revoke ratification of global nuclear test ban

ICYMI:

05:30 , Matt Mathers

Two people were killed and at least three were injured after Russian missiles hit Zaporizhzhia’s central district on Wednesday 18 October, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry has reported.

Footage released by the Ukrainian emergency service showed rescuers carrying survivors out of a damaged residential building in the district.

Regional Governor Yurii Malashko said more people could be trapped under rubble.

Mr Malashko said the attack was likely conducted with six S-300 missiles that take only 42 seconds to reach the city once launched from Russian-controlled territories.

Watch the clip here:

Rescuers search for survivors after deadly strike in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia

ICYMI: Russian, North Korean foreign ministers meet amid Western suspicions about weapons transfers

04:30 , Matt Mathers

The foreign ministers of Russia and North Korea met Thursday in Pyongyang for talks expected to focus on how to boost their military ties, days after the United States accused the North of sending fresh shipments of munitions to Russia to support its war efforts in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flew to Pyongyang on Wednesday for a two-day trip. During a reception speech later in the day, Lavrov said he thanked North Korea for its strong support for Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Russian, North Korean foreign ministers meet amid Western suspicions about weapons transfers

ICYMI: The US quietly delivered new long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. Why the sudden secrecy over aid?

03:30 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainian special forces reported on Tuesday that they had struck two Russian military airfields, following the first-time deployment of long-range ballistic missiles supplied by the US.

The details of the weapons’ delivery has been shrouded in secrecy – unlike previous aid provided to Ukraine from the Biden Administration.

Mike Bedigan reports:

The US quietly delivered long-range missiles to Ukraine. Why the sudden secrecy?

ICYMI: Experts reveal what the winter will bring for the Ukraine war – and why Putin will be banking on Trump

02:30 , Matt Mathers

The Ukraine war may remain a “stalemate” throughout 2024, military experts have told The Independent, as hopes fade for a major breakthrough in this year’s counteroffensive against Russia.

Delays in Western military aid handed Moscow time to build heavily fortified defences which have largely held up against months of intense assaults – and constraints in ammunition and weaponry now mean both armies may struggle to sustain the current pace of the war, some analysts believe.

Andy Gregory reports:

Experts on what winter brings for the Ukraine war – and why Putin is banking on Trump

ICYMI: Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv sees ‘partial success’ in south

01:30 , Matt Mathers

At least 10 civilians in Ukraine were killed on Wednesday in Russian attacks as Ukrainian military officials confirmed battlefield gains in counteroffensive operations in the south of the warzone.

The death toll rose to five from four after a missile struck a residential building in southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

Arpan Rai reports:

Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv advances in south

ICYMI: Russia’s Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine

Sunday 22 October 2023 00:30 , Matt Mathers

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for aiding Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine as he landed in Pyongyang for a two-day visit on Wednesday.

Mr Lavrov is in North Korea for meetings viewed as preparatory efforts ahead of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit as Moscow and Pyongyang slide closer in diplomatic cooperation against Ukraine and the West.

Russia’s Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine

ICYMI: Russian-American journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as a foreign agent

Saturday 21 October 2023 23:30 , Matt Mathers

A Russian-American journalist working for a U.S. government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, according to her employer.

Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva is the second U.S. journalist to be detained in Russia this year. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested for alleged spying in March.

Full report:

Russian-American journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as a foreign agent

Russian missile strike on distribution centre in Kharkiv kills six, say officials

Saturday 21 October 2023 23:13 , Joe Middleton

A Russian missile hit a postal distribution centre in Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv on Saturday, killing six people and injuring 14, Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synehubov said.

Synehubov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said several of the injured were in serious condition in hospital.

“This is strictly a civilian site,” Synheubov said. “The Russians have inflicted more terror on Kharkiv‘s peaceful population.”

ICYMI: Putin says Russia ‘will be able to repel’ Ukraine’s new weapons used to damage Kremlin’s air assets

Saturday 21 October 2023 22:30 , Matt Mathers

Vladimir Putin said Russia “will be able to repel” attacks by Ukraine’s new long range weapons supplied by the US, which Kyiv used to launch one of the most damaging attacks on the Kremlin’s air assets since the start of the war.

While the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, result in an additional threat, the weapon would not change the situation along the 1,500km (932 mile) frontline, Mr Putin told reporters in Beijing. He said his forces will be able to repel attacks by the top-tier missile system.

Arpan Rai reports:

Putin says Russia ‘will be able to repel’ Ukraine’s new long range weapons

ICYMI: Ukrainian troops fight off fresh attacks from Putin’s forces in eastern town of Avdiivka

Saturday 21 October 2023 21:30 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainian forces are fighting off a new Russian military onslaught in the bombarded eastern city of Avdiivka where intense fighting has been concentrated this month, senior military officials said.

“The enemy is not relenting in attempts to break through our defences and surround (Avdiivka),” Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhnyi said in a video posted on Telegram in which he is seen conferring with officers in Avdiivka and Kupiansk.

Apran Rai reports:

Ukrainian troops thwart fresh attacks from Putin’s forces in eastern town of Avdiivka

ICYMI: The leaders of Ukraine and Russia assess their resources as their war heads into winter

Saturday 21 October 2023 20:30 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke by phone with U.S. President Joe Biden about Washington’s future support for Kyiv, and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a military base near the Ukrainian border, as the warring countries laid plans for the winter and next year’s combat operations.

Almost 20 months of war have sapped both sides’ military resources. The fighting is likely to settle into positional and attritional warfare during the approaching wintry weather, analysts say, with little change along the more than 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.

Illia Novikov reports:

The leaders of Ukraine and Russia assess their resources as their war heads into winter

ICYMI: Russia extends detention of a US journalist detained for failing to register as a foreign agent

Saturday 21 October 2023 19:30 , Matt Mathers

A Russian-American journalist was ordered Friday to be detained for another three days on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent, Russian media reported.

Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, appeared in court in the central Russian city of Kazan, according to the state news agency Tass.

Full report:

Russia extends detention of a US journalist detained for failing to register as a foreign agent

ICYMI: British Army trains Ukrainian engineers to defend energy sector against Russia

Saturday 21 October 2023 18:30 , Matt Mathers

The British Army’s Royal Engineers have trained Ukrainian civilian engineers how to defend their energy sector from Russian attacks this winter.

Damage and destruction of critical national infrastructure (CNI) by Russian missile and drone attacks has represented one of the greatest threats to the lives and safety of Ukrainian civilians since the invasion.

The two-week training package was developed after a request from Ukraine.

Trainees were taught how to identify potential blast ranges and the impacts of different weapons and explosives, and where best to locate physical and aerial barriers to help protect sites from Russian attacks, the Ministry of Defence said.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the training was “essential” to protect Ukrainian civilians as winter approaches.

Mr Shapps said: “Ukraine’s civilian population faces mortal danger on a daily basis from Putin’s forces and their indiscriminate campaign of bombardment against its critical infrastructure.

“The Ukrainian people have demonstrated unwavering resilience in the face of this illegal invasion and this tailored package of training will help save lives during the bitterly cold winter months, where access to reliable energy is of vital importance.”

ICYMI: White House details its $105 billion funding request for Israel, Ukraine, the border and more

Saturday 21 October 2023 17:30 , Matt Mathers

The White House on Friday released a sweeping set of proposals to bolster Israel and Ukraine in the midst of two wars as well as invest more in domestic defense manufacturing, humanitarian assistance and managing the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The total cost of the supplemental funding request was pegged at just over $105 billion. President Joe Biden hopes Congress will move urgently on the legislation, and he made the case for deepening U.S. support for its allies during a rare Oval Office address on Thursday night.

Full report here.

Civilians killed and injured on Friday and Saturday - Ukraine

Saturday 21 October 2023 16:30 , Matt Mathers

At least two civilians were killed and others wounded across Ukraine as Russian forces continued to shell frontline areas and other parts of the country, local Ukrainian officials reported.

In Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown in central Ukraine, a 60-year-old man died on Friday evening when a Russian missile slammed into an industrial facility, according to Telegram posts by Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul.

Mr Vilkul added that the man’s wife was taken to hospital with serious shrapnel wounds.

Early on Saturday, Mr Vilkul reported that Russian missiles and drones overnight hit the same site again, causing unspecified damage and sparking a fire that was put out by morning.

Mr Vilkul did not elaborate on the site’s nature or whether it was linked to Ukraine’s war effort. He said nobody was hurt in the second strike.

In Ukraine’s frontline Kherson region to the south, one civilian was killed and another suffered wounds as Russian forces launched "mass shelling" attacks, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Saturday.

In a Telegram post, Mr Prokudin said that Russian troops used mortars, artillery, tanks, drones, and multiple-rocket launchers to target the province, striking some residential areas.

Zelenskiy says he discusses Ukraine peace formula with Erdogan

Saturday 21 October 2023 15:32 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy talked with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday, Zelenskiy said, in a call where the two men discussed Ukraine's peace formula, food security, and situation in the Middle East.

"We discussed the next round of negotiations on the Peace Formula, which will take place in Malta. Turkey will participate, adding its authoritative voice and position," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.

"We also discussed the situation in the Middle East and agreed on the need to ensure the protection of civilians and respect for humanitarian law," he added.

Russia extends detention of a US journalist

Saturday 21 October 2023 13:30 , Tara Cobham

A Russian-American journalist was ordered Friday to be detained for another three days on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent, Russian media reported.

Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for the US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, appeared in court in the central Russian city of Kazan, according to the state news agency Tass.

She is the second US journalist detained in Russia this year, after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges in March.

Read more here:

Russia extends detention of a US journalist detained for failing to register as a foreign agent

Ukraine says civilians killed and wounded in Russian overnight attacks

Saturday 21 October 2023 13:07 , Tara Cobham

At least two civilians were killed and others wounded across Ukraine as Russian forces continued to shell frontline areas and other parts of the country, local Ukrainian officials reported Saturday.

In Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown in central Ukraine, a 60-year-old man died on Friday evening when a Russian missile slammed into an industrial facility, according to Telegram posts by Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul. Vilkul added that the man's wife was hospitalized with serious shrapnel wounds.

Early on Saturday, Vilkul reported that Russian missiles and drones overnight hit the same site again, causing unspecified damage and sparking a fire that was put out by morning. Vilkul did not elaborate on the site's nature or whether it was linked to Ukraine's war effort. He said nobody was hurt in the second strike.

In Ukraine's front-line Kherson region in the south, one civilian was killed and another suffered wounds as Russian forces launched "mass shelling" attacks, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Saturday. In a Telegram post, Prokudin said that Russian troops used mortars, artillery, tanks, drones, and multiple-rocket launchers to target the province, striking some residential areas.

Russian shelling over the past day also wounded one civilian in the front-line city of Avdiivka, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, acting local Gov. Ihor Moroz reported on Saturday. Avdiivka has been fiercely contested by Russian and Ukrainian forces over the past weeks as Kyiv's forces try to hold off waves of Russian attacks. Moroz said that exploding drones, missiles, mortars and artillery shells fired by Russian troops also struck other parts of the province.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, a 39-year-old civilian man was hospitalized with wounds as Russian shelling hit two village homes near the embattled town of Kupiansk, local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov reported on Saturday. Russian forces have for weeks been pressing an offensive to retake territory near Kupiansk and the nearby town of Lyman.

Local Ukrainian authorities also reported Russian attacks on Friday and overnight on the northern Sumy and southern Zaporizhzhia provinces, but made no mention of casualties.

School in Kherson hit in overnight Russian shelling, says Ukraine

Saturday 21 October 2023 11:00 , Tara Cobham

A school in the Kherson region has been hit in overnight Russian shelling, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has said.

Posting a video on X of a collapsed building, it wrote, “A school in Molodizhne, Kherson region, after the overnight shelling.”

Ukraine's parliament backs ban on Russia-linked church in initial vote

Saturday 21 October 2023 09:09 , Tara Cobham

The Ukrainian parliament gave initial approval on Thursday to a law that would ban the minority Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) after Kyiv accused it of collaborating with Russia following last year's invasion.

The UOC has historic links with Moscow but says it is no longer aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church. It denies Kyiv's accusations and says the draft law would be unconstitutional.

Most Ukrainian Christians are members of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), formed from two churches independent of Moscow in 2018.

By contrast, the UOC flock in Ukraine has shrunk to 4 per cent of the population from 18 per cent before Russia's February 2022 invasion, according to polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app that deputies had voted to support the bill in its first reading. It has to be backed in a second reading and approved by the president to go in to force.

The law would ban the activities of religious organisations affiliated with centres of influence "in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine", and such activities could be terminated by a court of law.

Another lawmaker, Iryna Herashchenko, said the vote was a step towards removing "Moscow priests from the Ukrainian land".

Russian forces launch renewed offensive near Avdiivka

Saturday 21 October 2023 07:37 , Tara Cobham

Russian forces launched a renewed offensive push near Avdiivka on Friday, according to a US war think tank.

The Insitute for the Study of War (ISW) said Moscow’s troops had “marginally advanced”.

It added the latest offensive indicated that the Russian military command “remains committed to offensive operations in the area despite heavy materiel and personnel losses”.

This includes the damage and destruction of almost 50 Russian tanks and over 100 armored vehicles by Ukrainian forces during the past day of fighting near Avdiivka, reported the Ukrainian General Staff on Friday, according to the ISW.

Russian missile hits homes in Kryvyi Rih

Saturday 21 October 2023 06:00 , Katy Clifton

A Russian missile targeted homes in Kryvyi Rih in the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk on Friday, killing one man and leaving a woman in serious condition, the regional governor said on the Telegram messaging app.

“The enemy aimed a rocket at a dacha cooperative,” Serhiy Lysak, the governor of Dnipropetrosk region, wrote. Dachas are traditional cottages usually outside of towns.

He said a 60-year-old man was killed and the 57-year-old woman in serious condition had suffered shrapnel injuries and was in hospital. Rescue workers extinguished a fire caused by the attack, Lysak added.

Reuters could not immediately verify details of the attack.

Ukraine repels new Russian onslaught on eastern front, Zelenskiy says

Saturday 21 October 2023 04:00 , Alexander Butler

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday Ukrainian forces had repelled a new Russian onslaught on the eastern town of Avdiivka and were holding their ground in heavy fighting.

Zelenskiy and top military commanders visited the southern region of Kherson, where they discussed the situation there and around Avdiivka and Kupiansk, a town north of Avdiivka where Russian forces have also intensified attacks.

"Thanks to all our boys, who powerfully hold the defence and destroy the occupier day after day," Zelenskiy said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app.

"These days, the Russian losses are really staggering, and it is precisely losses by the occupier that Ukraine needs."

Zelenskiy's office said Russia's assault on Avdiivka had resulted in "record losses" of personnel and equipment, but gave no further details of the extent of the losses.

Ukrainian and Russian leaders assess resources ahead of winter

Saturday 21 October 2023 02:00 , Katy Clifton

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke by phone with U.S. President Joe Biden about Washington’s future support for Kyiv, and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a military base near the Ukrainian border, as the warring countries laid plans for the winter and next year’s combat operations.

Almost 20 months of war have sapped both sides’ military resources. The fighting is likely to settle into positional and attritional warfare during the approaching wintry weather, analysts say, with little change along the more than 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.

Zelenskyy said late Thursday he spoke to Biden about “a significant support package” for Ukraine. Western help has been crucial for Ukraine’s war effort.

Illia Novikov reports:

The leaders of Ukraine and Russia assess their resources as their war heads into winter

American leadership ‘holds the world together’, Biden says

Saturday 21 October 2023 00:01 , Alexander Butler

American leadership “holds the world together”, US president Joe Biden said.

“If we put that at risk and walk away from Ukrainians or turn our back on Israeli and Palestinian civilians, it’s just not worth it.

“That’s why I’ve sent an urgent budget request to Congress to fund America’s national security needs,” he said.

It comes as the White House on Friday asked Congress for nearly $106bn to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security.

‘Europe must arm itself’: Latvian president

Friday 20 October 2023 22:00 , Alexander Butler

The Latvian president has urged European countries to increase their defence industry capacity to produce enough weapons to defend themselves and Ukraine.

“Whether we like it or not, Europe must arm itself,” President Edgars Rinkevics said on the air of the TV3 channel, adding that mere slogans will not be enough and the EU members must be ready to accept real costs.

Romania to install anti-drone system

Friday 20 October 2023 21:00

Romania will install an anti-drone system along the border with Ukraine, reports suggest.

The system will be provided by an unnamed “partner state, with the agreement of NATO.”

Debris from drone strikes on Ukrainian ports has been repeatedly found on Romanian territory.

Germany transfers three anti-aircraft guns and more munitions to Ukraine

Friday 20 October 2023 20:00 , Alexander Butler

Germany has transferred three self-propelled Gepard anti-aircraft guns, over 3,000 rounds of smoke ammunition, and other military equipment to Ukraine as part of its latest aid package, the German government said.

It brings the total number of Gepard systems sent by Germany to Ukraine to 49. The guns have been instrumental in helping Ukraine defend itself against Iranian-made Shahel drones used by Russia.

It comes as The White House on Friday asked Congress for nearly $106bn to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security.

“The world is watching and the American people rightly expect their leaders to come together and deliver on these priorities,” said Biden’s budget director, Shalanda Youn.

‘Global inflection point’: Ukraine and Hamas conflicts

Friday 20 October 2023 18:00 , Alexander Butler

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’s attack on Israel represent a “global inflection point”, the White House’s national security advisor said.

“This budget request is critical to advancing America’s national security and ensuring the safety of the American people,” Jake Sullivan added.

It comes as The White House on Friday asked Congress for nearly $106bn to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security.

“The world is watching and the American people rightly expect their leaders to come together and deliver on these priorities,” said Biden’s budget director, Shalanda Youn.

White House asks Congress for $106 billion for Ukraine and Israel

Friday 20 October 2023 17:00 , Tara Cobham

The White House on Friday asked Congress for nearly $106 billion to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security, but offered no strategy for securing the money from a broken Congress.

US President Joe Biden's request for the funding comes days after he visited Israel and pledged solidarity as the country bombards Gaza following an attack by Hamas militants that killed 1,400 people in southern Israel.

By grouping Israel funding with Ukraine, border security, refugee assistance, measures to counter China and other hotly debated priorities, Biden is hoping he has created a must-pass national security spending bill that can win support in a chaotic House of Representatives.

The chamber, which Republicans won control of last year, has been without a leader for more than two weeks.

Some Republican lawmakers have grown skeptical of the need to fund Ukraine's war with Russia, and have threatened to halt government altogether to put an end to debt-fueled fiscal spending.

"The world is watching and the American people rightly expect their leaders to come together and deliver on these priorities," said Biden's budget director, Shalanda Young, in a letter to acting House speaker Patrick McHenry. "I urge Congress to address them as part of a comprehensive, bipartisan agreement in the weeks ahead."

Russia charges Ukrainian war veteran mistakenly honoured by Canada with genocide

Friday 20 October 2023 15:18 , Tara Cobham

Russian investigators on Friday charged 98-year-old Ukrainian war veteran Yaroslav Hunka, mistakenly honoured by Canada last month, with genocide for serving in a German Nazi division fighting the Soviet Union in World War Two.

Moscow seized on the incident, for which Canada apologised, as further justification for a full-scale invasion that Russian President Vladimir Putin said was needed to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine and thwart the aggression of its Western allies.

Russian state and military archives have "received documentary evidence of the places of deployment and the conduct of hostilities by the SS Galicia division, in which Hunka served", the federal Investigative Committee said in a statement, adding that he had been charged in absentia.

"Currently, the issue of putting Y.Hunka on the international wanted list and ordering his arrest in absentia is being decided."

US says it is ‘concerned’ about Hungary’s relationship with Russia

Friday 20 October 2023 14:53 , Tara Cobham

The United States is concerned about Hungary's relationship with Russia, and finds Prime Minister Viktor Orban's decision to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin "troubling", the US Embassy in Budapest said on Friday.

Orban held a bilateral meeting with Putin on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. He is the only EU leader to attend the forum or to maintain close ties with Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, 2022.

"The United States is concerned about Hungary’s relationship with Russia," US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman said in a statement.

Hungary, which is also a NATO member, has opposed many EU initiatives to support Ukraine in resisting Moscow's forces and gets most of its crude oil and gas from Russia.

Orban told Putin during their meeting in Beijing that Hungary never wanted to oppose Russia and was trying to salvage bilateral contacts.

Following Orban's meeting, the ambassadors of NATO countries and of Sweden who are based in Budapest gathered to discuss their concerns about Hungary's growing rapprochement with Moscow, Radio Free Europe reported.

Orban's chief political aide Balazs Orban rejected the US criticism in a post on X earlier this week, saying Hungary was "fed up" with the US ambassador's "hypocrisy".

UN probe finds evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine

Friday 20 October 2023 13:54 , Tara Cobham

A United Nations commission of inquiry on Ukraine said on Friday it had found additional evidence that Russian forces had committed "indiscriminate attacks" and war crimes in Ukraine, including rape and the deportation of children to Russia.

"The Commission has found new evidence that Russian authorities have committed violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, and corresponding crimes, in areas that came under their control in Ukraine," it said in a report submitted to the UN General assembly, listing attacks in the cities of Uman and Kherson, among others.

"The Commission has recently documented attacks that affected civilian objects, such as residential buildings, a railway station, shops, and a warehouse for civilian use, leading to numerous casualties."

Russia has vigorously denied committing atrocities or targeting civilians in Ukraine.

The commission said it had documented cases of rape "with the use of force or psychological coercion". It said, "Most of the incidents occurred after the perpetrators broke into the victims' homes. Victims reported rapes at gunpoint and threats of killing or of inflicting other serious harm to the victims or their relatives."

The commission added that it had documented the transfer of 31 children from Ukraine to Russia in May last and "concluded that it was an unlawful deportation and a war crime".

Moscow has repeatedly denied forcibly taking Ukrainian children, saying it moved children found in orphanages or without parental care to Russia for their own safety and placed as many of as possible with relatives there.

US allegations of North Korean military aid are ‘rumours’, says Russia’s Lavrov

Friday 20 October 2023 11:04 , Tara Cobham

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said US allegations that Moscow is receiving military assistance from North Korea are mere "rumours", the Russian state news agency TASS reported on Friday.

The White House said last Friday that North Korea recently provided Russia with a shipment of weapons, calling it a troubling development and raising concerns about the expanded military relationship between the two countries.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for a rare summit last month at which they discussed military matters, the war in Ukraine and possible Russian help for the secretive state's satellite programme.

Zelenskiy says US bipartisan support encourages Ukrainian nation and troops

Friday 20 October 2023 09:53 , Tara Cobham

Bipartisan support from the United States is "incredibly encouraging" for Ukraine and its troops, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said following a phone call with US President Joe Biden.

Biden, who discussed military support for Kyiv with Zelenskiy in Thursday's call, will ask Congress for $100 billion in new spending, including $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel, a source familiar with his plan said.

The US has been the largest single source of assistance to Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. Half of the $60 billion Biden is requesting for Ukraine would go towards replacing and modernising U.S. weapons stocks, the source said.

"The unwavering bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States is incredibly encouraging for all of our warriors and for our entire nation," Zelenskiy wrote on Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"America’s investment in Ukraine’s defence will ensure long-term security for all of Europe and the world," he said.

Putin visits military headquarters in southern Russia

Friday 20 October 2023 09:00 , Tara Cobham

President Vladimir Putin visited the headquarters of Russian forces in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don late on Thursday to hear a report on the progress of operations in Ukraine, state television reported on Friday.

It showed General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff and commander of the war in Ukraine, telling Putin that the troops are "carrying out their tasks in line with the operation plan".

Putin said this week that the counteroffensive by the Ukrainian forces had "completely failed" and Ukraine's Western backers were less hawkish than before.

Senior Ukrainian military officials said on Thursday their troops were facing a new Russian onslaught in the largely destroyed eastern city of Avdiivka, while making some progress on their counteroffensive in the south.

Ukraine supports Biden’s comparison between Hamas and Putin

Friday 20 October 2023 08:10 , Tom Watling

A senior Ukrainian official has condoned US President Joe Biden’s comparison last night between Hamas and Vladimir Putin.

Mr Biden made the comparison during a public appeal to the US to back support for a new foreign aid package to Ukraine and Israel.

Andriy Yermak, the top advisor to Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelensky, wrote on Telegram this morning that both Hamas and Putin are “terrorists”.

“Hamas and Putin really have a lot in common,” he said. “They want to destroy democracy, destroy nations through genocide.

“Hamas are terrorists. Russia is a state that behaves like a terrorist organization.

“The tool for fighting terrorism is the strength and unity of the democratic world. Only this will work.”

Ukrainian troops fight off fresh attacks from Putin’s forces in eastern town of Avdiivka

Friday 20 October 2023 07:11 , Tom Watling

Ukrainian forces are fighting off a new Russian military onslaught in the bombarded eastern city of Avdiivka where intense fighting has been concentrated this month, senior military officials said.

“The enemy is not relenting in attempts to break through our defences and surround (Avdiivka),” Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhnyi said in a video posted on Telegram in which he is seen conferring with officers in Avdiivka and Kupiansk.

The Ukrainian Army said they have continued to make gains in the southern part of the war-hit nation. The region has been hit by massive Russian attacks as the fighting has been intensified in recent weeks.

“The enemy is actively bringing in assault units and large amounts of armoured equipment and using aircraft and artillery,” the Ukrainian general said.

You can read the full story below.

Artist protesting Russian invasion appears in court

Friday 20 October 2023 06:00 , Maira Butt

Sasha Skochilenko, 33 , appeared in court on Thursday in St Petersburg, Russia. The artist and musician was arrested in April last year facing charges of spreading false information about the army. She is accused of replacing supermarket price tags with slogans protesting against Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

Russia says it is coordinating Middle East policy with China

Friday 20 October 2023 05:00 , Maira Butt

Russia said on Thursday it was coordinating its policy in the Middle East and North Africa with China, an increasingly close ally that President Vladimir Putin visited this week where he was treated as a guest of honour at a delegation including multiple countries.

The country sees itself as a potential broker between Israel and Hamas who triggered the current crisis with a surprise assault on Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 people. Israel has responded with aerial bombardments that Gaza authorities say have killed more than 3,500 Palestinians and left more than 12,000 wounded.

Moscow has tried to put some of the blame for the crisis on the United States, the most powerful ally of Ukraine, against which Russia began an all-out invasion last year

Footage shows Ukrainian attacks in Adviivka

Friday 20 October 2023 07:46 , Katy Clifton

Footage has shown Ukrainian attacks on a Russian convoy in Avdiivka, the current flashpoint of fighting on the frontline.

Ukraine claimed the 53rd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed roughly 10 pieces of Russian equipment during this attack.

Russia has suffered significant equipment losses during its offensive on the eastern Ukrianian city, inlcuding dozens of tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs).

Zelensky grateful to Germany for keeping Ukraine ‘in the spotlight'

Friday 20 October 2023 17:24 , Alexander Butler

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Germany today for keeping Ukraine “in the spotlight” even as the crisis in the Middle East continues.

“I spoke with Olaf Scholz and thanked him for Germany’s support,” Zelensky wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“We also discussed the situation in the Middle East and agreed on the importance of preventing further escalation of violence and conflict expansion.

“I am grateful to Germany for keeping Ukraine in the spotlight, even as the situation in the Middle East unfolds.

30,000 Ukrainians Missing

Friday 20 October 2023 03:00 , Maira Butt

There are 30,000 Ukrainians missing according to Suspilne Media as reported by Sky News.

The Head of the International Commission of Missing Persons said: “Right now it’s about 30,000 people. And that’s just civilians.

“I’m not sure exactly who that number includes. We’re trying to figure out what those numbers are and what they mean.”

NATO stepping up Baltic Sea patrols following damage to undersea infrastructure

Friday 20 October 2023 02:00 , Maira Butt

NATO is stepping up patrols in the Baltic Sea following recent damage to undersea infrastructure in the region, the transatlantic military alliance said on Thursday.

“The increased measures include additional surveillance and reconnaissance flights, including with maritime patrol aircraft, NATO AWACS planes, and drones. A fleet of four NATO minehunters is also being dispatched to the area,” NATO said in a statement.

The move followed announcements by authorities of damage to a Baltic Sea telecom cable connecting Sweden and Estonia and to a Finnish-Estonian pipeline and cable at around the same time earlier this month.

Friday 20 October 2023 01:00 , Maira Butt

President Zelensky has said that US-supplied long range Army Tactile Missile Systems missiles had “proven themselves” after Ukrainian forces used the weapons for the first time this week.

Ukraine had repeatedly asked the US for the weapons which Kyiv had promised not to use inside Russian territory. The Biden administration may potentially send a variety of the ATACMS carrying varying amounts of cluster bomblets.

Senior Ukrainian officials have said they could help alter the course of the 20-month-old war, allowing Ukrainian forces to disrupt previously unreachable supply lines, air bases and rail networks used by Russia in occupied territories.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday the missiles would not significantly change the battlefield situation.

Russian fighters ‘scrambled over Black Sea to prevent British warplanes approaching Russian airspace’

Friday 20 October 2023 00:05 , Alexander Butler

Two Russian fighter jets were scrambled on Thursday to prevent three British warplanes from entering Russian airspace over the Black Sea, the Russian defence ministry has claimed.

The Su-27 fighter jets were sent to intercept “three air targets” near the border, with Russia claiming to have identified them as a British RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft and two Typhoon fighter planes.

“As the Russian fighters approached, the foreign military aircraft turned away from the state border of the Russian Federation,” the statement claimed. It was not clear how close the planes came to each other.

The Black Sea has become an increasingly important theatre in the war between Russia and Ukraine, now nearing the end of its 20th month.

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he had ordered Russian planes armed with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles to patrol over the Black Sea.

American leadership ‘holds the world together’, Biden says

Friday 20 October 2023 17:54 , Alexander Butler

American leadership “holds the world together”, US President Joe Biden said.

“If we put that at risk and walk away from Ukrainians or turn our back on Israeli and Palestinian civilians, it’s just not worth it.

“That’s why I’ve sent an urgent budget request to Congress to fund America’s national security needs,” he said.

It comes as The White House asked Congress for nearly $106bn to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security.

Biden prepares Oval Office speech on wars in Israel and Ukraine, asking billions

Thursday 19 October 2023 23:00 , Maira Butt

President Joe Biden will deliver a rare Oval Office address Thursday night as he makes his case for providing billions of dollars in military assistance to Israel and Ukraine.

The funding request, expected to be formally unveiled on Friday, is likely to be around $100 billion over the next year, according to people directly familiar with the proposal who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Conservative Republicans oppose sending more weapons to Ukraine as its battle against the Russian invasion approaches the two-year mark. Biden’s previous request for funding, which included $24 billion to help with the next few months of fighting, was stripped out of budget legislation last month despite a personal plea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The White House has warned that time is running out to prevent Ukraine, which recently struggled to make progress in a grueling counteroffensive, from losing ground to Russia because of dwindling supplies of weapons.

Russia threatens US with ‘serious consequences’ after Ukraine fires first long-range ATACMS missiles

Thursday 19 October 2023 22:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia has hit out at the US for its decision to send long-range missiles to Ukraine for the first time, claiming the move increases the risks of a direct conflict between Nato and Moscow.

Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Tuesday that the Ukrainian military used the US-supplied ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) for the first time this week and struck two Russian military airfields.

Western backers of Ukraine have been reluctant to provide long-range munitions since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion in February last year, fearing that their use against targets within Russia would represent an escalation of the conflict.

Russia threatens US after Ukraine fires first long-range ATACMS missiles

Putin says Russia ‘will be able to repel’ Ukraine’s new weapons used to damage Kremlin’s air assets

Thursday 19 October 2023 21:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Vladimir Putin said Russia “will be able to repel” attacks by Ukraine’s new long range weapons supplied by the US, which Kyiv used to launch one of the most damaging attacks on the Kremlin’s air assets since the start of the war.

While the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, result in an additional threat, the weapon would not change the situation along the 1,500km (932 mile) frontline, Mr Putin told reporters in Beijing. He said his forces will be able to repel attacks by the top-tier missile system.

“For Ukraine, in this sense, there’s nothing good… it only prolongs the agony,” the Russian president said during his visit to China.

Putin says Russia ‘will be able to repel’ Ukraine’s new long range weapons

Russia’s Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine

Thursday 19 October 2023 20:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for aiding Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine as he landed in Pyongyang for a two-day visit on Wednesday.

Mr Lavrov is in North Korea for meetings viewed as preparatory efforts ahead of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit as Moscow and Pyongyang slide closer in diplomatic cooperation against Ukraine and the West.

Moscow “deeply” valued Pyongyang’s “unwavering and principled support” for Russia in the war, Mr Lavrov said, speaking at a reception hosted by North Korean officials on Wednesday.

Russia’s Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine

Experts reveal what the winter will bring for the Ukraine war – and why Putin will be banking on Trump

Thursday 19 October 2023 19:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Ukraine war may remain a “stalemate” throughout 2024, military experts have told The Independent, as hopes fade for a major breakthrough in this year’s counteroffensive against Russia.

Delays in Western military aid handed Moscow time to build heavily fortified defences which have largely held up against months of intense assaults – and constraints in ammunition and weaponry now mean both armies may struggle to sustain the current pace of the war, some analysts believe.

With the prospect of a Middle East conflict likely to further stretch Washington – Ukraine’s largest backer – ahead of a US presidential election in November 2024, Vladimir Putin’s strategy may now be to preserve the current state of the front line and “wait it out”, Western experts say.

Experts on what winter brings for the Ukraine war – and why Putin is banking on Trump

European delegates walk out of China-led international summit as Vladimir Putin starts speaking

Thursday 19 October 2023 18:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In case you missed it:

European delegates staged a walkout at an international cooperation forum hosted by China – as Vladimir Putin was set to begin speaking.

The Russian president arrived in China as a guest at Beijing’s third installment of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – Beijing’s multibillion-dollar infrastructure project aimed at increasing the country’s global standing by connecting China to other parts of the world through road, train, and port project investments.

Chinese president Xi Jinping opened the ceremony in the presence of several world leaders and more than 1,000 delegates at the Great Hall of the People, west of Tiananmen Square, and shared the stage with Mr Putin who made the rare trip outside Russia despite his nation’s .

European delegates walk out of China’s BRI summit as Putin starts speaking

Russia carries out new overnight air strikes on Ukraine

Thursday 19 October 2023 17:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian forces carried out new air strikes overnight on targets in eastern, southern and northern Ukraine, Kyiv’s military said on Thursday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The air force said 17 different weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones, had been used to strike industrial, infrastructure, civilian and military objects.

Ukrainian forces shot down three drones and one cruise missile, it said.

Russia has carried out frequent air strikes since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, including hitting population centres far behind front lines.

Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians. It did not immediately comment on the latest reported air strikes.

Ukraine began a counteroffensive in the south and east in early June but has made only gradual progress against vast Russian minefields and heavily entrenched Russian forces.

Ukraine set to get ATACMS missiles on regular basis

Thursday 19 October 2023 16:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine will receive U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles on a regular basis, its foreign minister said on Thursday, two days after Kyiv confirmed using them for the first time.

The White House said on Tuesday it had supplied Kyiv with ATACMS missiles and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his forces had used such missiles in action.

Kyiv had repeatedly requested the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems), suggesting they could alter the course of the war with Russia.

Asked whether regular shipments and larger numbers of missiles were expected, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “It means this.”

“And this is a direct result of the agreement between President Zelenskiy and President Biden, reached in Washington during a personal meeting in late September,” he said in televised comments.

It is not clear how many missiles have been already delivered. According to the New York Times, citing two Western officials, the U.S. had sent about 20 of them so far.

Italy to keep last-resort gas storage scheme until 2024 amid Mideast turmoil

Thursday 19 October 2023 15:27 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Italy plans to keep in place until September 2024 a last resort gas storage scheme first introduced in mid-2022 to boost strategic stockpiles, a government decree published late on Wednesday showed.

The move comes amid growing concerns that the Israel-Hamas conflict will spread after hundreds of people were killed in a blast at a Gaza hospital, driving up energy prices.

The Treasury last year loaned state-owned firm Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE) 4 billion euros ($4.21 billion) to buy gas while the country struggled to cope with a fall in Russian supplies.

GSE was supposed to sell the gas on the market and then repay the loan to the Treasury by next month, but the new decree said the scheme will remain in place until mid-September next year while also shifting the repayment deadline by one year.

After progressively reversing from peaks, energy prices started to rise again in recent months, prompting the Italian government to slow down the phasing-out of expansionary policies adopted in the wake of the 2020 COVID pandemic and afterwards the energy crisis.

European gas prices, as measured by the benchmark European gas contract, have shot up to almost 50 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) on Thursday, from 30.6 euros on July 25.

However, they are well below levels of 340 euros/MWh reached in August 2022 as Russian gas supplies dwindled following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian-American journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as a foreign agent

Thursday 19 October 2023 15:01 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A Russian-American journalist working for a U.S. government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, according to her employer.

Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva is the second U.S. journalist to be detained in Russia this year. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested for alleged spying in March.

Kurmasheva, an editor with RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir service, is being held in a temporary detention center, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, citing a Russian state news agency.

Russian-American journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as a foreign agent

G7 to discuss four versions of Russian diamond ban this week- sources

Thursday 19 October 2023 14:33 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

G7 countries will this week discuss four plans to ban Russian diamonds from G7 markets from Jan. 1, from light-touch self-regulation to strict import measures, laying bare differences that explain why a ban has been so difficult to agree for more than a year, documents showed.

The four proposals were prepared by Belgium, India, a French jewellery industry group and the World Diamond Council and will be discussed at a technical meeting of Group of Seven representatives on Thursday, officials close to the talks told Reuters.

A G7 ban would hit Russian diamond exports badly because G7 countries - United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Britain, Italy and France - account for 70% of global diamond demand.

But it would also hit supply, because Russia is the world’s biggest producer of rough diamonds by volume, accounting for 30% of them.

The main task of the meeting will be to agree in a legally sound way on a definition of traceability of diamonds, to be able to determine where the stones come from.

“Part of the reason we are stalled is that ... it’s an indirect ban - it’s on Russian diamonds coming (into G7) from outside of Russia. It’s more complicated. There’s tension between keeping momentum with a political statement first or whether the technicals need to be decided in full first,” one of the sources familiar with discussions asking not be named said.

“In November we absolutely need to clear things up if we want to meet the Jan. 1 start,” the source said, adding that if a model is picked that requires government controls then it will take longer to push through legislation.

Thursday 19 October 2023 14:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Sergei Lavrov’s two-day visit comes a month after North Korean leader Kim made a rare trip to Russia, during which he invited Putin to Pyongyang and discussed military cooperation.

Russia‘s TASS news agency said Lavrov might also brief North Korean leaders on the results of Putin’s visit this week to China.

A U.S. think-tank said on Tuesday that satellite images showed continued activity around a North Korean port near Russia, indicating at least six trips by sea between the two countries since late August.

The shipments between the port of Rajin and Russia‘s Dunai are possibly related to the transfer of North Korean munitions to Russia, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said.

Separately, a North Korean cargo-passenger ferry that had carried foreign tourists from Japan or South Korea was seen at a drydock at the same port this month, most likely for maintenance, CSIS said.

It was not clear whether the vessel would be used to supplement trade activity between Russia and North Korea, it said.

Russia’s Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine

Thursday 19 October 2023 13:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for aiding Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine as he landed in Pyongyang for a two-day visit on Wednesday.

Mr Lavrov is in North Korea for meetings viewed as preparatory efforts ahead of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit as Moscow and Pyongyang slide closer in diplomatic cooperation against Ukraine and the West.

Moscow “deeply” valued Pyongyang’s “unwavering and principled support” for Russia in the war, Mr Lavrov said, speaking at a reception hosted by North Korean officials on Wednesday.

Russia’s Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine

The US quietly delivered new long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. Why the sudden secrecy over aid?

Thursday 19 October 2023 13:04 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian special forces reported on Tuesday that they had struck two Russian military airfields, following the first-time deployment of long-range ballistic missiles supplied by the US.

The details of the weapons’ delivery has been shrouded in secrecy – unlike previous aid provided to Ukraine from the Biden Administration.

The missiles – which Ukraine has reportedly been petitioning the US to deliver for months – may prove key to helping Ukrainian forces in the months of conflict ahead.

Here’s what we know:

The US quietly delivered long-range missiles to Ukraine. Why the sudden secrecy?

Putin lashes out at IOC for suspending Russia from Olympics

Thursday 19 October 2023 12:48 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Vladimir Putin lashed out at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for effectively suspending Russia from the Olympic movement, accusing it of using the Games as a tool of politics and racism.

Last week the IOC banned the Russian Olympic Committee for recognising regional bodies from four territories that Moscow claims to have annexed from Ukraine.

“Thanks to some of the leaders of the modern International Olympic Committee, we learned that an invitation to the Games is not an unconditional right of the best athletes, but a kind of privilege, and can be earned not by sporting results, but by political gestures that have nothing to do with sport at all,” Putin told the “Russia - Sporting Power” conference in the Urals city of Perm.

“And that the Games themselves can be used as an instrument of political pressure against people who have nothing to do with politics. And as gross, and in fact racist, ethnic discrimination.”

Russia has been at odds with the Olympic movement ever since its own Sochi Winter Games in 2014, where its athletes were found to have benefited for years from a large-scale state-sponsored doping programme - something Moscow denied.

As a result, since 2018, Russians considered to be doping-free have been allowed to compete at the Olympics only under neutral flags. The IOC did not say last week whether they would be admitted to Paris 2024.

Ukraine has used long-range ATACMS missiles against Russia, Zelensky says

Thursday 19 October 2023 12:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian defence forces have made use of US-made long-range ATACMS missiles in operations against Russia, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

Mr Zelensky said Tuesday that the long-range weapon, formally known as the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System, was recently used on the battlefield against Russia and “executed very accurately”.

The US-built missile system, which is manufactured by Lockheed Martin, can be fired from the M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers which have been in use by Ukrainian forces for some time. But unlike other missiles, the ATACMS can be used to strike targets as far away as 180 miles, which would allow Ukrainian defence forces to strike command and control and supply locations well behind Russia’s front lines.

Ukraine has used long-range ATACMS missiles against Russia, Zelensky says

Finland blocks Russian property acquisitions

Thursday 19 October 2023 11:57 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Finland had blocked three planned property transactions involving Russian buyers, the ministry of defence said today.

The move was made on grounds that allowing the acquisitions to take place could hamper the defence of Finnish territory.

“The real estate acquisitions in question can be considered to hinder the organisation of national defence or the surveillance and safeguarding of territorial integrity,” the ministry said in a statement.

The decision concerns two properties in Ruokolahti and one in Kitee, the ministry of defence said, both near the Russian border in southern Finland.

Finland in recent weeks sought to speed up its confiscation of Russian-owned real estate, citing Russian owners’ struggle to pay their expenses and taxes after the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The Finnish government is planning to simplify regulations on notifying Russian owners, as it is currently illegal to oust owners over unpaid bills if an official notification cannot be delivered to them.

Finland, which joined the NATO military alliance in April in response to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, is also assessing how to take control of Helsinki’s biggest sports and events arena which has been shut since last year due to sanctions against its billionaire Russian owners.

Olympics being used as tool of political pressure and discrimination, Putin says

Thursday 19 October 2023 11:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia has learnt that the Olympics can be used as a tool of political pressure and ethnic discrimination, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

“The Games can be used as an instrument of political pressure against people who have nothing to do with politics. And as gross and in fact ethnic discrimination,” Putin said.

Last week the Russian Olympic Committee was banned by the International Olympic Committee for recognising regional organisations from four territories that Russia said it had annexed from Ukraine.

Although the IOC said the Olympic committees of Russia and Belarus would not receive an official invitation to the Paris Games like other countries later this month, a decision on their participation would be made at a later date.

Russian foreign minister Lavrov meets N.Korean leader Kim

Thursday 19 October 2023 10:58 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russia‘s foreign ministry said on Thursday, as the two countries forge closer ties in the face of what they see as a hostile and aggressive U.S.-led Western camp.

Russia‘s state-run TASS news agency reported that Lavrov’s meeting with Kim had lasted over an hour but the ministry did not provide further details.

Lavrov, who arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, earlier thanked North Korea for backing Russia‘s military actions in Ukraine and pledged Moscow’s “complete support and solidarity” for Kim, Russia‘s foreign ministry said.

Lavrov’s visit is seen as setting the stage for a visit by President Vladimir Putin, who has stepped up cooperation with politically isolated North Korea.

Speaking at a reception hosted by the North on Wednesday, Lavrov said Moscow strongly valued Pyongyang’s “unwavering and principled support” for Russia in the Ukraine war, which it calls a “special military operation”.

“Likewise the Russian Federation extends its complete support and solidarity with the aspirations of the DPRK,” Lavrov said, according to the transcript of the speech released on his ministry’s website.

DPRK are the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Putin says Russia ‘will be able to repel’ Ukraine’s new weapons used to damage Kremlin’s air assets

Thursday 19 October 2023 10:35 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Vladimir Putin said Russia “will be able to repel” attacks by Ukraine’s new long range weapons supplied by the US, which Kyiv used to launch one of the most damaging attacks on the Kremlin’s air assets since the start of the war.

While the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, result in an additional threat, the weapon would not change the situation along the 1,500km (932 mile) frontline, Mr Putin told reporters in Beijing. He said his forces will be able to repel attacks by the top-tier missile system.

“For Ukraine, in this sense, there’s nothing good… it only prolongs the agony,” the Russian president said during his visit to China.

Putin says Russia ‘will be able to repel’ Ukraine’s new long range weapons

Journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as foreign agent- continued

Thursday 19 October 2023 10:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

“Alsu is a highly respected colleague, devoted wife, and dedicated mother to two children,” Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty Acting President Jeffrey Gedmin said.

“She needs to be released so she can return to her family immediately.”

Ms Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague with her family, was stopped at Kazan International Airport on June 2 after travelling to Russia for a family emergency on May 20, according to RFE/RL.

Officials at the airport confiscated her US and Russian passports and she was later fined for failing to register her US passport with Russian authorities.

She was waiting for her passports to be returned when the new charge of failing to register as a foreign agent was announced on Wednesday, RFE/RL said.

Ms Kurmasheva reported on ethnic minority communities in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan in Russia, including projects to protect and preserve the Tatar language and culture despite “increased pressure” on Tatars from Russian authorities, her employer said.

Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips after US-Russian tensions soared when Russia sent troops into Ukraine.

Journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as foreign agent

Thursday 19 October 2023 09:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A Russian-American journalist working for a US government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, according to her employer.

Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva is the second US journalist to be detained in Russia this year.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested for alleged spying in March.

Ms Kurmasheva, an editor with RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir service, is being held in a temporary detention centre, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, citing a Russian state news agency.

The Tatar-Inform agency posted video showing Ms Kurmasheva being marched into an administrative building accompanied by four men, two of whom held her arms and wore balaclavas.

Tatar-Inform said authorities accused Ms Kurmasheva of collecting information about Russia‘s military activities “in order to transmit information to foreign sources”, suggesting she received information about university teachers who were mobilised into the Russian army.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said she was charged with failing to register as a foreign agent in her capacity as a person collecting information on Russian military activities.

If convicted, Ms Kurmasheva could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, the New York-based press freedom group said.

Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv sees ‘partial success’ in south

Thursday 19 October 2023 09:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

At least 10 civilians in Ukraine were killed on Wednesday in Russian attacks as Ukrainian military officials confirmed battlefield gains in counteroffensive operations in the south of the warzone.

The death toll rose to five from four after a missile struck a residential building in southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

A 31-year-old woman was killed in a separate attack in central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk. Officials said she was a resident of the Obukhivka village. Another Russian attack claimed the lives of a man and woman in Kherson, officials said.

Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv advances in south

China’s Xi warns West against cutting ties as he welcomes ‘dear friend’ Putin to Beijing

Thursday 19 October 2023 09:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Xi Jinping warned the West against breaking economic ties with China on Wednesday as he welcomed his “dear friend” Vladimir Putin and other allies to a global summit in Beijing.

The Chinese president was hosting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum, part of its long-term plan to build global infrastructure and energy networks connecting Asia with Africa and Europe through overland and maritime routes.

Representatives of more than 130 countries – largely from the global South, but including Hungary – attended the forum.

Xi warns West against cutting ties as he welcomes ‘dear friend’ Putin to Beijing

Kyiv forces make ‘breakthrough’ on Dnipro river

Thursday 19 October 2023 09:02 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian forces have advanced on the Dnipro River onto the opposite bank of Kherson Oblast as they cross into Russian-occupied territory, Russian sources have claimed.

A prominent Russian milblogger ‘Rybar’ claimed Ukrainian troops pushed through Russian defences as they landed on the east bank of the Dnipro river.

He claimed they temporarily occupied the village of Poyma and positions on the northern outskirts of Pishchanivka on the afternoon of 17 October.

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the milblogger later claimed that Russian forces pushed Ukrainian forces back from these positions towards the Dnipro River.

He also claimed that a Ukrainian sabotage group is still operating in Pishchanivka as of the afternoon of October 18, according to ISW.

Russia carries out new overnight air strikes on Ukraine

Thursday 19 October 2023 08:22 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian forces carried out new air strikes overnight on targets in eastern, southern and northern Ukraine, Kyiv’s military said on Thursday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The air force said 17 different weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones, had been used to strike industrial, infrastructure, civilian and military objects.

Ukrainian forces shot down three drones and one cruise missile, it said.

Russia has carried out frequent air strikes since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, including hitting population centres far behind front lines.

Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians. It did not immediately comment on the latest reported air strikes.

Ukraine began a counteroffensive in the south and east in early June but has made only gradual progress against vast Russian minefields and heavily entrenched Russian forces.

Russian minister Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s war in Ukraine

Thursday 19 October 2023 07:39 , Arpan Rai

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for aiding Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine as he landed in Pyongyang for a two-day visit on Wednesday.

Mr Lavrov is in North Korea for meetings viewed as preparatory efforts ahead of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit as Moscow and Pyongyang slide closer in diplomatic cooperation against Ukraine and the West.

Moscow “deeply” valued Pyongyang’s “unwavering and principled support” for Russia in the war, Mr Lavrov said, speaking at a reception hosted by North Korean officials on Wednesday.

Russian minister Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s war in Ukraine

Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv sees ‘partial success’ in south

Thursday 19 October 2023 07:37 , Arpan Rai

At least 10 civilians in Ukraine were killed on Wednesday in Russian attacks as Ukrainian military officials confirmed battlefield gains in counteroffensive operations in the south of the warzone.

The death toll rose to five from four after a missile struck a residential building in southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

A 31-year-old woman was killed in a separate attack in central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk. Officials said she was a resident of the Obukhivka village. Another Russian attack claimed the lives of a man and woman in Kherson, officials said.

Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv advances in south

Kyiv’s troops cross Dnipro river in major advance, say Russian military bloggers

Thursday 19 October 2023 07:35 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian forces have pushed further south and crossed the crucial Dnipro river, Russian sources said. They added that Kyiv’s troops now have an established position on the opposite bank.

The river divides liberated Ukrainian territory on one bank and Russian-occupied land on the other, and for months it has served as part of the front line in southern Ukraine.

Yesterday, pro-Kremlin military bloggers claimed that the Ukrainian forces had created a bridgehead, captured a town and towards the nearby town of Pishchanivka.

According to the geolocated footage, Ukrainian forces advanced north of Pishchanivka, which is 3km from the Dnipro River and into Poyma.

“A prominent Russian milblogger claimed that two Ukrainian “assault groups” landed on the east bank of the Dnipro River and broke through initial Russian defenses, temporarily occupying all of Poyma and positions on the northern outskirts of Pishchanivka on the afternoon of 17 October,” the US based think-tank the Institute for the Study of War said.

The milblogger later claimed that Russian forces pushed Ukrainian forces back from these positions towards the Dnipro River.

A Ukrainian sabotage group is still operating in Pishchanivka as of Wednesday afternoon, the Russian military blogger said.

In August, Ukrainian forces broke through Russia’s defensive lines after launching a surprise raid across the Dnipro River amid clear signs of a major battle.

What are long-range ATACMS missiles?

Thursday 19 October 2023 06:00 , Holly Evans

Ukrainian special forces reported on Tuesday that they had struck two Russian military airfields, following the first-time deployment of long-range ballistic missiles supplied by the US.

The details of the weapons’ delivery has been shrouded in secrecy – unlike previous aid provided to Ukraine from the Biden Administration.

The missiles – which Ukraine has reportedly been petitioning the US to deliver for months – may prove key to helping Ukrainian forces in the months of conflict ahead.

Here’s what we know.

The US quietly delivered long-range missiles to Ukraine. Why the sudden secrecy?

Ukraine condemns Russia’s move to revoke ratification of nuclear testing

Thursday 19 October 2023 05:00 , Katy Clifton

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned steps by Russia to revoke ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and urged the international community to respond to Moscow’s “provocations”.

It said in a statement on its website that Russia had “already provoked a dangerous imbalance in the global architecture of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation” by suspending participation in the New START Treaty and with the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Experts reveal what the winter will bring for the Ukraine war – and why Putin will be banking on Trump

Thursday 19 October 2023 04:00 , Holly Evans

The Ukraine war may remain a “stalemate” throughout 2024, military experts have told The Independent, as hopes fade for a major breakthrough in this year’s counteroffensive against Russia.

Delays in Western military aid handed Moscow time to build heavily fortified defences which have largely held up against months of intense assaults – and constraints in ammunition and weaponry now mean both armies may struggle to sustain the current pace of the war, some analysts believe.

With the prospect of a Middle East conflict likely to further stretch Washington – Ukraine’s largest backer – ahead of a US presidential election in November 2024, Vladimir Putin’s strategy may now be to preserve the current state of the front line and “wait it out”, Western experts say.

Read more here

Experts on what winter brings for the Ukraine war – and why Putin is banking on Trump

ICYMI: Latest MoD intelligence update

Thursday 19 October 2023 03:00 , Jahbed Ahmed

In its latest update, the British Ministry of Defence said there had been a “significant increase” in activity from Russian troops on the Kupiansk-Lyman axis in the last two weeks.

“Russian shelling has intensified and elements of the Russian 6th and 25th Combined Arms Armies (CAA) and the 1st Guards Tank Army have conducted attacks, but with limited success,” its update said.

“It is highly likely that this activity is part of an ongoing Russian offensive being conducted on multiple axes in eastern Ukraine. The objective of Russian Ground Forces (RGF) on the Kupiansk-Lyman axis is probably to advance west to the Oskil River to create a buffer zone around Luhansk Oblast.

“RGF have built up combat capacity in the Kupiansk-Lyman direction in recent months. However, Ukrainian forces retain a significant defensive presence on this axis and it is highly unlikely RGF will achieve a major operational breakthrough.”

Theresa May: Traffickers targeting displaced people from Ukraine

Thursday 19 October 2023 00:01 , Katy Clifton

Theresa May has appeared on Princess Eugenie's anti-slavery podcast to raise awareness of the fight against modern slavery and warn that traffickers are targeting displaced people from Ukraine.

Mrs May, who is on the advisory board of Eugenie’s charity, has dedicated much of her political career to tackling slavery in the UK and overseas, but warned the situation was getting worse.

The former Tory leader, who launched a new Global Commission for Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking earlier this month, said: “It’s not just the political momentum has gone out, the problem’s got worse. And we saw in the conflict in Ukraine … the traffickers just picking people up.”

Eugenie praised Mrs May for her long-standing work on the issue, telling her: “That is so cool that you were prime minister and this was your biggest thing. I just wanted to say that because that is awesome.”

As Home Secretary, Mrs May introduced the Modern Slavery Act 2015 which brought together existing offences into one law and created new duties and powers to protect victims and prosecute offenders.