Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin meets military commanders as Kyiv ‘shoots down 15 drones’

Kyiv said it shot down 15 Russian drones overnight as the Kremlin targeted sites across Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Vladimir Putin’s troops used Iranian-made Shahed drones to attack targets in the country’s central, northern and western regions.

Seventeen drones were launched in total, Ukraine said, and it was not immediately clear what happened to the other two.

Elsewhere, the Russian president made a visit to his top military brass in Rostov-on-Don, the Kremlin said in a statement.

"Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the headquarters of the special military operation group in Rostov-on-Don,” the statement read.

The visit came after Ukraine claimed counteroffensive gains on the southeastern front.

The Kremlin added that Putin, Russia’s supreme commander-in-chief, listened to reports from Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Army in charge of Moscow’s operations in Ukraine, and other top military commanders and officers.

Key Points

• Putin visits top military brass in Rostov-on-Don,

• Ukraine shoots down 15 Russian drones

• Lavrov warns of ‘direct armed confrontation of nuclear powers’

• Moscow building damaged in drone attack

• Russian troops flee cluster bombs as Ukraine says it recaptured settlement

• Ukraine hits out at ‘ridiculous’ suggestion it could give up land to Russia

• Captured Ukrainian soldiers ‘tortured’ in Russian prison

• US warns Russia and North Korea against military ties

Putin visits top military brass in Rostov-on-Don

08:37 , Matt Mathers

President Vladimir Putin visited the commander of Russia’s operation in Ukraine and other top military brass, the Kremlin said on Saturday, a meeting that came after Ukraine claimed counteroffensive gains on the southeastern front.

"Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the headquarters of the special military operation group in Rostov-on-Don," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Russia, which launched its invasion in Ukraine in February 2022, calls its actions a special military operation.

The Kremlin added that Putin, Russia’s supreme commander-in-chief, listened to reports from Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Army in charge of Moscow’s operations in Ukraine, and other top military commanders and officers.

The meeting came after Ukraine, whose counteroffensive to recapture land taken by Russia in the first months of the war has been slower than expected, said it liberated a small village along the frontline, its first since July.

The Kremlin did not provide any additional details of the meeting and it was not clear when the meeting took place. Videos published by the RIA state news agency showed Gerasimov greeting Putin in what appeared to be night-time and leading him into a building after a brief handshake.

Ukraine shoots down 15 drones overnight

08:25 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine has said it shot down 15 of 17 attack drones launched by Russia overnight.

Kyiv said the aircraft were Iranian-made Shahed drones targeting Ukraine’s northern, central and western regions.

It was not immediately clear what happened to the two drones that were not downed.

The reports could not immediately be independently verified.

It was not immediately known what objects and areas Russia targeted in its strikes.

Ukraine forces contine making gains in the south

07:30 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine’s forces have continued to make gains in the south despite most of the front lines in the war elsewhere remaining static, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said.

The MoD said Kyiv’s troops made progress along the course of the Mokri Yaly river and had secured the village of Urozhaine in the face of “stiff Russian resistance”.

“In the north, Russian forces have continued probing attacks in the Kupiansk area but achieve no significant advances,” the MoD added.

ICYMI: Canada imposes sanctions on Russian individuals, entities over ‘human rights violations’

07:15 , Shweta Sharma

Canada is imposing sanctions on 15 Russian individuals and three entities in what Ottawa said was a response to rising levels of human rights violations and violence faced by political opponents and critics in Russia, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

The sanctioned individuals and entities are senior officials of the Russian government, judiciary and investigative committee, as well as federally funded courts, the ministry said in a statement.

Russia bans 54 British nationals from entering the country

06:45 , Shweta Sharma

Russia has banned entry to 54 British nationals, including the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan, in a tit-for-tat move to UK sanctions against its citizens and enterprises, the foreign ministry said yesterday.

The ICC issued arrest warrants in March for Russian president Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, charges Moscow denies.

Moscow also added Britain’s minister of state for defence Annabel Goldie as well as a number of correspondents from the BBC, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph to the travel ban list.

“In response to London’s aggressive implementation of hostile anti-Russian policy involving the active use of a unilateral sanctions mechanism with regard to our citizens and domestic economic operators, a decision was made to expand Russia’s stop-list by including representatives from the UK’s political circles, power structures, professional legal community and press corps (a total of 54 individuals),” the ministry’s statement said.

Russia shoots down Ukraine-launched missile over Crimea, defence ministry claims

06:15 , Shweta Sharma

Russian defence ministry claimed its air defence forces shot down a Ukraine-launched missile over the Crimean Peninsula in an overnight attack.

There were no casualties and no damage, the ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine preparing something ‘powerful’ to strengthen army and state - Zelensky

05:45 , Shweta Sharma

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said in a cryptic message that Ukraine is preparing “powerful things” for their warriors and the state.

“We are preparing powerful things for Ukraine, strengthening our state, our warriors,” he said in his nightly video address.

“Today and this week in general, it is the main task. Weapons for our warriors. New opportunities for our defense. New support packages from our partners.”

He said they are doing everything to prepare for Ukraine’s Independence Day on 24 August to take “another step towards the circle of the strongest states in the world”.

Lavrov warns US and Nato risking a situation of ‘direct armed confrontation of nuclear powers'

04:57 , Shweta Sharma

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that possession of nuclear weapons is to protect Russia from security threats and the US and Nato allies are only escalating a situation of direct armed conflict of nuclear powers.

“The possession of nuclear arms is today the only possible response to some of significant external threats to security of our country,” Mr Lavrov said in an interview for the state-owned magazine The International Affairs, published early today on the foreign ministry website.

He said Nato allies and the US are risking “a situation of direct armed confrontation of nuclear powers”.

“We believe such a development should be prevented. That’s why we have to remind about the existence of high military and political risks and send sobering signals to our opponents,” he said.

Last month, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow would have to use a nuclear weapon if Ukraine‘s counteroffensive against Russian troops was a success.

Former Putin adviser labelled ‘foreign agent'

04:50 , Shweta Sharma

Former Kremlin economic adviser Andrei Illarionov was added to a registry of foreign agents, Russia’s justice ministry said yesterday, a designation the government applies to opponents.

People on the list may be closely monitored and are required to provide detailed information about their sources of income, expenses and a range of activities to the government or risk prosecution.

Mr Illarionov, who resigned from the Kremlin in 2005 and moved to the United States, is critical of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has called Russian policies of recent years “a catastrophe”.

The Russian justice ministry said that Mr Illarionov “spread false information” about Russian authorities and their decisions.

Mr Illarionov did not immediately comment on the designation.

Ukraine war troops death and injuries near 500,000 - report

04:26 , Shweta Sharma

The number of Russian and Ukrainian troops killed or injured in the war has hit half a million mark, New York Times reported, citing US officials, a toll representing the cost of war going on for 18 months.

Russian military casualties are nearing 300,000, including 120,000 deaths and 170,000 to 180,000 injured troops, officials said.

Ukrainian casualties are close to 70,000 killed and 100,000 to 120,000 wounded, officials said.

But the American officials warned that determining casualty numbers continued to pose challenges due to suspicions that Moscow habitually downplays its military fatalities and casualties, while Kyiv refrains from sharing official statistics.

Nevertheless, they noted that the level of bloodshed has escalated in eastern Ukraine this year and has maintained a consistent pace as an ongoing counteroffensive, now almost three months old, unfolds.

Analysts estimate that Ukraine maintains a military force of approximately 500,000 personnel, encompassing active-duty, reserve, and paramilitary troops. In contrast, Russia boasts a force nearly three times larger, totaling 1,330,000 active-duty, reserve, and paramilitary personnel, a significant portion of which belongs to the Wagner Group.

US agrees to allow transfer of Denmark’s F16 jets to Ukraine

04:09 , Shweta Sharma

Giving a potentially major boost to Ukraine’s arsenal, the US has allowed approval for the Netherlands and Denmark to deliver F16s to Ukraine, officials in Washington and Europe said Friday.

It was not immediately clear when the first F16s might enter the conflict, but Ukrainian pilots will first have to undertake at least six months of training on the aircraft, according to officials.Ukraine has long pleaded for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge. It recently launched a long-anticipated counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s forces without air cover, placing its troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery.

Air Force General James Hecker, commander of US air forces in Europe and Africa, told reporters in Washington he did not expect the F16s to be a game-changer for Ukraine yet. Getting F16 squadrons ready for battle could take “four or five years,” he said.

But in eastern Ukraine, attack helicopter pilots welcomed the news. They said Russia has a clear advantage in the skies, but the introduction of better fighter jets could dramatically shift the balance of power in Kyiv’s way.

Putin holds meeting with military commanders of Russian operation in Ukraine

03:50 , Shweta Sharma

Russian president held meeting with top military brass at the command post of its special military operation in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, state media said early on Saturday.

“The head of the state heard reports from Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and a number of military commanders,” the Kremlin said.

The statement did not clarify the reason for the meeting. But state news agency said he had been repeatedly visiting the post.

Footage appears to show moment drone attack hits building in central Moscow

03:15 , Maanya Sachdeva

Footage purports to show the moment a drone attack struck Moscow.

Russian officials accused Ukraine of launching an attack on a building in Moscow’s business district on Friday 18 August.

Unverified footage on social media appeared to show an explosion next to recognisable Moscow skyscrapers.

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defences had shot down the drone with its debris falling on the city’s Expo Center.

Ukraine did not confirm the attack, but officials in Kyiv have never formally acknowledged launching attacks on targets in Moscow.

Watch the video here:

ICYMI: Ukraine war troop deaths and wounded nearing 500,000, say US officials

02:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

Russia’s military casualties are approaching 300,000 which dwarfs those of Ukraine which has so far experienced at least 170,000, say officials in Washington.

Full story here:

Ukraine war troop deaths and wounded nearing 500,000, say US officials

ICYMI: What are hypersonic missiles and how powerful are they?

01:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

Russia is in the process of equipping its new nuclear submarines with hypersonic Zircon missiles, the head of Russia’s largest shipbuilder has said.\

Sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles have a range of 560 miles and can travel at several times the speed of sound, making them extremely difficult to defend against them.

Here’s everything you need to know about “the next generation of arms”:

What are hypersonic missiles and how powerful are they?

Businessman Shvidler loses court bid to overturn UK sanctions

Saturday 19 August 2023 00:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

A billionaire ally of Russian businessman Roman Abramovich lost his attempt at London’s High Court on Friday to overturn British sanctions imposed on him after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes magazine at $1.6bn, was sanctioned in March 2022 on the grounds of his association with former Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.

His two private jets were also seized.

The case is the first substantive challenge to British sanctions imposed following the February 2022 invasion, as Western governments target people and businesses over their alleged connections to the Kremlin and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The measures have prompted legal challenges from those who say they have been unfairly targeted.

After the High Court‘s ruling to reject Shvidler’s challenge, his lawyer Michael O’Kane said the oil tycoon – a dual British-US citizen – would seek to appeal Friday’s judgment “at the earliest opportunity”.

“He has never been a citizen of Russia, has not visited Russia for more than 15 years and has been critical of the Russian government’s actions in Ukraine,” O’Kane said in a statement.

Britain’s Foreign Office said it had “won comprehensively” against Shvidler’s challenge.

Britain alone has sanctioned about 1,600 people including Abramovich, who is separately challenging sanctions imposed by the EU following the invasion of Ukraine and frozen more than £18bn ($23bn) in assets.

ICYMI: Ukraine claims responsibility for Crimean Bridge drone attack

Friday 18 August 2023 23:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ukraine’s security services have claimed responsibility for an attack on the vital bridge connecting Crimea to Russia last month.

The country’s intelligence bureau, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said it used remotely controlled sea drones carrying 850kg of explosives to target the Crimean Bridge, a critical supply link built by Vladimir Putin in 2018.

The drone strike on 17 July damaged the bridge and killed two civilians, according to Russian officials.

Full story here:

Ukraine’s intelligence service claims responsibility for Crimean Bridge drone attack

One dead after Russia shells village near Kherson, official says

Friday 18 August 2023 22:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

One person was killed and two were injured as a result of Russia shelling of a village near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Friday, the prosecutor general’s office said.

The prosecutors did not provide details of the incident and did not name the village, but said some private houses were damaged.

In a separate case, the prosecutors said, four people were injured after Russia shelled the residential area of the city of Chasiv Yar, located in the Donetsk region close to Bakhmut.

Romanian PM hopes 60 per cent of Ukrainian grain exports will go via Romania

Friday 18 August 2023 21:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

Roughly 60 per cent of Ukraine‘s grain exports could transit through neighbouring Romania after Russia quit a UN-brokered safe passage deal through the Black Sea, Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday.

Ukraine is one of the world’s top grain exporters and Russia has been attacking its agricultural and port infrastructure after refusing to extend the year-old safe passage corridor.

Even before the deal fell through, Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta had emerged as Ukraine‘s biggest alternative shipping route.

Ukraine shipped 8.1 million tonnes of grain through Constanta in the first seven months of the year, and 8.6 million tonnes overall in 2022.

“We hope that over 60 per cent of the total volume of Ukrainian grain exports will transit Romania,” Ciolacu said after meeting Ukraine‘s prime minister Denys Shmyhal in Bucharest.

He said Romania was trying to improve its connecting infrastructure by rail, road, river and sea, as well as at border crossings.

Ukrainian forces 'could fail to retake strategic city of Melitopol’

Friday 18 August 2023 20:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ukrainian forces do not appear likely to reach and retake the Russian-occupied strategic southeastern city of Melitopol during their counteroffensive aimed at winning back territory from Moscow’s army, a US official said on Friday.

The assessment was first reported by the Washington Post.

The US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, was citing an intelligence report on Melitopol but the prediction is largely in line with Washington’s view that the counteroffensive is going slower than expected.

The official added that despite the report and limited progress towards Melitopol, Washington believed it was still possible to change the gloomy outlook.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday declined to comment but said there had been a number of analyses about the war in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022 and many of them had changed as it unfolded.

Melitopol, which had a pre-war population of about 150,000, has been under Russian control since March 2022 and has roads and railways used by Russian troops to transport supplies to areas they occupy.

Ukraine already preparing for ‘worst-case scenario’ winter siege, says UK

Friday 18 August 2023 19:46 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ukraine is already stockpiling fuel ahead of another challenging winter under siege from Russia, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.

Full report here:

Ukraine already preparing for ‘worst-case scenario’ winter siege, says UK

Russia bans 54 British nationals from entering the country

Friday 18 August 2023 19:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

Russia has banned entry to 54 British nationals, including the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan, in response to UK sanctions against its citizens and enterprises, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

The ICC issued arrest warrants in March for Russian president Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, charges Moscow denies.

Moscow also added Britain’s Minister of State for Defence Annabel Goldie as well as a number of correspondents from the BBC, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph to the travel ban list.

ICYMI: China's defense minister promises to boost cooperation with Russian ally Belarus

Friday 18 August 2023 18:46 , Maanya Sachdeva

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu on Thursday visited Belarus and said his country would increase military cooperation with Russia’s neighbor, where Moscow is deploying tactical nuclear weapons.

Full story here:

China's defense minister promises to boost cooperation with Russian ally Belarus

What each of the Republican candidates have said about the war in Ukraine

Friday 18 August 2023 18:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ahead of the first Republican primary debate, to be held on 23 August and which may or may not include Mr Trump, here’s what the qualifying candidates have said about Ukraine:

What each of the Republican candidates have said about the war in Ukraine

Canada imposes sanctions on Russian individuals, entities over ‘human rights violations'

Friday 18 August 2023 17:46 , Maanya Sachdeva

Canada is imposing sanctions on 15 Russian individuals and three entities in what Ottawa said was a response to rising levels of human rights violations and violence faced by political opponents and critics in Russia, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

The sanctioned individuals and entities are senior officials of the Russian government, judiciary and investigative committee, as well as federally funded courts, the ministry said in a statement.

Russia shuts down human rights group that preserved the legacy of Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov

Friday 18 August 2023 17:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

A Russian court on Friday ordered the liquidation of a human rights organisation that preserved the legacy of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov, in the latest move in a widespread crackdown on dissent.Sakharov, who died in 1989, was a key figure in developing the Soviet Union’s hydrogen bomb program but later become renowned for his activism in promoting human rights and freedom of conscience.

He was awarded the Nobel prize in 1975 but was not allowed to travel to Norway to receive it.

In 1980 he was sent into internal exile, which lasted six years.

The organization founded in his honor operated the Sakharov Center museum and archives in Moscow.

Authorities declared it a “foreign agent” in 2014 and this year ordered the eviction of the center from its premises.

The court ordered the organisation liquidated at the request of the Justice Ministry, Russian news agencies reported.

Independent journalists, critics, activists and opposition figures in Russia have come under increasing pressure from the government in recent years, which has intensified significantly during the conflict in Ukraine.

Multiple independent news outlets and rights groups have been shut down, labeled as “foreign agents,” or outlawed as “undesirable.”

Activists and critics of the Kremlin have also faced criminal charges.

Russia arrests the leader of a prominent election watchdog

Friday 18 August 2023 16:46 , AP

A judge in Moscow has formally arrested and detained one of the leaders of a prominent independent election monitoring group on suspicion of being involved with an “undesirable” organisation, his lawyer has said.

The case against Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of Russia’s leading election watchdog Golos, is the latest in the months-long crackdown on Kremlin critics and rights activists ratcheted up by Vladimir Putin’s regime after sending troops into Ukraine.

Mr Melkonyants was charged and detained Thursday in Moscow and appeared in the city’s Basmanny District Court on Friday, his lawyer told The Associated Press. Russian media report he has been detained until 17 October, and faces up to six years in prison if convicted.

Breaking: Ukraine war troop deaths and wounded nearing 500,000, say US officials

Friday 18 August 2023 16:25 , Andy Gregory

The number of troops killed or wounded in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion is approaching 500,000, according to US officials, in a harrowing estimate not accounting for civilian deaths.

Russia’s military casualties are approaching 300,000, including as many as 120,000 deaths, while may Ukraine have lost 70,000 troops, with between 100,000 and 120,000 injured, officials in Washington were reported as saying on Friday by the New York Times.

You can refresh the story below for updates:

Ukraine war troop deaths and wounded nearing 500,000, say US officials

Kyiv and Bucharest sign new agreement to boost Ukraine grain exports via Romania

Friday 18 August 2023 15:50 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine and Romania have signed an agreement to work together to boost Kyiv’s export of grain through Romania, after Russia pulled out of the deal enabling ships safe passage through the Black Sea.

The accord was signed during a trip by Ukrainian premier Denys Shmyhal to Bucharest for talks with his Romanian counterpart Marcel Ciolacu.

The two leaders discussed ways to ramp up Ukraine’s key grain exports, and improve infrastructure for transportation across river, rail, road, sea, including at border crossings. Ukraine’s economy is heavily dependent on farming, and its grain is crucial for world supplies of wheat, barley, and sunflower oil.

Mr Ciolacu told reporters after the meeting that he hopes Romania can transport more than 60 per cent of Ukraine’s grain exports.

US extends temporary protected status for Ukraine for further 18 months

Friday 18 August 2023 15:32 , Andy Gregory

The United States has extended its temporary protected status for Ukraine for 18 months and made other changes which would enable additional eligible Ukrainian nationals to apply for the status, Washington has said.

The extension will be in effect from 20 October until 19 April 2025, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

Nearly two thirds of Ukraine grain exports ‘could transit through Romania'

Friday 18 August 2023 15:21 , Andy Gregory

Nearly two thirds of Ukraine’s grain exports could transit through Romania after Russia pulled out of the deal enabling ships to safely carry grain across the Black Sea, Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu has said.

Even before the deal fell through, Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta had emerged as Ukraine’s biggest alternative shipping route, with Kyiv shipping 8.1 million tonnes of grain through the port in the first seven months of the year, and 8.6 million tonnes in 2022.

“We hope that over 60 per cent of the total volume of Ukrainian grain exports will transit Romania,” Mr Ciolacu said after meeting Ukraine’s premier Denys Shmyhal in Bucharest.

He said Romania was trying to improve its connecting infrastructure by rail, road, river and sea, as well as at border crossings.

Earlier this month, Romania’s transport minister and former PM Sorin Grindeanu said Bucharest aimed to double the monthly transit capacity of Ukrainian grain to Constanta to 4 million tonnes in the coming months.

Inside the sports bars of Ukraine where Chelsea and Liverpool fans find escapism

Friday 18 August 2023 13:59 , Andy Gregory

Nicolai could not make it to the Kyiv bar to watch the game between Chelsea and Liverpool. “Really sorry to miss this, playing an away game against the Russians in Bakhmut, a draw at the moment, but things should change when we bring on the subs,” he messaged.

There was a three-line whip to attend the televised game for members of the Chelsea supporters club in the Ukrainian capital on what was their first gathering since the start of the Russian invasion.

But serving as a soldier on the “meatgrinder” frontline in Donbas was an acceptable excuse for absence. Some other members were also away fighting as this brutal war continues into its 18th month with little chance of peace breaking out anytime soon.

Our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta reports:

Inside the sports bars of Ukraine where Premier League fans find escapism

Watch: Footage appears to show moment drone attack hits building in central Moscow

Friday 18 August 2023 13:28 , Andy Gregory

Moscow ‘bans multiple Moldovan officials from entering Russia'

Friday 18 August 2023 13:01 , Andy Gregory

Moscow has banned several unnamed Moldovan officials from entering Russia, its foreign ministry has been cited as saying by Russian state news agencies.

Relations between Russia and Moldova, which has a pro-European government, have worsened sharply since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian spacecraft adjusts moon orbit in preparation for landing

Friday 18 August 2023 12:45 , Reuters

Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft has adjusted its orbit as it prepares to attempt its first landing near the south pole of the moon, space agency Roscosmos said.

“Today at 09:20 Moscow time (0620 GMT), the propulsion system of the automatic station performed an orbit correction lasting 40 seconds. Its goal is to provide the best conditions for the subsequent construction of a pre-landing orbit,” Roscosmos said in a statement.

It said the adjustment went smoothly and the spacecraft’s onboard systems and communications were all functioning normally. Russian space chief Yuri Borisov said last week that Luna-25 aimed to land on 21 August.

Much is riding on the success of Russia’s first lunar mission in 47 years, with Moscow attempting to prove that it is still a leader in space exploration despite the huge costs of the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions aimed at curbing its access to technology.

Full report: Xi Jinping to attend BRICS summit as warrant-hit Vladimir Putin to remain in Russia

Friday 18 August 2023 11:58 , Maanya Sachdeva

Chinese president Xi Jinping will attend next week’s summit of the BRICS nations in Johannesburg, to be followed by a state visit to South Africa, Beijing’s foreign ministry has said.

China is a core member of the BRICS nations, which also include South Africa, Brazil, India, and Russia.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has decided not to attend the summit of because of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for him, according to South African authorities.

Coalition of 11 countries to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets

Friday 18 August 2023 11:29 , Andy Gregory

A coalition of 11 countries will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets later this month in Denmark, officials have said, after Washington approved sending the aircraft to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands as soon as training is completed.

Denmark’s acting defence minister Troels Poulsen said in July that the country hoped to see “results” from the training in early 2024.

Nato members Denmark and the Netherlands have been leading international efforts to train pilots as well as support staff, maintain aircraft and ultimately enable Ukraine to obtain F-16s for use in its war with Russia.

Russian billionaire loses UK court bid to overturn sanctions

Friday 18 August 2023 11:16 , Andy Gregory

A billionaire ally of Russian businessman Roman Abramovich on Friday lost his attempt at London’s High Court to overturn British sanctions imposed on him after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes magazine at $1.6bn, was sanctioned in March 2022 on the grounds of his association with former Chelsea Football Club owner Abramovich. His two private jets were also seized.

“In my view, it cannot properly be said that the Secretary of State has failed to strike a fair balance between the rights of Mr Shvidler and his family and the interests of the community,” the judge Neil Garnham said in his ruling as he dismissed Shvidler’s challenge.

The case is the first substantive challenge to British sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion.

ICYMI: Ukraine already preparing for ‘worst-case scenario’ winter siege, says UK

Friday 18 August 2023 10:33 , Andy Gregory

The UK’s Ministry of Defence has said that Ukraine is already stockpiling fuel ahead of another challenging winter under siege from Russia, my colleague Maroosha Muzaffar reports.

The ministry said in its intelligence report that “despite the consistent pressures of war, Ukrainian efforts to build up fuel stockpiles will likely be successful in ensuring that it will have sufficient fuel reserves during the approaching winter period”.

It also noted that “Ukraine has been effective in mobilising its mining sector to maintain output, ensuring a continuous supply of coal is available for thermal power and heating plants in the winter, with substantial gas stocks providing a further reserve”.

“Despite Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure likely continuing this winter, Ukraine demonstrated last winter that it has the skilled workforce and expertise needed to operate and maintain the power network, even in wartime conditions,” it further noted in the defence intelligence report.

Even as British analysts acknowledged the likelihood of Russia resuming attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in winter, they highlighted the country’s ability to sustain its power network in the face of wartime challenges, the Kyiv Independent reported.

Ukraine already preparing for ‘worst-case scenario’ winter siege, says UK

Latest North Korean missile sparks new debate over possible Russian role

Friday 18 August 2023 10:15 , Reuters

North Korea’s latest Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile – its first to use solid rocket fuel – has ignited new debate over a possible Russian role in the nuclear-armed state’s dramatic missile development.

In a report published on Thursday by the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Theodore Postol, professor emeritus at MIT, argued that the Hwasong-18 is likely the result of technical cooperation sourced to Russia.

The Hwasong-18 has been tested twice, including on 12 July, in what was the longest flight time ever for a North Korean missile test. It is the country’s first ICBM to use solid propellants, which can enable faster and easier deployment of missiles during war. The missile was first flown in April.

“The sudden appearance of these advanced capabilities is difficult to explain without cooperation from the Russian government and its scientists,” Professor Postol wrote, saying visual similarities suggest Russian may have decided to transfer an “advanced 50-ton solid propellant ICBM, the Topol-M, also known as the SS-27”, to North Korea.

Russia and North Korea have recently called for closer military ties but North Korea has denied having any “arms dealings” with Russia. Russia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to the new report.

Civilian killed in Russian shelling in Donetsk, Ukrainian official claims

Friday 18 August 2023 09:56 , Andy Gregory

One person has been killed and two injured in Russian shelling in Donetsk, the head of Ukraine’s military district there claims.

Two people were injured in the village of Katerynivka, where Russia shelled two streets, while one person died in an attack 75 miles away on the village of Bohdanivka, Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram.

Watch: The Killers booed after bringing Russian fan on stage during Georgia concert

Friday 18 August 2023 09:40 , Andy Gregory

Xi Jinping to attend BRICS summit in person – as warrant-hit Vladimir Putin to remain in Moscow

Friday 18 August 2023 08:42 , Andy Gregory

China’s president Xi Jinping will attend the BRICS leaders’ meeting and visit South Africa next week, Beijing has said.

Leaders from the five BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg next week to discuss how to turn a loose club of nations accounting for a quarter of the global economy into a geopolitical force which can challenge the West’s dominance in world affairs.

Russian president Vladimir Putin, who faces an international arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, will dial in by video call instead of attending in person.

Expansion is expected to be high on the agenda, as some 40 nations have shown interest in joining, either formally or informally, according to South Africa. They include Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Egypt.

Russia and China holding joint naval exercises in East China Sea, says Moscow

Friday 18 August 2023 08:25 , Andy Gregory

Russian and Chinese navy ships have been jointly patrolling the Pacific Ocean and holding naval exercises in the East China Sea, Russia’s Defence Ministry has said.

“A detachment of ships of the Russian Navy and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy is currently operating in the waters of the East China Sea and has travelled more than 6,400 nautical miles since the start of patrolling,” the ministry said in a statement.