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Russia-Ukraine war latest: Kyiv uses US rockets on bridges in Kursk as Putin sends in priests to bless firemen
Ukraine has destroyed Russian pontoon bridges with US-made weapons to defend its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, officials said.
Kyiv said US-manufactured HIMARS rocket systems had been used as part of operations to disrupt Russian logistics in the Kursk region, in Ukraine’s first official statement acknowledging its use of the weapon during its incursion.
Washington has not commented directly on the use of US-made weapons in the Kursk region, while saying US policies have not changed and Ukraine was defending itself from Russia’s ongoing all-out invasion.
A video posted by Ukrainian special forces showed strikes on several pontoon crossings in Kursk region. “Where do Russian pontoon bridges ‘disappear’ in the Kursk region? Operators… accurately destroy them,” Ukraine‘s Special Operations Forces said.
Meanwhile in Russia, Orthodox priests deployed an icon and blessed fire engines at the scene of a huge fuel depot blaze that has been raging since a Ukrainian drone attack struck the facility on Sunday.
More than 500 firefighters are tackling the Rostov blaze, with at least 41 forced to seek medical care.
Key Points
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Russian priests bless fire trucks tackling massive blaze caused by Kyiv
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Ukraine says it hits pontoon bridges in Russia with US-made weapons
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Footage shows Ukrainian destruction of Russian pontoon crossings in Kursk
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Putin ally says West risks global war over Ukraine
Russian priests bless fire trucks tackling massive blaze caused by Ukrainian attack
05:19 , Arpan Rai
Orthodox priests deployed an icon at the scene of a huge fuel depot fire – raging since Sunday in southern after a Ukrainian drone attack – hoping it would help tame its flames, the local diocese said yesterday.
The icon of the Unburnt Bush is considered by Christians in Russia as a talisman against fire.
The fire at the Proletarsk fuel depot in Rostov has been burning since Sunday despite a major operation by Russian firefighters to douse it.
“The (priests) spoke with the firefighters and blessed all the fire equipment,” the local Volgodonsk eparchy told Reuters in emailed comments.
An image released yesterday showed two Orthodox priests standing in a field on either side of a wooden stand holding the large icon as a thick plume of black and grey smoke rose into the sky from the depot behind them.
Local people have complained on social media about how polluted the air has become due to the fire. The authorities have said the level of harmful substances in the air is within permitted norms.
Around 20 of 74 storage tanks were on fire, the RIA news agency reported on Tuesday, citing local administration boss Valery Gornich. More than 500 firefighters were tackling the blaze, he said.
Vasily Golubev, the regional governor, said on Monday that 41 firefighters had sought medical treatment, including five who had been placed in emergency care.
UN nuclear watchdog chief to visit Kursk nuclear plant at end of August, says Russia
05:00 , Alexander Butler
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has confirmed he is ready to visit the Kursk nuclear power plant in Russia at the end of August, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
Russia’s Defence Ministry last week accused Ukraine of planning to attack the Kursk plant as part of its ongoing incursion into the Russian region, an assertion Kyiv denied.
“We expect that an understanding of the danger that Ukrainian provocations against Russian nuclear power plants represent will prompt the IAEA’s management to take concrete action to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants in Zaporizhzhia and Kursk,” Zakharova said at a weekly news briefing.
Kyiv says inflicted losses on Russian troops in clashes in east Ukraine
04:52 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian forces came under repeated attack yesterday around the town of Pokrovsk, where Russian forces are pressing for a breakthrough, military officials said but added that they were inflicting losses on the attackers.
In a statement, the military general staff said there were 46 Russian attacks on the Pokrovsk front over the past 24 hours; of these, 44 were repelled and two were still underway as of 7pm GMT.
It also said 238 Russian troops were killed or wounded in the same area yesterday. It did not disclose Ukrainian losses.
Scholz says Ukraine did not consult Germany over Kursk
04:42 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine had not consulted Berlin about its shock incursion into Russia, said German chancellor Olaf Scholz, adding that he expected the military operation to be limited in terms of both time and territory.
“Ukraine has prepared its military operation in the Kursk region very secretly and without feedback, which is certainly due to the situation,” Mr Scholz said. “This is a very limited operation in terms of space and probably also in terms of time.”
Separately Mr Scholz said Germany would continue to be what he said was Ukraine’s biggest supporter in Europe after controversy in recent days over what some have called wavering German support for Kyiv over domestic politicking.
Speaking at a press conference after talks with Moldovan president Maia Sandu in Chisinau, Mr Scholz said Berlin was monitoring further developments around the incursion closely.
Ukrainian leaders have cast the attack as proof that their military can still succeed in offensive operations, and still surprise. Russia has vowed to repel the incursion.
Ukraine says it hits pontoon bridges in Russia with US-made weapons
04:19 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine said it had destroyed Russian pontoon bridges with US-made weapons to defend its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, while Moscow said its forces had halted Kyiv’s advance there and gained ground in eastern Ukraine.
Kyiv has announced a string of battlefield successes since it crossed unexpectedly into Kursk region on 6 August. Moscow has steadily inched forward in eastern Ukraine, pressuring troops worn down by two and a half years of fighting.
The Ukrainian statement said US-manufactured HIMARS rocket systems had been used as part of operations to disrupt Russian logistics in the Kursk region, Kyiv’s first official statement acknowledging its use of the weapon during its incursion.
Washington has not commented directly on the use of US-made weapons in Kursk region, while saying US policies have not changed and Ukraine was defending itself from Russia’s ongoing all-out invasion.
A video posted by Ukrainian special forces showed strikes on several pontoon crossings in Kursk region, where Russia has reported that Ukraine has destroyed at least three bridges over the Seym river as it seeks to hold the captured land.
“Where do Russian pontoon bridges ‘disappear’ in the Kursk region? Operators… accurately destroy them,” Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said on Telegram.
Ukraine minister says Kursk attack aims to protect border area
04:11 , Arpan Rai
Kyiv’s attack on Russia’s Kursk region was intended to protect Ukraine, the country’s defence minister Rustem Umerov told a visiting delegation of US Congressmen.
Referring to Kursk region, Mr Umerov said in a statement released by his ministry: “Our goals there are to clear the border from Russian military threats and make enemy shelling and attacks on our towns and villages impossible.”
Watch: Ukraine hits second bridge in Russia’s Kursk region
04:00 , Alexander Butler
Putin ally Chemezov says West risks global war over Ukraine
03:00 , Alexander Butler
A close ally of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin warned the US risked triggering a global war if it continued to “provoke” the conflict in Ukraine.
Sergei Chemezov, CEO of the Rostec corporation which supplies many of Russia’s arms for the war, said the world could be drawn into a mass conflict and Moscow was ready for confrontation.
“In a situation where the West, led by the United States, provokes war, we must be ready. The third year of the special operation is under way. Russia feels confident,” Mr Chemezov said.
“The further it goes, the greater the risk that the world will be drawn into a global conflict. It looks strange, but Western countries do not seem to understand just how fraught this is for them.”
Watch: Zelensky criticises UK for ‘slowing down’ support for fight against Russia
02:00 , Alexander Butler
Zelensky has humiliated Putin, but what good can his ‘buffer zone’ do?
01:00 , Alexander Butler
Zelensky has humiliated Putin, but what good can his ‘buffer zone’ do?
Ukraine’s soldiers seek revenge against Putin’s forces in Kursk
Thursday 22 August 2024 00:01 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine’s soldiers seek revenge against Russia in Kursk: ‘We laughed on enemy soil’
The Ukraine border village facing up to Russia’s wrath over Kursk attack
Wednesday 21 August 2024 23:00 , Alexander Butler
The Ukraine border village facing up to Russia’s wrath over Kursk attack
Switzerland says to join further EU sanctions against Russia
Wednesday 21 August 2024 22:00 , Alexander Butler
Switzerland’s government said on Wednesday it has decided to join further European Union measures in the bloc’s 14th sanctions package against Russia.
The measures contain a clarification of the bans on Russian diamonds, which are thus being internationally harmonized, the Swiss Federal Council said in a statement.
It said it had also extended deadlines for granting exemptions regarding the withdrawal of investments from Russia.
Why is Ukraine destroying bridges in Russia’s Kursk?
Wednesday 21 August 2024 21:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine has damaged or destroyed three bridges in the Russian region of Kursk as they attempt to consolidate positions gained during their ambitious cross-border assult and cut off supplies to Moscow’s troops.
The first bridge was destroyed in the village of Glushkovo, around eight miles west of Ukrainian troops inside of Russia, on Friday.
The second was destroyed on Saturday in the village of Zvannoye, a further five miles westward.
Why is Ukraine destroying bridges in Russia’s Kursk?
Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained
Wednesday 21 August 2024 20:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukrainian forces have captured hundreds of square miles of territory inside Russia in one of the most significant incursions into Russia since the Secind World War.
Thousands of Ukrainian troops smashed over the border from Ukraine’s Sumy region into the neighbouring Russian Kursk region on 6 August.
Since then, Kyiv’s forces have claimed to have taken more land in a fortnight than Russia has in Ukraine during this entire calendar year.
Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained
What is happening in Ukraine’s east frontline as Putin’s forces advance?
Wednesday 21 August 2024 19:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukrainian forces are advancing through Russia’s Kursk region as part of their historic cross-border assault, concentrating their resources on this attack but Moscow’s forces are doing the same in eastern Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted this week the situation on Ukraine’s eastern frontline was “difficult”. Ukraine’s general staff, meanwhile, reported that there had been dozens of combat clashes on several hot points of the frontline in that direction.
As reports surface that Ukraine may have shifted some military resources from the eastern Donetsk region, the site of the most intense fighting in Ukraine, to help prosecute their Kursk incursion, concerns abound that such a move could prove a fatal miscalculation.
What is happening in Ukraine’s east frontline as Putin’s forces advance?
Russian soldier blows up military base before defecting to Ukraine
Wednesday 21 August 2024 18:00 , Alexander Butler
A Russian soldier blew up his assault unit’s headquarters before escaping and defecting to Ukraine, Kyiv has revealed.
The soldier, an FPV drone pilot identified only by his call-sign “Silver”, said the operation was meticulously planned with Ukraine’s military intelligence and the Freedom of Russia Legion, a pro-Kyiv Russian partisan group.
Footage showed the moment Silver threw a grenade into a basement where his commander and fellow officers were sleeping, before he disappeared amidst the confusion.
Ukraine says it hits pontoon bridges in Russia, Moscow reports gains
Wednesday 21 August 2024 17:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine said it was destroying Russian pontoon bridges with US-made weapons to defend its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region as Moscow said its forces had halted Kyiv’s advance there and gained ground in eastern Ukraine.
Kyiv has reported a string of battlefield successes since it crossed unexpectedly into Russia’s Kursk region on 6 August but Moscow has steadily inched forward in eastern Ukraine, pressuring troops worn down by two-and-a-half years of fighting.
A video posted by Ukrainian special forces showed strikes on several pontoon crossings in Kursk region, where Russia has reported that Ukraine has destroyed at least three bridges over the Seym river as it seeks to hold the pocket of captured land.
Photos from the frontline in eastern Ukraine
Wednesday 21 August 2024 16:09 , Tom Watling
High resolution image shows extent of damage to Kursk bridge
Wednesday 21 August 2024 15:50 , Tom Watling
A high resolution satellite image of the third bridge to be targeted by Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region shows it has been significantly damaged.
Karyzh Bridge
Glushkovsky District, Kursk OblastUltra high resolution gives a view of the damage to the bridge over the Seym at Karyzh
It is not completely destroyed but I do wonder if any heavy equipment can cross, IMO it would be dicey
20 August 2024 pic.twitter.com/3eNQ1kIRID
— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) August 21, 2024
Putin makes surprise trip to Chechnya for first time in 13 years – three weeks into Ukraine’s Kursk incursion
Wednesday 21 August 2024 15:20 , Tom Watling
Putin makes surprise trip to Chechnya – three weeks into Ukraine’s Kursk incursion
Firefighters tackle blaze in eastern Ukraine after home destroyed
Wednesday 21 August 2024 14:50 , Tom Watling
What is happening in Ukraine’s east frontline as Putin’s forces advance?
Wednesday 21 August 2024 14:30 , Tom Watling
What is happening in Ukraine’s east frontline as Putin’s forces advance?
UN nuclear watchdog chief to visit Kursk nuclear plant at end of August, says Russia
Wednesday 21 August 2024 14:11 , Tom Watling
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has confirmed he is ready to visit the Kursk nuclear power plant in Russia at the end of August, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
Russia’s Defence Ministry last week accused Ukraine of planning to attack the Kursk plant as part of its ongoing incursion into the Russian region, an assertion Kyiv denied.
“We expect that an understanding of the danger that Ukrainian provocations against Russian nuclear power plants represent will prompt the IAEA’s management to take concrete action to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants in Zaporizhzhia and Kursk,” Zakharova said at a weekly news briefing.
Why is Ukraine destroying bridges in Russia’s Kursk?
Wednesday 21 August 2024 14:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine has damaged or destroyed three bridges in the Russian region of Kursk as they attempt to consolidate positions gained during their ambitious cross-border assult and cut off supplies to Moscow’s troops.
The first bridge was destroyed in the village of Glushkovo, around eight miles west of Ukrainian troops inside of Russia, on Friday.
The second was destroyed on Saturday in the village of Zvannoye, a further five miles westward.
Why is Ukraine destroying bridges in Russia’s Kursk?
Putin ally Chemezov says West risks global war over Ukraine
Wednesday 21 August 2024 13:30 , Alexander Butler
A close ally of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin warned the US risked triggering a global war if it continued to “provoke” the conflict in Ukraine.
Sergei Chemezov, CEO of the Rostec corporation which supplies many of Russia’s arms for the war, said the world could be drawn into a mass conflict and Moscow was ready for confrontation.
“In a situation where the West, led by the United States, provokes war, we must be ready. The third year of the special operation is under way. Russia feels confident,” Mr Chemezov said.
“The further it goes, the greater the risk that the world will be drawn into a global conflict. It looks strange, but Western countries do not seem to understand just how fraught this is for them.”
Pictured: Russia and China bemoan Western sanctions
Wednesday 21 August 2024 13:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine’s soldiers seek revenge against Putin’s forces in Kursk
Wednesday 21 August 2024 12:30 , Alexander Butler
Ukrainian forces have damaged or destroyed three bridges in Russia’s Kursk region – aiming to cut crucial Russian supply lines in the latest chapter in Kyiv’s daring assault across the border, which the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky says is achieving its military aims.
Ukraine’s troops know Russia will respond but want to take as much revenge against Vladimir Putin’s forces as they can. Soldiers from one of the brigades that spearheaded the offensive into Kursk have told The Independent how they laughed in disbelief and joy as they dug trenches inside Russia.
“It was an incredible feeling to realise that this time we were invading them and we laughed like madmen as we dug trenches on enemy land, Russian soil,” said a soldier with the codename Lyasha.
Ukraine’s soldiers seek revenge against Russia in Kursk: ‘We laughed on enemy soil’
Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained
Wednesday 21 August 2024 12:00 , Alexander Butler
Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained
Ukraine says it destroyed 50 out of 69 Russian drones in overnight strike
Wednesday 21 August 2024 11:30 , Alexander Butler
Ukrainian forces destroyed 50 out of 69 attack drones launched by Russia during an overnight strike, Kyiv’s military said on Wednesday.
The air force said another 16 drones were likely downed by electronic warfare during the attack, which also included two ballistic and one cruise missiles. It said it shot down only the latter.
The military added that one drone had entered Ukraine from Belarus and another had returned to Russia.
Ukraine ratifies Rome Statute
Wednesday 21 August 2024 11:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine’s parliament voted to ratify the Rome Statute in a move set to pave the way for Kyiv to join the International Criminal Court.
In a Telegram post, Yaroslav Zhelezniak said 281 deputies had voted for the measure, a key requirement for Ukraine to eventually join the European Union.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and tries individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
Ukraine’s soldiers seek revenge against Putin’s forces in Kursk: ‘We laughed digging trenches on enemy soil’
Wednesday 21 August 2024 10:32 , Tom Watling
Ukraine’s soldiers seek revenge against Russia in Kursk: ‘We laughed on enemy soil’
Eastern Ukrainian town under siege – footage
Wednesday 21 August 2024 10:15 , Tom Watling
A video published online has shown the devastation wrought up on the eastern Ukrainian town of Myrnohrad as Russian forces advance towards it.
The town, which sits next door to the city of Pokrovsk, has come under siege from Russian forces in recent months.
Moscow’s troops are around four miles from Myrnohrad and six from Pokrovsk, which is seen as a linchpin of Ukraine’s defence of the wider Donetsk region.
Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained
Wednesday 21 August 2024 10:00 , Tom Watling
Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained
West African juntas write to UN over Ukraine’s alleged rebel support
Wednesday 21 August 2024 09:37 , Tom Watling
The juntas of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have written to the United Nations Security Council to denounce Ukraine‘s alleged support of rebel groups in West Africa’s Sahel region, a copy of their letter showed.
Mali cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine at the start of the month over comments by a spokesperson for Ukraine‘s military intelligence agency about fighting in Mali’s north that killed Malian soldiers and Russian Wagner mercenaries in late July.
The military government of Niger followed suit days later in solidarity with its neighbour.
The dispute broke out after the Ukrainian military intelligence agency spokesperson said Malian rebels had received “necessary” information to conduct the July attack.
Tuareg rebels said they killed at least 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers over days of fierce fighting, potentially Wagner’s heaviest defeat since it stepped in two years ago to help Mali’s junta fight insurgent groups.
Mali and Niger accused Ukraine of supporting “international terrorism”.
Ukraine has repeatedly called the allegations groundless and untrue. A Tuareg rebel alliance has also said it did not receive any Ukrainian support.
Footage shows destruction of Russian pontoon crossings in Kursk
Wednesday 21 August 2024 09:18 , Tom Watling
Footage released by Ukraine’s special forces has shown the systematic targeting of Russian bridges, pontoon crossings and Moscow’s engineering units responsible for their construction in the Kursk region.
“The video shows the effective impressions of [special forces] operators of enemy engineering equipment in the Kursk region, as well as the detection and correction of Hymars fire on bridges and pontoon crossings,” they wrote on their Telegram channel.
Ukrainian forces have destroyed three permanent bridges over the Seym River in Kursk over the past six days, as well as an unknown number of pontoon crossings built by the Russians to replace the bridges.
Russian troops south of the Seym in Kursk, to the west of Ukrainian forces in the Russian region, are reliant on these bridges and crossings for vital supplies.
WARNING: This footage contains depictions of active combat.
Ukrainian SOF in concert with Defense forces successfully destroyed pontoon crossings in Kursk region.
Moreover, russian field ammunition depot, EW vehicle as well as 152 mm howitzer were damaged. pic.twitter.com/VjMzIdLFvr
— SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES OF UKRAINE (@SOF_UKR) August 21, 2024
Photo shows a Ukrainian military campaign in Kursk
Wednesday 21 August 2024 09:00 , Tom Watling
Russian Rostov region on fire after Ukrainian claims of strike
Wednesday 21 August 2024 08:50 , Tom Watling
Footage has emerged online appearing to show a facility in the Russian Rostov region on fire after the Ukrainian military claimed they had struck a military complex in the area.
We reported earlier that Ukraine’s general staff reported they had struck an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system near the settlement of Novoshakhtinsk in Russia’s southwestern Rostov region.
The fire seen below is also from the settlement of Novoshakhtinsk.
Here are some of the latest photos from the frontline
Wednesday 21 August 2024 08:43 , Tom Watling
The Ukraine border village facing up to Russia’s wrath over Kursk attack: ‘The worst bombing I’ve faced’
Wednesday 21 August 2024 08:35 , Tom Watling
The Ukraine border village facing up to Russia’s wrath over Kursk attack
Russia’s Medvedev says there will no talks with Ukraine after Kursk incursion
Wednesday 21 August 2024 08:25 , Tom Watling
Ukraine‘s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region means there will be no talks between Moscow and Kyiv until Ukraine is completely defeated on the battlefield, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, has said.
“The casual chit-chat of self-proclaimed intermediaries on the virtuous subject of peace has ceased. Even if they cannot say it out loud, everyone recognises the reality of the situation,” Medvedev, who wrote on his official account on the Telegram messaging app.
“They understand that there will be NO NEGOTIATIONS UNTIL THE ENEMY IS COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY DESTROYED!”
Medvedev, who has styled himself as one of the Kremlin’s toughest anti-Western hawks, said that the “premature and unnecessary peace” talks that had previously been suggested “had vague prospects and no tangible outcomes.”
The Russian politician, who assumed the presidency from 2008 to 2012 between Vladimir Putin’s first and second stints as leader, has a habit of posting expletive-laden, brazen messages on social media.
Satellite image shows smoke in Kursk region on Seym River
Wednesday 21 August 2024 08:13 , Tom Watling
Satellite images have shown smoke rising in the air in the Kursk region near the Seym River, just a day after Ukrainian forces reportedly bombed another crossing.
The image, taken on Tuesday, shows fires near the village of Krasnooktyabrskoe, located just outside the area of Ukrainian control in the Kursk region.
Since last Friday, Kyiv’s troops have destroyed three permanent bridges over the Seym and reportedly one pontoon crossing as well in an attempt to sever supply lines to the Russian forces south of the river.
Ukraine says it struck S-300 missile system in Russia’s Rostov region
Wednesday 21 August 2024 07:48 , Tom Watling
Ukraine‘s military has claimed to have struck an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system based in Russia’s southern Rostov region overnight.
Kyiv’s General Staff said the attack took place near the settlement of Novoshakhtinsk, and that S-300s had been used to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
“Explosions were observed at specified targeting points,” the General Staff said in a statement. “The accuracy of the strike is being assessed.”
Rostov governor Vasily Golubev said air defence forces had destroyed a Ukraine-launched missile over his region, but Russia’s defence ministry made no mention of the incident in its daily statement on destroyed air weapons.
We have some of the latest photos from the war in Ukraine
Wednesday 21 August 2024 07:43 , Tom Watling
Good morning.
Below we have some of the latest pictures concerning the war in Ukraine.
Why is Ukraine destroying bridges in Russia’s Kursk?
Wednesday 21 August 2024 07:22 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine has damaged or destroyed three bridges in the Russian region of Kursk as they attempt to consolidate positions gained during their ambitious cross-border assult and cut off supplies to Moscow’s troops.
The first bridge was destroyed in the village of Glushkovo, around eight miles west of Ukrainian troops inside of Russia, on Friday.
The second was destroyed on Saturday in the village of Zvannoye, a further five miles westward. The third bridge reportedly destroyed on Sunday night is in the village of Karyzh, a further four miles westward.
All three bridges run over the Seym river that runs through the Kursk region. If Ukraine confirms the destruction of the third bridge, that would mean that Russian forces are now reliant on receiving military equipment via a makeshift pontoon bridge, according to analysts.
The purpose of targeting these bridges is to sever Russian supply lines and trap Moscow’s troops.
Tom Watling reports:
Why is Ukraine destroying bridges in Russia’s Kursk?
Comment: Zelensky has humiliated Putin, but what good can his ‘buffer zone’ do?
Wednesday 21 August 2024 07:00 , Jabed Ahmed
Zelensky has humiliated Putin, but what good can his ‘buffer zone’ do?
Russia says it destroyed 45 Ukraine-launched drones overnight
Wednesday 21 August 2024 06:58 , Arpan Rai
Russia’s air defence units destroyed 45 drones that Ukraine launched overnight targeting Moscow and several other regions, Russia’s defence ministry said today.
Of these, 11 of the drones were destroyed over the Moscow region, 23 over the border Bryansk region, six over the Belgorod region, three over the Kaluga region and two over the Kursk region, the ministry said in a statement.
Putin makes surprise trip to Chechnya for first time in 13 years
Wednesday 21 August 2024 06:37 , Arpan Rai
Russian president Vladimir Putin made an unscheduled trip to Chechnya, a mainly Muslim republic within the Russian Federation, his first visit in nearly 13 years, as Ukraine‘s stunning cross-border incursion into western Russia entered its third week.
Putin was greeted by Chechnya’s self-styled strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov, before visiting a special forces academy bearing his own name and speaking with volunteer fighters who train there prior to being deployed in Ukraine.
Putin praised the volunteers and said that as long as Russia has men like them, it will be “invincible,” according to reports by Russian state agencies.
Putin makes surprise trip to Chechnya – three weeks into Ukraine’s Kursk incursion
Headed for Kyiv, Modi to discuss resolution of Ukraine conflict
Wednesday 21 August 2024 06:29 , Arpan Rai
India prime minister Narendra Modi said he will “share perspectives” on the peaceful resolution of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia during his visit to Kyiv this week.
Mr Modi departed for Poland today and will visit Kyiv on Friday, a first visit to Ukraine by an Indian prime minister since diplomatic relations were established 30 years ago.
“As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region,” Mr Modi said in a statement before his departure, without using the term “war” or “invasion”.
India has presented itself as a neutral party to war, repeatedly urging Ukraine and Russia to use dialogue and diplomacy to resolve their differences without condemning Putin’s invasion. Both Ukraine and its Western allies have urged Modi to help in isolating Russia on the world stage for its actions, but New Delhi has rebuffed these calls.
Mr Modi’s two-day visit to Russia last month coincided with a lethal strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv, following which he told Putin that the death of innocent children was painful and terrifying and urged resolution of the conflict.
The Ukrainian government has also pitched for India to help rebuild the country’s war-torn economy.
Mr Modi met Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Italy last month.
Britain keeps poking the Russian bear – don’t be surprised if it lashes out
Wednesday 21 August 2024 16:38 , Alexander Butler
Britain keeps poking the Russian Bear – don’t be surprised if it lashes out
Mapped: Ukraine hits Kursk bridges
Wednesday 21 August 2024 06:00 , Jabed Ahmed
Now Russia claims Nato helped Kyiv prepare for Kursk incursion
Wednesday 21 August 2024 05:04 , Arpan Rai
Russia believes Ukraine’s incursion into its Kursk region was prepared with intelligence from the United States, Britain and Poland, the newspaper Izvestia reported today, citing Russia’s foreign intelligence agency.
“The Ukrainian Armed Forces operation in the Kursk region was prepared with the participation of the US, UK and Polish intelligence services,” Izvestia cited the Foreign Intelligence Service as saying, who claimed to have “reliable information” but did not provide evidence to back their claims.
It also claimed that the units involved underwent combat coordination in training centres in the UK and Germany.
Ukraine’s Western allies have issued a number of statements flatly denying any involvement in the Kursk incursion.
Last week, the White House said Ukraine did not provide advance notice of the operation. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, said Washington had no involvement. “We had nothing to do with this,” she said.
“We have no involvement. We’ll continue to have conversations with the Ukrainians about their approach, but it is really for them to speak to,” she added.
Mapped: Russian soldiers risk becoming trapped
Wednesday 21 August 2024 05:04 , Jabed Ahmed
Russian sources confirm 3 bridges over Russia’s Seym River either destroyed or damaged
Wednesday 21 August 2024 04:46 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian forces have either destroyed or damaged all three of the bridges over the Seym River in western Russia, according to Russian sources, as Kyiv’s incursion into western Russia entered its third week yesterday.
A Russian military investigator confirmed that Ukraine had “totally destroyed” one bridge and damaged two others in the area. The full extent of the damage remained unclear.“As a result of targeted shelling with the use of rocket and artillery weapons against residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in the Karyzh village… a third bridge over the Seym River was damaged,” the unnamed representative for Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a video published on the Telegram channel of Russian state TV anchor Vladimir Solovyov.Russian military bloggers Vladimir Romanov and Yuri Podolyaka and several high-profile pro-war Telegram channels in Russia also claimed that the third bridge had been targeted and damaged. Podolyaka’s post was shared by Roman Alekhin, an advisor to Kursk’s acting regional governor.
Ukraine’s attacks on the three bridges over the Seym River in Kursk could potentially trap Russian forces between the river, the Ukrainian advance and the Ukrainian border. Already they appear to be slowing down Russia’s response to the Kursk incursion, which Ukraine launched on 6 August.
Putin makes a surprise trip to Chechnya
Wednesday 21 August 2024 04:32 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin made an unscheduled trip to Chechnya, a mainly Muslim republic within the Russian Federation, his first visit in nearly 13 years, as Ukraine’s stunning cross-border incursion into western Russia entered its third week.
Putin was greeted by Chechnya’s self-styled strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov, before visiting a special forces academy bearing his own name and speaking with volunteer fighters who train there prior to being deployed in Ukraine.
The Russian president praised the volunteers and said that as long as Russia has men like them, it will be “invincible,” according to reports by Russian state agencies.
Kadyrov said in a post on his official Telegram channels that more than 47,000 fighters, including volunteers, have trained at the facility since Moscow began what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Fighters from Chechnya, whose bid for independence after the Soviet Union’s collapse led to years of war with Russian government forces, are participating on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine.
Ukraine launches ‘one of largest ever’ drone attacks on Moscow
Wednesday 21 August 2024 04:12 , Arpan Rai
At least 11 Ukrainian drones flying towards Moscow were destroyed as Ukraine launched one of the largest ever drone attacks on the Russian capital this morning, the city’s mayor said.
Some of the drones were destroyed over the city of Podolsk, mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. The city in the Moscow region is some 38 km (24 miles) south of the Kremlin.
“The air defence systems of the defence ministry continue to repel enemy UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) attacks,” Sobyanin said on his Telegram channel at 4.43 am (0143 GMT). “This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones ever. We continue to monitor the situation,” he added.
He said that according to preliminary information, there were no injuries or damage in the aftermath of the attacks.
Ukraine has often launched one or two drones targeting Moscow in recent months, causing no substantial damage.
The Wednesday attack, however, seems to have been larger than a May 2023 attack when at least eight drones were destroyed over the capital in an attack president Vladimir Putin said was Kyiv’s attempt to scare and provoke Russia.
Russian officials rarely disclose the full size of the attacks, reporting only drones that its air defence units destroy.
Ukraine ratifies Rome Statute
Wednesday 21 August 2024 16:33 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine’s parliament voted to ratify the Rome Statute in a move set to pave the way for Kyiv to join the International Criminal Court.
In a Telegram post, Yaroslav Zhelezniak said 281 deputies had voted for the measure, a key requirement for Ukraine to eventually join the European Union.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and tries individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
Ukraine has destroyed or damaged all three bridges over Russia’s Seym River, Russian sources say
Wednesday 21 August 2024 04:00 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian forces have either destroyed or damaged all three of the bridges over the Seym River in western Russia, according to Russian sources, as Kyiv’s incursion into western Russia entered its third week.
Kyiv’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is changing the trajectory of the war and boosting morale among Ukraine‘s war-weary population, though the ultimate outcome of the incursion — the first attack on Russia since World War II — remains impossible to predict.
Even as Ukraine hails its success on Russian territory, the Russian push in eastern Ukraine is poised to claim another key center, the city of Pokrovsk.
Ukraine‘s attacks on the three bridges over the Seym River in Kursk could potentially trap Russian forces between the river, the Ukrainian advance and the Ukrainian border. Already they appear to be slowing down Russia’s response to the Kursk incursion, which Ukraine launched on 6 August.
A Russian military investigator confirmed Monday that Ukraine had “totally destroyed” one bridge and damaged two others in the area. The full extent of the damage remained unclear.
Pictured: Fenix team rescue in Pokrovsk, Donetsk
Wednesday 21 August 2024 03:00 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine adopts ‘historic’ law to ban Russia-linked minority church
Wednesday 21 August 2024 02:00 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian lawmakers passed a law envisaging a ban on the activities of a Russia-linked branch of the Orthodox church, paving the way for a historic rupture with an institution that Kyiv has accused of complicity in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
A majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians but the faith is split into one branch traditionally tied to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and an independent church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, recognised by the world Orthodox hierarchy since 2019.
Ukrainian leaders have accused the Moscow-linked UOC of abetting Russia’s 30-month-old war on Ukraine by spreading pro-Russian propaganda and housing spies.
The bill passed by 265 lawmakers bans the Russian Orthodox Church on Ukrainian territory and said that a government commission will assemble a list of “affiliated” organisations whose activities are not allowed. The list is expected to target the UOC specifically.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the vote as a step to strengthen Ukraine‘s “spiritual independence”.
Lawmaker Iryna Herashchenko said it was the issue of national security.
“This is a historic vote. Parliament approved a legislation which bans a branch of the aggressor country in Ukraine,” she wrote on Telegram.
Zelensky has humiliated Putin, but what good can his ‘buffer zone’ do?
Wednesday 21 August 2024 16:26 , Alexander Butler
Zelensky has humiliated Putin, but what good can his ‘buffer zone’ do?
Russia’s FSB detains scientist on suspicion of treason
Wednesday 21 August 2024 01:00 , Jabed Ahmed
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a scientist in Moscow on suspicion of treason, it said in a statement.
The FSB did not name the scientist, who it said had carried out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on critical infrastructure on behalf of Ukrainian security services.
The domestic security agency said that the scientist had also sent money to the Ukrainian military, as well as gathering information on the Russian armed forces. The suspect had confessed, it said.
It was not immediately clear when the arrest was made. Russian media outlets published what they said was footage of the scientist’s detention.
The video, which shows a man arrested in a snow-covered city, suggested that the scientist may have been detained some time ago.
Ostorozhno Novosti, a Telegram channel that covers Russian politics, identified the scientist as Artyom Khoroshilov, a physicist who state news agency RIA previously reported was arrested on suspicion of staging DDoS attacks in December 2023.
Ukraine’s soldiers seek revenge against Putin’s forces in Kursk
Wednesday 21 August 2024 16:26 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine’s soldiers seek revenge against Russia in Kursk: ‘We laughed on enemy soil’
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