Ukraine-Russia war – live: Zelensky sure of battlefield success as Putin’s ‘third wave’ advance bogged down
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Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is certain that Ukraine will have success in its war against Russia and insisted that Kyiv has a plan for the year head, as he defended the slow pace of his country’s counteroffensive.
“I am sure that we’ll have success,” the Ukrainian president told Reuters, adding: “We’ll try to show the result this year. We don’t need to surprise everybody in the world, we need this for ourselves.”
His comments came as a top Donbas military official said that Russia’s “third wave” advance near Avdiivka been bogged down on sodden land, with several days of rain having for the moment ruled out any new Russian advance.
“We’ve had nearly a week of heavy rain,” Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne. “The terrain is too difficult and equipment cannot move.”
Elsewhere, the Kremlin has again warned of the risk of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons being used amid the war, blaming a “deterioration in global security” as a “the natural consequence of the United States’ destructive policies”.
Key Points
Volodymyr Zelensky certain of battlefield success
Putin’s ‘third wave' advance bogged down amid heavy rain
Kremlin issues another warning over ‘nuclear, chemical and biological’ weapons
Ex-Russian officer says Putin’s forces ‘deteriorating’
Russia repels 17 drones over Black Sea and Crimea
Russian building rumoured to contain officials destroyed in occupied Ukraine
10:04 , Tom Watling
A Russian building in occupied southern Ukraine has been destroyed this morning as rumours swirl that it hit while Kremlin-affiliated officials were inside.
A building in Skadovsk, on the Dzharylhats’ka Gulf south of Kherson, was destroyed around 7.15am GMT, according to local reports. Follow-up reports are now suggesting Russian officials were in the building.
A local Ukrainian outlet from nearby Mariupol wrote: “I hear there are interesting obituaries waiting for us.”
The Russian-appointed head of the region Vladimir Saldo confirmed eleven people had been hospitalised.
Russia ‘forcing Ukrainian POWs to fight against their homeland’ in possible war crime
09:37 , Tom Watling
Russia is deploying Ukrainian prisoners of war to fight on its behalf against their own country, according to state media reports.
The move has attracted concern from experts, who have argued it could amount to a war crime.
Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti aired a video purporting to show captured Ukrainian soldiers being voluntarily inducted into the Russian army. They were seen swearing allegiance to Russia, holding rifles and dressed in military fatigues. The authenticity of the report or videos aired by RIA Novosti could not be immediately confirmed.
Human Rights Watch said this could be a violation of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war (POWs). Captured soldiers are exempt from being exposed to combat or unhealthy and dangerous conditions regardless of coercion, according to the convention.
Russia ‘forcing Ukrainian POWs to fight against their homeland’ in possible war crime
Ukraine says Russian missile hits civilian vessel in Black Sea, kills one
09:16 , Tom Watling
A Russian missile damaged a Liberia-flagged civilian vessel entering a Black Sea port in Odesa region, killing one and injuring four people, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday.
After pulling out of the U.N.-brokered deal that guaranteed safe shipments of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, Russia has been repeatedly attacking Ukrainian port infrastructure.
"The missile hit the superstructure of a civilian vessel under the flag of Liberia, at the moment of its entry into the port," Ukraine's southern military command said on Telegram messenger.
It added that one person was killed, three crew members, citizens of the Philippines, and one port employee were injured.
The vessel was supposed to transport iron ore to China, Ukraine Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
Kubrakov added that Russia carried out 21 targeted attacks on port infrastructure after withdrawing from the deal.
"During this time, the terrorist country damaged more than 160 infrastructure facilities and 122 vehicles," he said on Facebook.
Yoruk Isik, head of the Bosphorus Observer consultancy, identified the vessel as Kmax Ruler, 92,000 dwt.
One killed and four injured after Russian missile hits civilian vessel in Black Sea
08:33 , Tom Watling
A Russian missile hit a civilian ship in a Black Sea port, killing at least one person and injuring four others, according to Ukraine’s officials.
A Ukrainian pilot on board was killed in the attack on the vessel in Odesa’s Pivdennyi port, said Yoruk Isik, head of the Bosphorus Observer consultancy. “A few” other crew members were either dead or injured, Mr Isik told Reuters.
Of those injured, three were crew members from the Philippines. The other injured individual was identified as a port employee.
The ship was loading iron ore in the port when it was hit, said Mr Isik. He identified the vessel as a Kmax Ruler 92,000 dwt – a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier.
Ukrainian infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the vessel was supposed to transport iron ore to China.
One killed and four injured after Russian missile hits civilian vessel in Black Sea
Russia carries out more than 100 attacks in 24 hours, killing one civilian
08:10 , Tom Watling
Russian attacks in four regions of Ukraine have damaged dozens of residential buildings and killed at least one civilian in the last 24 hours, local governors have said.
Oleg Sinegubov, governor of Kharkiv Oblast, northeast Ukraine, said one 48-year-old civilian had been killed in Izyum after more than three hours of Russian shelling in the area.
Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine, said Russia “carried out 85 attacks, firing 529 shells from mortars, artillery, ‘Grads’, tanks, UAVs and aviation”.
He said: “The Russian military targeted the residential quarters of the populated areas of the region; a cell tower and an unbreakable point in the Berislav district. Due to Russian aggression, 2 people were injured.”
Yuriy Malashko, governor of neighbouring Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said: “14 reports were received about the destruction of residential buildings and infrastructure facilities. Civilians were not injured.”
He also issued an air raid warning this morning, though that has since finished.
EU recommends starting Ukraine’s accession to the bloc
07:36 , Tom Watling
The European Commission has recommended that the process of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union should begin, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has reported.
Mariia Mezentseva, a subcommittee head on the board for integration of Ukraine into the EU, said the commission had said the process should start despite Russia’s full-scale aggression.
“In mid-December, we have a meeting of the EU Council, which will bring together the leaders of 27 countries, who must confirm this intention with their unity,” the Verkhovna Rada wrote in a statement.
Watch: Ukraine-Russia conflict cannot be compared to Israel-Hamas war, says Zelensky
07:03 , Andy Gregory
King Charles wants refugees to ‘feel more welcome’ in Britain
06:01 , Andy Gregory
King Charles III discussed the need to make refugees “feel more welcome” in Britain at a humanitarian reception, Sir Michal Palin has said.
The Monty Python star, 80, spoke to the monarch on Wednesday evening at the Buckingham Palace event which recognised the United Kingdom’s contribution to humanitarian efforts across the world.
Charles and the Queen were introduced to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) chief executive Saleh Saeed at the soiree, met refugees who have made the UK their home, and spoke with broadcast journalists about their work covering global emergencies, including in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Balkan countries slip back in the queue, as Ukraine receives boost in EU membership quest
04:59 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia received positive news on Wednesday about their quests to join the European Union – but countries in the volatile Balkans region that have waited years longer to become members of the world’s biggest trading bloc appeared to slip back in the queue.
Lorne Cook has more in this report:
Ukraine gets good news about its EU membership quest as Balkans countries slip back in the queue
Video: War will spread to other Nato countries if Russia defeats Ukraine, Zelensky warns
03:56 , Andy Gregory
Full report: Russia suffers setbacks across Ukraine frontline as rains stall Putin’s ‘third wave’
02:51 , Andy Gregory
Ukrainian officials said troops had repelled several Russian assaults in separate parts of the country as heavy rain spoiled Vladimir Putin’s plan to recapture the strategic city of Avdiivka for a third time, reports my colleague Arpan Rai.
The General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine said its troops beat back at least 15 attacks near Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine and 18 attacks near Maryinka further south, where heavy fighting has been concentrated for months.
It said nine attacks were repelled in and near Avdiivka, which has been subjected to intense fighting. Moscow looks to recapture the strategic city that is a crucial gateway to Donetsk, the primary communication hub within the occupied territories.
Moscow has already made two failed advances to recapture the industrial city that has been described as the “next Bakhmut”, which has seen some of the most intense fighting since the Russian invasion began last year.
Several days of rain on the battlefield, however, have stalled Mr Putin’s third major advance and ruled out any new Russian movements, Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration said.
Russia suffers setbacks across Ukraine frontline as rains stall Putin’s ‘third wave’
Vessel hit in Black Sea was supposed to carry iron ore to China, Ukraine minister claims
01:42 , Andy Gregory
A Liberian-flagged civilian vessel fatally struck by Russian missiles while entering the Black Sea port of Odesa was supposed to transport iron ore to China, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov has claimed.
Traders said the name of the vessel was Kmax Ruler, and according to Ukrainian officials one person was killed and four injured in the attack.
Mr Kubrakov added that Russia carried out 21 targeted attack on port infrastructure after withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal earlier this year.
“During this time, the terrorist country damaged more than 160 infrastructure facilities and 122 vehicles,” he said.
New Russian naval corvette damaged in Ukraine cruise missile attack on Crimea base
00:37 , Andy Gregory
A newly built Russian naval corvette was “almost certainly damaged” after being struck in occupied Crimea, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in its intelligence update.
The Karakurt-class Askold warship was launched in 2021 and had not been yet commissioned into the Russian navy, the MoD said, citing Ukrainian and Russian sources. The Russian word “Karakurt” means “Black Widow spider”.
Russian officials claimed Ukrainian cruise missiles were aimed at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch on 4 November. The officials confirmed the attacks had struck one of its small warships. Askold is one of Russia’s Kalibr cruise missile carriers.
Arpan Rai has the full report:
New Russian naval corvette damaged in Ukraine cruise missile attack on Crimea base
Mapped: Tracking Ukraine’s frontline as Russian forces ‘gradually deteriorating’
Wednesday 8 November 2023 23:46 , Andy Gregory
A Russian former military officer has suggested Vladimir Putin’s troops are weakening as he predicted the forces will be “even less capable of offensive operations than they are now” by spring 2024.
Imprisoned nationalist, Igor Girkin, said the current Ukrainian presence in the east bank of Kherson Oblast is likely to keep Russian forces busy during the winter, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
In a letter published by his wife, Mr Girkin also claimed that the situation for Russian forces was “gradually deteriorating” and that Russian forces were showcasing “growing weakness compared to Ukraine’s capabilities.”
My colleague Maryam Zakir-Hussain has more in this report containing maps of the current fighting hotspots:
Mapped: Tracking Ukraine’s frontline as Russian forces ‘gradually deteriorating’
Watch: Zelensky says Russian solders must 'go out' of Ukraine to end war
Wednesday 8 November 2023 22:34 , Andy Gregory
New US infrastructure advisor to Ukraine unveiled
Wednesday 8 November 2023 21:43 , Andy Gregory
US transport secretary Pete Buttigieg has announced a new American infrastructure adviser for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv.
Robert Mariner, who has performed engineering work for the US Air Force and Navy, will serve as transportation advisor to Ukraine, following a similar role at the US Embassy in Afghanistan.
“Transportation is critically important to Ukraine’s ability to import goods and to export Ukrainian products,” Mr Buttigieg told reporters in Kyiv, where he met with president Volodymyr Zelensky, adding there was also “a lot of interest here in the future of the aviation sector, which we discussed”.
Mr Buttigieg, who met with Ukrainian officials to discuss the country’s economic recovery and the impact of the war on its supply chains, particularly port and rail infrastructure, said Ukraine had asked that a US infrastructure advisor be named.
The adviser “will be in Kyiv to provide technical assistance on project delivery as part of the country’s rebuilding efforts,” Buttigieg said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
Russia sending Ukrainian prisoners of war to fight on front lines, report claims
Wednesday 8 November 2023 20:37 , Andy Gregory
Russia is sending Ukrainian prisoners of war to the front lines of their homeland to fight on Moscow’s side, a Russian state news agency has claimed.
News agency RIA Novosti claimed the soldiers swore allegiance to Russia when they joined a battalion which entered service last month, named after medieval nobleman Bogdan Khmelnitsky, seen as a national hero in Russia for bringing parts of Ukraine under Moscow’s control in the 15th century.
Footage published by the news agency purported to show the Ukrainians swearing allegiance to Russia, holding rifles and dressed in military fatigues.
Experts told the Associated Press that such actions would be an apparent violation of the Geneva Conventions relating to the treatment of prisoners of war, which forbids them from being exposed to combat or from working in unhealthy or dangerous conditions.
“Russian authorities might claim they are recruiting them on a voluntary basis but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a prisoner of war’s decision could be taken truly voluntarily, given the situation of coercive custody,” said Yulia Gorbunova, senior researcher on Ukraine at Human Rights Watch.
Nick Reynolds, of the Royal United Services Institute, added that “the entire scenario is laced with the potential for coercion”, noting that a prisoner of war does not have “a huge amount of agency” and is in a “very difficult situation”.
Top Chinese military official visits Moscow for talks on expanding ties
Wednesday 8 November 2023 19:57 , Andy Gregory
A senior Chinese military official has held talks in Moscow today, praising strong ties between the two countries in a visit which underlined their growing cooperation.
General Zhang Youxia, China’s second-ranking military official, said that relations between Russia and China are “at the highest level in the new epoch.”
Russia and China “invariably support each other on issues of fundamental interest and key concerns”, General Youxia said.
You can read more in this report:
A top Chinese military official visits Moscow for talks on expanding ties
US has gone through 96% of funds allocated for Ukraine
Wednesday 8 November 2023 19:29 , Andy Gregory
The United States has gone through 96 per cent of the funds that it allocated for Ukraine, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has said
The US believes that Ukraine can win back its territory, Mr Kirby told reporters, but acknowledged that progress had been slow.
Ukraine takes credit for death of Luhansk official in car-bombing
Wednesday 8 November 2023 19:04 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s intelligence agency has taken credit for a car bombing that killed a member of the Russia-backed authority in the illegally annexed Luhansk region.
Mikhail Filiponenko was a member of the local legislature and previously served as police chief, and sided with Russian-backed separatists in 2014.
Taking credit for his death, the main intelligence directorate of Ukraine’s ministry of defence accused Filiponenko of having organised and participated in the torture of prisoners of war and civilians.
It said that the killing was a warning that “traitors to Ukraine and collaborators with terrorist Russia in temporarily occupied territories ... will receive just retribution. The hunt continues.”
Slovakia rejects military aid deal for Ukraine
Wednesday 8 November 2023 18:46 , Andy Gregory
As pledged by incoming prime minister Robert Fico, Slovakia’s new government has rejected a previously drafted plan to donate rockets and ammunition to Ukraine.
The aid package included surface-to-air defence system rockets, more than 5,000 pieces of 125mm cannon ammunition and 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition, according to the deal that had been put forward by the Nato country’s caretaker government before it handed over power last month.
But Fico’s government rejected the package at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, according to the government’s website, having run an electio campaign criticising Western military support for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia, and backing calls for peace talks.
The country had been a staunch backer of Ukraine, and a previous centre-right government supplied military equipment including fighting vehicles as well as an S-300 air defence system and MiG-29 jets.
One dead and four injured as Russian missile hits civilian vessel near Odesa, Ukraine claims
Wednesday 8 November 2023 18:25 , Andy Gregory
A Russian missile has damaged a civilian vessel entering the Black Sea port of Odesa, killing one and injuring four people, the Ukrainian military has claimed.
“The missile hit the superstructure of a civilian vessel under the flag of Liberia, at the moment of its entry into the port,” Ukraine’s southern military command said on Telegram messenger.
It added that one person was killed, three crew members and one port employee were injured.
Zelensky jokes that dogs should run the world
Wednesday 8 November 2023 18:07 , Andy Gregory
Volodymyr Zelensky has joked that dogs run the world instead of humans.
Speaking to Reuters while promoting a 10-point peace plan, the Ukrainian president was asked what still made him laugh – and said that his dogs provide much-needed relief when he spends time with his wife and children, and are “always funny”.
“Sometimes I’m ... looking at all these wars or looking at all the crisis, Middle East crisis. It’s not only Ukraine, everywhere in Africa and the Middle East,” Mr Zelensky said.
“Sometimes I’m looking at this and think that the best way [is] if this planet will be the planet of dogs,” he said, adding with a smile: “Sometimes I don’t understand people, really.”
Zelensky ‘sure’ of battlefield success and aiming for ‘results this year’
Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:31 , Andy Gregory
Asked about the slow pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive this year, Volodymr Zelensky told Reuters: “We have some slow steps forward on the south of our country, also we have steps on the east. And some, I think, good steps near Kherson region.
“I am sure that we’ll have success. It’s difficult.”
He added: “We’ll try to show the result this year. We don’t need to surprise everybody in the world, we need this for ourselves.”
Ukraine takes step towards EU membership as European Commission backs talks to begin
Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:28 , Andy Gregory
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has praised the European Commission’s recommendation that Kyiv should begin formal EU membership negotiations as a “historic step”.
In an important milestone, the Commission said the talks should formally be launched once Kyiv satisfies remaining conditions related to reining in corruption, adopting a law on lobbying in line with EU standards and strengthening national minority safeguards.
“This is a strong and historic step that paves the way to a stronger EU with Ukraine as its member,” Mr Zelensky said, vowing to press on with the necessary reforms.
The 27 national EU leaders are next due to decide mid-December on whether to accept the Commission’s recommendation. Any such decision requires unanimity of the bloc’s 27 members, with Hungary seen as the main potential obstacle.
Gabriela Baczynska and Marine Strauss have the full report:
Ukraine moves step closer to EU membership as European Commission backs talks
EU countries to debate of 12th package of Russia sanctions next week - officials
Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:14 , Andy Gregory
European Union countries will start debating next week a proposal for a 12th package of sanctions on Russia that will focus on a ban on Russian diamonds, EU diplomats and an EU official told Reuters.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, EU countries have already applied 11 packages of sanctions against Moscow to diminish the Kremlin’s ability to finance the war. The measures span across sectors and include some 1,800 individuals and entities.
But so far, the EU has not sanctioned Russian state-owned diamond miner Alrosa, even though major western jewellers are already boycotting stones coming from Russia.
The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell told the Financial Times on Wednesday that the bloc received the go-ahead for diamonds from the G7 - the United States, Canada, Britain, Japan, France Germany and Italy - at a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan.
EU diplomats said the 27-nation bloc had been waiting for a G7 green light to move ahead with the diamond ban. An EU official said the current timing for a European Commission proposal for the package, that would then be debated by the EU’s 27 governments, was “early next week”.
“The plan is that the Commission adopts the package in the coming days. Then it’ll be for Council to adopt,” one EU official told Reuters, adding the discussions among governments would start next week.
Ukraine has a plan to continue fighting Russia next year, Zelensky says
Wednesday 8 November 2023 16:54 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine has a plan to continue fighting against Russian forces despite the difficulty of its ongoing counteroffensive, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Speaking to Reuters in New York, the Ukrainian leader said: “Nobody believed at the beginning of this war that we can manage and destroy the Russian army. We did it. Now there are some difficulties.”
Asked how much land he believes Ukraine can claim back over the next year, Mr Zelensky drew supportive laughter as he said: “First of all, we haven’t finished this year.”
Pointing to past successes in Kherson, he added: “We will try to show the results this year, and for us it’s very important because we lose people each day. It’s not because of some movie, some show. We don’t need to surprise everybody in the world. We need for ourselves to try not to lose each day, because we are losing people.
He added: “We have a plan for the next year but I will not share it.”
A top Chinese military official visits Moscow for talks on expanding ties
Wednesday 8 November 2023 16:30 , Matt Mathers
A senior Chinese military official held talks in Moscow Wednesday, praising strong ties between the countries during a visit that underlined growing cooperation between them.
Gen. Zhang Youxia, China’s second-ranking military official and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that relations between Russia and China are “at the highest level in the new epoch.” He said they “invariably support each other on issues of fundamental interest and key concerns.”
Full report:
A top Chinese military official visits Moscow for talks on expanding ties
Britain targets Russian gold, oil sectors in new sanctions
Wednesday 8 November 2023 16:00 , Matt Mathers
Britain on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 29 individuals and entities in Russia’s gold and oil sectors, as it targets the Kremlin’s finances supporting the war in Ukraine.
Britain sanctioned two of Russia’s largest gold producers, Nord Gold Plc and Highland Gold Mining Ltd. Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) also issued an alert to financial institutions, warning them about Russian attempts to use gold to evade sanctions.
The two companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Those sanctioned also include a United Arab Emirates-based network which Britain said was responsible for channelling more than $300 million in gold revenues to Russia, as well as businessmen Vladislav Sviblov and Konstantin Strukov.
"Today’s sanctions will hit those who have provided succour to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin by helping him to lessen the impact of our sanctions on Russian gold and oil, two critical sources of revenue for the Russian war machine," British foreign secretary James Cleverly said.
Prosecutors demand 8 year sentence for Russian artist who staged anti-war supermarket protest
Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:41 , Matt Mathers
A female Russian artist who staged a protest against Moscow’s war in Ukraine by replacing supermarket price tags with trenchant calls to stop the conflict is facing eight years in a penal colony after a court hearing on Wednesday.
Alexandra Skochilenko, 33, an artist and musician known to her friends as "Sasha", carried out the protest on March 31 last year, replacing price tags in a supermarket in Russia’s second city with five pieces of paper urging an end to the war, which Moscow calls "a special military operation."
Alexander Gladyshev, a state prosecutor, on Wednesday asked a judge in St Petersburg to jail her for eight years and ban her from using the Internet for three years, according to a statement from St Petersburg’s courts.
Ukraine hails ‘historic’ step after EU recommends joining bloc
Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:20 , Matt Mathers
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky praised as a "historic step" a recommendation by the European Union executive on Wednesday to invite Kyiv to begin membership talks as soon as it meets final conditions, even as it fights to repel Russia’s war.
The recommendation by the European Commission is an important milestone on Kyiv’s road to Western integration and a geo-political gambit for the EU as Ukraine has been fighting against a large-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.
The Commission said the talks should formally be launched once Kyiv satisfies remaining conditions related to reining in corruption, adopting a law on lobbying in line with EU standards and strengthening national minority safeguards.
"This is a strong and historic step that paves the way to a stronger EU with Ukraine as its member," Zelensky said on social media, vowing to press on with the necessary reforms.
I welcome today’s recommendation by the European Commission to open EU accession negotiations with Ukraine.
This is a strong and historic step that paves the way to a stronger EU with Ukraine as its member.
I thank the EU and personally @vonderleyen for supporting Ukraine on… pic.twitter.com/7py1imxCRT— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 8, 2023
Ukraine spy agency says it killed Russia-installed lawmaker with car bomb
Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:15 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine’s military spy agency claimed responsibility for the assassination of a Russia-backed lawmaker with a car bomb in the occupied eastern city of Luhansk on Wednesday, an operation it said it conducted with local resistance forces.
Mikhail Filiponenko, a lawmaker in a Russia-installed local assembly, had been active in Luhansk’s pro-Russian separatist movement since 2014. He had served as one of the top commanders in the army of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic.
The agency said Filiponenko was eliminated in an early morning explosion. He died at the site, it added on Telegram messenger.
It accused him of organising dungeons for civilians and prisoners of war in Luhansk region.
"Filiponenko himself brutally tortured people," agency said, giving no details.
Ukraine backs move to use military taxes to fund weapons
Wednesday 8 November 2023 14:55 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine’s parliament approved a law on Wednesday to allow funds raised from income tax paid by military personnel to be used to fund arms purchases and production, the finance ministry said.
The tax, which previously went into local coffers rather than the central budget, would raise about 96 billion hryvnias ($2.7 billion). The funds would be used to buy drones, implement new technology and boost the domestic defence industry, finance minister Serhiy Marchenko said.
New Russian naval corvette damaged in Ukraine cruise missile attack on Crimea base
Wednesday 8 November 2023 14:11 , Matt Mathers
A newly built Russian naval corvette was “almost certainly damaged” after being struck in occupied Crimea, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in its intelligence update.
The Karakurt-class Askold warship was launched in 2021 and had not been yet commissioned into the Russian navy, the MoD said, citing Ukrainian and Russian sources. The Russian word “Karakurt” means “Black Widow spider”.
Full report:
New Russian naval corvette damaged in Ukraine cruise missile attack on Crimea base
Moldova and Georga also get positive news on EU accession
Wednesday 8 November 2023 13:30 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia received positive news on Wednesday about their quests to join the European Union but countries in the volatile Balkans region that have waited years longer to become members of the world’s biggest trading bloc appeared to slip back in the queue.
In a series of reports, the EU’s executive branch recommended that war-ravaged Ukraine should be permitted to open membership talks, once it’s addressed some shortfalls.
Full report:
Ukraine gets good news about its EU membership quest as Balkans countries slip back in the queue
Ukraine formally recommended to join EU
Wednesday 8 November 2023 12:48 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine has been formally recommended to join the EU. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen urged the EU’s 27 member states to open accession talks.
“Ukraine continues to face tremendous hardships and tragedies provoked by Russia’s war of aggression,” she said on Wednesday.
“And yet the Ukrainians are deeply reforming their country even as they are fighting a war that is existential for them.” Her recommendation must be given political sign off by the bloc’s members before any talks can take place.
Mapped: Tracking Ukraine’s frontline as Russian forces ‘gradually deteriorating’
Wednesday 8 November 2023 12:00 , Matt Mathers
A Russian former military officer has suggested Vladimir Putin’s troops are weakening as he predicted the forces will be “even less capable of offensive operations than they are now” by spring 2024.
Imprisoned nationalist, Igor Girkin, said the current Ukrainian presence in the east bank of Kherson Oblast is likely to keep Russian forces busy during the winter, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
This map shows the key points of fighting in Ukraine. Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports:
Mapped: Tracking Ukraine’s frontline as Russian forces ‘gradually deteriorating’
Russian railways targeted by anti war activists
Wednesday 8 November 2023 10:04 , Matt Mathers
Russia’s railway network continues to come under attack from anti-war activists, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said.
The MoD said in a statement: “Seventeen months after the first incidents were reported, sabotage of Russian railways by anti-war activists continues to represent a significant challenge for the Russian authorities.
“Research by independent Russian media outlet Mediazona suggests that, as of October 2023, 76 cases of railway sabotage had reached court since the invasion. At least 137 people, with the vast majority aged under 24, had been prosecuted.
“Since early 2023, notices have been stencilled on key pieces of railway infrastructure pointing out that, under the Russian Criminal Code, sabotage can be punished with up to life imprisonment.
“Russia’s military logistics, including supplying the war in Ukraine, remain reliant on the country’s 33,000km of railway line.
“With virtually all methods of overt dissent banned in Russia, sabotage continues to appeal to a minority of young people as a method of protest against the ‘Special Military Operation’”.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 08 November 2023.
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/JHBntZYNex
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/8YnLfxsrKF— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 8, 2023
Russia suffers setbacks across Ukraine frontline as rains stall Putin’s ‘third wave’
Wednesday 8 November 2023 09:14 , Matt Mathers
Ukrainian troops have repelled several Russian assaults in the past 24 hours in separate parts of the country as heavy rain has spoiled Vladimir Putin’s plan to recapture the strategic city of Avdiivka for a third time, officials said.
The General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine said its troops beat back at least 15 attacks near Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine and 18 attacks near Maryinka further south, where heavy fighting has been concentrated for months.
Arpan Rai has the full report:
Russia suffers setbacks across Ukraine frontline as rains stall Putin’s ‘third wave’
Kremlin warns of ‘nuclear and biological weapons’ risk
Wednesday 8 November 2023 08:36 , Matt Mathers
The Kremlin has issued another warning over the risk of “nuclear, chemical and biological weapons” being used amid its invasion of Ukraine.
Nikolai Patrushev, the Russian security council secretary and a close ally of Putin, hit out at what he described as the “destructive” policies of the US and its allies, that were increasing the risk that nuclear, chemical or biological weapons would be used, Reuters reports.
“The natural consequence of the United States’ destructive policies is the deterioration in the global security,” the state news agency Tass reported him as saying.
“The risk that nuclear, chemical and biological weapons will be used is increasing. The international arms control regime has been undermined.”
Russia’s ‘third wave’ bogged down in sodden land
Wednesday 8 November 2023 08:28 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday its troops had repelled Russian assaults in widely separated sectors of the war and braced for a fresh attempt to capture the key frontline eastern town of Avdiivka.
Russia is engaged in a slow-moving campaign in eastern areas of the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line after failing in its bid to march on Kyiv in the conflict’s early days. Ukraine has registered only limited progress in a counteroffensive launched in the east and south in June.
Ukraine’s General Staff, in its evening report, said its forces had beaten back 15 attacks near Kupiansk in the northeast and 18 attacks near Maryinka further south, where battles have raged for months.
Nine attacks were repelled in and near Avdiivka, where Moscow launched the latest of several drives in mid-October.
Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration, said several days of rain had for the moment ruled out any new Russian advance - what he described as the “third wave”.
“We’ve had nearly a week of heavy rain,” he told the public broadcaster Suspilne. “The terrain is too difficult and equipment cannot move.”
New Russian naval corvette damaged in Ukraine cruise missile attack on Crimea base
Wednesday 8 November 2023 08:07 , Matt Mathers
A newly built Russian naval corvette was “almost certainly damaged” after being struck in occupied Crimea, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in its intelligence update.
The Karakurt-class Askold warship was launched in 2021 and had not been yet commissioned into the Russian navy, the MoD said, citing Ukrainian and Russian sources. The Russian word “Karakurt” means “Black Widow spider”.
Arpa Rai reports:
New Russian naval corvette damaged in Ukraine cruise missile attack on Crimea base
NATO allies condemn Russia’s withdrawal from CFE treaty, will suspend its operation
Wednesday 8 November 2023 07:45 , Matt Mathers
NATO allies condemned a decision by Russia on Tuesday to withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, a key post-Cold War agreement, and said they would suspend its operation in response.
Russia formally withdrew from the security treaty, which limited key categories of conventional armed forces, blaming the United States for undermining post-Cold War security with the enlargement of the NATO military alliance.
"Allies condemn Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), and its war of aggression against Ukraine which is contrary to the Treaty’s objectives," NATO said in a statement.
The Russian move was its latest action that systematically undermined Euro-Atlantic security, it said.
UK and Poland sign £4bn air defence system deal
Wednesday 8 November 2023 07:18 , Matt Mathers
The UK and Poland defence industries have signed a deal worth £4bn to continue the next stage of Poland’s future air defence programme.
UK firm MBDA has signed a sub-contract with Polish defence company PGZ, in a programme that will provide Polish forces with an enhanced ground-based air defence system capable of launching missiles to engage air threats.
This includes cruise missiles and fighter jets, at ranges of more than 40 kilometres. The deal will create more than 1,000 Common Anti-Air Modular Missiles – Extended Range (CAMM-ER) and over 100 iLaunchers.
Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said: “This is another crucial step forward for our historic defence ties with Poland, supplying next generation air defence capabilities to act as a clear deterrent to our adversaries.
“We continue to fully back our thriving UK defence industry, and this landmark export deal is yet another example of the huge potential our collective defence sectors boast.”
The Ministry of Defence says the deal “will bolster European security in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Chris Allam, managing director of MBDA UK, said: “The scale and ambition of NAREW is truly impressive – building a Polish air defence shield using our CAMM family missiles and iLaunchers that will protect the entirety of Poland’s skies.
“The transfer of technology in NAREW will be transformative for Poland’s sovereign complex weapons capabilities, and we are deeply proud of the trust placed in us by Poland and excited for the future of our partnership with PGZ.”
🇬🇧🤝🇵🇱 European security will be boosted through a new ground-based air defence agreement signed by @MBDA_UK and @PGZ_pl today.
This hugely significant deal between the 🇬🇧 and 🇵🇱 will deliver systems able to engage air threats more than 40km away.
👉 https://t.co/KdCigWQZDT pic.twitter.com/gEGHaUXlOv— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 7, 2023
‘No way’ for US to stay in key post-Cold War agreement
Wednesday 8 November 2023 07:00 , Athena Stavrou
There was no way for the US to stay in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, a key post-Cold War agreement, after Russia pulled out, White house national security spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday.
“I don’t know how we can justify not pulling out” of the treaty after Russia did, Kirby said.
He said the U.S. will meet all Article Five commitments to NATO allies, which could force changes.
Earlier, Nato announced the formal suspension of the treaty in the wake of Russia withdrawing from the deal.
Zelensky rules out elections next year
Wednesday 8 November 2023 06:00 , Athena Stavrou
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out holding a presidential vote in the spring and urged his countrymen to avoid political divides, saying they must concentrate all resources on fighting Russia.
Mr Zelensky, who was elected for a five-year term in March 2019, had previously avoided definitive statements on the question. His associates had said he was pondering various possibilities.
“Now, in wartime, when there are so many challenges, it is absolutely irresponsible to throw the topic of elections into society in a light-hearted and playful way,” he said, adding that “the waves of any politically divisive things must stop”.
“We must realise that now is the time of defence, the time of the battle that determines the fate of the state and people, not the time of manipulations, which only Russia expects from Ukraine,” he said.
“I believe that now is not the right time for elections.”
G7 support for Ukraine will not be affected by Middle East conflict, Japan says
Wednesday 8 November 2023 05:00 , Athena Stavrou
G7 support for Ukraine will not be affected by the intensifying Middle East conflict, Japan said as the group’s foreign ministers prepared to hold virtual talks with Kyiv during a meeting in Tokyo.
The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States – as well as the European Union will meet in Tokyo today and tomorrow to discuss issues including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza crisis.
“Our commitment to continue strict sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine has not wavered at all, even as the situation in the Middle East intensifies,” Japan’s foreign minister, YÅko Kamikawa, said.
Putin faces ‘tough choice’ between Iran and Israel if he is to preserve his regime, expert says
Wednesday 8 November 2023 04:00 , Athena Stavrou
Vladimir Putin will soon have to make the “tough choice” of siding with either Iran or Israel as he faces the twin challenge of protecting his regime and continuing with his invasion of Ukraine, an expert said.
Moscow’s continuing war in Ukraine will test its relationship with both Iran and Israel, according to Kimberly Kagan, the president for the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think-tank.
Arpan Rai reports:
Putin faces ‘tough choice’ as Ukraine war threatens Russia-Israel relations
Zelensky cancels Israel visit over leaked plans
Wednesday 8 November 2023 03:00 , Athena Stavrou
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky cancelled a planned visit to Israel today after news of his apparent trip was leaked to Israeli media over the weekend, according to reports.
Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel cited diplomatic sources as saying the Ukrainian president was still due to visit the country, but no date had been set.
“If President Zelensky comes, he will be welcomed with open arms,” an Israeli official was reported as saying. A Ukrainian diplomat previously told The Times that Mr Zelenskyy was “very disappointed” by the leak.
