Ukraine-Russia war live: Kyiv’s huge drone attack as Putin floods frontline with ‘poorly trained troops’

The UK’s Ministry of Defence has said Russian president Vladimir Putin is flooding the frontline with “poorly trained troops”, noting “the reluctance of some elements to fight” in the war.

In its daily intelligence briefing, the government highlighted that Russia is convicting nearly 100 soldiers a week for refusing to fight, adding there will be around 5,200 convictions this year.

“The high rate of convictions demonstrates the poor state of morale in the Russian Army and the reluctance of some elements to fight,” the MoD added.

“Although some soldiers have refused to fight and attrition rates remain high, Russia highly likely mitigates their loss by committing a mass of poorly trained soldiers to the frontline.”

The MoD’s update comes on the same day Moscow accused Ukraine of launching the biggest drone attack on its soil since the war began.

At least four Russian military transport planes were destroyed in a drone attack at the Pskov airport in western Russia, the regional governor has said, as flight operations to and from the airport were suspended.

Key Points

• Drone attack shuts Russian airport, damages four transport planes

• Two killed in Kyiv as Russia launches counter drone strikes

• Closed-door ‘farewell’ held for Yevgeny Prigozhin

• Putin has no plans to attend Prigozhin’s funeral, Kremlin says

• Pentagon vows to continue flying jets over Black Sea

• Poland threatens to close borders with Belarus over Wagner fighters

• Russia ‘convicting close to 100 soldiers a week’ for refusing to fight

Ukraine's Kharkiv builds classrooms underground to protect students from missiles

12:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

Forced to shield its school-children from the threat of supersonic Russian missiles fired at short range, Ukraine‘s eastern metropolis of Kharkiv has built dozens of classrooms in metro stations to allow some pupils to return to in-person teaching.

Kharkiv, Ukraine‘s second largest city, had a population of more than 1.4 million before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Parts of the city lie less than 20 miles from the Russian border. Its northern suburbs were scarred by fighting.

Kharkiv’s schools have been forced to teach online throughout the war as some Russian missiles can reach the city in under a minute - not enough time to get from many classrooms to a shelter.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Tuesday that 60 school rooms been created in Kharkiv’s metro stations ahead of the new school year in September, creating space for more than 1,000 children to study in-person.

“The children will be able to socialise with each other, find a common language, communicate. I absolutely support this,” said Iryna Loboda, the mother of a schoolboy outside a metro station in the city centre where classrooms have been built.

Kremlin says no chance of international investigation into Prigozhin plane crash

11:30 , Maanya Sachdeva

The Kremlin on Wednesday said that the probe into the plane crash which killed Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin last week was a Russian investigation, and that there could be no question of an international investigation.

In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia‘s investigation took into account the possibility that the crash had been caused deliberately.

In an earlier statement, the Kremlin rejected the suggestion that Prigozhin had been killed on its orders as an “absolute lie”.

Since the crash last week, there has been intense speculation Russian president Vladimir Putin had ordered Prigozhin’s death as revenge for the June mutiny.

Zelensky posts message of hope on 553rd day since war began

10:47 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has shared a message of hope, praising the “bravery and determination of our warriors”, on the 553rd day since Russia invaded the country.

Writing on X/Twitter, Mr Zelensky said: “Now, as every day of these 553 days, the resilience of our warriors makes all the difference.

“Our resilience. Not some attempts and plans of Russia. But the bravery and determination of our warriors.

The strength and unity of our people – all those who work for our victory and all those who support our heroes and the Ukrainian state. To preserve all elements of our resilience is to guarantee victory.”

Russia ‘convicting close to 100 soldiers a week’ for refusing to fight

10:04 , Maanya Sachdeva

The Ministry of Defence has said Russia is convicting close to 100 soldiers every week for refusing to fight in Ukraine, in its latest security briefing.

At this rate, there will be at least 5,200 convictions this year, the MoD added.

“The high rate of convictions demonstrates the poor state of morale in the Russian Army and the reluctance of some elements to fight,” the government said, noting the refusal to fight “reflects the lack of training, motivation and high stress situations Russian forces face along the entire Ukrainian frontline”.

“Although some soldiers have refused to fight and attrition rates remain high, Russia highly likely mitigates their loss by committing a mass of poorly trained soldiers to the frontline.”

Two killed in Russian missile attack on Kyiv, officials say

09:15 , Maanya Sachdeva

At least two people were killed and two wounded in an attack on Kyiv on Wednesday morning, Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on the Telegram messaging app, as debris from targets destroyed by air defences fell on several buildings in the Ukrainian capital.

The bodies of two people were found in a nonresidential building and one person was wounded by glass shards, Mr Klitschko said, adding that debris fell in four places in the capital.

“Kyiv has not experienced such a powerful attack since spring. The enemy launched a massive, combined attack using drones and missiles,” Serhiy Popko, the head of the city’s military administration said on Telegram

He said that at the beginning several groups of drones were heading for Kyiv from different directions. Russia then launched missiles from Tu-95 strategic aircrafts.

“All in all, the air defence forces destroyed more than 20 enemy targets,” Popko said.

Kyiv authorities said several buildings were damaged by debris while officials in Kyiv region reported that several houses were damaged by missile fragments.

Largest drone attack on Russian territory since invasion began as cargo planes destroyed

08:43 , Maanya Sachdeva

Russia says at least four of its military transport planes were damaged after Ukraine launched its biggest drone attack on Russian soil since the beginning of the invasion.

Full story here:

Ukraine: Largest drone attack on Russian territory since invasion began

US to send $250m in weapons to Ukraine

08:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The Biden administration said it will send an additional $250m in weapons and ammunition to Ukraine as part of its ongoing support of Kyiv’s counteroffensive.

The weapons will be drawn from existing US stockpiles and will include mine-clearing equipment, artillery and rocket rounds, ambulances and medical gear, among other items and spare parts, according to the state department.

“The package will help Ukrainian forces on the battlefield and support its air defenses as Russia continues to launch brutal, brutal strikes against the people of Ukraine, including attacks this past week,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Moscow airspace shut after drone strike

07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Russia on Wednesday briefly shut down airspace over Moscow and Tula Oblasts after reports of drone strikes on six regions of the country, according to Russian state media.

Moscow’s Vnukovo airport was closed for the night, while flights at Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports were delayed, TASS reported.

The closure was ordered after officials said the military was repelling a drone attack on an airport in the western city of Pskov.

Kremlin says Putin is not planning to attend Wagner chief Prigozhin’s burial

07:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Russian president Vladimir Putin is not planning to attend the funeral of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin following his death in a plane crash, the Kremlin has said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov wouldn’t say where or when the chief of the Wagner Group military company would be buried.

St. Petersburg’s Fontanka news outlet and some other media said Prigozhin, 62, will likely be put to rest at the Serafimovskoye cemetery, which has previously been used for high-profile military burials.

On Tuesday, heavy police cordons encircled the cemetery, where Mr Putin’s parents are also buried. Increased police presence was also reported at some other city cemeteries.

More here.

The Kremlin says Putin is not planning to attend Wagner chief Prigozhin's burial

Putin moved £75m superyacht weeks before Ukraine invasion

06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

President Vladimir Putin moved his £75m superyacht three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine to avoid having it seized as part of war sanctions, a new investigation has claimed.

Secret documents released by Russian investigative journalist Maria Pevchikh, who heads the anti-corruption foundation set up by Alexei Navalny, show the Russian president had his yacht ‘Graceful’ sail from from Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany to the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad two weeks before the invasion.

The documents show an email was sent by an employee of Russia’s largest shipping company, the SCF Group, to Blohm & Voss saying the owner of Graceful is unhappy with an ongoing “refit” and wants the ship to sail out of the Hamburg port on 1 February 2022.

Martha McHardy has more.

Putin moved £75million superyacht 3 weeks before war to avoid having it seized

White House says Kremlin has ‘long history’ of killing its opponents

06:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The White House has declined to say whether the US has officially implicated Russian president Vladimir Putin in the death of late Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin but noted the long list of those perceived as opponents to Mr Putin meeting early demises.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about Mr Putin’s non-attendance at a funeral service for Prigozhin, who died earlier this month after his private aircraft broke up mid-air in Russian airspace.

US officials have said the break-up of Prighozin’s airplane was likely caused by a bomb planted on board.

“I don’t have any new assessment for you. But it seems pretty evident what happened here ... as the president said ... ‘there’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin is not behind,’” she said.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

White House says Kremlin has ‘long history’ of killing opponents

Two killed in Kyiv as Russia launches own drone strikes

05:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A Russian attack on Kyiv killed two people early on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said, while Russia accused Ukraine of launching what appeared to be the biggest drone attack on Russian soil since the invasion.

Falling debris killed two people and injured another in Kyiv after Russia launched a “massive combined attack” on the Ukrainian capital using drones and missiles, head of the military administration Sergei Popko wrote on Telegram.

Russia launched Shahed drones at Kyiv from various directions and then targeted the capital with missiles from Tu-95ms strategic aircraft, Mr Popko said, adding that more than 20 targets had been brought down by Ukraine’s air defences.

Explosions in Ukraine were also reported in the southern city of Odesa and the Cherkasy region.

Also this morning, Russian officials said drones hit an airport in its western Pskov region near the border with Estonia and Latvia and started a massive fire.

More drones were shot down over Oryol, Bryansk, Ryazan, Kaluga and the Moscow region surrounding the Russian capital, the defence ministry added.

Russia says Ukraine has been steadily escalating its drone attacks on Russian soil and Russian-occupied territory in recent weeks.

Ukraine has not formally claimed responsibility for such attacks, but officials including Volodymyr Zelensky have defended them in principle and expressed satisfaction at the results.

Russian nationalist ordered to stay in prison after accusing Putin of weakness

05:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A Moscow court has ruled that a prominent hard-line nationalist who accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of weakness and indecision in Ukraine should remain in prison on charges of extremism.

Igor Strelkov, a retired security officer who led Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and was convicted of murder in the Netherlands for his role in the downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet that year, has argued that a total mobilisation is needed for Russia to achieve victory.

He has previously criticised Mr Putin as a “nonentity” and a “cowardly mediocrity”.

Moscow’s District Court ordered the 52-year-old Strelkov, whose real name is Igor Girkin, to remain in custody until 18 September.

He was arrested on 21 July and faces charges of making calls for extremist activities. He could receive five years in prison if convicted.

More here.

Russian hard-line nationalist ordered to stay in prison after accusing Putin of weakness

An explosion lights up the sky as the Russian military repell a drone attack on Pskov

04:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

04:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage.

The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin’s spurious war to “de-Nazify” Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Drone attack shuts Russian airport, damages transport planes

03:58 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A drone attack on an airport in Russia’s western city of Pskov has damaged four military transport planes, the regional governor has said.

The Ilyushin 76 transport planes were caught in the fire that erupted following the drone strikes early on Wednesday, governor Mikhail Vedernikov said.

All flights to and from the airport were canceled on Wednesday so the damage could be assessed during daylight, he added.

Footage and images posted on social media showed smoke billowing over the city of Pskov and a large blaze.

Mr Vedernikov said there were no casualties, and the fire had been contained. Unconfirmed media reports said between 10 and 20 drones could have attacked the airport.

According to the Russian defence ministry, more drones were shot down over Oryol, Bryansk, Ryazan, Kaluga and the Moscow region surrounding the Russian capital.

ICYMI: Vatican seeks to tamp down outrage over pope's words of praise for Russian imperial past

03:00 , Eleanor Noyce

The Vatican on Tuesday sought to tamp down an uproar that erupted after Pope Francis praised Russia’s imperialist past during a video conference with Russian Catholics youths, insisting that he never intended to encourage modern-day Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said Francis merely wanted to praise the positive aspects of Russia’s spiritual and cultural history when he praised Russia’s imperial rulers Peter and Catherine the Great, encouraged young people to remember that past and praised their way of “being Russian.”

Francis “certainly didn’t want to exalt imperialistic logic or government personalities, who were cited to indicate certain historic periods of reference,” Bruni said in a statement.

Nicole Winfield reports:

Vatican seeks to tamp down outrage over pope's words of praise for Russian imperial past

The key to Ukraine punching through Russia’s defences – and putting Putin’s forces on the back foot

02:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Long-range strikes by drone and missile and a raid on territory in occupied Crimea that took Russian forces by surprise – all part of Kyiv’s recent push towards the peninsula that is a symbol of Vladimir Putin‘s territorial ambitions.

Perhaps most significant of all is the capture of the key village of Robotyne, about three hours drive east of Crimea. Gaining that foothold will help Ukraine build a foundation to punch through to the coastline of the Sea of Azov.

Kyiv has been stepping up drone attacks on Crimea as it looks to break key supply lines from the Russian-occupied peninsula, writes Askold Krushelnycky in Ukraine:

The key to Ukraine punching through Russia’s defences | Askold Krushelnycky

ICYMI: Who is ‘Juice’? The ‘mega talent’ Ukrainian pilot killed in mid-air plane crash

01:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine is mourning the loss of three fighter pilots killed as two training aircraft collided in the skies some 90 miles west of Kyiv.

Singled out for particular praise by president Volodymr Zelensky and Ukraine’s airforce is Captain Andriy Pilshchykov, a pilot who went by the military callsign “Juice”.

The late pilot, who was 30 years old when the crash occurred over the western Zhytomyr region on Friday, had become known not just for his defence of Ukraine, but also for his passionate advocacy for the United States to provide Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets.

Andy Gregory has more:

Who is ‘Juice’? The ‘hero’ Ukrainian pilot killed in mid-air plane crash

The Ukraine war, propaganda-style, is coming to Russian movie screens. Will people watch?

Wednesday 30 August 2023 00:01 , Eleanor Noyce

The movie centres around a renowned violinist from Belgium arriving in Kyiv to perform. The date is February 2022, and his trip is upended as Russia starts bombing Ukraine. The musician survives a series of “inhuman crimes and bloody provocations by Ukrainian nationalists,” and he wants to tell the world “what it was really like.”

“The Witness” — a state-sponsored drama that premiered in Russia on 17 August - is the first feature film about the 18-month-old invasion. It depicts Ukrainian troops as violent neo-Nazis who torture and kill their own people. One even wears a T-shirt with Hitler on it; another is shown doing drugs. It also has the main character’s young son wondering: “Isn’t Ukraine Russia?”

It’s the narrative the Kremlin has been promoting since the first days of the war — all packaged up in a motion picture.

Read more:

The Ukraine war, propaganda-style, is coming to Russian movie screens. Will people watch?

ICYMI: Ukraine flag flies on building after village of Robotyne captured from Russia

Tuesday 29 August 2023 23:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Soldiers have captured the Russian-occupied village of Robotyne and placed a Ukrainian flag on a bombed-out building.

Robotyne was captured by Ukrainian troops last week as part of the military‘s ongoing counter-offensive against Russia.

Ukraine‘s military said that this successful operation was the breakthrough needed to push deeper into Russian-held Ukrainian territory.

Robotyne is six miles south of the front line of the war and marks the furthest push yet towards the Sea of Azov, a point in which Russian-held territory would be split into two.

Russia had held Robotyne since the early days of the invasion in 2022.

Ukraine flag flies on building after village of Robotyne captured from Russia

What is the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin?

Tuesday 29 August 2023 22:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine have been supported on the battlefield by tens of thousands of mercenaries from a shadowy group led by a businessman and longtime ally of president Vladimir Putin.

The Wagner Group is a private military company that was under the control of Yevgeny Prigozhin until his reported death in a plane crash on Wednesday 23 August.

The unit cut its teeth in deployments to Crimea – illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 – and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region in the aftermath of that act and has since dispatched troops to several conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, including the Syrian Civil War.

Liam James and Joe Sommerlad report:

What is the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin?

What next for the Wagner Group as leader presumed dead in plane crash?

Tuesday 29 August 2023 21:00 , Eleanor Noyce

The Wagner founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is confirmed to have died in a plane crash – a turn of events that appears to leave his Wagner Group fighters rudderless and facing a highly uncertain future.

Prigozhin, a convict, turned gourmet restaurateur, turned warlord, was onboard an Embraer private jet flying from Moscow to St Petersburg when it came down over the Tver region, killing everyone on board. Two other senior commanders, Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov, were also on the passenger list.

The crash came exactly two months after Prigozhin led his men in a mutiny that gravely embarrassed Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, his fighters leaving their posts in southern Ukraine to occupy the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don before marching on Moscow along the M4 highway.

Read more:

What next for the Wagner Group in Russia?

How ‘industrial-scale’ Russian minefields are hampering Ukraine’s counteroffensive

Tuesday 29 August 2023 20:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Western hopes for Ukraine’s counteroffensive to achieve a dramatic breakthrough have been significantly pared back, with US officials now reportedly forecasting that Kyiv will fall short of its key aim of severing Russia’s land bridge with occupied Crimea.

One of the significant challenges confounding Kyiv’s efforts to redraw the front line is the millions of mines Russia has laid in their path, to the extent that Ukraine is now being described as the most heavily mined country in the world.

“What we are seeing is an industrial level of mine-laying, particularly anti-tank mines,” said Paul McCann, of the Halo Trust, the world’s largest humanitarian landmine clearance organisation. “Nothing like it [has been] seen in Europe since the Second World War.”

Russia’s easily replenished ‘concrete wall’ has forced Kyiv to rethink its tactics – but hopes for a ‘hell for leather’ breakthrough remain, reports Andy Gregory:

How ‘industrial-scale’ Russian minefields are hampering Ukraine’s counteroffensive

White House suggests Kremlin behind Prigozhin death

Tuesday 29 August 2023 20:03 , Eleanor Noyce

The White House on Tuesday came close to declaring that the Kremlin was responsible for the death of Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was believed to have been killed in a mysterious plane crash last week.

“We all know that the Kremlin has a long history of killing opponents,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “It’s very clear what happened here.”

Her comment was the closest U.S. statement yet on the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed the killing of Prigozhin, who had launched a brief mutiny against the Kremlin in June.

Prigozhin was killed last week when the plane was he flying in abruptly crashed outside of Moscow. Theories have abounded on what brought the plane down, from an explosion on board to a surface-to-air missile strike.

U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters last week that the United States was working to try to reach a conclusion on how the plane was brought down. “We’re trying to nail (it) down precisely,” he said on Friday.

Biden also said it was no surprise that Prigozhin had been killed after opposing Putin.

US announces $250 million in new military aid for Ukraine

Tuesday 29 August 2023 19:29 , Eleanor Noyce

The United States on Tuesday announced a new package of military assistance to support Ukraine that includes additional air defense and artillery munitions, mine clearing equipment and medical vehicles.

The latest package includes additional mine clearing equipment, missiles for air defense, ammunition for artillery and HIMAR (High Mobility Artillery Rocket) systems, and over three million rounds of small-arms ammunition, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

“The United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes,” Blinken said.

The equipment is funded through money previously approved by Congress.

More than $43 billion in U.S. military aid has been provided to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022. President Joe Biden earlier this month asked Congress to approve an additional $24 billion in assistance.

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have backed Ukraine aid, but some far-right Republicans - especially those allied with former President Donald Trump - want to pare back assistance.

White House says Kremlin has ‘long history’ of killing its opponents following Prigozhin death

Tuesday 29 August 2023 19:07 , Eleanor Noyce

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday declined to say whether the US has officially implicated Russian President Vladimir Putin in the death of late Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin but noted the long list of those perceived as opponents to Mr Putin meeting early demises.

Speaking at Tuesday’s daily White House press briefing, Ms Jean-Pierre was asked about Mr Putin’s attendance at a funeral service for Prigozhin, who died earlier this month after his private aircraft broke up mid-air in Russian airspace.

US officials have said the break-up of Prighozin’s airplane was likely caused by a bomb planted on board.

Read more:

White House says Kremlin has ‘long history’ of killing opponents

The key to Ukraine punching through Russia’s defences – and putting Putin’s forces on the back foot

Tuesday 29 August 2023 18:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Long-range strikes by drone and missile and a raid on territory in occupied Crimea that took Russian forces by surprise – all part of Kyiv’s recent push towards the peninsula that is a symbol of Vladimir Putin‘s territorial ambitions.

Perhaps most significant of all is the capture of the key village of Robotyne, about three hours drive east of Crimea. Gaining that foothold will help Ukraine build a foundation to punch through to the coastline of the Sea of Azov.

Kyiv has been stepping up drone attacks on Crimea as it looks to break key supply lines from the Russian-occupied peninsula, writes Askold Krushelnycky in Ukraine:

The key to Ukraine punching through Russia’s defences | Askold Krushelnycky

Secretive funeral for Wagner chief as Putin stays away

Tuesday 29 August 2023 18:30 , Eleanor Noyce

A behind-closed-doors “farewell ceremony” has been held for the Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin – a funeral avoided by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Secrecy had surrounded the funeral arrangements for Prigozhin, killed in a plane crash on 23 August, two months to the day since staging a 24-hour mutiny that was the biggest challenge to Putin’s authority since he rose to power in 1999.

The low-key ceremony stands in stark contrast to aggressive self-promotion, with videos from Ukraine having become a regular fixture of Prigozhin’s months-long feud with Moscow’s military command over the invasion Putin started. That ended with his forces marching on Moscow, only stopping 125 miles from the capital when a deal was struck with the Kremlin.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Secretive funeral for Wagner chief as Putin stays away

What next for the Wagner Group as leader presumed dead in plane crash?

Tuesday 29 August 2023 18:10 , Eleanor Noyce

The Wagner founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is confirmed to have died in a plane crash – a turn of events that appears to leave his Wagner Group fighters rudderless and facing a highly uncertain future.

Prigozhin, a convict, turned gourmet restaurateur, turned warlord, was onboard an Embraer private jet flying from Moscow to St Petersburg when it came down over the Tver region, killing everyone on board. Two other senior commanders, Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov, were also on the passenger list.

The crash came exactly two months after Prigozhin led his men in a mutiny that gravely embarrassed Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, his fighters leaving their posts in southern Ukraine to occupy the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don before marching on Moscow along the M4 highway.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

What next for the Wagner Group in Russia?

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

Tuesday 29 August 2023 17:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has been raging for one year now as the conflict continues to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.

Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russia’s neighbour needed to be “demilitarised and de-Nazified”, a baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.

Read more:

Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine

The Ukraine war, propaganda-style, is coming to Russian movie screens. Will people watch?

Tuesday 29 August 2023 17:20 , Eleanor Noyce

The movie centres around a renowned violinist from Belgium arriving in Kyiv to perform. The date is February 2022, and his trip is upended as Russia starts bombing Ukraine. The musician survives a series of “inhuman crimes and bloody provocations by Ukrainian nationalists,” and he wants to tell the world “what it was really like.”

“The Witness” — a state-sponsored drama that premiered in Russia on Aug. 17 -- is the first feature film about the 18-month-old invasion. It depicts Ukrainian troops as violent neo-Nazis who torture and kill their own people. One even wears a T-shirt with Hitler on it; another is shown doing drugs. It also has the main character’s young son wondering: “Isn’t Ukraine Russia?”

Read more:

The Ukraine war, propaganda-style, is coming to Russian movie screens. Will people watch?

Russian shelling kills one in northeast Ukraine, Kyiv says it's pushing south

Tuesday 29 August 2023 16:57 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian shelling killed a 45-year-old civilian man in the town of Kupiansk on Tuesday, local officials said, as Moscow’s forces try to advance in northeastern Ukraine.

Russia seized Kupiansk in the northeastern region of Kharkiv soon after its invasion in February 2022, but Ukrainian forces recaptured the town last September and it is now under daily fire.

Some residents remain in the town, but regional authorities have ordered a mandatory evacuation of civilians from near the Kupiansk front because of the difficult situation.

Regional governor Oleh Synehubov said the man killed on Tuesday was a guard at a meat processing plant that was hit in the latest shelling. The prosecutor general’s office said a 67-year-old man had also been hurt during the shelling.

Kupiansk was home to about 27,000 people before the war and is a rail hub about 100 km (62 miles) east of the regional capital, Kharkiv. Losing the town a second time would be a considerable blow to Kyiv’s battlefield momentum.

Reuters could not verify the situation in the town, or reports of fighting elsewhere.

Ukrainian troops began a counteroffensive in the east and south in early June but have made slow progress through Russian minefields and trenches blocking their southern push, intended to reach the Sea of Azov and split Russian forces.

A military spokesperson said Ukrainian forces were pushing on southwards in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia after recapturing Robotyne, the latest of a cluster of settlements and villages it says it has taken back in recent weeks.

Putin moved £75million superyacht weeks before Ukraine invasion to avoid having it seized

Tuesday 29 August 2023 16:32 , Eleanor Noyce

President Putin moved his £75million superyacht three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine to avoid having it seized as part of war sanctions, a new investigation has claimed.

Secret documents released by Russian investigative journalist Maria Pevchikh, who heads the anti-corruption foundation set up by Alexei Navalny, show the Russian president had his yacht ‘Graceful’ sail from from Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany to the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad two weeks before the invasion.

The documents show an email was sent by an employee of Russia’s largest shipping company, the SCF Group, to Blohm & Voss saying the owner of Graceful is unhappy with an on-going “refit” and wants the ship to sail out of the Hamburg port on February 1, 2022.

Martha McHardy reports:

Putin moved £75million superyacht 3 weeks before war to avoid having it seized

Russian hard-line nationalist ordered to stay in prison after accusing Putin of weakness

Tuesday 29 August 2023 16:18 , Eleanor Noyce

A Moscow court has ruled that a prominent hard-line nationalist who accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of weakness and indecision in Ukraine should remain in prison on charges of extremism.

Igor Strelkov, a retired security officer who led Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and was convicted of murder in the Netherlands for his role in the downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet that year, has argued that a total mobilization is needed for Russia to achieve victory. He has previously criticised Putin as a “nonentity” and a “cowardly mediocrity.”

Moscow’s District Court ordered the 52-year-old Strelkov, whose real name is Igor Girkin, to remain in custody until 18 September. Strelkov was arrested on 21 July and faces charges of making calls for extremist activities. He could receive five years in prison if convicted.

Read more:

Russian hard-line nationalist ordered to stay in prison after accusing Putin of weakness

Prigozhin mourners can ‘visit cemetery’, press service says

Tuesday 29 August 2023 15:47 , Andy Gregory

Here is more on the statement from Yevgeny Prigozhin’s press service:

“The farewell to Yevgeny Viktorovich took place in a closed format. Those who wish to say goodbye may visit Porokhovskoye cemetery,” it said in a short post on Telegram, accompanied by a photo of Prigozhin.

Mourners hold closed-door ‘farewell ceremony’ for Yevgeny Prigozhin

Tuesday 29 August 2023 15:44 , Andy Gregory

A "farewell ceremony" for Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has taken place behind closed doors, his spokespeople have said.

The Kremlin earlier confirmed that Russian president Vladimir Putin was not planning to attend the funeral.

Nigel Gould-Davies, a former UK ambassador to Belarus, now with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, had said that Prigozhin’s funeral would be significant.

“If Putin wishes to emphasise that Prigozhin died as a traitor, he will ignore it,” Dr Gould-Davies said last week.

“Prigozhin’s supporters may use the moment to eulogise him and his critique of the Kremlin’s conduct of the war, which could strengthen the hostility of a core group of Wagner loyalists towards the Kremlin.

How ‘industrial-scale’ Russian minefields are hampering Ukraine’s counteroffensive

Tuesday 29 August 2023 15:42 , Andy Gregory

One of the most significant challenges confounding Kyiv’s efforts to redraw the front line is the millions of mines Russia has laid in their path, to the extent that Ukraine is now being described as the most heavily mined country in the world.

“What we are seeing is an industrial level of mine-laying, particularly anti-tank mines,” said Paul McCann, of the Halo Trust, the world’s largest humanitarian landmine clearance organisation. “Nothing like it [has been] seen in Europe since the Second World War.”

You can read more about the situation here with Independent Premium:

How ‘industrial-scale’ Russian minefields are hampering Ukraine’s counteroffensive

Funeral held in St Petersburg for Wagner logistics chief

Tuesday 29 August 2023 15:24 , Andy Gregory

Russian mercenaries have gathered for the burial of Wagner’s logistics chief Valery Chekalov, who was killed in last week’s plane crash apparently also involving Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The family of Chekalov was joined by dozens of people, some of whom Reuters identified as Wagner mercenaries and employees from Prigozhin’s business empire, at the Severnoye cemetery in St Petersburg on Tuesday.

A Russian Orthodox priest said prayers and swung a censer before Chekalov’s coffin as family, friends and former colleagues, some holding bunches of flowers, bade farewell, Reuters video showed.

Some, including women and children in sunglasses, came forward to kiss his coffin. Unidentified mourners at the funeral ordered a Reuters videographer and photographer to stop filming.

Prigozhin’s death ‘just reconfirms risks from Russia’, says Moldova president

Tuesday 29 August 2023 14:59 , Andy Gregory

Moldova’s president has warned that the apparent death of Yevgeny Prigozhin “just reconfirms the risks which come from Russia, a country which does not have justice”.

Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in Chisinau, as Moldova marked its 32nd independence day, Maia Sandu said: “This just reconfirms the risks which come from Russian, a country which does not have justice, which solves the problems the way it solves.

“And, unfortunately, this does not limit to Russia’s borders. Unfortunately, this is the way Russia acts with respect to its neighbours.”

Warning that “Ukraine needs to get more support”, Ms Sandu said: “Everybody should understand that if Ukraine is not helped, then Russia will not stop in Ukraine or Moldova.”

“I believe more support will be coming soon, so that Ukraine could recover its territories and we will see an end to this crazy war,” she added.

Russia claims to down second Ukrainian drone over Black Sea

Tuesday 29 August 2023 14:38 , Andy Gregory

Russia’s defence ministry claims its forces brought down a second Ukrainian drone over the Black Sea at around 1pm on Tuesday, according to state news outlets.

The ministry claimed earlier that a drone had been shot down by a military jet.

Igor Girkin loses pre-trial detention appeal over extremism charges

Tuesday 29 August 2023 14:26 , Andy Gregory

Prominent Russian nationalist Igor Girkin has lost an appeal against his pre-trial detention on charges of inciting extremism, a Moscow court said.

Girkin, a former commander of separatist-backed forces in 2014 who goes by the nom de guerre Igor Strelkov, has fiercely criticised the way that Russia has conducted the war in Ukraine.

He is best known in the West for having been convicted by a Dutch court over the shooting down of a Malaysian passenger plane with the loss of 298 lives over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Wagner boss talks about ‘plane falling apart in the air’ in resurfaced clip fuelling conspiracy theories

Tuesday 29 August 2023 14:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

A resurfaced clip of the Wagner leader who was killed in a plane crash has resurfaced on social media, stoking conspiracy theories about his demise.

In the 40-second clip, the Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin compared Russia’s trajectory in the war to a plane that will “fall apart in the air”.

Read more here:

Wagner boss talks about ‘plane falling apart in the air’ in resurfaced clip

One person killed in Russian shelling of northeastern town of Kupiansk

Tuesday 29 August 2023 13:30 , Maanya Sachdeva

Russian shelling killed a 45-year-old man and wounded at least one other person in the northeastern Ukrainian town of Kupiansk on Tuesday morning, Ukrainian officials said.

The town in the Kharkiv region was seized by Moscow soon after Russia‘s invasion 18 months ago, recaptured by Kyiv last September, and under frequent fire again as Moscow tries to hit back in the northeast.

Some residents remain in the town, but regional authorities have ordered a mandatory evacuation of civilians from near the Kupiansk front because of the difficult situation.

Regional governor Oleh Synehubov said the man killed on Tuesday was a guard at a meat processing plant that was hit in the latest shelling. The prosecutor general’s office said a 67-year-old man had also been hurt during the shelling.

Reuters could not verify the situation in the town, or reports from the battlefield.

Who was Yevgeny Prigozhin and who were the Wagner men who died with him?

Tuesday 29 August 2023 13:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

Funerals are expected to take place soon for Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and other members of his Wagner group who died in a plane crash last week.

Here are some key facts about them:

All you need to know about Yevgeny Prigozhin as Wagner chief killed in plane crash

German prosecutor issues arrest warrant in Russia sanctions violations case

Tuesday 29 August 2023 12:30 , Maanya Sachdeva

Germany’s prosecutor general said on Tuesday it has issued an arrest warrant for a German-Russian national suspected of exporting components used by Russia in the production of military hardware including drones.

The defendant, named only as Waldemar W, is accused of violating sanctions imposed in the wake of Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the prosecutor said in a statement.

W has been in pre-trial detention since 9 March.

Between January 2020 and March 2023, he allegedly exported electronic components on 26 occasions to a Russian company involved in the production of military hardware including the Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone.

The prosecutor general stepped in “because of the special importance of the case”, it said in a statement. Its arrest warrant supercedes another issued by a Mannheim regional court on 8 March.

German authorities have been increasingly cracking down on those suspected of circumventing sanctions.

Earlier this month, a businessman was arrested on suspicion of providing machine tools used by the Russian company in the production of sniper rifles.

Japan PM Kishida pledges continued support for Ukraine

Tuesday 29 August 2023 12:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida said he told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday that Japan planned to keep on supporting Ukraine.

Mr Kishida told reporters he had also condemned Russia‘s continued attacks on Ukraine during his phone call with Mr Zelensky.

Pope had no intention to glorify Russian imperialism, Vatican says

Tuesday 29 August 2023 11:30 , Maanya Sachdeva

Pope Francis did not intend to glorify Russian imperialism when he extolled tsars that expanded the Russian empire, the Vatican said on Tuesday, after his remarks in a speech last week were criticised by Ukraine.

Francis had told Russian youths in unscripted remarks following a speech on Friday to remember that they are the heirs of past tsars such as Peter I and Catherine II.

The two monarchs expanded Russia‘s empire in the 17th and 18th centuries, including conquering parts of Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin has referred to their legacies in justifying his invasion and annexation of territory last year.

“The pope intended to encourage young people to preserve and promote all that is positive in the great Russian cultural and spiritual heritage, and certainly not to exalt imperialist logic and government personalities, (which he) mentioned to indicate some historical periods of reference,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.

Kyiv called the remarks “deeply regrettable” while the Kremlin said they had been “very gratifying”.

Ukrainian children fall behind with no let-up in attacks on schools: UNICEF

Tuesday 29 August 2023 11:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

Persistent wartime attacks on schools in Ukraine mean that only about a third of school-age children there are attending classes fully in person and many are falling behind, the UN children’s fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

Beyond Ukraine, more than half of the children whose families have fled the conflict to seven countries are not enrolled in national education systems, UNICEF said, citing language barriers and overstretched education systems.

Some schools have suffered direct hits and others have closed down as a precaution since Russia‘s invasion 18 months ago, which has involved missile and artillery attacks on residential areas across the country.

“Inside Ukraine, attacks on schools have continued unabated, leaving children deeply distressed and without safe spaces to learn,” it said.

The war followed earlier Covid disruptions, meaning some Ukrainian children were facing a fourth consecutive school year of disruptions as they return to classes this week after the summer break, UNICEF said.

“Not only has this left Ukraine‘s children struggling to progress in their education, but they are also struggling to retain what they learnt when their schools were fully functioning,” said Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.

Around half of Ukraine‘s teachers have reported a deterioration in students’ abilities in language, reading and mathematics, it said.

Russia ‘downs Ukrainian drone over Black Sea'

Tuesday 29 August 2023 10:56 , Maanya Sachdeva

A Russian military jet destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, Russia‘s defence ministry said without providing any other details.

More updates to follow.

Putin has ‘no plans to attend Prigozhin’s funeral'

Tuesday 29 August 2023 10:25 , Maanya Sachdeva

Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to attend the funeral of Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

He told reporters the Kremlin did not know about the planned funeral arrangements, saying this was a matter for the family.

Prigozhin died when his business jet crashed last week, two months after he and his Wagner mercenaries staged a mutiny against Russian military commanders in which they took control of a southern city, Rostov, and advanced towards Moscow before turning back 200 km (125 miles) from the capital.

The Kremlin has rejected as an “absolute lie” the suggestion by some Western politicians and commentators that Putin ordered Prigozhin to be killed in revenge.

Speculation grows that late Wagner boss’ funeral may be held today

Tuesday 29 August 2023 09:40 , Maanya Sachdeva

Speculation has been increasing that the late Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s funeral may be held today, as law enforcement officers were reportedly spotted outside a cemetery in St Petersburg.

Prighozin was killed in a plane crash northwest of Moscow last Wednesday.

Prigozhin’s death comes just two months after the Wagner boss led an armed rebellion against Putin, leading to conjecture the Russian president had ordered Prigozhin’s death.

ICYMI: Ukraine flag flies on building after village of Robotyne captured from Russia

Tuesday 29 August 2023 08:35 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ukrainian soldiers on Monday recaptured the Russian-occupied village of Robotyne and placed the national flag on a bombed-out building,

Robotyne was captured by Ukrainian troops last week as part of the military‘s ongoing counter-offensive against Russia.

Ukraine‘s military said that this successful operation was the breakthrough needed to push deeper into Russian-held Ukrainian territory.

Watch the video here: