Ukraine-Russia war - live: Moscow warns of ‘grave mistake’ as Kyiv fires US-supplied ATACMS missiles
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Ukrainian defence forces made first use of a US supplied long-range weapon by striking two Russian military airfields, successfully destroying nine helicopters and an ammunition base.
Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, described Washington’s decision to supply the ATACMS as “reckless” and “a grave mistake” that will not alter the war’s outcome.
The Russian parliament has fulfilled the wish of President Putin by completing a bill that shifts Moscow’s legal stance on nuclear testing, to “mirror” the position of the US.
The Kremlin said the move was “the exclusive fault” of the US, while Putin’s entourage were pictured carrying his nuclear briefcase during a visit to Beijing.
This comes as Russian attacks overnight and on Wednesday killed at least five civilians in Ukraine and damaged the power grid in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials have said.
Two civilians were killed in a morning missile strike on a residential building in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, and a 31-year-old woman was killed in an attack on the village of Obukhivka in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk, they said.
Russia’s ambassador to the US warned on Wednesday that the Kremlin would issue a “serious” response to the provision of ATACMS to Kyiv.
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Putin says Russia ‘will be able to repel’ Ukraine’s new weapons used to damage Kremlin’s air assets
10:35 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Vladimir Putin said Russia “will be able to repel” attacks by Ukraine’s new long range weapons supplied by the US, which Kyiv used to launch one of the most damaging attacks on the Kremlin’s air assets since the start of the war.
While the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, result in an additional threat, the weapon would not change the situation along the 1,500km (932 mile) frontline, Mr Putin told reporters in Beijing. He said his forces will be able to repel attacks by the top-tier missile system.
“For Ukraine, in this sense, there’s nothing good… it only prolongs the agony,” the Russian president said during his visit to China.
Putin says Russia ‘will be able to repel’ Ukraine’s new long range weapons
Journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as foreign agent- continued
10:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
“Alsu is a highly respected colleague, devoted wife, and dedicated mother to two children,” Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty Acting President Jeffrey Gedmin said.
“She needs to be released so she can return to her family immediately.”
Ms Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague with her family, was stopped at Kazan International Airport on June 2 after travelling to Russia for a family emergency on May 20, according to RFE/RL.
Officials at the airport confiscated her US and Russian passports and she was later fined for failing to register her US passport with Russian authorities.
She was waiting for her passports to be returned when the new charge of failing to register as a foreign agent was announced on Wednesday, RFE/RL said.
Ms Kurmasheva reported on ethnic minority communities in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan in Russia, including projects to protect and preserve the Tatar language and culture despite “increased pressure” on Tatars from Russian authorities, her employer said.
Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips after US-Russian tensions soared when Russia sent troops into Ukraine.
Journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as foreign agent
09:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Russian-American journalist working for a US government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, according to her employer.
Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva is the second US journalist to be detained in Russia this year.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested for alleged spying in March.
Ms Kurmasheva, an editor with RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir service, is being held in a temporary detention centre, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, citing a Russian state news agency.
The Tatar-Inform agency posted video showing Ms Kurmasheva being marched into an administrative building accompanied by four men, two of whom held her arms and wore balaclavas.
Tatar-Inform said authorities accused Ms Kurmasheva of collecting information about Russia‘s military activities “in order to transmit information to foreign sources”, suggesting she received information about university teachers who were mobilised into the Russian army.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said she was charged with failing to register as a foreign agent in her capacity as a person collecting information on Russian military activities.
If convicted, Ms Kurmasheva could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, the New York-based press freedom group said.
Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv sees ‘partial success’ in south
09:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
At least 10 civilians in Ukraine were killed on Wednesday in Russian attacks as Ukrainian military officials confirmed battlefield gains in counteroffensive operations in the south of the warzone.
The death toll rose to five from four after a missile struck a residential building in southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
A 31-year-old woman was killed in a separate attack in central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk. Officials said she was a resident of the Obukhivka village. Another Russian attack claimed the lives of a man and woman in Kherson, officials said.
Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv advances in south
China’s Xi warns West against cutting ties as he welcomes ‘dear friend’ Putin to Beijing
09:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Xi Jinping warned the West against breaking economic ties with China on Wednesday as he welcomed his “dear friend” Vladimir Putin and other allies to a global summit in Beijing.
The Chinese president was hosting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum, part of its long-term plan to build global infrastructure and energy networks connecting Asia with Africa and Europe through overland and maritime routes.
Representatives of more than 130 countries – largely from the global South, but including Hungary – attended the forum.
Xi warns West against cutting ties as he welcomes ‘dear friend’ Putin to Beijing
Kyiv forces make ‘breakthrough’ on Dnipro river
09:02 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukrainian forces have advanced on the Dnipro River onto the opposite bank of Kherson Oblast as they cross into Russian-occupied territory, Russian sources have claimed.
A prominent Russian milblogger ‘Rybar’ claimed Ukrainian troops pushed through Russian defences as they landed on the east bank of the Dnipro river.
He claimed they temporarily occupied the village of Poyma and positions on the northern outskirts of Pishchanivka on the afternoon of 17 October.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the milblogger later claimed that Russian forces pushed Ukrainian forces back from these positions towards the Dnipro River.
He also claimed that a Ukrainian sabotage group is still operating in Pishchanivka as of the afternoon of October 18, according to ISW.
Russia carries out new overnight air strikes on Ukraine
08:22 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian forces carried out new air strikes overnight on targets in eastern, southern and northern Ukraine, Kyiv’s military said on Thursday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The air force said 17 different weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones, had been used to strike industrial, infrastructure, civilian and military objects.
Ukrainian forces shot down three drones and one cruise missile, it said.
Russia has carried out frequent air strikes since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, including hitting population centres far behind front lines.
Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians. It did not immediately comment on the latest reported air strikes.
Ukraine began a counteroffensive in the south and east in early June but has made only gradual progress against vast Russian minefields and heavily entrenched Russian forces.
Russian minister Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s war in Ukraine
07:39 , Arpan Rai
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for aiding Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine as he landed in Pyongyang for a two-day visit on Wednesday.
Mr Lavrov is in North Korea for meetings viewed as preparatory efforts ahead of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit as Moscow and Pyongyang slide closer in diplomatic cooperation against Ukraine and the West.
Moscow “deeply” valued Pyongyang’s “unwavering and principled support” for Russia in the war, Mr Lavrov said, speaking at a reception hosted by North Korean officials on Wednesday.
Russian minister Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s war in Ukraine
Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv sees ‘partial success’ in south
07:37 , Arpan Rai
At least 10 civilians in Ukraine were killed on Wednesday in Russian attacks as Ukrainian military officials confirmed battlefield gains in counteroffensive operations in the south of the warzone.
The death toll rose to five from four after a missile struck a residential building in southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
A 31-year-old woman was killed in a separate attack in central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk. Officials said she was a resident of the Obukhivka village. Another Russian attack claimed the lives of a man and woman in Kherson, officials said.
Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv advances in south
Kyiv’s troops cross Dnipro river in major advance, say Russian military bloggers
07:35 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian forces have pushed further south and crossed the crucial Dnipro river, Russian sources said. They added that Kyiv’s troops now have an established position on the opposite bank.
The river divides liberated Ukrainian territory on one bank and Russian-occupied land on the other, and for months it has served as part of the front line in southern Ukraine.
Yesterday, pro-Kremlin military bloggers claimed that the Ukrainian forces had created a bridgehead, captured a town and towards the nearby town of Pishchanivka.
According to the geolocated footage, Ukrainian forces advanced north of Pishchanivka, which is 3km from the Dnipro River and into Poyma.
“A prominent Russian milblogger claimed that two Ukrainian “assault groups” landed on the east bank of the Dnipro River and broke through initial Russian defenses, temporarily occupying all of Poyma and positions on the northern outskirts of Pishchanivka on the afternoon of 17 October,” the US based think-tank the Institute for the Study of War said.
The milblogger later claimed that Russian forces pushed Ukrainian forces back from these positions towards the Dnipro River.
A Ukrainian sabotage group is still operating in Pishchanivka as of Wednesday afternoon, the Russian military blogger said.
In August, Ukrainian forces broke through Russia’s defensive lines after launching a surprise raid across the Dnipro River amid clear signs of a major battle.
What are long-range ATACMS missiles?
06:00 , Holly Evans
Ukrainian special forces reported on Tuesday that they had struck two Russian military airfields, following the first-time deployment of long-range ballistic missiles supplied by the US.
The details of the weapons’ delivery has been shrouded in secrecy – unlike previous aid provided to Ukraine from the Biden Administration.
The missiles – which Ukraine has reportedly been petitioning the US to deliver for months – may prove key to helping Ukrainian forces in the months of conflict ahead.
Here’s what we know.
The US quietly delivered long-range missiles to Ukraine. Why the sudden secrecy?
Ukraine condemns Russia’s move to revoke ratification of nuclear testing
05:00 , Katy Clifton
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned steps by Russia to revoke ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and urged the international community to respond to Moscow’s “provocations”.
It said in a statement on its website that Russia had “already provoked a dangerous imbalance in the global architecture of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation” by suspending participation in the New START Treaty and with the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Experts reveal what the winter will bring for the Ukraine war – and why Putin will be banking on Trump
04:00 , Holly Evans
The Ukraine war may remain a “stalemate” throughout 2024, military experts have told The Independent, as hopes fade for a major breakthrough in this year’s counteroffensive against Russia.
Delays in Western military aid handed Moscow time to build heavily fortified defences which have largely held up against months of intense assaults – and constraints in ammunition and weaponry now mean both armies may struggle to sustain the current pace of the war, some analysts believe.
With the prospect of a Middle East conflict likely to further stretch Washington – Ukraine’s largest backer – ahead of a US presidential election in November 2024, Vladimir Putin’s strategy may now be to preserve the current state of the front line and “wait it out”, Western experts say.
Read more here
Experts on what winter brings for the Ukraine war – and why Putin is banking on Trump
ICYMI: Latest MoD intelligence update
03:00 , Jahbed Ahmed
In its latest update, the British Ministry of Defence said there had been a “significant increase” in activity from Russian troops on the Kupiansk-Lyman axis in the last two weeks.
“Russian shelling has intensified and elements of the Russian 6th and 25th Combined Arms Armies (CAA) and the 1st Guards Tank Army have conducted attacks, but with limited success,” its update said.
“It is highly likely that this activity is part of an ongoing Russian offensive being conducted on multiple axes in eastern Ukraine. The objective of Russian Ground Forces (RGF) on the Kupiansk-Lyman axis is probably to advance west to the Oskil River to create a buffer zone around Luhansk Oblast.
“RGF have built up combat capacity in the Kupiansk-Lyman direction in recent months. However, Ukrainian forces retain a significant defensive presence on this axis and it is highly unlikely RGF will achieve a major operational breakthrough.”
Theresa May: Traffickers targeting displaced people from Ukraine
Thursday 19 October 2023 00:01 , Katy Clifton
Theresa May has appeared on Princess Eugenie's anti-slavery podcast to raise awareness of the fight against modern slavery and warn that traffickers are targeting displaced people from Ukraine.
Mrs May, who is on the advisory board of Eugenie’s charity, has dedicated much of her political career to tackling slavery in the UK and overseas, but warned the situation was getting worse.
The former Tory leader, who launched a new Global Commission for Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking earlier this month, said: “It’s not just the political momentum has gone out, the problem’s got worse. And we saw in the conflict in Ukraine … the traffickers just picking people up.”
Eugenie praised Mrs May for her long-standing work on the issue, telling her: “That is so cool that you were prime minister and this was your biggest thing. I just wanted to say that because that is awesome.”
As Home Secretary, Mrs May introduced the Modern Slavery Act 2015 which brought together existing offences into one law and created new duties and powers to protect victims and prosecute offenders.
Russian move to revoke nuclear-test-ban ratification ‘regrettable'
Wednesday 18 October 2023 23:00 , Holly Evans
The head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) said on Wednesday it was “deeply regrettable” that Russian lawmakers earlier in the day had moved towards revoking ratification of the treaty.
“Today’s decision by the State Duma of the Russian Federation to pass a law revoking Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is very disappointing and deeply regrettable,” CTBTO chief Robert Floyd said in a statement.
French president Macron reaffirms support for Ukraine
Wednesday 18 October 2023 22:00 , Holly Evans
French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed his country’s support for Ukraine during a phone call on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the French presidency said.
Macron’s conversation with Zelensky comes amid speculation that Israel’s war with Hamas may impact Western powers’ support for Ukraine as it fights Russia.
“He assured the Ukrainian president that the proliferation of crises would not weaken French and European support for Ukraine, which will be there for as long as it takes,” said Macron’s office.
Earlier this month, NATO members assured Zelensky that they would sustain military aid to Ukraine as it braces for another wartime winter, even as Western attention focuses on the fallout from Hamas’ attack on Israel.
Ukraine and Romania hold first joint meeting in Kyiv
Wednesday 18 October 2023 21:00 , Holly Evans
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky met with Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu in Kyiv to discuss defence assistance and cooperation in grain transit.
I met with @CiolacuMarcel.
Today, the governments of Ukraine and Romania held their first-ever joint meeting in Kyiv, marking an important new step toward strategic partnership.
We discussed further defense cooperation to better protect Ukraine’s south, particularly Danube… pic.twitter.com/o0sPh11xMf— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 18, 2023
Latest pictures from Ukraine
Wednesday 18 October 2023 20:00 , Holly Evans
Recap: Seven Ukrainian civilians killed in latest round of fighting
Wednesday 18 October 2023 19:30 , Holly Evans
Russian attacks overnight and on Wednesday killed at least seven civilians in Ukraine and damaged the power grid in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said.
Four civilians were killed in a morning missile strike on a residential building in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, and a 31-year-old woman was killed in an attack on the village of Obukhivka in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk, they said.
A man and a woman were also killed in an overnight attack on the southern region of Kherson, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Zelensky has phone call with French president Emmanuel Macron
Wednesday 18 October 2023 19:00 , Holly Evans
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said he discussed figuring out ways to strengthen his country’s air defence and naval capabilities during a phone call with Emmanuel Macron.
The two also discussed the Black Sea grain corridor, as well as the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza.
I had a call with @EmmanuelMacron.
Ukraine highly values France’s military aid. President Macron and I focused on the next steps to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, long-range, and naval capabilities.
We also discussed the Black Sea grain corridor and ways to protect it, as…— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 18, 2023
Russia’s Black Sea fleet repelled aerial attack, says governor
Wednesday 18 October 2023 18:30 , Holly Evans
Russia’s Black Sea fleet repelled an aerial attack today, according to the governor of Sevastopol, the fleet’s home on the Crimean peninsula.
“Rescuers have already left for the scene,” Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram.
“Information about infrastructure damage is being clarified.”
Viktor Orban’s handshake with Putin ‘very unpleasant’, says Estonian PM
Wednesday 18 October 2023 18:00 , Holly Evans
The images of EU member state Hungary’s prime minister shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin were “very, very unpleasant” and defied logic given Budapest’s past history with Moscow, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday,
Hungary maintains closer ties with Russia than other European Union states, and is seen as the key potential opponent to a decision due in December on whether to open EU accession talks with Ukraine, which would require the unanimous backing of the bloc’s 27 members.
With great pomp, Viktor Orban and Putin held talks in China on Tuesday. Broadcast on Russian television, Orban told Putin that he had never wanted to oppose Moscow and is trying to salvage bilateral contacts.
“It was very, very unpleasant to see that,” Kallas, one of Ukraine’s staunchest defenders, told Reuters in an interview in Paris. “How can you shake a criminal’s hand, who has waged the war of aggression, especially coming from a country that has a history like Hungary has?”
Rescuers search for survivors after deadly strike in Zaporizhzhia
Wednesday 18 October 2023 17:00 , Holly Evans
Russia’s defence minister visited nuclear testing ground in August
Wednesday 18 October 2023 16:00 , Holly Evans
Putin said earlier this month he was aware of calls for Russia to resume nuclear testing but was not ready to say whether Moscow should do so or not.
Back in February, he said Russia must “make everything ready” to conduct a test in case Washington did so. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Russia’s testing ground in the remote northern archipelago of Novaya Zemlya in August.
CNN published satellite images last month showing Russia, the United States and China have all built new facilities at their nuclear test sites in recent years.
Russia says it will not resume testing until the US does
Wednesday 18 October 2023 15:11 , Holly Evans
Since he invaded Ukraine last year, Putin has repeatedly reminded the West of Russia’s nuclear might.
On Wednesday state TV showed rare footage of him during a visit to Beijing being accompanied by naval officers carrying the so-called nuclear briefcase that can be used to order a nuclear strike.
Russia says it will not resume atomic testing unless Washington does, but arms control experts are concerned it may be inching towards a test that the West would perceive as a Russian nuclear escalation amid the Ukraine war.
They say a test by either Russia or the United States could prompt the other to do the same, and China, India and Pakistan might then follow, triggering a new global arms race. All are currently observing test moratoriums, and only North Korea has conducted a test involving a nuclear explosion this century.
Mr Lavrov’s visit comes after North Korea leader Kim Jong Un came to Russia
Wednesday 18 October 2023 15:00 , Holly Evans
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to North Korea comes after their leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia in September, as the two countries build a closer relationship.
The White House said on Friday that North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine.Speculation about a possible North Korean plan to refill Russian munition stores drained by its protracted war with Ukraine flared during Kim’s visit to Russia.White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. believes Kim is seeking sophisticated Russian weapons technologies in return for the munitions to boost North Korea’s military and nuclear program.Kim called last month for an exponential increase in production of nuclear weapons and for his country to play a larger role in a coalition of nations confronting the United States in a “new Cold War,” North Korean state media said.
Russian parliament shifts Moscow’s stance on nuclear testing
Wednesday 18 October 2023 14:52 , Holly Evans
Russia’s parliament has moved swiftly to fulfil the wish of President Vladimir Putin by completing the passage of a bill that shifts Moscow’s legal stance on nuclear testing at a time of acute tension with the West.
The lower house, the State Duma, on Wednesday passed the second and third readings of a bill that revokes Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Both were passed unanimously by 415 votes to zero.
Putin had urged the Duma on Oct. 5 to make the change in order to “mirror” the position of the United States, which has signed but never ratified the 1996 treaty.
“We understand our responsibility to our citizens, we are protecting our country. What is happening in the world today is the exclusive fault of the United States,” parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov visits North Korea
Wednesday 18 October 2023 14:30 , Holly Evans
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in North Korea on Wednesday, according to Russian state news agency Tass, the latest in a flurry of diplomatic activity between the two countries in which Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea in July and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia in September.
Earlier in the week, Lavrov accompanied President Vladimir Putin on a visit to Beijing that underscored Chinese support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine.
Lavrov last visited North Korea in 2018. During his two-day visit he is to meet with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said.
Putin also accepted an invitation from Kim to visit North Korea, but the timing has not been announced.
Washington’s decision to supply ATACMS weapon ‘a grave mistake’, says Russia
Wednesday 18 October 2023 14:00 , Holly Evans
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Beijing, Mr Putin conceded that the ATACMS creates an additional threat but insisted the weapon will not change the situation along the 932-mile (1,500km) front line.
“For Ukraine, in this sense, there’s nothing good ... it only prolongs the agony,” he said.
Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, described Washington’s decision to supply the ATACMS as “reckless” and “a grave mistake” that will not alter the war’s outcome.
The fighting has ground largely to a stalemate, with a protracted war of attrition expected at least through next year.
Putin dismisses importance of new US-supplied weapon
Wednesday 18 October 2023 13:28 , Holly Evans
A Russian missile attack killed two civilians in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, local authorities said, as President Vladimir Putin dismissed the importance of a new US-supplied weapon that Kyiv used to execute one of the most damaging attacks on the Kremlin’s air assets since the start of the war.
Mr Putin told reporters that Russia “will be able to repel” further attacks by the US-made Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS.
Ukraine claimed it used those missiles to destroy nine Russian helicopters, as well as ammunition, an air defence system and other assets at two airfields in Russia-occupied regions on Tuesday.
The development came as the two sides sought to gain battlefield advantages and consolidate their positions ahead of the winter when the weather will hamper operations.
Rare footage films Putin with 'nuclear briefcase'
Wednesday 18 October 2023 12:39 , Tom Watling
Shoigu says Russia reinforces border as Ukraine set to get F-16 fighters - RIA
Wednesday 18 October 2023 12:18 , Tom Watling
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has said that Russia was reinforcing its western border in anticipation of US-made F-16 fighter aircraft being supplied to Ukraine in 2024, the Russian state news agency RIA reported.
UK MoD continues Ukraine military training
Wednesday 18 October 2023 11:08 , Tom Watling
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has posted images online of the latest training provided to the Ukrainian military.
The UK continues to support Ukraine with a wide range of training for @DefenceU.
The UK's support package includes specialist training to maintain vital equipment: the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System. Ensuring the battle-winning MLRS stays in the fight.
🇺🇦#StandWithUkraine. pic.twitter.com/0rz3E836Rz— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) October 18, 2023
Russian strike kills one civilian, wounds three in Ukraine's Dnipro region - governor
Wednesday 18 October 2023 10:44 , Tom Watling
A Russian strike killed one civilian and wounded three more on Wednesday in Ukraine‘s Dnipro region, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said.
Mr Lysak said on the Telegram messaging app that six private houses were damaged.
Russian attacks kill three civilians in Ukraine, Kyiv says
Wednesday 18 October 2023 09:48 , Tom Watling
A Russian missile slammed into a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia early on Wednesday, killing at least two civilians and wounding five, Ukrainian officials said.
A 31-year-old woman was also killed and four people were hurt in a separate attack in which eight private homes were destroyed in Obukhivka in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said eight apartments had been destroyed in the strike on Zaporizhzhia and rescuers were searching for any survivors in the rubble. His office said three people were missing after the attack.
“Overnight, Russian terrorists attacked Zaporizhzhia with missiles, striking an ordinary five-storey residential building,” Mr Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app beside a photo of the building with a gaping hole in the middle, its entrance destroyed, windows smashed and debris scattered around.
“The evil state continues to use terror and wage war on civilians. Russian terror must be defeated.”
Reuters television footage showed fire brigades working near the damaged house and empty buses stopping nearby.
Photos show Ukrianian soldiers during a training mission.
Wednesday 18 October 2023 09:07 , Tom Watling
Photos show Ukrianian soldiers during a training mission.
📷Soldiers of Ukrainian 43rd Mechanized Brigade during a training in the rear. #UkraineRussiaWar pic.twitter.com/zKA8xcmAnN
— MilitaryLand.net (@Militarylandnet) October 18, 2023
Rescue work underway after Russian missile attack on buildings in Zaporizhzhia
Wednesday 18 October 2023 08:16 , Tom Watling
Ukrainian farm worker killed after his tractor hit mine
Wednesday 18 October 2023 07:39 , Tom Watling
A farm worker died on Tuesday in Ukraine‘s eastern Kharkiv region after his tractor hit a mine while ploughing a field, the Ukrainian emergency service said on Wednesday.
Liberated after the Russian occupation, the region is heavily mined and farmers risk their lives trying to work in fields that have not yet been cleared of the explosive devices.
“We ask everyone to be as careful as possible and always remember the high mine danger in the de-occupied territories,” the emergency service said on the Telegram messaging app.
It published a photo of a burnt tractor with a torn-off wheel and damaged plough standing in a field near the explosion site.
Ukrainian authorities earlier this year said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had created the world’s largest minefield spanning an area of 250,000 square kilometres (96,525 square miles).
Russia threatens US with ‘serious consequences’ after Ukraine fires first ATACMS
Wednesday 18 October 2023 07:01 , Shweta Sharma
Russia has hit out at the US for its decision to send long-range missiles to Ukraine for the first time, claiming the move increases the risks of a direct conflict between Nato and Moscow.
Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Tuesday that the Ukrainian military used the US-supplied ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) for the first time this week and struck two Russian military airfields.
Western backers of Ukraine have been reluctant to provide long-range munitions since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion in February last year, fearing that their use against targets within Russia would represent an escalation of the conflict.
But Ukraine has repeatedly argued that it needs long-range missiles and other more powerful equipment like fighter jets in order to defend itself against attacks launched from military facilities deep inside Russia.
Read more:
Russia threatens US after Ukraine fires first long-range ATACMS missiles
Biden wants $100b for defence aid to Ukraine and Israel
Wednesday 18 October 2023 05:45 , Barney Davis
President Joe Biden may consider a supplemental request of about $100 billion that would include defence aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, multiple sources familiar with the request told Reuters on Tuesday.
Biden has been widely expected to ask Congress to pass a supplemental spending bill within days, as Washington responds to the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants while looking to continue to support Ukraine as it grapples with a Russian invasion.
U.S. Senate leaders had said earlier on Tuesday they expected Biden to send them a request by the end of this week for billions of dollars in assistance for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan and for security at the U.S. border.
Two of the sources said the request was for a full year of funding, explaining the large size.
A congressional source familiar with the request said Israel had asked for $10 billion, as it responds to an attack on its citizens by the Iran-backed militant group Hamas. Israel already receives $3.8 billion per year from the United States, under a 10-year agreement that began in 2016.
Zelensky hails ‘building' relationship with South Africa
Wednesday 18 October 2023 04:38 , Barney Davis
President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken of building stronger ties with South Africa after a “lengthy and fruitful” phone call with President Ramaphosa.
He posted on X to say: “I welcome South Africa’s participation in the Peace Formula talks and thank President Ramaphosa for confirming further engagement in their next rounds.
“We both agreed on the importance of continued Ukrainian food exports for global and Africa’s food security and the functioning of Ukraine’s Black Sea export corridor.
“I invited South Africa to our second ‘Grain From Ukraine’ summit. We also discussed the developments in the Middle East and their implications for regional and global security, as well as ways to evacuate South African citizens.”
EU to provide Ukraine with €50million for energy fund
Wednesday 18 October 2023 03:57 , Barney Davis
The European Commission has already provided more than €50 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, established to support the Ukrainian energy system amidst Russia’s attacks on critical infrastructure.
The move was announced by Kadri Simson, a European Commissioner, following a meeting of the Council of the European Union on energy issues, as reported by European Pravda.
“The Commission has already earmarked over 50 million euros to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund and I encouraged the Member States to continue their donations, too,” Simson said.
She added that the European Union will do everything possible to ensure that this winter, “effects of any Russian attacks targeting Ukraine’s energy and civilian infrastructure will be minimised”.
Ukraine shares first video of new US donated missile in action
Wednesday 18 October 2023 02:57 , Barney Davis
Ukraine on Tuesday claimed to have carried out one of the most destructive attacks on Russian air assets since the beginning of the war, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the assault used longer-range ballistic missiles donated by the United States.
Zelensky’s announcement came hours after a US official revealed that the longer-range ballistic missiles sought for months by Kyiv and promised by President Joe Biden had been delivered quietly and are in battlefield use.
For the first time, Ukraine used weapons provided by the US against Russian targets.
Hello ATACMS.
Thank you, USA 🇺🇸@POTUS @USEmbassyKyiv pic.twitter.com/gd70elFn0z— SPRAVDI — Stratcom Centre (@StratcomCentre) October 17, 2023
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces claimed it destroyed nine Russian helicopters at two airfields in Russia-occupied regions in a nighttime attack on targets in eastern and southern Ukraine.
It also hit military equipment, an air-defense system, ammunition warehouses and runways, a statement said. Dozens of Russian military personnel were injured in the attack codenamed Operation Dragonfly, it said.
US says all 31 Abrams tanks arrived in Ukraine
Wednesday 18 October 2023 01:57 , Barney Davis
The US has delivered all the previously pledged 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, US Army Europe and Africa Command’s spokesperson Martin O’Donnell told the Voice of America.
The Ukrainian soldiers who trained on Abrams with US troops in Germany have also returned to Ukraine, along with ammunition and spare tank parts, according to O’Donnell.
“We have lived up to our end of the bargain. From this point forward, it is up to them (Ukraine) to determine when and where they will deliver this capability,” the US military official said, as cited by the Voice of America.
UN estimates $14bn damages after Kakhovka Dam blown up
Wednesday 18 October 2023 00:57 , Barney Davis
The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in southeastern Ukraine in June caused $14 billion worth of damage and losses, a Tuesday report by the Ukrainian government and the United Nations said.
Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up the dam, which crosses the Dnipro River, flooding the surrounding area with landmine-contaminated water and leaving areas upstream without water.
Moscow has denied responsibility.
“The stark figures speak for themselves. The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam has resulted in a staggering loss and damage,” said Christophoros Politis, the United Nations Development Program’s deputy resident representative in Ukraine, at a presentation in Kyiv.
Russia won’t obey UN on Tehran missile development
Tuesday 17 October 2023 21:16 , Barney Davis
Russia said it need no longer obey U.N. Security Council restrictions on giving missile technology to its ally Iran once they expire on Wednesday, without saying whether it now planned to support Tehran’s missile development.
“Supplies to and from Iran of products falling under the Missile Technology Control Regime no longer require prior approval by the U.N. Security Council,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The restrictions were defined in Resolution 2231 of 2015 endorsing a deal by which Britain, China, the European Union, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S. removed sanctions against Iran in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear programme.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal, known as the JCPOA, leaving unilateral U.S. sanctions in place, and Iran subsequently accelerated its nuclear programme, which it says is purely peaceful.
Putin calls for a little respect from the US
Tuesday 17 October 2023 18:48 , Barney Davis
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday rejected comments by U.S. President Joe Biden, saying in an interview in Beijing that Moscow’s interests could not be suppressed, and that U.S. politicians should learn to respect others.
Putin was responding to comments by U.S. President Joe Biden in an interview with CBS News, where he said: “Imagine what happens if we, in fact, unite all of Europe and Putin is finally put down where he cannot cause the kind of trouble he’s been causing”.
In a brief interview aired on state television during a summit in the Chinese capital, Putin said: “This is not about me personally. This is about the interests of the country. And it is impossible to suppress the interests of Russia. They have to be taken into account.”
Putin said that both Biden, with whom he has had an antagonistic relationship since the U.S. president took office in 2021, and the wider American political elite needed to learn to “respect” Russia.
He said: “This applies not only to President Biden, but also to the U.S. political elites as a whole. You must learn to respect others, and then there will be no need to suppress anyone.”
Zelensky confirms use of US missile
Tuesday 17 October 2023 17:13 , Barney Davis
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said Kyiv has used U.S.-provided long-ranged ATACMS missile.
“Today, special thanks to the United States. Our agreements with President Biden are being implemented. Very accurately - ATACMS proved themselves,” he said in his nightly address.
Earlier on Tuesday, media reported that Kyiv had used ATACMS for the first time in attacks on Russian-occupied territories.
Navalny condemns arrest of three of his lawyers leaving him 'isolated’
Tuesday 17 October 2023 16:51 , Barney Davis
Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny on Tuesday condemned the arrest of three of his lawyers on suspicion of belonging to an “extremist group”.
Another member of Navalny’s legal team said he had fled the country on Monday.
Navalny, 47, was sentenced in August to an extra 19 years on various charges relating to “extremist activity”, extending his total prison term to more than 30 years.
At the latest of a series of hearings where he has challenged his treatment in prison, Navalny said the “flagrant and illegal” actions against his lawyers had left him “completely isolated from information”.
He ridiculed the idea that his lawyers could have engaged in illegal activity with him since he was imprisoned, saying every document that passed between them was censored and copied.
“And even here the authorities find some terrible danger, such great danger that they have to make a show of arresting three lawyers,” he said.
“These are the convulsions of the system. They’re afraid. They’re not at all as strong as they think.”
Navalny’s lawyers say the targeting of his lawyers crosses a new threshold of repression in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has intensified a crackdown on dissent since launching his invasion of Ukraine last year.
The Kremlin, which has painted Navalny in the past as a tool of the American CIA, declines to discuss his case or even speak his name in public.
“I have the right in this court to say straight out: yes, I am against Vladimir Putin, yes I am against his rule, I will fight it,” he told a hearing on Tuesday.
