Roughly one million people have been killed or injured since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, fresh estimates from Western intelligence show.
The figure includes 80,000 Ukrainian troops killed and 400,000 wounded, according to a confidential estimate from Kyiv reported by the Wall Street Journal. Estimates of Russian casualties vary but are expected to number around 200,000 killed and 400,000 wounded.
There is no precise toll available for the war as a whole and neither Russia nor Ukraine publicly reveals how many losses they have suffered.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Tver region has cancelled schools and kindergartens this morning amid reports of a Ukrainian drone attack in the area. Russian governors from various regions reported drone activity overnight, with as many as 14 shot down in Bryansk alone.
And earlier Kyiv said it was investigating reports that Vladimir Putin’s troops had executed a Ukrainian prisoner of war with a sword, after a video purporting to show the incident appeared on social media.
Key Points
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Casualties in Ukraine war ‘reach one million’
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Ukraine investigating captured soldier’s ‘execution by sword’
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Russian region suspends schools after Ukrainian drone strike
Casualties in Ukraine war ‘reach one million’
05:05 , Arpan Rai
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has killed or injured roughly one million people on both sides of the conflict, according to fresh estimates based on Western intelligence.
While there are no precise tolls available and neither Russia nor Ukraine publicly reveals how many losses they have suffered, the Wall Street Journal collated the latest estimates to show the total casualties had passed the million mark.
Ukraine is believed to have had 80,000 troops killed and 400,000 wounded, according to a confidential estimate produced by Kyiv earlier this year.
Russian casualties have varied in Western intelligence estimates but its dead are expected to number nearly 200,000 and wounded to be around 400,000, the WSJ report added.
In July, leaked Pentagon estimates of Russian losses were reported to be even greater, with the highest estimate for the number of killed, injured or captured troops up to 728,000.
Putin boosts troop numbers as Russia launches masive airstrike
05:00 , Tom Watling
Putin boosts troop numbers as Russia launches masive airstrike
Ukraine investigating captured soldier’s ‘execution by sword’
04:44 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine has opened an investigation into the alleged killing of captured prisoner of war by sword, the prosecutor general’s office said.
Andriy Kostin, the prosecutor general, shared a blurred image from the footage where a Ukrainian POW with taped hands is seen.
“Another act of barbarism by the aggressor state. Footage of an alleged execution by sword of an unarmed Ukrainian serviceman with taped hands is spreading on the web. Preliminarily, the crime was committed in Novohrodivka, Donetsk region,” Mr Kostin said in the post.
“The footage shows the Ukrainian servicemember clearly disarmed, wearing no protective equipment, and with remnants of duct tape around his wrists, suggesting that Russian forces captured, disarmed, and forcibly detained the servicemember,” the Institute for the Study of War said.
The Prosecutor General’s Office said it was looking into a social media post showing images of an apparent execution. “Criminal proceeding have been initiated regarding the violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine),” Mr Kostin said.
Russian region suspends schools after Ukrainian drone strike
04:26 , Arpan Rai
Schools and kindergartens were cancelled this morning in parts of Russia’s Tver region, local administration said in a statement that followed reports of a Ukrainian drone attack on the region.
“Dear residents! Kindergartens and schools are suspended for today!!!” the administration of the Zapadnodvinsky district in Tver said on the social Vkontatke network.
It did not explicitly specify why the schools were suspended. The district borders the Toropetsky district, where officials said a Ukrainian drone attack sparked fire and forced partial evacuation of the town of Toropets.
Russia claims Ukrainsk in east Ukraine captured
04:09 , Arpan Rai
Russian forces claimed they have captured the Ukrainian town of Ukrainsk in the eastern Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian town was encircled by the Russian forces earlier this month during their advance towards Pokrovsk.
“Ukrainsk is ours,” said Yuri Podolyaka, an Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, adding that Russian forces had taken the city “almost intact” allowing them to use it as a base for further offensive operations.
Russian forces raised their flag on a mine ventilation shaft on the outskirts of the town, which had a population of over 10,000 before the war broke out, an unidentified source from the Russian military said.
No mention of the loss of Ukrainsk was made by Ukraine’s General Staff in its late evening report. They referred to it as one of several places under Russian attack. It said 34 assaults had been recorded near the town of Pokrovsk.
Mapped: The Russian targets Ukraine could hit with long-range missiles
04:00 , Tom Watling
Mapped: The Russian targets Ukraine could hit with long-range missiles
Ukraine targets western Russia with drones
03:59 , Arpan Rai
Here’s what has happened in the early hours in Russia:
Ukraine launched a series of drones overnight targeting several western Russian regions, local governors said this morning, adding there was no damage or casualties.
At least seven Ukrainian drones were destroyed over the western Smolensk region, Vasily Anokhin, governor of the region that borders Belarus, said on Telegram.
One drone was destroyed by Russia’s air defence units over the Oryol region, governor Andrei Klychkov said on Telegram.
At least 14 of Ukraine’s attack drones were destroyed over the Bryansk region, governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram.
Kyiv says the strikes targeted Russia’s military, energy and transport infrastructure key to Moscow’s war efforts.
Russia-Ukraine War in Maps: Where are the frontlines now?
03:00 , Tom Watling
Russia-Ukraine War in Maps: Where are the frontlines now?
Ukraine will use UK long missiles against Russia, says ex-Army boss
02:00 , Tom Watling
Ukraine will eventually use UK long missiles in war against Russia, says ex-Army boss
Growing fears in UK and US of a secret Iran-Russia nuclear deal
01:00 , Tom Watling
Growing fears in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
A Ukrainian author turned soldier has a stark warning for the West: ‘Be prepared for war with Russia’
Wednesday 18 September 2024 00:00 , Tom Watling
Ukrainian author and soldier warns the West: ‘War is coming to you’
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
Tuesday 17 September 2024 23:00 , Tom Watling
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
Could Britain really go to war with Russia?
Tuesday 17 September 2024 22:00 , Tom Watling
Could Britain really go to war with Russia?
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile banned from use in Russia?
Tuesday 17 September 2024 21:00 , Tom Watling
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile banned from use in Russia by Ukraine?
Putin orders military to boost troop numbers by 180,000 to 1.5 million as Ukraine fighting continues
Tuesday 17 September 2024 20:00 , Tom Watling
Putin orders military to boost troop numbers by 180,000 to 1.5 million as Ukraine fighting continues
Mapped: The Russian targets Ukraine could hit with long-range missiles
Tuesday 17 September 2024 19:00 , Tom Watling
Mapped: The Russian targets Ukraine could hit with long-range missiles
Putin boosts troop numbers as Russia launches masive airstrike
Tuesday 17 September 2024 18:00 , Tom Watling
Putin boosts troop numbers as Russia launches masive airstrike
Ukrainian civilians evacuate the eastern town of Kurakhove – pictures
Tuesday 17 September 2024 17:01 , Tom Watling
Pictures below show Ukrainian civilians being evacuated from the eastern town of Kurakhove, Donetsk region.
Russian forces have advanced to within just a few miles of the town, which is just south of the city of Pokrovsk, a key objective of the Russians.
Pictures from the frontline
Tuesday 17 September 2024 16:16 , Tom Watling
Below we have some pictures that have been posted by the Russian defence ministry showing Moscow soldiers in the Russian Kursk region fighting against Ukrainian troops.
Lammy says climate change more of a threat than terrorism or Putin
Tuesday 17 September 2024 15:47 , Tom Watling
David Lammy says climate change is more urgent threat than terrorism or Putin
Mapped: Russia launches counterattack in Kursk after sending ‘significant’ forces to the region
Tuesday 17 September 2024 14:00 , Alexander Butler
Mapped: Russia launches Kursk counterattack after sending ‘significant’ forces
Germany says Moldova could be next in line if Ukraine falls
Tuesday 17 September 2024 12:59 , Alexander Butler
Support for Ukraine guarantees the survival of neighbouring Moldova, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday at a conference to address concerns about broadening Russian interference in the region.
“Everything that we do to support Ukraine also means fostering stabilisation with regards to Moldova,” Baerbock said. “It is clear what the greatest concern of the people here is: that if Ukraine falls, Moldova is the next country in line.”
Baerbock was visiting Chisinau for the Moldova Partnership Platform, together with her counterparts from France, Romania, Poland, the Netherlands and Lithuania.
Germany, one of Kyiv’s main military supporters in Europe, initiated the platform after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, painting it as part of broader efforts to stabilise Moldova’s economy and shield it from Russian disinformation.
Kyiv claims Putin’s troops execute PoW with sword
Tuesday 17 September 2024 12:00 , Alexander Butler
Vladimir Putin’s troops have executed a Ukrainian soldier with a sword amid fierce fighting in the east of Ukraine, Kyivhas claimed.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, alleged that images had appeared on social media showing an executed Ukrainian prisoner of war with his hands tied in Donetsk.
It comes as Russian troops launched around 40 attacks on Pokrovsk overnight, a key city in eastern Ukraine key to Mr Putin’s objective of seizing the entire Donbas region, comprising of Donetsk and Luhansk.
“Photos appeared on social media of how the Russians probably executed a unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war with a sword,” Mr Lubients said.
“This action is a gross violation of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War. How much longer will the world watch as Russia openly demonstrates disregard for any norms and laws?”
Russian journalist jailed for anti-war statements starts hunger strike
Tuesday 17 September 2024 11:00 , Alexander Butler
Maria Ponomarenko, a journalist from Siberia serving a six-year prison sentence for speaking out against the war in Ukraine, has declared a hunger strike, according to her publication and a supporter.
The 46-year-old was detained less than two months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 for accusing the Russian air force of bombing a theatre in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
She was found guilty last February of spreading false information about the Russian military by a court in her hometown of Barnaul in western Siberia.
More than 20,000 people have been arrested across Russia for speaking out against the war, according to rights monitor OVD-Info.
Kremlin says Russian army expansion needed to address growing threats on western flank
Tuesday 17 September 2024 10:30 , Alexander Butler
The Kremlin said that an order by President Vladimir Putin to transform Russia’s army into the second largest in the world was needed to address growing threats on Russia’s western borders and instability to the east.
Mr Putin on Monday ordered the regular size of the Russian army to be increased by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million active servicemen in a move that would make it the second largest in the world after China’s.
“This is due to the number of threats that exist to our country along the perimeter of our borders,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.
“It is caused by the extremely hostile environment on our western borders and instability on our eastern borders. This demands appropriate measures to be taken.”
Mapped: Long-range missile targets
Tuesday 17 September 2024 09:27 , Alexander Butler
In sharing nuclear secrets with Iran, Putin may have crossed his own ‘red line
Tuesday 17 September 2024 09:01 , Alexander Butler
In sharing nuclear secrets with Iran, Putin may have crossed his own ‘red line’
Germany pledges additional €100m in winter aid for Ukraine
Tuesday 17 September 2024 08:14 , Arpan Rai
Germany will provide an additional €100m (£84.2m) in aid for Ukraine this winter, foreign minister Annalena Baerbock announced during a visit to Moldova today.
Berlin has already given approximately €5bn in 2023 and approximately €1.6bn in 2022 in military assistance since the start of the Ukraine war. Another €2.9bn have been committed so far for future deliveries which will reach Ukraine in the years 2025 to 2028, officials had announced last month.
The aid from Germany includes armoured vehicles, air defence systems including Patriot missiles, and artillery.
Russia attacks energy infrastructure in Sumy
Tuesday 17 September 2024 07:11 , Arpan Rai
Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, cutting power in some districts, local authorities said this morning.
The attack caused damage in the Konotop, Okhtyrka and Sumy districts and critical infrastructure facilities were forced to switch to back up power systems, regional officials said. Sumy’s water supply facilities were also affected.
The regional authorities said air defences shot down 16 drones over the region.
Sumy’s acting mayor Artem Kobzar said there were no casualties in the city and that energy workers were dealing with the attack’s aftermath.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 51 drones across five regions overnight and that air defences shot down 34 of them.
Putin’s red lines on Ukraine ‘must be crossed’ says European leader
Tuesday 17 September 2024 07:06 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin must be defeated and Nato allies must do more to cross the Russian president’s red lines, Estonian president Alar Karis has said.
“We probably realise now that we have to cross all of these red lines and then start forcing Russia out of Ukraine,” he told the Kyiv Independent, as he backed Volodymyr Zelensky’s calls to strike Russia with West’s long-range missiles.
In May this year, he had accused Russia of forcing “an unjust war upon Ukraine” and Russia was the one escalating the conflict each day.
“We are in a very simple position, we should lift the restrictions on the use of weapons that Ukraine gets from the Western world so we can target these drones where they start (on Russian territory). When this happens, the drones never reach Ukraine, Latvia, or any other country,” he told the Ukrainian news website.
Putin ‘expands military to 2.4m people’
Tuesday 17 September 2024 07:00 , Alexander Butler
Vladimir Putin has expanded his military by tens of thousands after dozens were injured when a Russian glide bomb hit a high-rise building in northeastern Ukraine.
Mr Putin signed a decree increasing the overall size of the Russian armed forces by 180,000, bringing the total capacity to 2.39million people, Russia state news agency RIA reported.
The last time the staffing level of the Armed Forces was increased was in December 2023. It was raised to 2,209,130 people, including 1,320,000 military personnel.
Mapped: The Russian targets Ukraine could hit with long-range missiles
Tuesday 17 September 2024 06:07 , Arpan Rai
If Washington was to give Kyiv the go-ahead to use the weapons, despite Vladimir Putin’s warning of war, what Russian targets could Ukraine hit? The Independent takes a look below.
Mapped: The Russian targets Ukraine could hit with long-range missiles
Russia evacuating some Kursk region border settlements, says governor
Tuesday 17 September 2024 06:00 , Alexander Butler
The governor of Russia’s Kursk region Alexei Smirnov on Monday ordered the evacuation of residents of all settlements in the province’s Rylsky and Khomutovsky districts situated within 15km (9.3 miles) of the Ukrainian border.
Kursk region has been the scene of bitter fighting since a Ukrainian incursion in early August seized territory along the frontier. Russian troops have in recent days made efforts to push Kyiv’s forces back.
Zelensky says Kursk incursion going ‘as planned’
Tuesday 17 September 2024 05:42 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is going “precisely as planned”, as he provided a battlefield update from his commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
“We are defending our positions,” he said, referring to the frontline as a whole, in his nightly video message. “We also reviewed the Kursk operation in detail, and each day we are acting precisely as planned.”
Mr Zelensky said Syrskyi provided details of the slow advance of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, particularly on the rail and logistic hub of Pokrovsk.
He said 100 battles had occurred in the last 24 hours on the eastern front, with the heaviest fighting gripping the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove sectors.
Capturing Pokrovsk would be a significant step towards Russia’s objective of capturing the whole of the Donetsk region.
Watch: Ukraine will eventually use UK long missiles in war against Russia, says ex-Army boss
Tuesday 17 September 2024 05:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine asks UN, ICRC to join humanitarian effort in Kursk
Tuesday 17 September 2024 04:42 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine has asked the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to join humanitarian efforts in Russia’s Kursk region.
Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said he had instructed his ministry to formally invite the UN and ICRC to work in the Kursk region when he visited the northeast Ukrainian region of Sumy on Sunday. The ministry confirmed that it had issued the requests.
“Ukraine is ready to facilitate their work and prove its adherence to international humanitarian law,” Sybiha said on X after the visit to Sumy, from where Ukrainian forces launched the cross-border attack.
He said the Ukrainian army was ensuring humanitarian assistance and safe passage to civilians in the Kursk region.
The foreign ministry said in a written statement that the invitations had been issued to the ICRC and UN, “taking into account the humanitarian situation and the need to properly ensure basic human rights in the territory of the Kursk region.”
The ministry said it had asked the ICRC to monitor Ukraine‘s compliance with the principles of international humanitarian law in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, which cover the protection of victims of international armed conflicts.
It was not immediately clear how or whether the UN or ICRC had responded.
Putin orders expansion of Russian army by 180,000 soldiers
Tuesday 17 September 2024 04:41 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin ordered the regular size of the Russian army to increase by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million in a decree issued yesterday.
This is the third time he has expanded the Russian army’s ranks since sending the military into Ukraine in February 2022.
The overall size of the armed forces will need to be increased to 2.38 million people, of which Putin said 1.5 million should be active servicemen.
In addition, Russia mobilised over 300,000 soldiers in September and October 2022 in an exercise which prompted tens of thousands of draft-age men to flee the country.
The Kremlin has said that no new mobilisation is planned for now, however, and that the idea is to continue to rely on volunteers signing up to fight in Ukraine on lucrative contracts.
Iran president denies sending weapons to Putin
Tuesday 17 September 2024 04:15 , Arpan Rai
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian claims his government has not transferred any weapons to Russia since it took office in August.
Western powers have said they have evidence of Tehran delivering ballistic missiles to Moscow in September for its war in Ukraine, forcing them to impose fresh sanctions on Russia and Iran.
Asked whether Iran had transferred missiles to Russia, Mr Pezeshkian said: “It is possible that a delivery took place in the past… but I can assure you that since I took office, there has not been any such delivery to Russia.”
Reuters reported in February that Iran had provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, deepening the military cooperation between the two US-sanctioned countries.
Russia and Iran both denied the Western claims.
Nato chief says countries must make own decisions on long-range missiles
Tuesday 17 September 2024 04:05 , Arpan Rai
The outgoing head of Nato Jens Stoltenberg has welcomed talks on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russian territory, but any decision on the issue would have to be made by individual allies.
“I welcome these developments and these decisions but it’s for individual allies to make the final decisions,” Mr Stoltenberg told LBC radio. “Allies have different policies on this.”
The decision has been stalled in Washington as some US officials are deeply skeptical that allowing the use of such missiles would make a significant difference in Kyiv’s battle against Russian invaders.
President Vladimir Putin has issued a preemptive threat that the West would be directly fighting Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike it with Western-made long-range missiles.
Russia claims it retakes two villages in western Kursk
Tuesday 17 September 2024 04:03 , Arpan Rai
Russia says its forces have retaken control of two villages in its western Kursk region from Ukraine, continuing what Moscow says is a significant counter-offensive there.
Russia’s defence ministry said that its troops had retaken the settlements of Uspenovka and Borki. They lie about 12 miles (20 km) apart on the border with Ukraine’s Sumy region.
A senior Russian commander and pro-Kremlin war bloggers said last week that Russia had restored control over about 10 settlements in the region, an assertion that could not be independently confirmed.
Ukraine says its forces control about 100 villages in Kursk over an area of more than 1,300 square km (500 square miles), which Russian sources dispute.
The governor of Kursk region Alexei Smirnov ordered the evacuation of settlements in two districts situated within 15km (9 miles) of the Ukrainian border yesterday.
Growing fears in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
Tuesday 17 September 2024 04:00 , Alexander Butler
Growing fears in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
Ukraine denies links to ‘delusional’ suspect in Trump assassination attempt
Tuesday 17 September 2024 03:00 , Alexander Butler
Kyiv on Monday denied links to a man accused of trying to assassinate former US President Donald Trump, after it emerged that the suspect was a supporter of Ukraine who had said he wanted to recruit foreign volunteers to fight there.
Trump was safe on Sunday after the Secret Service foiled what the FBI called the second apparent assassination attempt on the Republican candidate for president in two months, capturing a gunman who had brought a rifle to Trump’s golf course.
Media interviews and social media posts showed that the reported suspect, Ryan Routh, 58, was a staunch supporter of Ukraine who had traveled there after Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Zelensky condemns Trump assassination attempt
Tuesday 17 September 2024 02:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned on Monday what the FBI called an apparent assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and said political violence has no place anywhere.
“I am glad to hear that Donald Trump is safe and unharmed. My best wishes to him and his family,” Zelensky said on X.
What is a glide bomb?
Tuesday 17 September 2024 01:00 , Alexander Butler
Glide bombs, also called KAB – the Ukrainian acronym for guided aerial bomb, are old-fashioned “iron” aerial bombs of the sort that were dropped by bombers during the Second World War.
Russia is believed to have hundreds of thousands of such bombs in warehouses. It has converted them, cheaply and simply, into a type of guided bomb by fitting some with GPS guidance systems and attaching wings, which allow a gliding descent that extends their range considerably.
They have proved difficult to intercept and Ukrainian soldiers can no longer rely on their trenches and bunkers to protect them from the bombs, some weighing one and a half tons. They also pack 30-80 times as much explosive as the artillery shells their shelters were expected to withstand.
Glide bombs, missiles and drones: The aerial bombardment raining down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
Monday 16 September 2024 23:00 , Alexander Butler
Glide bombs, missiles and drones rain down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
Mapped: The Russian targets Ukraine could hit with long-range missiles
Monday 16 September 2024 22:00 , Alexander Butler
On Sunday, a Russian glide bomb destroyed a high-rise building in northeastern Ukraine, killing a 94-year-old woman while injuring dozens more.
The 165kg guided-warhead, likely launched hundreds of miles away in Russia, blew out the windows of the five-storey building in Kharkiv as flames ripped through a number of floors.
The strike was the latest aerial attack carried about by Russian forces in Ukraine – in which roughly 5,000 civilians have been killed in the same way since February 2022.
For Volodymyr Zelensky, the only realistic solution to ending this death and destruction is by using Western long-range missiles to fire at military sites deep within Russia – something he has pleaded for over months.
“The only way to counter this terror is through a systemic solution – long-range capabilities to destroy Russian military aviation at its bases,” he said on Sunday.
If Washington was to give Kyiv the go-ahead to use the weapons, despite Vladimir Putin’s warning of war, what Russian targets could Ukraine hit? The Independent takes a look below.
Mapped: The Russian targets Ukraine could hit with long-range missiles
Watch: Zelensky calls for long range missiles to be made available to fire into Russian bases
Monday 16 September 2024 21:00 , Alexander Butler
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile? The British weapon banned from use in Russia by Ukrainian troops
Monday 16 September 2024 20:00 , Alexander Butler
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile banned from use in Russia by Ukraine?
Comment: In sharing nuclear secrets with Iran, Putin may have crossed his own ‘red line’
Monday 16 September 2024 19:00 , Alexander Butler
In sharing nuclear secrets with Iran, Putin may have crossed his own ‘red line’
Navalny ally calls on West to invest in Russia’s next generation to beat Putin
Monday 16 September 2024 18:00 , Alexander Butler
Navalny ally calls on West to invest in Russia’s next generation to beat Putin
Mapped: The Russian targets Ukraine could hit with long-range missiles
Monday 16 September 2024 17:00 , Alexander Butler
Russia launches strikes across Ukraine involving 50 drones as Kyiv’s troops face intense fighting in east
Monday 16 September 2024 15:55 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine fought off a massive Russian drone barrage across Ukraine – including Kyiv – in the latest aerial assault of Vladimir Putin’s 30-month-old invasion.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s air force shot down 53 out of 56 Russian droneslaunched overnight as one person was injured and five homes were damaged in the Kyiv region.
Air defence units destroyed nearly 20 drones that were heading towards Kyiv itself, the Ukrainian military said.
Russia evacuating some Kursk region border settlements, says governor
Monday 16 September 2024 14:30 , Alexander Butler
The governor of Russia’s Kursk region Alexei Smirnov on Monday ordered the evacuation of residents of all settlements in the province’s Rylsky and Khomutovsky districts situated within 15km (9.3 miles) of the Ukrainian border.
Kursk region has been the scene of bitter fighting since a Ukrainian incursion in early August seized territory along the frontier. Russian troops have in recent days made efforts to push Kyiv’s forces back.
Putin ‘expands military to 2.4m people’
Monday 16 September 2024 13:22 , Alexander Butler
Vladimir Putin has expanded his military by tens of thousands after dozens were injured when a Russian glide bomb hit a high-rise building in northeastern Ukraine.
Mr Putin signed a decree increasing the overall size of the Russian armed forces by 180,000, bringing the total capacity to 2.39million people, Russia state news agency RIA reported.
The last time the staffing level of the Armed Forces was increased was in December 2023. It was raised to 2,209,130 people, including 1,320,000 military personnel.
Editorial: Giving in to Putin’s blackmail now should not be an option
Monday 16 September 2024 13:00 , Alexander Butler
Giving in to Putin’s blackmail now should not be an option
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile? The British weapon banned from use in Russia by Ukrainian troops
Monday 16 September 2024 12:00 , Alexander Butler
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile banned from use in Russia by Ukraine?
Russia launches over 50 drones at Ukraine
Monday 16 September 2024 11:11 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine was forced to fight off a massive Russian drone barrage on Monday in the latest aerial attack of Vladimir Putin’s 30-month-old war.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s air force shot down 53 out of 56 Russian drones launched overnight as one person was injured and five homes were damaged in Kyiv.
Glide bombs, missiles and drones: The aerial bombardment raining down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
Monday 16 September 2024 11:00 , Alexander Butler
Glide bombs, missiles and drones rain down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
What is a glide bomb?
Monday 16 September 2024 09:58 , Alexander Butler
Glide bombs, also called KAB – the Ukrainian acronym for guided aerial bomb, are old-fashioned “iron” aerial bombs of the sort that were dropped by bombers during the Second World War.
Russia is believed to have hundreds of thousands of such bombs in warehouses. It has converted them, cheaply and simply, into a type of guided bomb by fitting some with GPS guidance systems and attaching wings, which allow a gliding descent that extends their range considerably.
They have proved difficult to intercept and Ukrainian soldiers can no longer rely on their trenches and bunkers to protect them from the bombs, some weighing one and a half tons. They also pack 30-80 times as much explosive as the artillery shells their shelters were expected to withstand.
Growing fears in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
Monday 16 September 2024 09:00 , Alexander Butler
Growing fears in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
Watch: Zelensky calls for long range missiles to be made available to fire into Russian bases
Monday 16 September 2024 08:32 , Alexander Butler
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile? The British weapon banned from use in Russia by Ukrainian troops
Monday 16 September 2024 07:53 , Arpan Rai
The US is considering easing restrictions on long-range missiles being used by Ukraine so that they can hit targets deep inside Russia, a decision which would also free up the use of British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
Kyiv has made renewed pleas at high-level talks over the issue, with Ukraine calling it crucial for its defences against Russia’s invasion. US secretary of state Antony Blinken, UK foreign secretary David Lammy and president Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the issue at a meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday, with Mr Blinken saying the war has entered a “critical moment”.
Prime minister Keir Starmer and Joe Biden will “no doubt” talk about the use of long-range missiles, including more Storm Shadow cruise missiles, in Washington, Mr Blinken said.
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile banned from use in Russia by Ukraine?
Russian drone barrage injures one in Kyiv region
Monday 16 September 2024 07:44 , Arpan Rai
A Russian overnight drone barrage injured one person and damaged five homes in Kyiv region, the regional authorities said today.
Governor Ruslan Kravchenko reported no damage to critical infrastructure in the region surrounding the capital.
Air defence units destroyed nearly 20 drones that were heading towards Kyiv itself, the Ukrainian military said.
“Russian attack drones were heading to Kyiv from different directions and in different groups,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Telegram. “According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or damage in Kyiv.”
Overall, during the attack over the central, northern and southern regions of Ukraine, the air force shot down 53 out of 56 Russian drones, it said in a statement.
Ukrainian troops advance in Kursk, Russian milbloggers say
Monday 16 September 2024 07:30 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian forces reportedly advanced in Kursk’s Glushkovsky and Russian forces reportedly recently recaptured territory in the area in the past 24 hours, reports cited by a US-based think tank said.
The Institute for the Study of War, monitoring the biggest incursion in Russia since the Second World War, cited a Russian military blogger’s report that Ukrainian forces advanced towards the southeastern outskirts of Volfino (southwest of Glushkovo).
It added: “Russian milbloggers claimed on 15 September (yesterday) that Russian forces recaptured Veseloye (southwest of Glushkovo), but ISW is unable to confirm this claim.”
Several Russian regiments are continuing to be in the defensive combat in Kursk fighting where Russia reportedly launched a counterattack last week.
‘Tug of war’ talks over long-range missiles helping Putin’s war on Ukraine, warns former defence secretary
Monday 16 September 2024 07:00 , Jabed Ahmed
‘Tug of war’ talks over missiles helping Putin, warns former defence secretary
North Korea’s foreign minister leaves for Russia, embassy in Pyongyang says
Monday 16 September 2024 06:54 , Arpan Rai
North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui has flown to Russia to attend the fourth Eurasian Women’s Forum and the BRICS Women’s Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia’s embassy in North Korea said today.
“Russian ambassador (Alexander Ivanovich) Matsegora saw off North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui at the Pyongyang International Airport,” the embassy said in a post on its Vkontakte social network.
The embassy said that the minister’s speeches and participation in discussions are planned at the forum, which will take place 18 to 20 September.
Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, said in June that delegations from almost a hundred countries were expected at the forum.
“We will strive to ensure a record foreign representation in the entire history of the Forum,” Matviyenko said in June, according to a transcript provided on the Council’s website.
Vladimir Putin has attended previous meetings of the forum, but the Kremlin is yet to announce his participation in this year’s forum.
Warming ties between the countries reached a new high this year when Putin signed a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that included a mutual defence pledge during a visit to Pyongyang.
BREAKING: Ukraine downs 53 out of 56 Russian drones overnight
Monday 16 September 2024 06:32 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine air force has downed 53 out of 56 Russian drones fired overnight, officials said.
Russia launched its eighth air attack in September on Kyiv overnight, with air defence units destroying nearly 20 drones that were heading towards the country’s capital, Ukrainian military said this morning.
“Russian attack drones were heading to Kyiv from different directions and in different groups,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Telegram. “According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or damage in Kyiv.”
The scale of the attack, which kept Kyiv under air raid alerts for about 3.5 hours, will only be known later today, he added.
Watch: West will not be bullied by Putin as talks continue on long-range strikes, says Lammy
Monday 16 September 2024 06:00 , Jabed Ahmed
UK won’t be bullied by Putin’s shameless grandstanding, says Lammy
Fears rise in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
Monday 16 September 2024 05:09 , Arpan Rai
The UK and the US have reportedly discussed their shared concern that Russia provided nuclear secrets to Iran in exchange for ballistic missiles for its Ukraine war.
Prime minister Keir Starmer and US president Joe Biden discussed the fact that Iran and Russia are strengthening their military cooperation during a summit in Washington on Friday, which also covered other key issues around Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, including Kyiv’s use of Western long-range missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia.
Mr Starmer and Mr Biden discussed intelligence pointing to a deal that would see the Kremlin providing Iran nuclear technology, sources on the British side told The Times.
If confirmed, such a deal would be especially alarming as Tehran is advancing its programme of uranium enrichment – a step towards developing a nuclear weapon.
Growing fears in UK and US of a secret nuclear deal between Iran and Russia
Zelensky says his troops suffering in battlefield due to slow supplies
Monday 16 September 2024 05:07 , Arpan Rai
Western arms are arriving too slowly to equip the armed forces properly and causing Ukrainian troops to suffer high losses, president Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN in an interview aired yesterday.
Russia has been gaining ground in parts of eastern Ukraine including around Pokrovsk. Capture of the transport hub could enable Moscow to open new lines of attack.
Mr Zelensky said the situation in the east was “very tough”, adding that half of Ukraine’s brigades there were not equipped.
“So you lose a lot of people. You lose people because they are not in armed vehicles… they don’t have artillery, they don’t have artillery rounds,” he said in an interview conducted on Friday.
The Ukrainian leader said weapons aid packages promised by the United States and European nations were arriving very slowly.
“We need 14 brigades to be ready. Until now… from these packages we didn’t equip even four,” he said.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Saturday said Washington was working on a “substantial” new aid package for Ukraine.
Watch: Hollywood actor Michael Douglas praises President Zelensky during Ukraine meeting
Monday 16 September 2024 05:00 , Jabed Ahmed
2 killed in missile strike on Odesa
Monday 16 September 2024 04:56 , Arpan Rai
Two people died in a missile attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, local officials said yesterday, as Moscow and Kyiv exchanged drone and missile attacks.
Oleh Kiper, Odesa’s regional governor, said the two who died in the suburbs of Odesa on Saturday night were a married couple, and that another person was wounded in the attack.
At least 41 people were wounded yesterday when a Russian aerial bomb struck a multistory residential building in Kharkiv, mayor Ihor Terekhov said, adding that the guided bomb hit the 10th floor of the building, with the fire spreading across four stories. Twelve other buildings were also damaged, he said.
The Ukrainian air force said Sunday it shot down 10 of the 14 drones and one of the three missiles Russia launched overnight.
Trump’s latest assassination suspect shows support for Ukraine
Monday 16 September 2024 04:54 , Arpan Rai
The suspect in the Donald Trump’s assassination attempt, Ryan Wesley Routh, had shown support for Ukraine in some alleged social media profiles in his name.
The 58-year-old resident of Hawaii was identified as the suspect by the CNN, Fox News and The New York Times who cited unnamed law enforcement officials.
Some social media profiles by his name were found on X, Facebook and Linkedin by those news organisations.
The three accounts bearing Routh’s name suggest he was an avid supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia. In several of the posts, the social media user appeared to be trying to help recruit soldiers for Ukraine’s war effort.
Public access to the said Facebook profile was removed a few hours after the shooting.
Everything we know about Trump shooting suspect Ryan Routh
Watch moving moment Ukrainian prisoner of war is reunited with her family
Monday 16 September 2024 04:53 , Arpan Rai
Watch the moving moment a Ukrainian prisoner of war is reunited with her family.
The freed woman said: “I am so happy, I cannot express with words, I was waiting for this day for so long. I am so happy to see the Ukrainian flag. Thank you, friends.”
Ukraine saw 49 people returned from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday (13 September).
According to Zelensky, among those returned are servicemen of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, National Guard, National Police, State Border Service, and civilians.
Watch moving moment Ukrainian prisoner of war is reunited with her family
