Debris from a Ukrainian drone has sparked a diesel fuel fire at a warehouse in Rostov, Russia.
Rostov governor Vasily Golubev said firefighters were called to put out the fire at the damaged oil depot.
Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency warned of “deteriorating safety” at Europe’s largest nuclear power facility in Ukraine, which was seized by Moscow in the early days of its full-scale invasion.
The warning by IAEA director general Rafael Grossi came after a drone strike hit the road surrounding the plant, landing close to the essential cooling water sprinkler ponds and the only remaining 750 kilovolt power line supplying the plant.
Russian troops have shut it down but it needs external power to keep the nuclear material cool to prevent a meltdown.
With Ukraine’s invasion of Russia’s Kursk region now in its second week, Kyiv rejected Russian claims that it was planning to attack a nuclear plant in the Russian region and blamed the “provocation” on Moscow as “insane” propaganda.
Using British tanks, Ukraine has taken hundreds of square miles since launching its audacious incursion on 6 August.
Key Points
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Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant safety ‘deteriorating’ after drone strike, UN warns
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Russia claims Western rockets destroyed key bridge
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Zelensky praises UK’s ‘true leadership’ but warns of ‘slowed down’ support
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Volodymyr Zelensky says forces ‘strengthening’ positions in Kursk
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Germany to halt new Ukraine military aid – report
Safety ‘deteriorating’ at Europe’s largest nuclear power station after drone strikes, IAEA warns
04:30 , Vishwam Sankaran
The safety at Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is “deteriorating” after drone strikes near the facility, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
IAEA said its team visited the site, under Russian occupation since March 2022, and found that the damage at Europe’s largest nuclear facility seemed to have been caused by a drone carrying explosives.
While there are no reported human casualties near the plant or damage to equipment, military activity near the ZNPP has been “intense” in recent days, according to the agency’s report.
“Nuclear power plants are designed to be resilient against technical or human failures and external events including extreme ones, but they are not built to withstand a direct military attack, and neither are they supposed to, just as with any other energy facility in the world,” IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
Zelensky praises UK’s ‘true leadership’ but warns of ‘slowed down’ support
05:30 , Vishwam Sankaran
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky praised the UK’s “true leadership” in supporting Ukraine as it carries out a counter-incursion into Russia, but warned that “the situation has slowed down recently.”
“This has saved thousands of lives, reflecting the strength of the UK. Unfortunately, the situation has slowed down recently,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly video address.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine would step up its diplomatic efforts with bold actions and decisions that would “genuinely change the course of this war.”
He called on Ukraine’s partners “who can truly help to step up.”
“These are the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and others,” the Ukrainian president said.
Russians had ‘complete intelligence failure’ in Kursk, analyst says
05:02 , Andy Gregory
The idea that Ukraine could burst through into Russian territory on the scale it has in Kursk seemed unthinkable to many observers prior to last week, with the shock operation raising questions about the effectiveness of Russia’s surveillance, as well as the calibre of its border fortifications and forces.
“The Russians had a complete intelligence failure here,” Yohann Michel, a research fellow at the Lyon-based Institute of Defence and Strategy Studies, told Reuters.
With Ukraine’s forces retreating in eastern Ukraine, one of the most strategic sectors of the front line, Moscow may well have assumed Kyiv would not make a high-stakes gamble that even now it is far from clear will pay off, Mr Michel said.
“I would understand if it was difficult for the Russians to think something that big could happen,” he said.
Watch: Zelensky says Ukraine is strengthening position in Russia’s Kursk region
04:01 , Andy Gregory
Russian cruise missile injures two and sparks blaze in city of Sumy, officials say
02:59 , Andy Gregory
A Russian missile sparked a blaze in the northeastern Ukrainan city of Sumy that injured two people and also damaged cars and nearby buildings, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.
The service said that the hit had involved an Iskander-K cruise missile and an aerial bomb.
Ukraine’s air force also said on Saturday it had shot down 14 Russian drones overnight, including over the Kyiv region.
Russian bloggers claim Kursk bridge destruction will impede – but not sever – supply lines
02:00 , Andy Gregory
Russian military bloggers said that the destruction of a bridge in Kursk would impede deliveries of supplies to Russian forces, but not cut them off completely.
“No one has cancelled the pontoons,” said Alexander Kots, military correspondent with the pro-Kremlin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, stressing that the Seym River is smaller than Ukrainian waterways such as the Dnieper River. “And there are still smaller bridges.”
Full report: Ukraine destroys key bridge as troops leave ‘trail of destruction’ in Russia incursion
01:02 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s invading forces in the Russian region of Kursk have destroyed a key bridge and supply route for Moscow, as reporters described a “trail of destruction” left in the wake of Kyiv’s incursion.
Some 12 days into the largest invasion of Russia since the Second World War, Kyiv’s troops are strengthening their positions in the Kursk region, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
Artillery fire has blown chunks out of a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin that stands in the town of Sudzha, which is now occupied by Ukrainian forces. Buildings were pockmarked with bullet holes and the streets, which were strewn with debris, were mainly empty as residents retreated to basements.
Read more on Saturday’s developments in this report:
Kyiv destroys key bridge as troops leave ‘trail of destruction’ in Russia incursion
Ukraine repelling dozens of Russian attacks in Donetsk, Zelensky says
Sunday 18 August 2024 00:04 , Andy Gregory
Ukrainian troops have repelled dozens of Russian attacks along the frontline in Donetsk, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said in his daily video address.
The Ukrainian military said 51 Russian attacks were stopped near Pokrovsk, a major logistics hub in the eastern region, and another 13 near the town of Toretsk in the last 24 hours.
Ukraine reaping ‘huge political gains’ from incursion into Russia, Polish minister says
Saturday 17 August 2024 23:18 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine is reaping “huge political gains” from its military offensive into western Russia but the incursion is not altering the “anti-escalation approach” of the West, Poland’s interior minister has said.
Asked whether Kyiv’s military gains could change its allies’ stance on the use of arms they supply for its war with Russia, Tomasz Siemoniak told Reuters: “This offensive does not change the anti-escalation attitude of the West.”
He added: “I think that for Western countries this is an event in terms of changing the image of Ukraine – Kyiv’s political gains are huge after less than two weeks.”
The US so far deems Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk region a protective move appropriate for Kyiv to use US equipment, officials in Washington said this week, but they expressed worries about potential complications as Ukrainian troops push further into enemy territory.
Warsaw has been one of the staunchest allies of Ukraine and Polish premier Donald Tusk struck a similar tone to Washington earlier this week, saying Ukraine had full right to carry out its war response in a way that would effectively paralyse Russia.
Russia’s Kadyrov equips Tesla Cybertruck with machine gun for war
Saturday 17 August 2024 22:31 , Andy Gregory
Fighters in Chechnya have turned a Tesla Cybertruck into a fighting vehicle, and are thanking Elon Musk for creating it.
On Saturday, Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the fighting forces in Russia’ Chechnya region, posted a video of himself on a Cybertruck with a machine gun mounted to the vehicle. In the video he said he planned to send the vehicle to fight in the Russian-Ukraine war.
“The Cybertruck will soon be sent to the SVO zone, where it will be in demand under the appropriate conditions. I am confident that this ‘beast’ will greatly benefit our soldiers,” he wrote in a Telegram post. The “SVO zone” refers to the Ukraine warzone.
Kadyrov praised the vehicle — and Musk — in the Telegram post, according to Reuters.
Our US reporter Graig Graziosi reports:
Russia’s Kadyrov equips Tesla Cybertruck with machine gun for war
UK should be proud of Ukraine using British weapons to defend itself, says Healey
Saturday 17 August 2024 21:44 , Andy Gregory
The UK “should be proud” of British weapons being used by Ukraine, despite the country’s incursion into Russia, defence secretary John Healey has said.
Writing in the Sunday Express, Mr Healey said: “The bold incursion by Ukrainian troops into Russia in recent days – to defend against further Russian strikes on Ukrainian towns and cities – has exposed vulnerabilities in Russia’s military and put Putin under pressure.
“Let me be very clear: under Article 51 of the UN Charter, Ukraine has a clear right of self-defence against Russia’s illegal attacks. Providing international law is followed, that does not rule out operations inside Russia.”
He added: “We should be proud of Britain’s support for Ukraine’s struggle. We should be proud that British-donated equipment, in the hands of brave Ukrainians on the front line, is helping them to defend their country and push back Putin.”
Drone explodes close to essential Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant cooling ponds
Saturday 17 August 2024 21:05 , Andy Gregory
The drone which struck close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant hit the road between the two main gates of the plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
The nuclear facility – Europe’s largest – has been shut down by the Russian troops who seized it in March 2022, but requires external power to keep its nuclear material cool and prevent a meltdown.
The drone hit the road between the two main gates of the plant, landing close to the essential cooling water sprinkler ponds and around 100 metres from the Dniprovska power line, the only remaining 750 kilovolt line providing a power supply to the plant, the IAEA said.
The IAEA immediately visited the area and reported that the damage seemed to have been caused by a drone equipped with an explosive payload. There were no casualties and no impact on any power plant equipment. However, there was impact to the road between the two main gates of the plant.
Military activity in the area – including very close to the plant – has been intense for the last week, according to the watchdog, whose team has heard frequent explosions, repetitive heavy machine gun and rifle fire and artillery at various distances from the plant.
A significant fire at one of the plant’s cooling towers earlier this week resulted in considerable damage, although there was no immediate threat to nuclear safety, the IAEA said.
UN watchdog chief’s remarks in full on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Saturday 17 August 2024 19:53 , Andy Gregory
Here are the comments in full from International Atomic Energy Association chief Rafael Grossi, after a drone struck the road outside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant:
“Yet again we see an escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers facing the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. I remain extremely concerned and reiterate my call for maximum restraint from all sides and for strict observance of the five concrete principles established for the protection of the plant.
“Nuclear power plants are designed to be resilient against technical or human failures and external events including extreme ones, but they are not built to withstand a direct military attack, and neither are they supposed to, just as with any other energy facility in the world.
“This latest attack highlights the vulnerability of such facilities in conflict zones and the need to continue monitoring the fragile situation.”
Safety at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant deteriorating after nearby drone strike, UN watchdog warns
Saturday 17 August 2024 19:20 , Andy Gregory
Safety at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is deteriorating following a drone strike that hit the road around the perimeter of Europe’s largest such facility on Saturday, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has warned.
The warning from International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi came after the Russian management of the plant claimed a Ukrainian drone dropped an explosive charge on a road outside, endangering its staff who use the highway, the Tass state news agency reported.
Moscow seized the nuclear plant in the early days of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It has been shut down by Russian troops but needs external power to keep its nuclear material cool and prevent a meltdown.
Russia ‘opens criminal case’ into Italian journalists over Kursk report
Saturday 17 August 2024 19:01 , Andy Gregory
Russia has opened a criminal court case against two Italian journalists over a TV report from Kursk, state news agency Tass reports, citing the FSB security service.
A four-person from with Italy’s state broadcaster RAI, working under Ukrainian military escort, produced the first foreign media report from the war-damaged Russian town of Sudzha, taken last week during Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Italy’s ambassador on Friday over what it called illegal border crossing by a RAI crew, and the two reporters are scheduled to fly back to the northern Italian city of Milan on Sunday following a decision by RAI that they should do so.
“The company decided to make journalist Stefania Battistini and cameraman Simone Traini return temporarily to Italy, solely to ensure personal safety and security,” RAI said.
RAI union Usigrai and Italy’s national press union FNSI said in a joint statement: “Journalism is not a crime. The Moscow authorities’ possibility of putting Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini on trial is unacceptable. Reporting is not done with prior authorisations.”
Zelensky renews call for West to allow long-range strikes on Russia
Saturday 17 August 2024 18:35 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has renewed his calls for Ukraine’s Western allies to allow their weaponry to be used for long-range strikes on Russia.
“The long-range capability for our forces is the answer to all most important, most strategic questions of this war,” Mr Zelensky said in his daily video address to the nation.
“We will strengthen our diplomatic work. We will insist that bold steps and bold decisions are needed.”
UK launches its first military satellite fully owned by MoD
Saturday 17 August 2024 18:05 , Andy Gregory
Images gathered by the UK military’s first satellite will be shared with allies, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said – pointing to the war in Ukraine as having shown that the use of space is “crucial” to military operations.
The satellite, named Tyche, is the first to be fully owned by the MoD, and was launched on Friday from a rocket owned by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. Comparable in size to a washing machine, Tyche was designed and built in the UK through a £22m contract with Surrey Satellites Technology Limited (SSTL).
SSTL received the first signals from Tyche a few hours after lift-off that confirmed the successful launch from Vandenberg space force base, California, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter 11 mission.
Along with military information, it is intended that data from the satellite will be accessible by other UK Government departments for uses including environmental disaster monitoring, mapping information development and tracking the impact of climate change globally, according to the MoD
Over a five-year life span, the 150kg satellite will provide imagery to support the UK armed forces and is the first to be launched by the MoD out of a constellation of satellites under its space-based Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) programme.
Russia ‘approaches Ukraine about prisoner of war exchange’
Saturday 17 August 2024 17:25 , Andy Gregory
Russia’s human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova has initiated a conversation about prisoner of war exchanges, Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets has been cited as saying by the Institute for the Study of War think-tank.
The US-based group cited Mr Lubinets as saying Ukraine had taken some 2,000 Russia personnel prisoner in Kursk over the past 11 days, including conscripts, border guards from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), and personnel from Chechen “Akhmat” units.
Ukraine rejects Russian claims about Kursk nuclear power plant as ‘insane propaganda’
Saturday 17 August 2024 16:42 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine has rejected Russian claims that it is planning to attack a nuclear plant in Kursk and blame the “provocation” on Moscow as “insane” propaganda.
Russia’s defence ministry said there would be a harsh response to any attack on the Kursk power plant, which remains under its control, the Interfax news agency reported. It gave no evidence for its accusation against Ukraine, but said a large surrounding area could be contaminated by an attack.
“We are seeing another surge in insane Russian propaganda about alleged Ukrainian plans to use ‘dirty bombs’ or attack nuclear plants. We officially refute these false claims,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi wrote on X.
“Ukraine has no intention or ability to take any such actions.”
Russia’s foreign ministry summons Italy’s ambassador over Italian journalists in Kursk region
Saturday 17 August 2024 16:09 , Holly Bancroft
Two Italian journalists who angered Moscow with a TV report from Ukrainian-held parts of Russia‘s Kursk region will return to Italy, state broadcaster RAI said on Saturday.
Russia‘s Foreign Ministry summoned Italy’s ambassador on Friday over what it called “illegal border crossing” by a RAI crew.
“The company decided to make journalist Stefania Battistini and cameraman Simone Traini return temporarily to Italy, solely to ensure personal safety and security,” RAI said.
Baza, a Telegram channel close to Russian law enforcement, had said the interior ministry was planning to open a criminal cases against the two journalists.
A four-person RAI crew, working under Ukrainian military escort, produced the first foreign media report from the war-damaged Russian town of Sudzha, taken last week during Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk.
The two reporters are scheduled to fly back to the northern Italian city of Milan on Sunday.
British reporters from Sky News and CNN have also been into occupied Russia since then, reporting from the town of Sudzha.
Russia ‘restricting access to information’ on war, says UK MoD
Saturday 17 August 2024 15:43 , Holly Bancroft
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has said that Russia is restricting access to information for people in Russia in an attempt to limit criticism of the invasion of Ukraine.
In a post on the social media platform X, the MoD said on Saturday: “Russia is restricting access to information to limit criticism of its destructive invasion of Ukraine. Communications channels are being pulled away as the Kremlin tightens its grip on free expression.”
Ukraine ‘doing everything possible’ to repel Russia, Zelensky says
Saturday 17 August 2024 15:18 , Holly Bancroft
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that “dozens of Russian assaults” have been recorded in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours.
He added: “However, our warriors and units are doing everything possible to destroy the occupiers and repel their assaults. The situation remains under control.”
In a statement on social media platform X, Mr Zelensky added that he was “working on new support packages for our country from our partners”. Ukraine has been pushing its allies to allow use of Storm Shadow long-range missiles against Russia.
Mr Zelensky continued: “The key focus is on limiting Russia’s offensive potential and ensuring our long-range capabilities. We are preparing the respective instructions for Ukrainian diplomats.”
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky says forces ‘strengthening’ positions in Kursk
Saturday 17 August 2024 15:00 , Holly Bancroft
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his forces were “strengthening” their positions in Russia’s Kursk region on Saturday.
Kyiv mounted a major ground offensive into the region on 6 August. In a post on Telegram, reported by AFP, Mr Zelensky said that Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrsky “reported on the strengthening of the positions of our forces in the Kursk region and the expansion of stabilised territory”.
“As of this morning, we have replenished the exchange fund for our country,” Mr Zelensky said, referring to Russian soldiers Ukraine has captured to be used in future prisoner swaps.
“I thank all the soldiers and commanders who are taking Russian soldiers prisoner and thus bringing the release of our soldiers and civilians held by Russia closer.”
He added that the situation on the Eastern front near the towns of Pokrovsk and Toretsk was “under control”, after it was reported that Russia was making advances in these areas.
“[There were] dozens of Russian assaults on our positions over the last day. But our soldiers and units are doing everything to destroy the occupier and repel the attacks,” Mr Zelensky said.
Russia says Ukraine used Western rockets to destroy bridge in Kursk region
Saturday 17 August 2024 14:33 , Holly Bancroft
Russia’s foreign ministry said Ukraine had used Western rockets, likely U.S.-made HIMARS, to destroy a bridge over the Seym river in the Kursk region, killing volunteers trying to evacuate civilians.
“For the first time, the Kursk region was hit by Western-made rocket launchers, probably American HIMARS,” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, said late on Friday on the Telegram messaging app.
“As a result of the attack on the bridge over the Seym River in the Glushkovo district, it was completely destroyed, and volunteers who were assisting the evacuated civilian population were killed.”
This has not been independently verified.
Russian missile strike sparks blaze in Ukrainian city of Sumy
Saturday 17 August 2024 14:12 , Holly Bancroft
A Russian missile strike has sparked a blaze in the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Saturday.
Two people were injured in the Sumy strike, which also damaged cars and nearby buildings, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has said. It said that the hit involved an Iskander-K cruise missile and an aerial bomb.
Meanwhile, fighting has continued in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have been deployed since 6 August.
Alexander Kots, military correspondent with the pro-Kremlin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, said that Ukrainian pressure in Kursk “is not weakening yet.”“In the main sections of the ragged front, the situation has stabilized. But there are areas where the enemy continues to try to expand its bridgehead,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
Ukrainian forces have also captured a number of Russian troops as they have moved across the region.
Germany to halt new Ukraine military aid – report
Saturday 17 August 2024 13:56 , Holly Bancroft
The German government will stop new military aid to Ukraine as part of a plan to cut spending, a local newspaper reported on Saturday.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported that this decision will affect new requests for funding, not previously approved aid. The moratorium on new assistance is already in effect, the paper reported.
Germany’s finance minister Christian Lindner reportedly said that future funding would no longer come from Germany’s federal budget but from proceeds from frozen Russian assets.
While a preliminary deal has been struck to use some of the frozen Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine, G7 governments have yet to agree on the details of the scheme.
How much territory has Ukraine taken in Russia?
Saturday 17 August 2024 13:26 , Holly Bancroft
Ukraine’s army chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrksyi claimed on Thursday that his forces had captured almost 445 square miles (1,150 sq kilometres) of land in Kursk.
But is this likely?
Tom Watling has a look at how much territory has been captured inside Russia and how many troops were involved in the incursion.
Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained
Recap: Ukraine’s surprise attack inside Russia is ‘psychological tactic’ to win the war
Saturday 17 August 2024 13:02 , Holly Bancroft
In case you missed it, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief adviser spoke to The Independent’s Tom Watling about the Russia offensive.
Ukraine’s surprise attack inside Russia is the only way to force Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table as part of a “psychological” tactic to win the war, president Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief adviser has told The Independent.
Mykhailo Podolyak, the top aide to the Ukrainian president, said the incursion had shown Russians the harsh realities of Vladimir Putin’s war.
“We need to use absolutely clear tools to coerce Russia [into negotiation]. One of them is a military instrument of coercion.
“That is, we need to inflict significant tactical defeats on Russia, in addition to economic and diplomatic tools. In the Kursk region, we are seeing the optimisation of this military tool of coercion to force Russia into the negotiation process.”
Revealed: Ukraine’s plan to force Putin to retreat in shame
Russia ‘rapidly approaching’ a key military hub in eastern Ukraine
Saturday 17 August 2024 12:39 , Holly Bancroft
Russia is “rapidly approaching” a key military hub in eastern Ukraine, a local official has been reported as saying.
Serhii Dobriak, head of the Pokrovsk city military administration, urged the residents there to evacuate on Thursday. He said in a Telegram post: “The enemy is rapidly approaching the outskirts of Pokrovsk”.
“They are a bit more than 10 kilometres from the outskirts of Pokrovsk”, he said. He added that the situation was “only getting worse”.
Pokrovsk was home to around 60,000 people before the war and serves as a key hub for the Ukrainian military.
A Ukrainian army officer Serhii Tsehotskyi told a national broadcaster on Friday that Ukraine’s incursion into Russia had not lead to a decrease in attacks in the Donetsk region.
He said: “Taking into consideration the events in the Kursk region, they [the Russian troops] are trying to do everything in order to be successful at least somewhere”.
Russia says Ukraine plans Kursk nuclear power plant ‘provocation’
Saturday 17 August 2024 12:21 , Holly Bancroft
Russia‘s defence ministry accused Ukraine on Saturday of planning to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant and blame such a “provocation” on Moscow, Interfax news agency cited the ministry as saying.
The ministry said Russia would respond harshly in the event of such an attack, which it said would contaminate a large surrounding area.
Russians had ‘complete intelligence failure’ with Kursk incursion
Saturday 17 August 2024 11:59 , Holly Bancroft
The shock Ukrainian advance in Kursk has raised questions about the effectiveness of Russia’s surveillance capabilities, as well as the calibre of its border fortifications and the forces guarding them.
“The Russians had a complete intelligence failure here,” French military expert Yohann Michel, research fellow at the IESD institute in Lyon, told Reuters.
With Ukraine’s forces retreating in eastern Ukraine, Moscow may well have assumed Kyiv would not make such a high-stakes gamble, Michel said.
“I would understand if it was difficult for the Russians to think something that big could happen,” he added.
A Russian member of parliament and former military officer Andrei Gurulyov said in a television interview two days after the incursion that Russian military leaders had been warned in a report about a month beforehand that there were signs of preparations for a Ukrainian attack, but it was not heeded.
Responsibility for defending the Russian border is shared between regular troops, FSB border forces and the national guard.
Ukraine ‘not interested in occupying Russian territories’
Saturday 17 August 2024 11:02 , Holly Bancroft
Ukraine is “not interested in occupying Russian territories”, according to president Zelenskyy’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak.
In a post to the social media platform X, he wrote that Ukraine’s advance into Russia would strengthen their hand at any potential negotiations between the two countries.
He explained: “We have absolutely no plans to beg: ‘Please, sit down to negotiate’. Instead, we have proven, effective means of coercion.. We need to inflict significant tactical defeats on Russia.”
He also said that the incursion was an “important tool” that would “influence on public opinion within Russia”.
“Negative changes in the psychological state of the Russian population will be another argument for the start of negotiations”, he concluded.
Russia accuses Ukraine of bombing road near Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
Saturday 17 August 2024 10:21 , Holly Bancroft
The Russian management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant said on Saturday a Ukrainian drone dropped an explosive charge on a road outside the plant, endangering its staff who use the road, the TASS news agency reported.
Russia has been in control of the Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, since soon after it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of trying to sabotage its operations.
Pictures from Ukraine’s incursion into Russia
Saturday 17 August 2024 10:06 , Holly Bancroft
A partially destroyed statue of Lenin and bullet-marked civilian cars lining the road – these are the scenes emerging from the Russian border town of Sudzha, which was assaulted by Ukraine.
Western journalists have been allowed to accompany Ukrainian military into occupied Russia. CNN journalist Nick Paton Walsh described the scene saying: “Not even the statue of Lenin is unscathed here. This Ukrainian assault, so persistent,.. and Russia completely unable to push the Ukrainians out here.”
Ukraine offensive ‘derailed negotiations with Russia’
Saturday 17 August 2024 09:37 , Holly Bancroft
Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia has derailed planned talks between the two sides scheduled for this month, diplomats and officials have told The Washington Post.
According to the report, Ukraine and Russia were set to send delegations to Doha this month to negotiate an agreement over energy and power infrastructure.
The planned talks have now apparently been derailed by Ukraine’s advance into Russia’s western Kursk region.
Diplomats had hoped that the talks between the two sides on energy supplies could have developed into more extensive peace talks.
Russian officials have now postponed their meeting with Qatari officials, despite Kyiv still being keen to send a delegation, The Washington Post reported.
The Ukrainian presidential office told the US paper that the talks had been postponed “due to the situation in the Middle East” but would take place by video call later this month.
Ukraine claim that nearly 600,000 Russian troops have died in war so far
Saturday 17 August 2024 09:26 , Holly Bancroft
Ukraine’s defence ministry have claimed that 598,180 members of the Russian armed forces have died in the war so far.
In a tally titled ‘losses of the Russian occupiers in Ukraine’, the ministry said that Russia had lost 367 aircraft, 8501 tanks, 16,473 armoured fighting vehicles and one submarine.
16,985 artillery systems, 2,432 cruise missiles and 28 warships and boats have also been taken out between 24 February 2022 and 17 August 2024, the ministry said.
US behind block on Storm Shadow missile use inside Russia – reports
Saturday 17 August 2024 09:09 , Holly Bancroft
The US government is reportedly behind the halt on Storm Shadow missiles being used by Kyiv inside Russia.
According to a report in The Times, the UK government is in favour of relaxing the use of long range weapons and has asked Washington for the green light.
A UK government source told the paper that a request was made more than a month ago to the US government but that it was “stuck in the system” – with no decision forthcoming.
Another UK government source said that “discussions were still ongoing around Storm Shadow with allies”. The UK would require consensus from allies in order to give Ukraine the freedom to use the long-range weapons inside Russia.
Ukraine air defence ‘downs all 14 Russian drones fired’
Saturday 17 August 2024 08:29 , Athena Stavrou
Ukraine’s air defences shot down all 14 Russian drones fired in an overnight attack, the Ukrainian air force said on Saturday.
The air force said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that the Shahed drones were downed over six Ukrainian regions in the south and centre of the country
Ukraine dismisses Moscow’s claims of Kyiv planning ‘dirty bomb’ attacks in Russia
Saturday 17 August 2024 08:00 , Vishwam Sankaran
Ukraine’s foreign ministry rubbished Moscow’s claims about Kyiv planning an attack on Russian nuclear power plants with “dirty bombs.”
Several state-controlled Russian media claimed Ukrainian troops were planning to attack the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Russia.
Kyiv’s foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi called the claims “a surge of insane Russian propaganda.”
“Ukraine has neither the intention nor the ability to carry out any such actions. Russia must stop spreading dangerous lies,” Mr Tykhyi said.
He said Ukraine is a committed member of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and does not have any “dirty bombs.”
“Their scenario of accusing us of terrorism and the attack on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant did not work. Now they are lying,” Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraine’s national security and defence council wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine’s Russia incursion will provide negotiation leverage, Zelensky adviser says
Saturday 17 August 2024 07:30 , Vishwam Sankaran
Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive incursion into villages at the Russian border will help bring Moscow to the negotiation table, Mykhailo Podolyak, a top Ukrainian presidential adviser said on X.
“In the Kursk region, we can clearly see how the military tool is being used objectively to persuade Russia to enter a fair negotiation process,” he said, adding that Moscow would face “significant tactical defeats” from Ukraine’s incursion.
The move would also influence public opinion within Russia, the presidential advisor believes.
“An important tool is also the influence on public opinion within Russia, which is beginning to change when the war has come deep into their territory,” Mr Podolyak said.
“Negative changes in the psychological state of the Russian population will be another argument for the start of negotiations,” he said.
Kremlin says Western rockets destroyed key bridge in Russia
Saturday 17 August 2024 07:30 , Athena Stavrou
Russia’s foreign ministry said Ukraine had used Western rockets – likely US-made HIMARS – to destroy a key bridge over the Seym river in the Kursk region.
“For the first time, the Kursk region was hit by Western-made rocket launchers, probably American HIMARS,” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, said late on Friday on the Telegram messaging app.
“As a result of the attack on the bridge over the Seym River in the Glushkovo district, it was completely destroyed, and volunteers who were assisting the evacuated civilian population were killed.”
Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Friday that Kyiv’s forces were advancing between 1 and 3 kilometre in some areas in the Kursk region, 11 days since beginning an incursion into Russia.
Kyiv has claimed to have taken control of 82 settlements over an area of 1,150 square kilometres in the region since Aug 6.
Reuters could not independently verify either side’s battlefield accounts.
Russia has accused the West of supporting and encouraging Ukraine‘s first ground offensive on Russian territory and said Kyiv’s “terrorist invasion” would not change the course of the war.
The United States, which has said it cannot allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to win the war he launched in February 2022, so far deems the surprise incursion a protective move that justifies the use of U.S. weaponry, officials in Washington said.
Disarray in Putin’s military command exposed by Ukraine’s attack in Russia, says Zelensky’s chief adviser
Saturday 17 August 2024 07:00 , Tom Watling
Disarray in Putin’s military command exposed by Ukraine attack, says Zelensky adviser
Ukraine’s counter invasion destroys key bridge in Russia
Saturday 17 August 2024 06:32 , Athena Stavrou
Ukraine’s troops invading Russian border villages have destroyed a key bridge over the Seym river used by the Kremlin to send its troops critical supplies.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine’s incursion and capture of land in Russia’s Kursk region could eventually lead to a swap deal for Ukrainian regions occupied by Moscow.
The latest attack on the bridge near the Russian town of Glushkovo has cut off part of the local district, according to reports.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a key Zelensky adviser, said the counter incursion’s main aim was to get Moscow back on the negotiation table.
“In the Kursk region, we can clearly see how the military tool is being used objectively to persuade Russia to enter a fair negotiation process,” he posted on X.
Ukraine’s offensive into Russia in photos
Saturday 17 August 2024 06:30 , Vishwam Sankaran
Here are some of the latest photos from the Ukrainian border with Russia
Saturday 17 August 2024 06:00 , Tom Watling
Russia expanding shadow fleet to evade Western oil sanctions – report
Saturday 17 August 2024 05:30 , Vishwam Sankaran
Russia is increasing the number of its secret fleet of oil ships to evade Western sanctions, according to a Ukrainian think tank.
Moscow has added 74 new oil ships to its existing fleet since the beginning of this year from about 300 under-the-radar ships operating since the beginning of 2023, according to The KSE Institute, a think tank within the Kyiv School of Economics.
Scientists are using artificial intelligence to detect such dark ships from satellite imagery.
“To put additional pressure on Russia’s ability to finance its war of aggression against Ukraine, we urge coalition governments to designate additional shadow fleet vessels,” the think tank said.
“Their removal would represent significant sunk costs while forcing Russia to rely more heavily on mainstream fleet ankers, which fall under the price cap,” it added.
Revealed: Ukraine’s plan to force Putin to retreat in shame
Saturday 17 August 2024 05:00 , Tom Watling
Revealed: Ukraine’s plan to force Putin to retreat in shame
Videos of Ukraine’s Russia incursion reveal secrets of surprise attacks in modern warfare
Saturday 17 August 2024 04:41 , Vishwam Sankaran
A video circulated on social media from official and unofficial accounts shows about 100 Russian soldiers being taken prisoner in Kursk as Ukraine’s forces push deeper into Russia with surprise and secret attacks.
Footage shows Ukrainian troops raising flags over border villages and their military vehicles rolling down Russian streets.
Videos reveal that the buildup of troops and equipment in Russia caught the Kremlin off guard as tight-lipped Russian officials attempted to conceal the extent of their failure.
Russia’s defence ministry said about 300 Ukrainian soldiers along with nearly a dozen tanks and armoured vehicles were attacking two villages close to Kursk.
Britain keeps poking the Russian Bear – don’t be surprised if it lashes out
Saturday 17 August 2024 04:00 , Tom Watling
Britain keeps poking the Russian Bear – don’t be surprised if it lashes out
Head of Nobel-winning rights group says Russia sliding back toward Stalinist times under Putin
Saturday 17 August 2024 03:00 , Tom Watling
Head of Nobel-winning rights group says Russia sliding back toward Stalinist times
Putin’s greatest fear is coming true – and he’s panicking
Saturday 17 August 2024 02:00 , Tom Watling
Putin’s greatest fear is coming true – and he’s panicking | Mark Almond
Ukraine plans ‘buffer zone’ inside Russia’s Kursk region, says Kyiv colonel
Saturday 17 August 2024 01:00 , Tom Watling
Ukraine plans to create ‘buffer zone’ inside Russia, says Kyiv colonel
Zelensky confirms more weapons for Ukraine as Kyiv strikes Putin’s airfields
Saturday 17 August 2024 00:00 , Tom Watling
Zelensky confirms more weapons for Ukraine as Kyiv strikes Putin’s airfields
Military expert: Kyiv aiming to maximise Kursk offensive while Russia does same in Ukraine’s east
Friday 16 August 2024 23:06 , Jabed Ahmed
Analysts have said that distracting Russian forces from the east was one of the aims of Ukraine‘s Kursk operation. But so far there was no indication of letup in the east.
Russian forces were 10 kilometres from the outskirts of Pokrovsk and about 6 kilometres from nearby Myrnohrad, according to local officials.
“If the objective was to divert the Russian effort from the Donbas, it’s failed so far,” said Yohann Michel, a French military expert and research fellow at the IESD Institute in Lyon, France.
He said Kyiv was aiming to maximise the effect of the Kursk offensive while Russia was trying to do the same in Ukraine‘s east.
“It’s probably the first one who will blink who will have to stop his own offensive,” he said.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine was “not for a second” forgetting about the east and promised fresh weapons deliveries – over what was planned – to strengthen the positions.
Ukraine’s next president? Vitali Klitschko film explores boxer’s journey into politics and war
Friday 16 August 2024 23:00 , Tom Watling
Ukraine’s next president? The intriguing threads in Vitali Klitschko film
Satellite photos show how Ukraine’s gamble on an incursion deep into Russia changed the battlefield
Friday 16 August 2024 22:00 , Tom Watling
Satellite photos show Ukraine’s gamble on a move into Russia changed the battlefield
Kremlin accuses the West of helping Ukraine attack Russia
Friday 16 August 2024 21:38 , Jabed Ahmed
An influential aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the West and the US-led NATO alliance had helped to plan Ukraine’s surprise attack on Russia’s Kursk region, something Washington has denied.
The lightning incursion, the biggest into Russia by a foreign power since World War Two, began on 6 August when thousands of Ukrainian troops crossed Russia’s western border in a major embarrassment for Putin’s military.
Ukraine said the incursion was needed to force Russia, which sent its forces into Ukraine in February 2022, to start “fair” peace talks.
But the United States and Western powers, eager to avoid direct military confrontation with Russia, said Ukraine had not given advance notice and that Washington was not involved, though weaponry provided by Britain and the U.S. is reported to have been used on Russian soil.
Influential veteran Kremlin hawk Nikolai Patrushev dismissed the Western assertions in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper.
“The operation in the Kursk region was also planned with the participation of NATO and Western special services,” he was quoted as saying, without offering evidence.
“Without their participation and direct support, Kyiv would not have ventured into Russian territory.”
The remarks implied that Ukraine’s first acknowledged foray into sovereign Russian territory carried a high risk of escalation.
Facts about Russian town of Sudza claimed by Ukraine as part of its incursion
Friday 16 August 2024 21:00 , Tom Watling
Facts about Russian town of Sudza claimed by Ukraine as part of its incursion
Russia summons Italian ambassador over journalists reporting from Kursk
Friday 16 August 2024 20:29 , Jabed Ahmed
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said it had summoned Italy’s ambassador in Moscow over what it said was “illegal border crossing” by a team of correspondents from Italian state broadcaster RAI, who reported from Ukrainian-held parts of Russia’s Kursk region this week.
In a statement published on its website, the foreign ministry said: “A strong protest was expressed to the Ambassador in connection with the actions of the film crew of Italian state television and radio company RAI, which illegally entered the territory of the Russian Federation.”
RAI on Wednesday aired the first foreign media report from the Russian town of Sudzha, which was taken in the opening stages of Ukraine‘s offensive against Russia last week.
The Italian crew appeared to be working under Ukrainian military escort, and broadcast footage of the war-damaged town.
Earlier on Friday, Baza, a Telegram channel close to Russian law enforcement, reported that the country’s interior ministry was planning to open criminal cases against two RAI journalists for illegally crossing the Russian border.
Revealed: Ukraine’s plan to force Putin to retreat in shame
Friday 16 August 2024 20:00 , Tom Watling
Revealed: Ukraine’s plan to force Putin to retreat in shame
Ukraine’s army chief: forces advance 1-3 km in Russia’s Kursk region
Friday 16 August 2024 19:24 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine‘s army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has said that Kyiv’s forces were advancing between one and three kilometres in some areas in Russia’s Kursk region.
Ukraine has said it has taken control of 82 settlements over an area of 1,150 square kilometres (444 square miles) in the region after it launched a major cross-border attack on 6 August.
Briefing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy via video link, Syrskyi reported fighting in the area of Malaya Loknya, some 11.5 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
“In general, the situation is under control, everything is carried out following the plan,” Syrskyi said in a video published by Zelenskiy on Telegram.
He said he hoped the fighting near Malaya Loknya would allow the Kyiv military to capture “many prisoners”.
British tanks used to drive back Putin’s forces during Ukraine’s attack in Russia
Friday 16 August 2024 19:00 , Tom Watling
British tanks used to drive back Putin’s forces during Ukraine’s Russia incursion
Ukraine destroys bridge in Russia’s Kursk region, hindering evacuations, TASS reports
Friday 16 August 2024 18:29 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian forces have destroyed a bridge over the Seym River in Russia’s Kursk region, hindering civilian evacuations by land, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported citing local security services.
A mass evacuation is underway in the Glushkov district, home to 20,000 people, following a swift Ukrainian incursion into the region.
Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained
Friday 16 August 2024 18:00 , Tom Watling
Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained
Ukraine sends humanitarian aid to occupied part of Russia’s Kursk region, interior minister says
Friday 16 August 2024 17:49 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine has set up storage facilities in its northern region of Sumy to hold and send humanitarian aid to Russian civilians in the Kyiv-held part of Russia’s western region of Kursk, the interior minister has said.
Ukraine has said it has taken control of 82 settlements over an area of 1,150 square kilometres (444 square miles) in the region after it launched a major cross-border attack on 6 Aug.
“The citizens abandoned by Russia are mostly elderly people, people with disabilities, and families with children. They need food, water and medicine,” minister Ihor Klymenko said on the Telegram messaging app.
He didn’t specify how many of the storage facilities had been set up, or where they are, but a video posted on the ministry’s Telegram account showed a large inflatable tent and Ukrainian military personnel carrying parcels and packing food.
During a trip to the Sumy region, which borders Russia’s Kursk region, Klymenko said about 150 food parcels had been sent to civilians in the area.
Kyiv officials have said they plan to create evacuation corridors from the Kursk region and to open access to international humanitarian missions.
Russia has called the Ukrainian incursion a “major provocation” and vowed to retaliate with a “worthy response”, more than 2-1/2 years since it launched a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour.
Britain keeps poking the Russian Bear – don’t be surprised if it lashes out
Friday 16 August 2024 17:00 , Tom Watling
Britain keeps poking the Russian Bear – don’t be surprised if it lashes out
Civilians in Kursk wait for humanitarian aid
Friday 16 August 2024 16:00 , Tom Watling
Ukraine advancing up to 15 miles into Russia, says MoD
Friday 16 August 2024 15:30 , Tom Watling
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