Volodymyr Zelensky has for the first time confirmed his forces are engaged in a major cross-border offensive into Russia’s Kursk region.
The Russian region’s authorities have rushed to evacuate 76,000 civilians from areas at risk as the fighting continued into a sixth day.
Ukraine’s leadership had refused to confirm or deny reports of up to 1,000 soldiers backed by tanks crossing the border. But Zelensky last night said he had discussed the operation with top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi. “Today, I received several reports from commander-in-chief Syrskyi regarding the front lines and our actions to push the war onto the aggressor’s territory,” he said.
“Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor.”
The attack represents Kyiv’s largest incursion into Russian territory since the start of the war, which left southwestern parts of Russia vulnerable before reinforcement started arriving. Russia has declared a state of emergency amid fierce fighting within its borders with Ukraine.
Key Points
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Zelensky finally speaks out on Ukraine’s military operation in Russia’s Kursk
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Russia evacuates over 76,000 in Kursk region amid Ukraine incursion
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Vladimir Putin accuses Ukraine of “major provocation” following cross-border attack
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Russia tightens security in region of Ukraine incursion as fighting continues
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Russia declares ‘federal-level’ emergency in the Kursk region
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Ukraine volunteers evacuate residents near Russia’s embattled Kursk region
Russia orders faster evacuation of civilians as fierce fighting grows
06:46 , Arpan Rai
The acting governor of the Kursk region that borders with Ukraine and where Moscow’s forces are fighting intense battles against Kyiv’s troops today ordered a speedier evacuation of the civilian population in areas at risk.
Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor, said he had instructed the head of the Belovsky district of the region, in Kursk’s southwest, to “speed up” the implementation of the orders to evacuate.
Russia said Ukrainian forces pushed into Kursk region last Tuesday with nearly a thousand troops, and Russian military bloggers have acknowledged they made some headway, while saying the situation had since stabilised.
Russia evacuates over 76,000 in Kursk region over Ukraine incursion
06:46 , Arpan Rai
More than 76,000 people have been evacuated from areas bordering Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region, the local emergency ministry was quoted by the Tass news agency, following Ukraine‘s incursion into the region this week.
Russia is fighting intense battles against thousands of Ukrainian troops as deep as 20 km (12 miles) inside the Kursk region after Ukraine’s biggest attack on Russian sovereign territory since the start of the war in 2022.
Downed missile injures 13 in Russia’s Kursk
06:30 , Arpan Rai
At least 13 people were injured in the city of Kursk after debris from a destroyed Ukraine-launched missile fell onto a nine-storey residential building, officials of the Russian border Kursk region said this morning.
Moscow’s forces are in their sixth day of intense battles against Kyiv’s largest raid into Russian territory since Russia launched a full-scale invasion on its smaller neighbour, with local authorities rushing to evacuate areas at risk.
Alexei Smirnov, Kursk’s acting governor, said two of the injured were in serious condition. Residents of the building were to be evacuated to a temporary accommodation centre, Kursk Mayor Igor Kutsak said on Telegram.
He added that the whole city was under air raid alerts. Kutsak posted a photo of a residential building with blown out windows and damaged balconies.
Zelensky finally speaks out on Ukraine’s military operation in Russia’s Kursk
06:13 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged for the first time last night that Ukrainian forces were fighting in the surprise offensive in Russia’s Kursk, as the border region’s authorities rushed to evacuate civilians from areas at risk.
Moscow’s forces are in their sixth day of intense battles against Kyiv’s largest incursion into Russian territory since the start of the war, which left southwestern parts of Russia vulnerable before reinforcement started arriving.
In his nightly video address, Mr Zelensky said he had discussed the operation with top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, vowing to restore justice after Russia launched a full-scale aggression on its smaller neighbour in February 2022.
“Today, I received several reports from commander-in-chief Syrskyi regarding the front lines and our actions to push the war onto the aggressor’s territory,” he said.
“Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor.”
In a sign of the gravity of the situation, Russia imposed a sweeping security regime in three border regions yesterday, while Belarus, a staunch ally of Moscow, sent more troops to its border with Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of violating its air space.
Father, 4-year-old daughter killed in Russian attack on Kyiv
06:00 , Arpan Rai
A man and his 4-year-old daughter were killed and three people wounded as a result of a Russian air attack on Kyiv, Ukraine’s emergency services said this morning.
A 13-year-old child was among the injured, the emergency services posted on Telegram.
Zelensky says Russia must be made to feel consequences of Putin’s invasion
06:00 , Salma Ouaguira
President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested his country’s surprise attack into Russia’s Kursk was carried out to remind Vladimir Putin that there are consequences for his decision to invade Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky praised the Ukrainian army for its ability “to surprise” and achieve results, making no direct reference to the situation in the Russian border region.
“Russia brought the war to our land and should feel what it has done”, Mr Zelensky said.“Ukrainians know how to achieve their goals. And we did not choose to achieve our goals in the war,” he added.
In his address, at an event to unveil a new digital app to cut paperwork for the military, he said: “Everyone can see that the Ukrainian army knows how to surprise. And knows how to achieve results.
“This is demonstrated by the battlefield, where our soldiers not only withstood the overwhelming force of the occupiers, but also are destroying it in the way necessary to protect Ukraine – our state and independence”, he said.
Russia has claimed that at least 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers entered into its territory in Kursk, pulling off Ukraine’s largest and most audacious assault on Russian soil yet.
The Ukrainian military has not spoken about the attack in public statements, appearing to have adopted a strategy of strict silence for now on activity in Russian territory.
Ukraine’s surprise attack on Russian soil leaves Putin humiliated
05:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Ukraine has launched one of its most successful assaults on Russia yet with a surprise cross-border attack which has left Vladimir Putin humiliated.
Nearly 1,000 troops, backed by artillery fire and tanks, have pushed miles into Russian territory, forcing residents to flee and the Russian president to call up reservists to help his forces who were caught off guard.
Ukraine’s surprise attack on Russian soil leaves Putin humiliated
Russia declares an emergency in Kursk under attack by Ukraine
04:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Russia declared a “federal-level” emergency in the Kursk region following a large-scale incursion from Ukraine and sent reinforcements there on Friday, four days after hundreds of Ukrainian troops poured across the border in what appeared to be Kyiv’s biggest attack on Russian soil since the war began.
Meanwhile, a Russian plane-launched missile slammed into a Ukrainian shopping mall in the middle of the day, killing at least 12 people and wounding 44 others, authorities said.The mall in Kostiantynivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, is located in the town’s residential area. Thick black smoke rose above it after the strike.
“This is another targeted attack on a crowded place, another act of terror by the Russians,” Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin said in a Telegram post.
It was the second major strike on the town in almost a year. Last September, a Russian missile hit an outdoor market there, killing 17.Russia’s Defense Ministry said that reinforcements were on their way to the Kursk region to counter Ukraine’s daring raid.
Russia is deploying multiple rocket launchers, towed artillery guns, tanks transported on trailers and heavy tracked vehicles, the RIA-Novosti new agency said, citing the Defense Ministry.
“The operational situation in the Kursk region remains difficult,” Kursk acting governor Alexei Smirnov said on Telegram.
Ballerina who gave $51 to Ukraine charity in US ‘admits guilt’ in treason case in Russia, her lawyer says
03:00 , Salma Ouaguira
LA ballerina who gave $51 to Ukraine charity in US ‘admits guilt’ in Russian trial
How did Ukraine launch the biggest air raid into Russia
02:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Vladimir Putin is in a spot this week due to Ukraine’s clever foray of air raid into Russia’s bordering region, mimicking Moscow’s first days of invading the smaller neighbour. The air raid will help Ukraine negotiate with Moscow if the Russian president insists on keeping Ukrainian cities and villages his troops have militarily captured.
But how did it happen?
Kyiv’s troops poured into the Kursk region from several directions early Tuesday, quickly overwhelming a few checkpoints and field fortifications manned by lightly armed border guards and infantry units along the region’s 245-km (152-mile) frontier with Ukraine.
Unlike previous raids conducted by small groups of Russian volunteers fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, the incursion into the Kursk region reportedly involved units from several battle-hardened Ukrainian army brigades.
Russian military bloggers reported that Ukrainian mobile groups comprised of several armored vehicles each quickly drove dozens of kilometers (miles) into Russian territory, bypassing Russian fortifications and sowing panic across the region.The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think-tank, said Ukrainian forces have managed to push up to 35 km (20 miles) deep into the region.
“Ukrainian forces appear to be able to use these small armored groups to conduct assaults past the engagement line due to the low density of Russian personnel in the border areas,” it said in an analysis of the raid.
The Ukrainian forces have widely used drones to strike Russian military vehicles and deployed electronic warfare assets to suppress Russian drones and derail military communications.
While small Ukrainian mobile groups roamed the region without trying to consolidate control, other troops reportedly have started digging in around the town of Sudzha about 10 km(6 miles) from the border and in some other areas.
Russia evacuates over 76,000 in Kursk region amid Ukraine incursion
01:00 , Salma Ouaguira
More than 76,000 people have been evacuated from areas bordering Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region, the local emergency ministry was quoted by the Tass news agency as saying today, following Ukraine’s incursion into the region this week.
Russia is fighting intense battles against thousands of Ukrainian troops as deep as 20 km (12 miles) inside the Kursk region after Ukraine’s biggest attack on Russian territory since the start of the war in 2022.
Ukraine’s Zelensky meets military staff as cross-border attack rages on
Sunday 11 August 2024 00:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Meeting of the Staff
First, we received a report from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on the situation across all key directions: the South, Kurakhove, Pokrovsk, Toretsk, Chasiv Yar, as well as the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions. The report also covered our defensive actions… pic.twitter.com/TqBKmxrMcO
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 9, 2024
Russia’s Deripaska under fire for rare anti-war comments
Saturday 10 August 2024 23:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska came under attack from supporters of the war in Ukraine on Friday after making a rare anti-war statement in which he described the conflict as “mad” and called for a ceasefire without pre-conditions.
Deripaska made the comment in an interview with Nikkei Asia in Japan this week on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council meeting, where he officially represented Russia.
Nikkei Asia said he criticised his country’s defence spending and called for an “immediate, unconditional ceasefire” in Ukraine, saying: “If you want to stop the war, first you need to stop the fire.”
The reported comments marked the strongest criticism of the war by any powerful businessman still remaining in Russia since the start of the conflict in February 2022.
“Previously, Deripaska’s position on the special military operation was ambiguous. Now he has made his stance clear. He is on the other side,” said philosopher Alexander Dugin, widely seen as one of the key ideologists of the war.
“This is a stab in the back to our forces, and assistance to the Ukrainian army terrorists who have invaded the Kursk region,” Dugin added in a statement posted on his Telegram channel.
Representatives for Deripaska did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Deripaska has been under sanctions by the United States since 2018 and has tried to legally challenge them in U.S. courts. He has been under European Union and British sanctions since 2022. He called sanctions “a 19th-century instrument” and said they were inefficient.
US announces $125m military aid package for Ukraine
Saturday 10 August 2024 22:00 , Salma Ouaguira
The US is sending Ukraine an additional $125m (£98m) in weapons to assist in its military operations against Russia, including much-needed air defense capabilities, radars to detect and counter enemy artillery and anti-tank weapons, the White House announced.
National security spokesperson John Kirby said Ukraine’s use of US-provided weapons in the offensive was in line with administration policies. The Biden administration has approved their use in cross-border counterstrikes against Russia but not against targets deeper inside Russia, although the specific distances are not clear.
The weapons in this latest aid package will be drawn from existing US stocks and will include Stinger missiles, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) ammunition and vehicles. It brings the total amount of US aid to Ukraine since 2022 to $55.6bn (£43.6bn).
The latest package comes as Ukraine has launched its largest ground offensive on Russian soil since the war began in February 2022. The offensive in the Kursk region has prompted Moscow to declare an emergency and send reinforcements there.
Analysis | Why Ukraine launched an audacious cross-border attack on Putin’s forces in Russia
Saturday 10 August 2024 22:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Kyiv’s audacious cross-border assault into Russia’s Kursk region has certainly ruffled feathers in Moscow. Vladimir Putin denounced it as a “large-scale provocation” while his officials have lined up to tell him the situation is under control – despite fighting continuing into a third day on Thursday and thousands of people having to evacuate the area.
Ukraine has an issue with the number of soldiers it can put on the battlefield and has been trying to up recruitment, so some may ask why it would commit resources to an incursion into Russia, especially when Moscow’s forces are putting Kyiv’s troops under pressure on other points of the 600-mile frontline.
However, while the operation into Kursk is unlikely to create a long-term strategic opportunity for Kyiv, given that troops will be unable to hold any gained land for long, there are plenty of more symbolic reasons for bursting through the border.
Our international editor Chris Stevenson has more analysis here:
Why Ukraine launched its cross-border attack on Putin’s forces in Russia’s Kursk
Ukraine’s surprise cross-border incursion seen as a tactical reply to Russia’s grinding gains
Saturday 10 August 2024 21:00 , Salma Ouaguira
The Ukraine army’s surprise charge into Russia this week was a stunning maneuver that caught the Kremlin‘s forces unawares.
The strategic goal of Ukraine’s biggest cross-border incursion in almost 900 days of the war remains unclear, but it counters Russia’s unrelenting effort in recent months to punch through Ukrainian defenses at selected points along the front line in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian offensive’s slow, grinding momentum has achieved only modest gains and brought heavy losses of troops and armor. But, bit by bit, the advances are adding up.
Ukraine’s surprise cross-border incursion seen as a tactical reply to Russia’s grinding gains
In pictures: Ukrainian forces near the Russian border
Saturday 10 August 2024 20:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Watch: Ukraine’s First Lady criticises other countries for circumventing Russian sanctions
Saturday 10 August 2024 19:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Why Ukraine launched an audacious cross-border attack on Putin’s forces in Russia’s Kursk
Saturday 10 August 2024 18:30 , Salma Ouaguira
Kyiv’s audacious cross-border assault into Russia‘s Kursk region has certainly ruffled feathers in Moscow. Vladimir Putindenounced it as a “large-scale provocation” while his officials have lined up to tell him the situation is under control – despite fighting continuing into a third day on Thursday and thousands of people having to evacuate the area.
Ukraine has an issue with the number of soldiers it can put on the battlefield and has been trying to up recruitment, so some may ask why it would commit resources to an incursion into Russia, especially when Moscow’s forces are putting Kyiv’s troops under pressure on other points of the 600-mile frontline, including around the key eastern town of Pokrovsk, several hundred miles away in the region of Donetsk.
However, while the operation into Kursk is unlikely to create a long-term strategic opportunity for Kyiv, given that troops will be unable to hold any gained land for long, there are plenty of more symbolic reasons for bursting through the border. The two major reasons are morale and making both Moscow and Western allies think.
Why Ukraine launched its cross-border attack on Putin’s forces in Russia’s Kursk
ICYMI: Intense battles after major cross-border raid by Ukraine into Russia’s Kursk region
Saturday 10 August 2024 18:20 , Salma Ouaguira
Intense battles are taking place between Ukrainian forces and Moscow’s troops after one of the largest incursions into Russian territory since Vlasimir Putin’s invasion began – prompting the Russian president to accuse Kyiv of a “major provocation”.
The surprise incursion began on Tuesday morning, when hundreds of Ukrainian troops reportedly entered the Kursk region according to Russia’s Defence Ministry and the area’s governor, Alexei Smirnov. Kyiv has so far remained quiet about the scope of the operation.
Ukraine is reportedly gaining a “foothold” in the Kursk region and could be as far as nine miles (15km) inside the border, according to unverified reports from Russian military bloggers. Telegram Channels affiliated with Russia’s Defence Ministry have claimed that Ukrainian troops are in control of three villages in the Sudzha district of Russia’s Kursk region, which borders the Sumy region of northeast Ukraine.
Alex Croft reports here:
Intense battles after major cross-border raid by Ukraine into Russia’s Kursk region
Belarus demands measures from Ukraine against new airspace violations
Saturday 10 August 2024 17:53 , Salma Ouaguira
Belarus’ foreign ministry summoned the Ukrainian charge d’affaires on Saturday and told Kyiv to take measures against airspace violations after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said a dozen Ukrainian drones had been destroyed, Russia’s Tass news agency reported.
“The Belarusian side demanded that comprehensive measures be taken to rule out any such future incidents in the future which could lead to further escalation of the situation in the region,” Tass quoted the ministry’s press service as saying.
Pictured: Ukrainian Olympic gold medallist Oleksandr Khyzhniak returns to Kyiv
Saturday 10 August 2024 17:20 , Salma Ouaguira
Belarus announces it will send troops to Ukrainian border
Saturday 10 August 2024 16:48 , Salma Ouaguira
Belarus’ defence minister has announced it will send more troops to its border with Ukraine following the Kursk incursion.
Viktor Khrenin said: “Considering the situation in Ukraine and in the Kursk region of Russia, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces has given orders to reinforce troops in the Gomel and Mozyr tactical areas in order to respond to such provocations.
“Special operations forces, ground troops and rocket forces, including Polonez and Iskander systems, have been tasked with deploying to the designated areas.”
Watch: Ukrainian army poses with flags in Russian village
Saturday 10 August 2024 16:30 , Salma Ouaguira
A video on social media reportedly shows Ukrainian forces posing with flags in the Russian village of Poroz, which is located around two miles from the border.
The video has not been independently verified but Russian military reports claim the settlement was under attack from Ukrainian troops.
Russia evacuates over 76,000 in Kursk region amid Ukraine incursion
Saturday 10 August 2024 16:10 , Salma Ouaguira
More than 76,000 people have been evacuated from areas bordering Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region, the local emergency ministry was quoted by the Tass news agency as saying today, following Ukraine’s incursion into the region this week.
Russia is fighting intense battles against thousands of Ukrainian troops as deep as 20 km (12 miles) inside the Kursk region after Ukraine’s biggest attack on Russian territory since the start of the war in 2022.
Zelensky praises Ukraine army’s ability to surprise enemy amid major cross-border attack into Russia
Saturday 10 August 2024 15:50 , Salma Ouaguira
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has praised his army’s ability “to surprise” and “achieve results” as it battles Russian forces during an audacious cross-border attack into Russian territory.
Around 1,000 Ukrainian troops in tanks and armoured vehicles successfully broke through the Russian border and into the Kursk region in the early hours of Tuesday with air support from swarms of drones and pounding artillery, according to Russian officials.
Russia has since declared a state of emergency in the region and local officials said on Thursday that thousands of people had been evacuated following the attack that an angry Vladimir Putin has labelled a “major provocation”.
While Ukrainian officials haven’t spoken directly about the attack, including Mr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to the president said that “the root cause of any escalation”, including into Kursk, was “unequivocal aggression” on the part of Russia in believing it could invade Ukraine without consequences.
Zelensky praises his army’s ability to surprise amid cross-border attack into Russia
IN FULL | Russia tightens security in region of Ukraine incursion, fighting persists
Saturday 10 August 2024 15:10 , Salma Ouaguira
Russia on Saturday announced what it called a counterterrorism operation to increase security in the border region where an incursion this week by Ukrainian forces caught Russian troops off-guard and exposed its military vulnerabilities in the 2 1/2-year-old war.
The Russian Defense Ministry said fighting was continuing in the Kursk region and that the army has conducted airstrikes against Ukrainian forces, including using a thermobaric bomb that both causes a blast wave and creates a vacuum that suffocates its targets.
Russia tightens security in region of Ukraine incursion, fighting persists
UK government warns Iran against sending missiles to Russia
Saturday 10 August 2024 14:50 , Salma Ouaguira
The UK has warned Teheran against sending ballistic missiles to Russia after claims it could deliver hundreds of Fath-360 systems to Moscow.
The British government said Iran “must not proceed” with the plan and raised concerns at reports that Russian military personnel were being trained inside Iranian territory.
A US National Security Council spokesman said the move “would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine”.
Pictured: Russians fire artillery at Ukrainian positions
Saturday 10 August 2024 14:30 , Salma Ouaguira
Ukraine says it hit an offshore gas platform used by Russian forces
Saturday 10 August 2024 14:10 , Salma Ouaguira
Ukraine’s navy and military intelligence have attacked and damaged a former offshore gas platform used by Russian forces in the Black Sea, the navy spokesman claimed.
“The occupiers used this location for GPS spoofing to make civilian navigation dangerous. We cannot allow this to happen,” Dmytro Pletenchuk said on Facebook.
He posted a video taken at night showing an explosion on an offshore platform and the ensuing fire.
Mr Pletenchuk said that a half a day before the attack, Russian forces had stationed equipment and military personnel on the platform.
“There were no civilians there. The platform was not performing its normal functions,” he added.
Iran to deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia soon, European intelligence sources say
Saturday 10 August 2024 13:50 , Salma Ouaguira
Dozens of Russian military personnel are being trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, two European intelligence sources told Reuters, adding that they expected the imminent delivery of hundreds of the satellite-guided weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Russian defence ministry representatives are believed to have signed a contract on 13 December in Tehran with Iranian officials for the Fath-360 and another ballistic missile system built by Iran’s government-owned Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) called the Ababil, according to the intelligence officials, who requested anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters.
Citing multiple confidential intelligence sources, the officials said that Russian personnel have visited Iran to learn how to operate the Fath-360 defence system, which launches missiles with a maximum range of 120 km (75 miles) and a warhead of 150 kg.
One of the sources said that that “the only next possible” step after training would be actual delivery of the missiles to Russia.
A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council said the United States and its NATO allies and G7 partners “are prepared to deliver a swift and severe response if Iran were to move forward with such transfers.”
It “would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” the spokesman said. “The White House has repeatedly warned of the deepening security partnership between Russia and Iran since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
UN: July ‘deadliest month’ for Ukrainian civilians
Saturday 10 August 2024 13:30 , Salma Ouaguira
The UN has claimed that the month of July has been the deadliest one for Ukraine civilians since October 2022.
The organisation said at least 219 civilians were killed and 1,018 injured across the country during the month.
In a report published on Friday, it said: “The high number of casualties in July continues a trend of increasing civilian casualties since March 2024.”
Russian fighting against Ukrainian troops intensifies inside Kursk
Saturday 10 August 2024 13:10 , Salma Ouaguira
Russia was fighting intense battles on against thousands of Ukrainian troops as deep as 20 km (12 miles) inside the Kursk region after Ukraine’s biggest attack on Russian sovereign territory since the start of the war in 2022.
Ukrainian forces rammed through the Russian border early on Tuesday and swept across some Western parts of Russia’s Kursk region, a surprise attack that may be aimed at gaining leverage in possible ceasefire talks after the U.S. election.
Supported by swarms of drones and heavy artillery fire, Ukrainian units moved quickly to carve out a sliver of the Western Russian territory beside the border while sabotage units pierced deeper inside Russia, according to Russian war bloggers.
“The armed forces continue to repel the attempted invasion by the Ukrainian armed forces,” Russia’s defence ministry said, adding that intense battles were focused around Malaya Loknya, Olgovka and Ivashkovskoye, settlements around 10-20 km inside Russia.
Pictured: Russian attack helicopter fires missiles in bordering Kursk
Saturday 10 August 2024 12:53 , Salma Ouaguira
Russia tightens security in region of Ukraine incursion as fighting continues
Saturday 10 August 2024 12:27 , Salma Ouaguira
Russia has announced a counterterrorism operation to increase security in the border region where an incursion this week by Ukrainian forces .
The Russian Defense Ministry said fighting was continuing in the Kursk region and the army has conducted airstrikes against Ukrainian forces, including using a thermobaric bomb that both causes a blast wave and creates a vacuum that suffocates its targets.
The measures announced for Kursk and for the neighboring Belgorod and Bryansk regions that border Ukraine would allow the government to relocate residents, control phone communications and requisition vehicles.
The raid that began on Tuesday is the largest cross-border foray of the war and raises concerns about fighting spreading well beyond Ukraine.
Belarus destroys suspected drones from Ukraine, Lukashenko says
Saturday 10 August 2024 11:50 , Salma Ouaguira
Belarusian air defence forces destroyed several targets over their territory on Friday that were launched from Ukraine, most likely drones, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday.
According to Lukashenko, “about a dozen” of targets violated Belarusian airspace in the eastern Mogilev region bordering Russia making Minsk to put its air force and air defence force on high alert.
“At 19:04 (16:04 GMT) at an altitude of one and a half kilometres and a range of 6.5 kilometres, the air defence forces destroyed several targets over the territory of Belarus. Overnight and this morning, a search for what was destroyed is underway,” Lukashenko said in a video posted by Belta state news agency.
He added that other targets “were transferred” to Russia and later destroyed near Russia’s city of Yaroslavl.
Earlier today, Russian Defence Ministry said Russian forces had intercepted six drones in the Yaroslavl region.
Convict in Kremlin critic murder released from jail to fight in Ukraine
Saturday 10 August 2024 11:30 , Salma Ouaguira
A man convicted in the killing of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov has been discharged from jail after signing a contract to join the military operation in Ukraine, state-run news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported.
Mr Nemtsov was shot dead in 2015 as he walked across a bridge near the Kremlin in the heart of the Russian capital.
In 2017, a Russian court sentenced five men to prison terms ranging from 11 and 20 years for his murder. Among them was Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, who was convicted as an accomplice and jailed for 14 years.
“Eskerkhanov signed a contract with the defence ministry in March 2024, was pardoned, and then released from his penal colony,” TASS cited a source in law enforcement agencies as saying. He went to one of the assault units and is now carrying out combat missions in the special military operation zone.”
He added that the other convicts jailed over Nemtsov’s killing were still in jail because they had refused to sign contracts with the military.
ANALYSIS | Ukraine’s surprise attack on Russian soil leaves Putin humiliated
Saturday 10 August 2024 11:10 , Salma Ouaguira
Ukraine has launched one of its most successful assaults on Russia yet with a surprise cross-border attack which has left Vladimir Putin humiliated.
Nearly 1,000 troops, backed by artillery fire and tanks, have pushed miles into Russian territory, forcing residents to flee and the Russian president to call up reservists to help his forces who were caught off guard.
Ukraine has not only held onto gains made in recent days, but systematically advanced through villages and towns in the Kursk region in the west of Russia.
Our chief International correspondent Bel Crewhas the full story:
Ukraine’s surprise attack on Russian soil leaves Putin humiliated
Russia announces ‘counter-terrorism’ measures in border regions after Ukrainian incursion
Saturday 10 August 2024 10:50 , Salma Ouaguira
Russia has announced it is introducing “counter-terrorism” measures in three bordering regions with Ukraine following Kyiv’s incursion into Kursk.
In a statement, the Russian National Antiterrorism Committee said the plan is to “ensure the safety of citizens and stop the threat of terrorist acts”.
According to prominent pro-Russian Telegram channel Rybar, law enforcement agencies will have their “hands untied” to use “extreme measures”.
Rosatom discusses Kursk nuclear plant with IAEA after Ukrainian incursion
Saturday 10 August 2024 10:27 , Salma Ouaguira
Russia’s state nuclear energy company Rosatom has discussed the situation at a nuclear power plant in the Kursk region with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following Ukraine’s incursion into the region, the RIA state news agency reported on Saturday.
In a phone call with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, Alexei Likhachev of Rosatom said the Ukrainian incursion had “created a direct threat not only to the Kursk nuclear power plant but to the entire international nuclear energy industry.”
Pictured: Russian forces continue to repel attempted Ukrainian incursion
Saturday 10 August 2024 10:07 , Salma Ouaguira
Three people killed in Russian strikes in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv says
Saturday 10 August 2024 09:39 , Salma Ouaguira
Three people were killed in two Russian attacks on Ukraine’s eastern frontline Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, local officials said on Saturday.
One civilian was killed and several others were injured in a Russian missile strike on the town of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, the local governor said.
“This morning, the Russians hit a critical infrastructure facility in the city with a missile,” Vadym Filashkin said on the Telegram messaging app.
He said the facility was seriously damaged, without clarifying what it was.
In an attack on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, two people were killed and another wounded when Russia shelled a private house, police said.
Ukraine’s eastern regions are under constant Russian bombardment. On Friday, 14 people were killed and 43 injured in a missile strike on a supermarket in the town of Kostiantynivka, also in the Donetsk region.
Russia’s Kursk nuclear plant working normally, Rosatom says
Saturday 10 August 2024 09:19 , Salma Ouaguira
A nuclear plant in Russia’s Kursk region is operating normally, state nuclear energy company Rosatom said today, following Ukraine’s cross-border incursion into the region this week.
Rosatom also said it had decided to reduce the number of workers at a construction site for a new nuclear plant in the Kursk region due to the federal state of emergency there.
Russia has imposed a sweeping security regime in three border regions as it scrambles forces to counter Ukraine’s biggest attack on Russian sovereign territory since the start of the war in 2022.
Video shows Ukrainian soldiers in control of gas facility in Russia’s Kursk
Saturday 10 August 2024 08:01 , Arpan Rai
Video posted on Ukrainian media outlets yesterday showed Ukrainian soldiers in control of a gas measuring facility in the town of Sudzha inside Kursk region, where Russia says it has been battling a Ukrainian military incursion for four days.
The soldiers in the 29-second video, shown in a building marked with the logo of Russian gas concern Gazprom, said they were also in control of the town of Sudzha.
“The town is controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the town is calm, all buildings are intact,” a soldier in the video said.
“The strategic Gazprom facility is under the control of the 99th mechanised battalion of the 61st separate steppe brigade. Wishing everyone a peaceful sky.”
Reuters could not immediately verify the video and the General Staff of the Ukrainian military had no comment.
Ukraine’s military and president Volodymyr Zelensky have adopted a policy of strict silence concerning the armed incursion into Kursk region.
The video was the first demonstration of Ukrainian gains or control on the Russian side of the border.
What is Kyiv looking to achieve by targeting Kursk
Saturday 10 August 2024 07:40 , Arpan Rai
By launching the incursion, Kyiv could be aiming to force the Kremlin to divert resources from the eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces have pressed offensives in several sectors and made slow but steady gains, relying on their edge in firepower.
Coming at a time when Kyiv’s forces are struggling to stem the Russian advances in the east, the swift cross-border raid shows Ukraine’s ability to seize the initiative. It has also dealt a blow to the Kremlin, highlighting its failure to protect the country’s territory and shattering Putin’s narrative that Russia has remained largely unaffected by the hostilities.
But despite the initial successes, the foray into Russia could cause attrition in some of Ukraine’s most capable units and leave troops in Donetsk without vital reinforcements.
Trying to establish a lasting presence in the Kursk region could be challenging for the Ukrainian forces, whose supply lines would be vulnerable to Russian fire.
Military analysts say it’s still unclear what Ukraine‘s operational goals are and how many troops it has committed in the Kursk raid.
Michael Kofman, a military analyst with the Carnegie Endowment, said that “a fair bit depends on what Ukraine has available in reserve to throw into the operation, and how quickly Russian Federation organizes to counter.”
UN nuclear chief urges Ukraine, Russia to show restraint in Kursk region, site of nuclear plant
Saturday 10 August 2024 06:50 , Arpan Rai
The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, urged Ukraine and Russia yesterday to show restraint in fighting that is now gripping Russia’s Kursk region, site of one of Russia’s largest nuclear power stations.
Russia’s diplomatic mission in Vienna, quoted by Russian news agencies, said it had told the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA) that fragments had been found at the station, possibly from downed missiles, but there was no evidence of any direct attack on the facility.
Russian officials say they have been tackling a Ukrainian cross-border military incursion into Kursk region for four days.
Russia imposes anti-terrorism measures in three border regions, agencies say, quoting officials
Saturday 10 August 2024 06:36 , Arpan Rai
Russia introduced anti-terrorism measures early this morning in three regions bordering Ukraine, Russian news agencies quoted officials as saying.
The agencies quoted regional governors or the National Anti-terrorism Committee as saying the special regime would apply to Kursk region, where Moscow says its forces have been battling a Ukrainian incursion, and Belgorod and Bryansk regions.
RIA news agency said the measures included possible displacement of residents, limits on transport in specific areas, beefed-up security around sensitive sites, and wire taps of telephone and other communications.
Ukraine volunteers evacuate residents near Russia’s embattled Kursk region
Saturday 10 August 2024 06:20 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian volunteers evacuated dozens of residents, and their pets, from northern Sumy region in anticipation of more Russian attacks in response to Ukraine’s cross-border military incursion into the Kursk region.
Sumy Governor Volodymyr Artiukh ordered 28 villages evacuated from a 10 km (six-mile) zone hugging the border. National police said yesterday that 20,000 would have to leave.
Evacuee Serhiy Kozak said residents of the eight houses making up his village of Basivka had seen enough of war, launched when the Kremlin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
“Some houses have been hit twice, others three times,” he said. “There was another hit around this in the morning and I jumped out. And just before four, another hit. Panes of glass shattered. What else is there to say?”
The residents trundled toward the pick-up point, their overflowing carrier bags loaded onto carts, as Russian forces intensified aerial guided bomb attacks.
Kozak said the latest attacks involved planes flying in over the border from Kursk region. “They dropped a load of ammunition at Basivka, diverted and left. The same with helicopters, they fly over the border and start shelling.”
The evacuees, many relying on canes for support, were helped into mini-vans by volunteers in bullet proof vests and taken to reception centres outside the danger zone. Pets were hoisted in alongside them, one dog stuffed into a small carrier bag.
Ukrainian officials have remained largely silent about the incursion into Kursk region, but unofficial reports from both sides note that four days into the operation they are advancing.
Volunteer Vlad Polyansky from the group SOS East, said 24 people were picked up and transported throughout the day on Friday.
“With the operation going on in Kursk region, hardly anyone would think that Moscow is going to like this,” he said. “We expect the shelling of border areas to get worse.”
Svitlana Linova, pushing her bicycle with her cat Murchik in its carrier, was in no doubt it was time to go.
“There was such heavy shelling yesterday from the other side of the border,” she said. “The lamp and ceiling started to fall.”
She said she had untied her neighbours’ dogs and let them go free when it became apparent they would not be returning anytime soon.
Ukraine’s recent gains show allies they are ‘in it to win it’
Saturday 10 August 2024 05:00 , Holly Evans
James Nixey, director of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at the Chatham House think tank, said the gains proved to allies such as the US and UK that Ukraine is still “in it to win it”, adding that the Americans “love to back a winner”.
Mark Galeotti, one of the world’s leading experts on Russian security, said the element of surprise in the attack had been vital.
“It’s the biggest attack on Russia since the Nazis… There’s no getting away from that – it shows Ukraine has a capability and a will which caught the Russians by surprise. It’s a huge embarrassment for Putin.
“It has shown this classic case of the Ukrainians being fast, nimble, smart and unexpected, and the lumbering Russian bear being caught off guard.”
But he added a note of caution, warning that the Ukrainian aggression could play into Putin’s need to galvanise his own people.
Ukraine’s surprise attack on Russian soil leaves Putin humiliated
Saturday 10 August 2024 05:00 , Holly Evans
Ukraine has launched one of its most successful assaults on Russia yet with a surprise cross-border attack which has left Vladimir Putin humiliated.
Nearly 1,000 troops, backed by artillery fire and tanks, have pushed miles into Russian territory, forcing residents to flee and the Russian president to call up reservists to help his forces who were caught off guard.
Ukraine has not only held onto gains made in recent days, but systematically advanced through villages and towns in the Kursk region in the west of Russia.
Read the full article here:
Ukraine’s surprise attack on Russian soil leaves Putin humiliated
Intense battles after major Ukraine pierces border into Russia’s Kursk
Saturday 10 August 2024 03:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Intense battles are taking place between Ukrainian forces and Moscow’s troops after one of the largest incursions into Russian territory since Vlasimir Putin’s invasion began – prompting the Russian president to accuse Kyiv of a “major provocation”.
The surprise incursion began on Tuesday morning, when hundreds of Ukrainian troops reportedly entered the Kursk region according to Russia’s Defence Ministry and the area’s governor, Alexei Smirnov. Kyiv has so far remained quiet about the scope of the operation.
Ukraine is reportedly gaining a “foothold” in the Kursk region and could be as far as nine miles (15km) inside the border, according to unverified reports from Russian military bloggers. Telegram Channels affiliated with Russia’s Defence Ministry have claimed that Ukrainian troops are in control of three villages in the Sudzha district of Russia’s Kursk region, which borders the Sumy region of northeast Ukraine.
Intense battles after major cross-border raid by Ukraine into Russia’s Kursk region
COMMENT| With the Kursk incursion, has Ukraine opened a window for peace?
Saturday 10 August 2024 02:00 , Salma Ouaguira
The move into Russian territory is much more dramatic than previous Ukrainian morale-boosting coups.
But rather than a fight to the finish, like the Second World War, it could lead to compromise, writes Mark Almond:
With the Kursk incursion, has Ukraine opened a window for peace?
Pictured: Painted mural dedicated to killed Ukrainian serviceman Ruslan Piskovy
Saturday 10 August 2024 01:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Russia declares ‘federal-level’ emergency in the Kursk region
Saturday 10 August 2024 00:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Russia declared a “federal-level” emergency in the Kursk region following a large-scale incursion from Ukraine and sent reinforcements there on Friday, four days after hundreds of Ukrainian troops poured across the border in what appeared to be Kyiv’s biggest attack on Russian soil since the war began.
Meanwhile, a Russian plane-launched missile slammed into a Ukrainian shopping mall in the middle of the day, killing at least 14 people and wounding 44 others, authorities said.
The mall in Kostiantynivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, is located in the town’s residential area. Thick black smoke rose above it after the strike.
“This is another targeted attack on a crowded place, another act of terror by the Russians,” Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin said in a Telegram post.
It was the second major strike on the town in almost a year. Last September, a Russian missile hit an outdoor market there, killing 17.
What does Ukraine’s eastern front battlefield look like?
Friday 9 August 2024 23:00 , Salma Ouaguira
The roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line remains largely deadlocked.
But at points in the east, especially in the Donetsk region. Russia is making a concerted push. Its army is exploiting the dry land to move its armor, the bushy tree lines for infantry cover, and the clear skies to launch powerful glide bombs that obliterate Ukrainian defenses.
The Russian advance is slow but relentless. Russia’s hallmark tactics are to use its artillery, missiles and bombs to reduce villages and hamlets to ruins, denying Ukrainians defensive cover and compelling them to pull back.
Moscow’s forces look to exploit weaknesses in the Ukrainian lines, driving a wedge into sections where troops levels are lower or where soldiers are being rotated out, analysts say.
The Russians are now menacing some key Ukrainian strongholds, whose fall would put the rest of the Donetsk region at risk: Pokrovsk, Toretsk and Chasiv Yar.
Russian forces are now 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Pokrovsk, an important logistics hub that supports Ukrainian forces in the region, the U.K. Defense Ministry said Friday. Russia also continues to consolidate gains in Niu-York and is advancing toward Toretsk, the ministry said.
“Right now, the momentum is clearly on Russia’s side,” says Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank in Washington. Even so, he says, the overall battlefield situation is “much closer to a stalemate.”
Pictured: Kursk region evacuated as cross-border clashes continue
Friday 9 August 2024 22:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Russian in prisoner swap ends US hack-and-trade conviction appeal
Friday 9 August 2024 21:00 , Salma Ouaguira
A Russian businessman released as part of last week’s prisoner swap between Russia and the West is dropping his appeal of his U.S. conviction for engaging in a hack-and-trade scheme, after being informed that any further litigation could jeopardize the commutation of his sentence, his lawyer said today.
Vladislav Klyushin had been serving a nine-year prison sentence after a federal jury in Boston last year found him guilty of participating in a $93 million insider-trading scheme that relied on secret earnings information obtained through hacking.
Klyushin, who owned a Moscow-based information technology company called M-13 that did work for the Russian government, had been in the midst of an appeal when he was released in the 24 prisoner exchange on 1 August.
Maksim Nemtsev, his lawyer, told Reuters in an email that immediately after the swap it was not clear whether Klyushin could continue pursuing his appeal, which raised “unprecedented legal issues.”
But Nemtsev said the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney took the position that a clause in the grant of clemency President Joe Biden signed commuting Klyushin’s sentence required the Russian to waive his appellate rights.
According to court papers, Biden or his successor has the discretion to void the commutation and have Klyushin’s sentence reinstated if the president determines any condition of his grant of clemency is violated.
Given the government’s position, Klyushin on Thursday informed the court he would “not take further action on his appeal.”
“If there was no language prohibiting it, we would have pushed forward,” Nemtsev said.
The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Norway likely won’t proceed with spying trial for a Russian citizen taking part in Russia-US swap
Friday 9 August 2024 19:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Norway is unlikely go ahead with the trial of a Russian citizen who was arrested in the Scandinavian country in 2022 on espionage charges and who was part of a massive, multinational prisoner swap between Russia and the United States last week, a senior prosecutor said Friday.
The trial for Mikhail Mikushin had been planned for September but he then became part of the largest East-West civilian prisoner swap in post-Soviet history. The deal saw two dozen people freed, including Mikushin. Moscow released journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza as part of the swap.
For Mikushin’s espionage trial to proceed in Norway he would have to be tried in absentia. “No charges will be brought against him,” prosecutor Frederik G. Ranke of the national prosecution office told Norwegian broadcaster NRK on Friday, adding that to prosecute Mikushin was no longer in the public interest since he is no longer in the country.
Ranke’s statement is significant though formally, it is up to the director of public prosecutions — a rank higher than that of the top prosecutor — to press charges and Norway’s top judicial authority is likely to follow that suggestion.Mikushin entered Norway in late 2021, saying he was a Brazilian citizen named Jose Assis Giammaria.
He was arrested and eventually gave up his real name to Norway’s domestic security agency, PST, which contended that he represented a threat to the country’s national interests.Up to his arrest, Mikushin worked as a lecturer at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsoe, and researched the northern regions and hybrid threats.
Norway’s border with Russia is 198 kilometers (123 miles) long. Afterward, the university said that no data had been stolen or information taken from it. Mikushin is presumed to be somewhere in Russia following the swap. Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted the Russian prisoners who were freed as part of the swap after they arrived at a Moscow airport on 1 August.
Russia says it is working to free Niger hostages
Friday 9 August 2024 18:30 , Salma Ouaguira
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Friday it was working to free two geologists employed by a Russian company who were taken hostage by an Al Qaeda affiliate in western Niger last month.
A video released by Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) earlier in August showed two captives, who said they were taken hostage in the insurgency-hit Tillaberi region while working there.
It was not clear when the video was filmed or where. It did not include a ransom demand.
In emailed comments, the Russian ministry said that one of the hostages, Oleg Gret, was reportedly a Russian citizen while another, Yuri Yurov, had Ukrainian citizenship.
Overall, JNIM kidnapped four people and killed several Nigerien soldiers during the incident on July 18, the ministry said.
Russia has sent an official request to the Niger authorities and Malian partners to ask for assistance, it said.
“We intend to continue our efforts to free the hostages,” it said, adding that its cooperation with Sahel states will continue to grow despite insecurity in the region.
Since seizing power in a coup last year, Niger’s junta, like the military rulers in Mali and Burkina Faso, has kicked out Western forces, and forged closer military and business ties with Russia.
Pictured: Russian Defense Ministry releases images of glide bombs dropped in Ukraine
Friday 9 August 2024 18:00 , Salma Ouaguira
Why Ukraine launched an audacious cross-border attack on Putin’s forces in Russia
Friday 9 August 2024 17:50 , Salma Ouaguira
While this assault will not change the trajectory of the war, its symbolic importance and boost to morale should not be underestimated.
Our international editor Chris Stevenson has the full story:
Why Ukraine launched its cross-border attack on Putin’s forces in Russia’s Kursk
COMMENT | With the Kursk incursion, has Ukraine opened a window for peace?
Friday 9 August 2024 17:40 , Salma Ouaguira
The move into Russian territory is much more dramatic than previous Ukrainian morale-boosting coups, writes Mark Almond.
But rather than a fight to the finish, like the Second World War, it could lead to compromise.
With the Kursk incursion, has Ukraine opened a window for peace?
Ukraine raids Russian forces on occupied Kinburn Spit, Kyiv says
Friday 9 August 2024 17:30 , Salma Ouaguira
Ukrainian special forces conducted an amphibious raid on the Russian-occupied Kinburn Spit in the Black Sea on Friday, destroying six Russian armoured vehicles and personnel, the Ukrainain military intelligence agency said.
Russian forces captured the southern Ukrainian Mykolaiv region’s Kinburn Spit, which juts out into the Black Sea, at the start of the February 2022 full-scale invasion.
Supermarket attack deaths rise to at least 14 people
Friday 9 August 2024 17:15 , Salma Ouaguira
A Russian missile struck a supermarket in the Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka in the front-line Donetsk region on Friday, killing at least 14 people and injuring 43 others, Ukrainian officials said.
Heavy black smoke clouds rose from the destroyed building in images and videos posted by officials. The interior minister later said the blaze was put out.
“Russian terrorists hit an ordinary supermarket and a post office. There are people under the rubble,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X. Emergency services continued working out the rubble looking for survivors, he added.
Kostiantynivka lies just about 13 kilometers from the active combat line in Ukraine’s east. Ukrainian government-held parts of the Donetsk region regularly come under Russian shelling and air strikes.
This week Russia has been fighting what it says is an armored cross-border assault by Ukrainian troops in its Kursk region. The Kyiv military has not commented on that operation yet.
“No situation on the battlefield can justify targeting civilians,” Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on X, reporting an updated death toll in Kostiantynivka.
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