Volodymyr Zelensky said he has decided to dismiss his war-time defence minister Oleksii Reznikov and would ask parliament this week to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s main privatisation fund.
“I’ve decided to replace the Minister of Defence of Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov has been through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” he said, adding that he “believes the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole”.
The exit of lawyer-turned-politician Reznikov marks the biggest shakeup of Ukraine’s defence establishment during the war launched by Russia in February 2022.
While he secured billions of dollars of Western military aid to help the war effort, Reznikov has been dogged by graft allegations surrounding his ministry that he described as smears.
This comes as Russia launched a major drone strike on Ukraine’s grain exporting port in Odesa region this morning.
The three and a half hour long drone assault damaged warehouses and set buildings on fire just hours before Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdogan, were due to hold talks on the halted grain deal.
Key Points
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Zelensky to replace war-time defence minister
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Russian tries to recruit foreign fighters to replace depleted troop numbers
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Russia bombards Ukraine’s Odesa region with 3-hour drone attack
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Ukrainian tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky detained in fraud case
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Ukraine counteroffensive ‘breaks through’ in several locations
Zelensky to replace wartime defence minister
Sunday 3 September 2023 22:05 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday he had decided to dismiss Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov from his post and would ask parliament this week to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine‘s main privatisation fund.
The announcement, made in his nightly video address to the nation, sets the stage for the biggest shakeup of Ukraine‘s defence establishment during the war launched by Russia in February 2022.
Reznikov, who was named defence minister in November 2021, has helped secure billions of dollars of Western military aid to help the war effort, but been dogged by graft allegations surrounding his ministry that he described as smears.
“I’ve decided to replace the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov has been through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” Zelenskiy said.
“I believe the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole.”
The change of defence minister must be approved by parliament, but is likely to be supported by a majority of lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada. Zelensky said he expected parliament to approve Umerov’s appointment.
Umerov, a 41-year-old ex-lawmaker who is a Crimean Tatar, has headed Ukraine‘s State Property Fund since September 2022 and has played a role in sensitive wartime negotiations on, for instance, the Black Sea grain deal.
Putin strikes Ukraine grain exporting port ahead of talks with Erdogan
06:38 , Arpan Rai
Russia launched a major Ukraine grain exporting port this morning, damaging warehouses and setting buildings on fire, Ukraine said, hours before Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdogan, were due to hold talks.
The drone assault lasted three and a half hours on the Danube River port of Izmail, in Ukraine’s Odesa region.
Regional governor said drone debris also set several civilian infrastructure buildings on fire, the governor of the Odesa region said.
After quitting the Black Sea grain deal, Moscow has launched frequent attacks on the ports of the Danube River, which has since become Ukraine‘s major route for exporting grain.
About 17 drones were shot down, but some hit their targets in the broader Izmail area, governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram. He added that according to preliminary reports, there were no casualties or injuries.
The Russian president and his Turkish Putin and Erdogan are expected to meet today in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi as Ankara and the United Nations seek to revive a Ukraine grain export deal that helped ease a global food crisis. Ankara called the talks vital for the deal.
Russia says four Ukraine inflatable boats in Black Sea destroyed
05:17 , Arpan Rai
Four US-made inflatable boats with Ukraine’s landing forces in the northwestern part of the Black Sea has been destroyed by Russia’s naval force, the Russian defence ministry said on its Telegram channel.
The ministry said the US-made Willard Marine Sea Force inflatable boats were heading in the direction of Cape Tarkhankut on the Crimean Peninsula.
Military offensive and combat in the Black Sea waters has picked up in the recent weeks with Russia regularly claiming to strike Ukrainian forces.
Kyiv has not issued a comment on the reports of growing offensive in its southern waters it shares with Russia.
Putin awards first crew who used hypersonic Kinzhal missile in Ukraine – report
05:09 , Arpan Rai
The first Russian crew to use hypersonic, air-launched Kinzhal missiles during Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine has been presented with state awards, the Russian TASS state news agency reported today.
“The Su-34 aircraft used the Kinzhal hypersonic missile during the special military operation,” TASS cited an unnamed military source as saying.
“The first crew that successfully completed this task was presented with state awards.”
While Moscow has said very little so far about the Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, Ukraine’s military says Russia uses them frequently in the continuing invasion against civilian targets.
TASS did not say when Russia used the Kinzhal missiles for the first time in Ukraine. The Russian defence ministry said in March that the missiles had been deployed to destroy Ukrainian targets, according to the ministry’s Telegram channel.
The Kinzhal is one of six “next generation” weapons unveiled by Vladimir Putin in a speech in March 2018.
Russia claims Ukraine launched drone attacks on Kursk region
04:48 , Arpan Rai
The Russian defence ministry has blamed Ukraine for launching drone attacks on the Kursk region of Russia overnight from yesterday to this morning.
The ministry claimed its forces had shot down two drones after midnight today.
Kursk region, bordering Ukraine to its west, saw attacked around 1am, the ministry said on its Telegram channel.
Last evening, regional governor claimed debris from a downed drone sparked a fire at a non-residential building in the city of Kurchatov.
The site of attack is about 4km from one of Russia’s biggest nuclear plants, but there were no reports the plant was affected or targeted.
Who is Oleksii Reznikov, the war-time defence face of Ukraine?
04:38 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has said time has come for Ukraine for new changes, which will involve exit of Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defence minister since November 2021.
The 57-year-old former lawyer turned defence minister has helped secure billions of dollars of Western military aid to help the war effort, but has been dogged by graft allegations surrounding his ministry that he has described as smears.
In the continuing war, Mr Reznikov’s defence ministry lobbied the West to overcome taboos on supplying powerful military gear to Ukraine, including German-made main battle tanks and HIMARS rocket artillery. And after much bidding and pushing, Kyiv now looks poised to receive US-made F-16 fighter jets soon.
An English-speaker, Mr Reznikov is seen as having built up a strong rapport with allied defence ministers and military officials.
One member of parliament has tipped him as Ukraine’s possible new ambassador to London.
His apparent exit appears to bring an end to months of domestic media pressure that began in January when Mr Reznikov’s ministry was accused of buying food at inflated prices.
Though he was not personally involved in the food contract, some Ukrainian commentators said he should take political responsibility for what happened.
Last month, a Ukrainian media outlet accused his ministry of corruption during the procurement of winter coats for the army. He has denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly said he was being targeted by a smear campaign.
Why did Russia invade Ukraine?
03:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has been raging for one year now as the conflict continues to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.
Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russia’s neighbour needed to be “demilitarised and de-Nazified”, a baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.
Read more:
Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine
The key to Ukraine punching through Russia’s defences – and putting Putin’s forces on the back foot
02:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Long-range strikes by drone and missile and a raid on territory in occupied Crimea that took Russian forces by surprise – all part of Kyiv’s recent push towards the peninsula that is a symbol of Vladimir Putin‘s territorial ambitions.
Perhaps most significant of all is the capture of the key village of Robotyne, about three hours drive east of Crimea. Gaining that foothold will help Ukraine build a foundation to punch through to the coastline of the Sea of Azov.
Kyiv has been stepping up drone attacks on Crimea as it looks to break key supply lines from the Russian-occupied peninsula, writes Askold Krushelnycky in Ukraine:
The key to Ukraine punching through Russia’s defences | Askold Krushelnycky
What is Russia’s ‘Satan II’ hypersonic intercontinental nuclear missile?
01:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia has said that Moscow’s RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), nicknamed “Satan II” – capable of carrying ten or more nuclear warheads – has been rolled out on “combat duty”.
The head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said that the missiles had entered active duty, the state-run news agency RIA reported. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Sarmat missiles would be deployed for combat duty “soon”.
Prior to that, defence committee deputy chairman Aleksey Zhuravlyov had used it as a threat when he was interviewed by state broadcaster TV Russia 1 in May regarding Sweden and Finland’s aspirations towards joining Nato in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined the alliance earlier this year, while Sweden is still waiting to be ratified.
Joe Sommerlad has more:
What is Russia’s ‘Satan II’ intercontinental nuclear missile?
Dodging a constant assault of Russian missiles – the war weary keep fighting in Ukraine’s blood-soaked east
Monday 4 September 2023 00:01 , Eleanor Noyce
The missile aimed at the mayor’s office took an estimated 64 seconds to fly 55 miles and detonate in shrapnel and flames after being fired by Russian forces.
Thankfully for Oleksandr Goncharenko, the mayor of Kramatorsk – near the frontline in east Ukraine – it missed the target by 200 metres, hitting a garden square.
The municipal headquarters was swiftly moved to another building for safety. But that building was bombed as well, resulting in a move to yet another location, dodging the missiles coming from the city of Horlivka which has been captured by Vladimir Putin’s forces.
There is plenty of pride in the cities around the frontline in managing to keep Putin’s forces at bay, writes Kim Sengupta from Druzhkivka. But it has come at the cost of crushing loss:
Dodging Russian missiles, the war weary keep fighting in Ukraine’s blood-soaked east
Zelensky says he struck key deal on pilot training in France
Sunday 3 September 2023 23:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had struck a “very important agreement on training our pilots in France” in conversation with President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday.
“Our coalition of modern fighters is becoming stronger,” he said in his nightly video address.
He did not elaborate on what training would be undertaken. France does not have the F-16 fighter jets Ukraine has recently been promised by Denmark and the Netherlands. It does have French-made Rafale warplanes and previous-generation Mirage 2000 jets.
Zelensky said he and Macron had also discussed what France could do to help protect the Ukrainian city and region of Odesa, critical to grain exports, but did not elaborate.
The French foreign ministry said last month that it would reinforce its military support for Ukraine, notably in strengthening air defence capabilities.
Ukraine drone sparks fire in Russia’s Kurchatov – governor
Sunday 3 September 2023 21:25 , Eleanor Noyce
A non-residential building in the western Russian city of Kurchatov caught fire on Sunday after an attack by a Ukrainian drone but emergency services put the fire out and there were no casualties, Roman Starovoit, governor of the Kursk region, said.
In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Starovoit did not say which building was affected. Ukraine‘s Babel online outlet quoted an unnamed source as saying a drone hit a building belonging to the FSB security service.
Starovoit also blamed a Ukrainian drone for damage to a building facade in Kurchatov on 1 September.
Kurchatov is home to one of Russia’s biggest nuclear plants, but there were no reports it was affected in either incident.
South Africa says inquiry found no evidence of arms shipment to Russia
Sunday 3 September 2023 20:45 , Eleanor Noyce
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday an inquiry into a U.S. allegation that a Russian ship had picked up weapons in South Africa late last year found no evidence the vessel had transported weapons to Russia.
“None of the allegations made about the supply of weapons to Russia have been proven to be true,” Ramaphosa said in an address to the nation.
ICYMI: Russians press Ukraine in the northeast to distract from more important battles in counteroffensive
Sunday 3 September 2023 20:15 , Eleanor Noyce
Concealed under pine branches in the forests of northeast Ukraine, the muzzle of a Soviet-era howitzer rises, aiming for a group of approaching Russian infantrymen many kilometers away.
A Ukrainian soldier signals to fire, then swiftly runs for cover. The thunderous crash of the unleashed projectile sends a pall of black smoke billowing above jabs of yellow flames. A pile of spent shells in the nearby foliage grows by the day.
Here, along a small section of the 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) front line, Moscow’s army is staging a ferocious push designed to pin down Ukrainian forces, distract them from their grinding counteroffensive and minimize the number of troops Kyiv is able to send to more important battles in the south.
Read more:
Russians press Ukraine in the northeast to distract from more important battles in counteroffensive
Russian cyber-attacks ‘relentless’ as threat of WW3 grows, expert warns
Sunday 3 September 2023 19:45 , Eleanor Noyce
Cyberattacks by the UK’s enemies are becoming “relentless” as we enter a “new era” of global conflict, an expert has warned.
It comes after Russian hackers allegedly acquired top-secret security information on some of the country’s most sensitive military sites, including the HMNB Clyde nuclear submarine base on the west coast of Scotland and the Porton Down chemical weapon lab.
The “potentially very damaging” attack last month by hacking group LockBit, which has known links to Russian nationals, saw thousands of pages of data leaked onto the dark web after private security firm Zaun was targeted, the Sunday Mirror newspaper reported.
Joseph Draper reports:
Russian cyber-attacks ‘relentless’ as threat of WW3 grows, expert warns
Ukraine drone attacks Russia’s Kurchatov – governor
Sunday 3 September 2023 19:19 , Eleanor Noyce
A non-residential building in the Russian city of Kurchatov was on fire on Sunday following an attack by a Ukrainian drone, said Roman Starovoit, governor of the Kursk region.
In a post on the Telegram messaging app, he said there were no casualties and that security forces were on the scene.
Dodging a constant assault of Russian missiles – the war weary keep fighting in Ukraine’s blood-soaked east
Sunday 3 September 2023 19:15 , Eleanor Noyce
The missile aimed at the mayor’s office took an estimated 64 seconds to fly 55 miles and detonate in shrapnel and flames after being fired by Russian forces.
Thankfully for Oleksandr Goncharenko, the mayor of Kramatorsk – near the frontline in east Ukraine – it missed the target by 200 metres, hitting a garden square.
The municipal headquarters was swiftly moved to another building for safety. But that building was bombed as well, resulting in a move to yet another location, dodging the missiles coming from the city of Horlivka which has been captured by Vladimir Putin’s forces.
Read more:
Dodging Russian missiles, the war weary keep fighting in Ukraine’s blood-soaked east
Ukraine expects boom in drone production, defence minister says
Sunday 3 September 2023 18:45 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine intends to increase drone production as early as this autumn, the Ukrainian defence minister was quoted as saying on Sunday, as the country conducts more frequent drone attacks on Russian territory.
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory have picked up in recent weeks, with dozens of drones striking Russia at once on some days, reaching as far as the western city of Pskov, 400 miles (600 km) from Ukraine.
Kyiv has used both aerial drones to attack airfields and aquatic drones to attack ships and the bridge to Crimea.
“I think this autumn there will be a boom in the production of various Ukrainian drones: flying, floating, crawling, etc., and this will continue to grow in volume,” Oleksii Reznikov told the state-run Ukrinform news agency.
He said one reason for the growth of production was that authorities had reduced various regulations and laws.
“So we rewrote regulations… and simplified the processes. And I believe that we also succeeded in that and gave us the opportunity for such a booster. Especially for drone manufacturers who started production from garages,” he said.
Ukraine is significantly dependent on supplies of modern Western weapons, but Kyiv has pledged not to use them on Russian territory and for such attacks it uses only domestically produced weapons, primarily drones.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Friday it had destroyed a total of 281 Ukrainian drones over the past week, including 29 over the western regions of Russia, indicating the scale of the drone war now under way between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine has attacked several airfields deep inside Russia, the centre of Moscow and military bases both in occupied Crimea and in regions close to the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian officials normally say little or nothing about attacks on Russian targets, but say that destroying Russian infrastructure is vital for the country’s war effort.
Ukraine expects boom in drone production, defence minister says
Sunday 3 September 2023 18:15 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine intends to increase drone production as early as this autumn, the Ukrainian defence minister was quoted as saying on Sunday, as the country conducts more frequent drone attacks on Russian territory.
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory have picked up in recent weeks, with dozens of drones striking Russia at once on some days, reaching as far as the western city of Pskov, 400 miles (600 km) from Ukraine.
Kyiv has used both aerial drones to attack airfields and aquatic drones to attack ships and the bridge to Crimea.
“I think this autumn there will be a boom in the production of various Ukrainian drones: flying, floating, crawling, etc., and this will continue to grow in volume,” Oleksii Reznikov told the state-run Ukrinform news agency.
He said one reason for the growth of production was that authorities had reduced various regulations and laws.
“So we rewrote regulations… and simplified the processes. And I believe that we also succeeded in that and gave us the opportunity for such a booster. Especially for drone manufacturers who started production from garages,” he said.
Ukraine is significantly dependent on supplies of modern Western weapons, but Kyiv has pledged not to use them on Russian territory and for such attacks it uses only domestically produced weapons, primarily drones.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Friday it had destroyed a total of 281 Ukrainian drones over the past week, including 29 over the western regions of Russia, indicating the scale of the drone war now under way between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine has attacked several airfields deep inside Russia, the centre of Moscow and military bases both in occupied Crimea and in regions close to the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian officials normally say little or nothing about attacks on Russian targets, but say that destroying Russian infrastructure is vital for the country’s war effort.
Russia signs 280,000 for contract military service this year – Medvedev
Sunday 3 September 2023 17:45 , Eleanor Noyce
Some 280,000 people have signed up so far this year for professional service with Russia’s military, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, former President Dmitry Medvedev, said on Sunday.
Visiting Russia’s Far East, Medvedev said he was meeting local officials to work on efforts to beef up the armed forces.
“According to the Ministry of Defence, since Jan. 1, about 280,000 people have been accepted into the ranks of the Armed Forces on a contract basis,” including reservists, state news agency TASS quoted Medvedev as saying.
Last year Russia announced a plan to expand its combat personnel more than 30% to 1.5 million, an ambitious task made harder by its heavy but undisclosed casualties in Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
Some Russian lawmakers suggested Russia needs a professional army 7-million strong to ensure the country’s security – a move that would require a huge budget allowance.
President Vladimir Putin ordered a “partial mobilisation” of 300,000 reservists in September 2022, prompting hundreds of thousands of others to flee Russia to avoid being sent to fight. Putin has said there is no need for any further mobilisation.
108 Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure in July 2023
Sunday 3 September 2023 17:30 , Eleanor Noyce
There were 108 Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine in July 2023, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has stated.
The numbers were identified by The Centre for Information Resilience, which used open-source data to verify the attacks.
“The Kremlin continues to attack civilians in Ukraine, despite claiming it only targets military sites”, a tweet from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office read.
Russian drone attack hits Danube port infrastructure – Ukraine
Sunday 3 September 2023 17:15 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian drones hit Danube River port infrastructure that is critical to Ukraine‘s grain exports, injuring at least two people in the attack on southern parts of the Odesa region on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.
The Danube has become Ukraine‘s main route for exporting grain since July, when Russia quit a U.N. and Turkey-brokered deal that had given safe passage to Kyiv’s exports of grains, oilseeds and vegetables oils via the Black Sea.
Sunday’s attack took place the day before Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan are due to hold talks in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. Turkey has been pressing to revive the grain deal.
Ukraine‘s South Military Command said on social media that at least two civilians were injured in the early morning attack on what it called “civil infrastructure of the Danube”.
The Ukrainian Air Force said air defence systems shot down 22 of the 25 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia.
Officials did not give details of which port facility was hit but some Ukrainian media reported blasts in the Reni port, which along with Izmail is one of Ukraine‘s two major ports on the Danube. The military said a fire that resulted from the attack at the facility was quickly extinguished.
The Russian Defence Ministry was quoted by Interfax as saying that a group of Russian drones successfully struck fuel depots at the Reni port used by the Ukrainian military.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
Reni and Izmail have been repeatedly attacked by Russian drones in recent weeks.
“Russian terrorists continue to attack port infrastructure in the hope of provoking a food crisis and famine in the world,” the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram.
He posted a photo of a firefighter directing water at the burning ruins of concrete structures.
Erdogan’s Russia visit vital for grain deal, Turkish leader’s chief aide says
Sunday 3 September 2023 16:47 , Eleanor Noyce
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will focus on the Black Sea grain deal during their meeting on Monday as Turkey seeks to bring Moscow back to the deal, Erdogan’s chief foreign policy advisor said.
“We play a leading role here. We see strong support from all around the world for the realisation of the grain corridor,” Erdogan’s chief foreign policy and security advisor Akif Cagatay Kilic told an interview on A Haber television channel.
“The current status (of the grain deal) will be discussed at the summit on Monday. We are cautious, but we hope to achieve success because this is a situation that affects the entire world,” Kilic said.
Russian drones hit Danube River port infrastructure that is critical to Ukraine‘s grain exports, injuring at least two people in the attack on southern parts of the Odesa region on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.
The Danube has become Ukraine‘s main route for exporting grain since July, when Russia quit a U.N. and Turkey-brokered deal that had given safe passage to Kyiv’s exports of grains, oilseeds and vegetable oils via the Black Sea.
Ankara acknowledged the technical complexities surrounding the agreement, particularly concerning Russian grain and payment mechanisms, Kilic said. The issue also involves international payment systems such as SWIFT, posing a multifaceted challenge, Kilic added.
“Here, the decision of Russian leader is important. I believe that the bilateral meeting between President Erdogan and Putin will play the most important role in this issue.”
ICYMI: Russian students are returning to school, where they face new lessons to boost their patriotism
Sunday 3 September 2023 16:15 , Matt Mathers
Clad in white shirts and carrying bouquets, children across Russia flocked back to school Friday, where the Kremlin‘s narratives about the war in Ukraine and its confrontation with the West were taking an even more prominent spot than before.
Students are expected each week to listen to Russia’s national anthem and watch the country’s tricolor flag being raised. There’s a weekly subject loosely translated as “Conversations about Important Things,” which was introduced last year with the goal of boosting patriotism.
Dasha Litvinova reports:
Russian students are returning to school, where they face new lessons to boost their patriotism
French companies to take part in Ukraine defence forum – Zelensky
Sunday 3 September 2023 15:42 , Matt Mathers
Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron have agreed that French companies will take part in Ukraine’s upcoming Defence Industries Forum.
The Ukraine and French presidents spoke by phone earlier on Sunday.
“We also discussed ways to ensure the functioning of the grain corridor and enhance the security of the Odesa region,” Zelensky said.
Macron and Zelensky in talks about securing Odesa
Sunday 3 September 2023 14:57 , Matt Mathers
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron are in talks about enhancing the security of port city Odesa in Ukraine’s southeast.
The leaders held talks on Sunday about the “functioning” of a sea corridor set up by Kyiv for safe navigation of ships after Moscow exited a landmark grain deal enabling cargo ships to leave the port.
“We also discussed ways to ensure the functioning of the grain corridor and enhance the security of the Odesa region,” Mr Zelensky said on social media after a phone call with Mr Macron.
ICYMI: Dodging a constant assault of Russian missiles – the war-weary keep fighting in Ukraine’s blood-soaked east
Sunday 3 September 2023 14:29 , Matt Mathers
There is plenty of pride in the cities around the frontline in managing to keep Putin’s forces at bay, writes Kim Sengupta from Druzhkivka. But it has come at the cost of crushing loss.
Read Kim’s full piece here:
Dodging Russian missiles, the war weary keep fighting in Ukraine’s blood-soaked east
Armenian PM says depending solely on Russia for security was ‘strategic mistake’
Sunday 3 September 2023 13:30 , Matt Mathers
Armenia’s prime minister has said his country’s policy of solely relying on Russia to guarantee its security was a strategic mistake because Moscow has been unable to deliver and is in the process of winding down its role in the wider region.
In an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica published on Sunday, Nikol Pashinyan accused Russia of failing to ensure Armenia’s security in the face of what he said was aggression from neighbouring Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Pashinyan suggested that Moscow, which has a defence pact with Armenia and a militray base there, did not regard his country as sufficiently pro-Russian and said he believed Russia was in the process of leaving the wider South Caucasus region.
Yerevan was therefore trying to diversify its security arrangements, he said, an apparent reference to its ties with the European Union and the United States and its attempts to forge closer ties with other countries in the region.
“Armenia’s security architecture was 99.999% linked to Russia, including when it came to the procurement of arms and ammunition,” Pashinyan told La Repubblica.
“But today we see that Russia itself is in need of weapons, arms and ammunition (for the war in Ukraine) and in this situation it’s understandable that even if it wishes so, the Russian Federation cannot meet Armenia’s security needs.
“This example should demonstrate to us that dependence on just one partner in security matters is a strategic mistake.”
Erdogan’s Russia visit vital for grain deal, Turkish leader’s chief aide says
Sunday 3 September 2023 13:08 , Matt Mathers
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will focus on the Black Sea grain deal during their meeting on Monday as Turkey seeks to bring Moscow back to the deal, Erdogan’s chief foreign policy advisor said.
“We play a leading role here. We see strong support from all around the world for the realisation of the grain corridor,” Erdogan’s chief foreign policy and security advisor Akif Cagatay Kilic told an interview on A Haber television channel.
“The current status (of the grain deal) will be discussed at the summit on Monday. We are cautious, but we hope to achieve success because this is a situation that affects the entire world,” Kilic said.
Nobel Foundation retracts invite to Russia, Belarus and Iran representatives to attend ceremonies
Sunday 3 September 2023 12:40 , Matt Mathers
The Nobel Foundation on Saturday retracted its invitation for representatives of Russia, Belarus and Iran to attend this year’s Nobel Prize award ceremonies after the controversial decision “provoked strong reactions”.
Several Swedish lawmakers said Friday they would boycott this year’s Nobel Prize award ceremonies in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, after the private foundation that administers the prestigious awards changed its position from a year earlier and invited representatives of the three countries to attend.
Full report:
Nobel Foundation retracts invite to Russia, Belarus and Iran representatives to attend ceremonies
ICYMI: More cargo ships from Ukraine use a civilian corridor despite Russian threats
Sunday 3 September 2023 12:20 , Matt Mathers
Two cargo vessels have left Ukraine despite Russian threats and are in the Black Sea, maritime officials said Saturday.
The Anna-Theresa, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier carrying 56,000 tons of pig iron, left the Ukrainian port of Yuzhny on Friday and is now close to Bulgarian territorial waters, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
Full report:
More cargo ships from Ukraine use a civilian corridor despite Russian threats
Hackers linked to Russia leak secret information about British military and intelligence sites
Sunday 3 September 2023 11:41 , Matt Mathers
Hackers linked to Russia have leaked online secret security information about British military and intelligence sites, according to a report.
The Sunday Mirror reports thousands of pages of data was released that could help criminals get into the HMNB Clyde nuclear submarine base, the Porton Down chemical weapon lab and a GCHQ listening post.
Information about high-security prisons and a military site key to our cyber defences was also stolen in the raid by group LockBit, the paper added.
Hackers targeted the databases of Zaun, a firm which makes fences for maximum security sites. The information was then placed onto the internet’s dark web, which can be accessed using special software.
Dodging a constant assault of Russian missiles – the war-weary keep fighting in Ukraine’s blood-soaked east
Sunday 3 September 2023 11:10 , Matt Mathers
There is plenty of pride in the cities around the frontline in managing to keep Putin’s forces at bay, writes Kim Sengupta from Druzhkivka. But it has come at the cost of crushing loss.
Read Kim’s full report here:
Dodging Russian missiles, the war weary keep fighting in Ukraine’s blood-soaked east
‘Russian terrorists continue to attack port infrastructure’
Sunday 3 September 2023 10:14 , Matt Mathers
“Russian terrorists continue to attack port infrastructure in the hope of provoking a food crisis and famine in the world,” the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram.
He posted a photo of a firefighter directing water at the burning ruins of concrete structures.
Ukraine’s South Military Command said on social media at least two civilians were injured in the attack on what it said was the “civil infrastructure of the Danube”.
ICYMI: Ukraine ‘targets critical bridge’ built by Putin as counteroffensive ‘breaks through on southern front’
Sunday 3 September 2023 09:11 , Matt Mathers
Russia says Ukraine has targetted a critical bridge that links the country to annexed Crimea, as Kyiv says its counteroffensive has broken through on the southern front.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had destroyed three Ukrainian drones attempting to attack the Kerch bridge – forcing closure for the third time in a year – with one drone intercepted late on Friday and two others early on Saturday.
Eleanor Noyce reports:
Ukraine ‘targets Crimea bridge’ built by Putin as counteroffensive ‘breaks through’
Russians press Ukraine in the northeast to distract from more important battles in counteroffensive
Sunday 3 September 2023 08:51 , Matt Mathers
Concealed under pine branches in the forests of northeast Ukraine, the muzzle of a Soviet-era howitzer rises, aiming for a group of approaching Russian infantrymen many kilometers away.
A Ukrainian soldier signals to fire, then swiftly runs for cover. The thunderous crash of the unleashed projectile sends a pall of black smoke billowing above jabs of yellow flames. A pile of spent shells in the nearby foliage grows by the day.
Here, along a small section of the 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) front line, Moscow’s army is staging a ferocious push designed to pin down Ukrainian forces, distract them from their grinding counteroffensive and minimize the number of troops Kyiv is able to send to more important battles in the south.
Full report:
Russians press Ukraine in the northeast to distract from more important battles in counteroffensive
Russia trying to exploit foreigners in army recruitment drive to replace ‘mounting casualties’
Sunday 3 September 2023 08:23 , Matt Mathers
Russia is trying to exploit foreigners in an army recruit drive to replace its “mounting casualties” on the battlefield in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said.
“Online adverts have been observed in Armenia and Kazakhstan offering 495,000 roubles ($5,140 USD) in initial payments and salaries from 190,000 roubles ($1,973 USD),” it said in its latest war update.
“There have been recruitment efforts in Kazakhstan’s northern Qostanai region, appealing to the ethnic Russian population.
“Since at least May 2023, Russia has approached central Asian migrants to fight in Ukraine with promises of fast-track citizenship and salaries of up to $4,160 USD.
“Uzbek migrant builders in Mariupol have reportedly had their passports confiscated upon arrival and been coerced to join the Russian military. There are at least six million migrants from Central Asia in Russia, which the Kremlin likely sees as potential recruits.
“Russia likely wishes to avoid further unpopular domestic mobilisation measures in the run up to the 2024 Presidential elections. Exploiting foreign nationals allows the Kremlin to acquire additional personnel for its war effort in the face of mounting casualties.”
Russia signs 280,000 for contract military service this year – Medvedev
Sunday 3 September 2023 08:04 , Matt Mathers
Some 280,000 people have signed up so far this year for professional service with Russia’s military, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, former president Dmitry Medvedev, said on Sunday.
Visiting Russia’s Far East, Medvedev said he was meeting local officials to work on efforts to beef up the armed forces.
“According to the Ministry of Defence, since 1 Jan, about 280,000 people have been accepted into the ranks of the Armed Forces on a contract basis,” including reservists, state news agency TASS quoted Medvedev as saying.
Last year Russia announced a plan to expand its combat personnel more than 30 per cent to 1.5 million, an ambitious task made harder by its heavy but undisclosed casualties in Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
Russia bombards Ukraine’s Odesa region with 3-hour drone attack
Sunday 3 September 2023 07:16 , Adam Withnall
Russia targeted the Odesa region with a sustained three-and-a-half hour drone attack in the early hours of this morning, Ukraine says, hitting some key port infrastructure.
Ukraine said its air defences succeeded in shooting down 22 of the 25 Iranian-made kamikaze Shahed drones fired by Russia.
At least two civilians were injured in the attack, according to Ukraine’s South Military Command.
The bombardment targeted “civil infrastructure of the Danube [River]”, it said.
Some Ukrainian media reported explosions at the port in Reni, one of the two major Ukrainian facilities on the river, though this was not immediately confirmed by the authorities.
The Danube is now Ukraine’s main route for crucial grain exports, after Russia pulled out of a UN deal that had allowed Kyiv to ship grain via the Black Sea.
Ukraine is the world’s largest wheat producer and its failure to export grain has been one of the key drivers of global food inflation since Russia’s invasion.
The key to Ukraine punching through Russia’s defences – and putting Putin’s forces on the back foot
Sunday 3 September 2023 07:00 , Stuti Mishra
Long-range strikes by drone and missile and a raid on territory in occupied Crimea that took Russian forces by surprise – all part of Kyiv’s recent push towards the peninsula that is a symbol of Vladimir Putin‘s territorial ambitions.
Perhaps most significant of all is the capture of the key village of Robotyne, about three hours drive east of Crimea. Gaining that foothold will help Ukraine build a foundation to punch through to the coastline of the Sea of Azov.
Kyiv has been stepping up drone attacks on Crimea as it looks to break key supply lines from the Russian-occupied peninsula, writes Askold Krushelnycky in Ukraine:
The key to Ukraine punching through Russia’s defences | Askold Krushelnycky