Russia’s war in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin is “weak” and that is why he killed the Wagner mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
During a press conference in Kyiv, the Ukrainian president claimed his Russian counterpart orchesterated the plane crash which killed the mercenary leader and several of his inner circle last month according to “the information we all have”.
Mr Zelensky made the comment off-hand when asked a question about Mr Putin and did not offer any fresh evidence to support the claims which have been denied by the Kremlin.
“The fact that he [Putin] killed Prigozhin that also speaks to his rationality, and about the fact that he is weak,” Mr Zelensky said.
He added: “Putin is left with just one step: instil fear in the West with his nuclear weapons … There will be moments when they are moving their nuclear weapons from one place to another to exert pressure on the United States.”
His comments came after four people died in Ukraine following Russian air strikes in different parts of the country overnight and into Friday.
One dead after Russian missile attack on Zelensky’s hometown
A Russian missile attack on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown in central Ukraine has killed one policeman and injured at least 44 others, emergency officials said.
The incident was one of several Russian attacks across the country overnight, officials said, and ten buildings were damaged in the attack on Kryvyi Rih.
Three of the people who were pulled out of the rubble were in serious condition, according to Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine‘s minister of internal affairs. Photos posted by Mr Klymenko on Telegram showed a building on fire and emergency services evacuating the injured.
Three people were also killed on Friday after a Russian bomb struck the village of Odradokamianka in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, Mr Klymenko said.
He added that three people were also injured in a Russian missile attack in the eastern city of Sumy.
Russian forces also struck the Odesa region in the west with drones for the fifth time in a week, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. No casualties were reported.
William Mata8 September 2023 14:27
Volodymyr Zelensky: ‘Putin’s only step left is to instil fear with nuclear weapons’
Volodymyr Zelensky has used a press conference to say that Russian president Vladimir Putin could look to instil fear in the west with the threat of nuclear weapons. “Putin is left with just one step: instil fear in the west with his nuclear weapons,” the Ukrainian president said in Kyiv on Friday.
“There will be moments when they are moving their nuclear weapons from one place to another to exert pressure on the United States.”
The president also addressed the progress of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“People tend to want everything immediately, and understandably so, but this is not a feature movie when everything can happen in an hour and a half,” he said.
“Some partners ask what’s up with the counteroffensive, what are the next steps. My current answer is ‘Our steps are faster than your sanction packages’.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky
(Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Gett)
William Mata8 September 2023 16:11
Zelensky says ‘Russia must be held accountable for genocide’ at conference in Kyiv
Zelensky says ‘Russia must be held accountable for genocide’ at conference in Kyiv
William Mata8 September 2023 16:00
Ukrainian official says Elon Musk ‘committed evil’ with Starlink satellite action
A senior Ukrainian official has said Elon Musk was “committing evil and encouraging evil” with his actions over his Starlink satellite which effectively stopped a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian warships.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, commented after claims made in a new biography of the billionaire written by Walter Isaacson.
Mr Isaacson wrote that Mr Musk called his engineers to stop his Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to stop a Ukrainian submarine drone assault on Russia’s naval fleet.
After losing connectivity, the drones then washed ashore to the irritation of Ukrainian generals who had urged Mr Musk to turn the satellite back on.
Mr Musk had, according to Mr Isaacson, taken the action to avoid Russian retaliation with nuclear weapons.
But Mr Podolyak has hit out with a message on Twitter – a social media platform owned by Mr Musk.
His tweet on Friday read: “By not allowing Ukrainian drones to destroy part of the Russian fleet via Starlink interference, @elonmusk allowed this fleet to fire Kalibr missiles at Ukrainian cities. As a result, civilians, and children are being killed,” Podolyak wrote.
“Why do some people so desperately want to defend war criminals and their desire to commit murder? And do they now realise that they are committing evil and encouraging evil?”
Mr Musk is yet to respond.
Elon Musk, owner of Twitter and Tesla
(PA Archive)
William Mata8 September 2023 15:39
First Leopard 1 tanks provided by Denmark, Germany and Netherlands arrive
The first Leopard 1 tanks provided by Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, have arrived in Ukraine – it has been reported.
Denmark’s armed forces said on Friday that the first ten were now in the country and it is the first step to fulfiling the 100 that were promised in February.
“The first 10 tanks have been sent to Ukraine. And more are on the way,” the Danish armed forces said in a statement.
“A further 10 tanks have been delivered from the factory.”
AFP reported that Danish soldiers in Germany are training Ukrainian forces to use the tanks.
(REUTERS)
William Mata8 September 2023 15:18
Volodymyr Zelensky says Putin was behind the death of Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Vladimir Putin was behind the death of Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The mercenary leader died in an unexplained plane crash with his top lieutenants last month.
Ukrainian president Mr Zelensky made the claim on Friday but provided no evidence to back up his assertion made during a press conference in Kyiv.
“The fact that he killed Prigozhin – at least that’s the information we all have, not any other kind – that also speaks to his rationality, and about the fact that he is weak,” Mr Zelensky said.
The Kremlin says all possible causes of the crash will be investigated, including the possibility of foul play. It has called the suggestion that Russian president Mr Putin ordered the deaths of Mr Prigozhin and his men an “absolute lie”.
Mr Prigozhin this summer led a brief mutiny in Russia that posed the biggest challenge to Mr Putin’s rule since he rose to power in 1999. It prompted the Kremlin chief to accuse its authors of “treason” and a “stab in the back”.
Many critics of Mr Putin have died in unclear circumstances during his 23 years in power, or narrowly escaped dying.
A tribute to Yevgeny Prigozhin
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
William Mata8 September 2023 14:38
ICYMI: Ukraine drone strike map reveals key places where Kyiv is taking the war to Russia
The strikes are now daily and on Tuesday the Russian defence ministry said its air defence systems destroyed two drones over the Kaluga and Tver regions, which border the Moscow region, as well as one closer to the capital, over the Istra district.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain has mapped the attacks:
Matt Mathers8 September 2023 13:15
What are depleted uranium shells? The controversial armour-piercing munitions being used in Ukraine
The depleted uranium anti-tank rounds soon to be in Ukraine’s military stockpiles have kicked up a debate over its use in the continuing Russian invasion.
Matt Mathers8 September 2023 12:50
India seeking greater voice for developing world at G20, but Ukraine war may overshadow talks
It’s never been easy for the leaders of the world’s largest economies to find common ground, but the global ramifications of Russia’s war on Ukraine mean even greater challenges for meaningful agreement at the Group of 20 meeting this year.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this year’s host, has pledged not to let Ukraine overshadow the needs of the mostly developing nations in the so-called “ Global South,” but many of those issues are closely affected by the war.
Matt Mathers8 September 2023 12:24
Russian air strike kills three in Ukraine’s Kherson region – interior minister
A Russian air strike killed three civilians and wounded four other people on Friday in a village in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said.
Klymenko said on the Telegram messaging app that the air strike was on the village of Odradokamianka.
Matt Mathers8 September 2023 11:34