Pskov Airfield: Sky glows orange during largest drone strike on Russian territory since war began
Ukraine has claimed to have broken through the first line of Russia’s defences in several locations in the south and made gains in the Zaporizhzhia region.
“There is an offensive in several directions and in certain areas. And in some places, in certain areas, this first line was broken through,” Hanna Maliar, deputy defence minister, told local TV last night.
Her comments were backed up the United States, which said on Friday that Kyiv had made notable progress on the southern front in the last 72 hours.
Earlier the Russian defence ministry claimed that its forces have destroyed three unmanned boats “being used in an attempt to target the Crimea Bridge”.
The ministry alleged Ukraine was behind the attack, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Putin to meet Erdogan in Russia for talks on grain deal
Russian president Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan on Monday in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Kremlin said on Friday.
Two Turkish sources said on Thursday that the meeting would primarily discuss Black Sea grain exports.
UN secretary-general, António Guterre, said on Thursday that he had sent Russia “a set of concrete proposals” aimed at reviving a deal that allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, where Russia controls Ukraine’s sea lanes.
Matt Mathers2 September 2023 09:30
ICYMI: Russian students are returning to school, where they face new lessons to boost their patriotism
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.
A new high school history textbook has a chapter on the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the “special military operation” — the Kremlin’s euphemism for the war, and some basic military training is included in a course on self-defense and first aid.
Matt Mathers2 September 2023 09:00
Russia trying to ‘distract’ Ukraine counteroffensive – MoD
Russia is trying to “distract” Ukraine’s counteroffensive by attacking in different locations, thereby dividing its own troops, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said.
“Ukrainian Forces continue to take offensive action on the Orikhiv axis in southern Ukraine, with units reaching the first Russian main defensive line,” the MoD said in a statement.
“Russian forces, primarily composed of the 58 Combined Arms Army and Russian Airborne Forces elements, seek to halt the Ukrainian counter-offensive whilst maintaining their own offensive on the northern axis around Kupiansk.
“Russian forces are likely seeking to distract Ukraine from its counter-offensive, thereby forcing it to divide its forces between Orikhiv and Kupiansk.
“Given that Russia has made modest gains near Kupiansk since the Ukrainian counter-offensive began in June, they are highly likely seeking to capitalise on these by continuing to resource the axis.
“However, Russia risks dividing its forces as it seeks to prevent a Ukrainian breakthrough.”
Matt Mathers2 September 2023 08:34
Kremlin – Two drones downed near border as Ukraine shells village
The Russian defence ministry said on Saturday that it had downed two Ukrainian drones over Belgorod region, a border province that comes under regular attack from Kyiv’s forces.
Separately, the governor of neighbouring Kursk region said that a village on the border had come under shelling from Ukraine, with one woman injured.
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory have picked up in recent weeks, with dozens of drones striking Russia at once some days.
Matt Mathers2 September 2023 08:09
Drone attacks inside Putin’s Russia will only increase, says senior Ukraine official
Drone strikes on Russian soil are only set to increase as Ukraine brings Moscow’s invasion home, a senior Kyiv official has said.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky said that it has increased strikes on Russian-occupied areas and would also ramp up attacks within Russia itself. Kyiv does not generally directly claim attacks outside of Ukraine, with Mr Podolyak saying such strikes would be carried out by “agents” or “partisans”.
Matt Mathers2 September 2023 07:36
Kremlin designates Nobel Prize-winning journalist a ‘foreign agent’
Russian authorities on Friday designated Nobel Prize-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov as a “foreign agent,” a move often aimed at critics of Kremlin policies.
Russian news agencies quoted the justice ministry as saying Muratov, editor of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper and a co-laureate of the 2021 Nobel peace prize, was one of several Russian nationals added to the list.
So-called foreign agents have been subjected to police searches and other punitive measures. While Muratov is still in Russia, many on the list have left the country since the February 2021 invasion of Ukraine, dubbed a “special military operation” by the Kremlin.
The justice ministry said Muratov “created and disseminated material (produced by) foreign agents and used it to spread negative opinions of Russia’s foreign and domestic policies on international platforms”.
Under Russian law, individuals and organizations receiving funding from abroad can be declared foreign agents, potentially undermining their credibility with the Russian public. Those deemed foreign agents must mark their published work with a disclaimer noting their status.
Novaya Gazeta and Muratov earned a reputation abroad for investigative reporting that was often critical of the Kremlin.
Matt Mathers2 September 2023 07:15
Putin says Russia’s ICBM will make enemies ‘think twice’
The head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency said that the country has deployed an advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that president Vladimir Putin once said will make Russia’s enemies “think twice.”
Agency head Yuri Borisov said Sarmat missiles have been placed on combat duty, according to Russian news agencies. Further details were not reported.
The Sarmat is one of several advanced weapons whose development Mr Putin announced in 2018. The silo-based missile, capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, is intended to replace the R-36 ICBMs that are known by the NATO reporting name of Satan.
The Sarmat reportedly has a short initial launch phase, allowing little time for surveillance systems to track it.
In 2022, about two months after sending troops into Ukraine, Mr Putin said the Sarmat would “reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats and make those who, in the heat of aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice.”
Stuti Mishra2 September 2023 06:30
Bosnian Serbs stage protests in support of their separatist leader
Hundreds of Bosnian Serbs waved flags of Serbia and Russia and banners of Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday as they staged a protest in support of their separatist leader who seeks union with neighbouring Serbia.
The protests were held at the unmarked internal border in Bosnia that separates the country into two entities — the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat federation — as called for under the US-mediated peace deal that ended the country’s 1992-95 war.
Stuti Mishra2 September 2023 06:00
Crowd flocks to see Putin in Russian village
A crowd of dozens thronged and cheered Russian president Vladimir Putin as he made an unannounced visit to a village near Moscow yesterday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that Mr Putin visited the village of Turginovo, where he has ancestral ties, to see places associated with his family.
Video posted by local news sites showed dozens of residents flocking to the beaming president after he emerged from a car in the village square at dusk.
“Good health, strength and good luck,” one woman said. “Thank you for coming to see us. For remembering us.”
During a stop lasting only a few minutes, Mr Putin expressed surprise that a science teacher at the local school was undertaking a doctoral degree and promised improved conditions to attract qualified people to the area.
Residents told him they needed more and better housing.
“Yes, yes, I agree, We’ll do everything gradually,” Mr Putin told them during the encounter lasting only a few minutes.
“My best wishes on the start of the school year.”
Stuti Mishra2 September 2023 05:30
Ukraine says counteroffensive has ‘broken through’ on southern front
Ukraine says its troops have broken through Russia’s first line of defence in several places, though they then encountered even more heavily fortified Russian positions.
Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv’s troops, in a much-vaunted counteroffensive against Russian forces, were advancing in the Zaporizhzhia region. Washington also said yesterday that Kyiv had made notable progress on the southern front in the last 72 hours.
“There is an offensive in several directions and in certain areas. And in some places, in certain areas, this first line was broken through,” Ms Maliar told Ukrainian television yesterday night.
She added, however, that Kyiv’s troops battling to advance through heavily mined areas for almost three months had now run into major defensive Russian fortifications.
“Our armed forces have to overcome a lot of obstacles in order to move forward,” she said.
Stuti Mishra2 September 2023 05:00