Ukraine-Russia war live: Putin’s forces launch major drone attack as they claim key hill town of Vuhledar
Vuhledar has been a bastion of Ukrainian resistance since Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion in February 2022
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Putin’s forces have launched a major drone attack on 15 Ukrainian regions, causing widespread damage to commercial and residential infrastructure.
The Ukrainian air force said it had shot down 78 out of 105 Russian drones during the assault, with 23 more likely impacted by active electronic jamming.
Authorities in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv said the air force had downed around 15 drones over the city and its surroundings during an air alert that lasted more than five hours.
An attack on the southern region of Odesa damaged power lines, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. Workers restored power to more than 3,000 consumers, though a further 2,000 people remained without power in one of the districts.
It comes as claimed a key town in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv’s troops were forced to withdraw from the area after years of fighting.
The Russian Army said it had seized Vuhledar, Donetsk, a bastion that had resisted intense attacks since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Control of the area, which lies at the intersection of the eastern and southern battlefields, is significant because it will ease Russia’s advance as it tries to pierce deeper behind the Ukrainian defensive lines.
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Ukraine's top commander orders defences bolstered in east after Vuhledar falls
Ukraine‘s armed forces commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi said he had ordered defences to be strengthened in the eastern Donetsk region, a day after Kyiv forces announced they had withdrawn from the town of Vuhledar.
Russian troops are steadily inching forward in different sectors in eastern Ukraine despite Kyiv’s surprise incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region in August that it was hoped would slow the advances.
Syrskyi said on social media he was working on “one of the hottest front sectors” with the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade.
He gave no details on the exact location but the brigade operates in the Pokrovsk front, an area of intensified Russian assaults.
“While working in the brigade, I made a number of decisions aimed at strengthening stability and effectiveness of our defence,” Syrskyi said.
Ukrainian drones attack airfield and warehouses in Russia’s Voronezh region, says Ukrainian source
Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s military ‘Borisoglebsk’ airfield and warehouses for fuel and guided bombs in the Voronezh region, a Ukrainian security source has told news agency Reuters.
The security source said Ukraine‘s SBU security service continued to take action to reduce Russian troops’ ability to use fighter jets with guided bombs to strike Ukrainian cities, adding the strikes on Russia’s airfields would continue.
Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained
Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained
Ukraine’s attack into Kursk has left Vladimir Putin’s forces scrambling
New Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte visits Ukraine in his first trip since taking office
New Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited Ukraine in his first official trip since taking office and pledging continued support for Kyiv. Mr Rutte met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv as air raid sirens twice went off in the Ukrainian capital. The new head of Nato vowed to help shore up Western support for Ukraine. Mr Rutte expressed confidence that he can work with whomever is elected president of the United States, the alliance’s most powerful member, in November.
Mr Zelensky said he would like to see allies shoot down Iranian missiles and drones attacking Ukraine, just as they did during attacks on Israel. He also called on allies to allow deep strikes into Russia.
Full report: The fall of Vuhledar is a microcosm of Ukraine's wartime predicament
The fall of Vuhledar is a microcosm of Ukraine's wartime predicament
Ukrainian military officials and lawmakers say the front-line town of Vuhledar has fallen after more than two years of intense fighting
Ukraine requires ‘considerable’ assistance from western allies, think tank says
Ukraine still requires “considerable” support from western allies despite increasing its domestic output of weapons and military equipment, a think tank has said.
The Institute for the Study of War said Ukraine’s efforts to expand domestic arms output will allow it to reduce its dependence on western military aid in the long term, but Kyiv still needs “considerable” assistance from allies over the next few years to defend against Russia.
Russia announced yesterday it will raise its defence spending by 25 per cent to its highest on record, reaching 13.5tn rubles (£109bn) in 2025.
Russian court to hear case of American charged as Ukrainian mercenary behind closed doors, state media says
A Russian court has decided to hear the case of Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen accused of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, behind closed doors, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Russian state media have cited prosecutors as saying Mr Hubbard signed a contract with a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in the city of Izyum in February 2022. He was captured by Russian forces that April.
12 injured after a Russian glide bomb smashes into a Ukrainian apartment building
A Russian glide bomb struck a five-story apartment block in Kharkiv, Ukraine‘s second-largest city, injuring at least 12 people including a 3-year-old girl, local officials have said. The bomb hit between the third and fourth floors of the building on Wednesday night, igniting blazes, Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Firefighters searched for survivors through smoke and rubble.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said the latest Kharkiv attack highlighted the urgent need for increased support from Ukraine's Western allies.
Russian attack damages power lines, substations in three regions, Ukraine's energy ministry says
A Russian drone attack damaged power lines and substations in the Kyiv, Odesa and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, Ukraine‘s energy ministry has said via the Telegram messaging app.
Pictured: Russian strike on residential building in Kharkiv
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