Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukrainian drones wound Russian firefighters as G7 ministers pledge support

Ukraine launches series of drones targeting Moscow and western Russia

Zelensky signs co-operation agreement with Croatia

Ukraine launched a series of drones targeting Moscow and western Russia, regional officials said today, adding that there was no significant damage.

Four firefighters in an industrial zone in Dzerzhinsk in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region however, received minor shrapnel wounds from a drone attack. Regional governor Gleb Nikitin said on the Telegram messaging app they were given “necessary medical care”.

Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said Russia’s air-defence units destroyed at least one drone flying towards Moscow.

Meanwhile, defence ministers of the G7 countries pledged “unwavering support” for Ukraine.

“We underscore our intent to continue to provide assistance to Ukraine, including military assistance in the short and long term,” in its conflict with Russia, the ministers said after their meeting in Naples.

The statement added that they supported Ukraine’s “irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including Nato membership”.

It comes as the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a statement that Russian Navy ships had transferred 1,500 North Korean special operation forces to the Russian port city of Vladivostok earlier this month.

Key Points

• Ukraine downs 80 out of 135 Russian drones, air force says
• Nato invite for Ukraine is only way to stop Russia’s war, says Volodymyr Zelensky
• Zelensky says 10,000 North Koreans could join Russia in Ukraine
• Russia claims it has captured a village in eastern Ukraine
• Nato chief says support for Ukraine will not waver

[19 October 2024 22:01 · Alex Croft]

Biden and Scholz ‘discuss unlocking frozen Russian assets’ for Ukraine

Joe Biden has urged the West to sustain its support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion as Kyiv faces a third winter of full-scale war.

Speaking to reporters before holding closed-door talks with chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin to discuss matters ranging from Ukraine to the expanding conflict in the Middle East, Mr Biden said: “As Ukraine faces a tough winter, we must, we must sustain our resolve.

“And I know the cost is heavy, but make no mistake, it bears in comparison to the cost of living in a world where aggression prevails, where large states attack and bully smaller ones simply because they can.”

He said he would discuss with Mr Scholz efforts to increase military support for Ukraine and shore up its civilian energy infrastructure “by unlocking the value of frozen Russian assets”.

[19 October 2024 21:03 · Alex Croft]

Report: Trump blames Zelensky and Biden – but not Putin – for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Donald Trump held Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Joe Biden responsible for the Russia-Ukraine war in an interview — but made no reference to Vladimir Putin.

Two and a half years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Trump pinned the blame squarely on Zelensky and Biden for the conflict during an interview with podcaster Patrick Bet-David, which aired Thursday.

“I think Zelensky is one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen,” Trump said, grumbling about how much aid the US has given Ukraine.

“And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help them because I feel very badly for those people. But he should never have let that war start,” the former president added.

“That war’s a loser.”

[19 October 2024 20:05 · Alex Croft]

Ukraine’s former armed forces chief endorses ‘victory plan’ in first speech since his dismissal

Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, on Thursday expressed his support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “victory plan,” despite the tensions between the two that led to his dismissal.

“Ukraine must clearly follow the plan,” Zaluzhnyi said in his first public appearance since his appointment as ambassador to the U.K.

He told an audience at London’s Chatham House think-tank: “But this list of steps primarily concerns those countries that should ultimately be interested in stopping the war.”

Susie Blann and Hanna Arhirova have the full report:

[19 October 2024 19:10 · Alex Croft]

France open to immediate NATO invite for Ukraine, foreign minister says

Paris is open to the idea of immediately inviting Ukraine to NATO but this would be subject to talks with other allies, France’s foreign minister said.

"Regarding the invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, we are open to it and it’s a discussion that we are having with our partners," Jean-Noel Barrot told a press conference held with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha.

If proven that North Korea had sent troops to support Russia in Ukraine this would represent a major escalation, Barrot added, and would prove that Moscow was struggling in the war.

[19 October 2024 18:13 · Alex Croft]

David Lammy presses Chinese foreign minister on support for Russia

David Lammy pressed his Chinese counterpart on Beijing’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during talks in China’s capital the Foreign Office has said.

The Foreign Secretary was under pressure to take a tough line on a range of human rights issues with foreign minister Wang Yi when the pair met on Friday in what was Mr Lammy’s first visit to China since taking office.

A statement issued by the Foreign Office after the meeting described the encounter as “constructive”, adding that Mr Lammy raised “a number of foreign policy and security matters” including Chinese companies supplying equipment to the Russian military and the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

Human rights “were discussed”, including relating to mistreatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang, in China’s far west, and the ongoing detention of British national Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong, it added.

But the statement made no direct reference to Taiwan. Earlier in the week, China held large-scale military exercises surrounding the island which Sir Keir Starmer described as “not conducive to peace and stability”.

[19 October 2024 17:15 · Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]

Everything we know about North Korean troops joining Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

The US and its allies have raised the alarm after Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that North Korea was sending thousands of soldiers to help Russia in its war in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president claimed on Thursday that his government had intelligence that nearly 10,000 soldiers from North Korea were being prepared to join the Russian forces fighting in his country.

Mr Zelensky made the claim, without offering further details, a day after US deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell said Washington and its allies were concerned by North Korea’s military support for Russia.

Read the full report from The Independent’s Alisha Rahaman Sarkar:

[19 October 2024 16:15 · Alex Croft]

‘It was unexpected’: POW describes moment he discovered he would be free

Ukrainian prisoner of war Maksym Butkevych said his release as part of a prisoner swap was “unexpected”.

The journalist and human rights activist did not know he was being released until he was already in transit, according to Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske.

"No, I didn’t know, it was unexpected," he said.

"Yesterday morning, after the inspection, they told me that I was leaving in half an hour, but they didn’t tell me where.

“Accordingly, I packed my things because I thought I was being transported, not for an exchange. We found out about the exchange by accident on the way. It was a double surprise."

Butkevych was made to plead guilty for allegedly firing a grenade launcher at an apartment building, and was sentenced to 13 years behind bars in what Amnesty International called a “grave miscarriage of justice”.

He was one of 95 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) to be freed on October 18.

[19 October 2024 15:16 · Alex Croft]

Ukrainian military denies Russian advances in Chasiv Yar

Putin’s forces have not “managed to gain a foothold” in the war-town city of Chasiv Yar despite claims of Russian advances.

Anastasia Bobovnikova, a spokesperson of the operational tactical group Luhansk, told the Kyiv Independent: "I do not confirm the fact that Russian troops have managed to gain a foothold in the canal ... or anywhere in the direction of Chasiv Yar.

"The overall strategic position of the city remains under the control of Ukraine."

It comes after the crowd-sourced war-monitoring website DeepState reported on October 17 that Russian forces had made advances.

Bobovnikova explained that groups of Russian soldiers had occasionally crossed the canal and carried out assaults on Ukrainian positions, adding: "However, such manoeuvres are accompanied by significant losses for the Russians. Ukrainian forces quickly repel such attacks, pushing Russian units back."

An artillery brigade fires on Russian positions near the Chasiv Yar front line (AFP via Getty Images)

[19 October 2024 14:18 · Alex Croft]

The Russian military has attacked energy facilities in the Chernihiv region, according to the area’s military administration.

“The enemy continues to attack energy supply facilities. A critical infrastructure facility in Chernihiv Oblast was hit at night. The strike caused a fire, which was contained within a few hours,” said Viacheslav Chaus, the administration’s chief, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

There is as-yet no threat to electricity supply after the attack overnight on Saturday.

[19 October 2024 13:19 · Alex Croft]

Report: Putin introduces bizarre new law to tackle Russia’s declining birth rate

Putin has introduced bizarre new laws in Russia that will ban anything suggesting a child-free life is attractive.

Laws that would outlaw “propaganda” discouraging Russians from having children were overwhelmingly approved on Thursday in the first of three readings in the lower house of parliament.

The Russian president who portrays Russia as a bastion of “traditional values” locked in an existential struggle with a decadent West, has encouraged women to have at least three children to secure the demographic future of the country.