Ukraine-Russia war live: More than 1,000 people evacuated from Krasnodar amid Kyiv’s drone barrage
Russia was forced to down 18 Ukrainian drones fired at Krasnodar overnight, authorities said
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More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from Krasnodar, Russia, as Ukraine launched dozens of drones over the border.
Russia evacuated 1,200 residents from the region as Vladimir Putin’s troops were forced to down 18 Ukrainian drones overnight, Krasnodar’s governor said.
It comes as Moscow fired 108 deadly glide bombs - KABs - at Ukrainian positions on Friday, Kyiv authorities said.
They are old-fashioned “iron” aerial bombs of the sort that were dropped by bombers during the Second World War.
In Kryvyi Rih, central Ukraine, a 12-year-old boy was killed alongside two elderly women after a separate Russian overnight missile attack.
“Again, a terrifying enemy attack on Kryvyi Rih. In the middle of the night, when the city slept,” the city’s governor Serhiy Lysak said.
The two women killed in the attack were 75 and 79. Mr Lysak also said two buildings were destroyed and 20 more were damaged.
It comes after leaked documents revealed more than 70,000 Russian soldiers have died since the invasion began in February 2022.
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Residents in Kyiv told to stay indoors due to air pollution
Residents in Kyiv have been urged by authorities to stay inside after air pollution caused by fires has blanketed the region.
The Ukrainian capital topped a list of the most polluted major cities early on Friday in a real-time Swiss database.
Ukraine's Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources said the pollution was a result of the burning of peatlands and other wildfires in the region combined with autumn temperature fluctuations.
Fires have been reported in the Vyshhorod district, around 12 miles north of the capital. Officials warned about an increased concentration of suspended particles, such as dust, soot, and smoke, in the air. In some areas of the city, air pollution levels have reached the maximum of the 100-point scale.
Not a good morning in Kyiv again… Cannot sleep because of the stinky air (even with the windows closed & air purifier is on maximum). pic.twitter.com/CLkd0tIIA7
— Olena Kuzmina (@Lenka_leSoleil) September 20, 2024
Norway to raise, extend financial support for Ukraine
Norway will extend its Ukraine aid programme by three years and add a total of 60 billion Norwegian crowns ($5.70 billion) as part of the expansion, the Nordic country’s government said on Friday.
Norway in 2023 allocated a total of 75 billion crowns split over five years to support the Ukrainian war effort and reconstruction, but said on Friday this would be raised to 135 billion and that the programme would run until 2030.
Putin won’t visit Mexico for President Sheinbaum’s inauguration
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not fly to Mexico for the inauguration of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, as previously suspected, a Russian foreign ministry official has said.
Ukraine previously asked the Mexican government to arrest Putin per the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant if he attended the inauguration of Sheinbaum.
Despite Mexico being an ICC member, the government said it would not accommodate Kyiv’s request.
Ukraine bans Telegram messaging app on state-issued devices
Ukraine has banned numerous government employees from installing the popular Telegram messaging app on state-issued devices citing national security reasons.
Ukraine‘s National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre said it issued the ban for the official devices of government employees, military personnel, security and defence workers and critical infrastructure employees.
The ban was announced on Friday by Ukraine‘s Security and Defence Council in a statement on Facebook.
During a meeting on Thursday, the Security Service of Ukraine and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Telegram is actively used by Russia for cyber attacks, phishing, spreading malware, establishing user locations and calibrating missile strikes.
An exception to the ban will be allowed for people who use the app in their official duties. Ukrainians are free to use the app in their personal devices.
Russia will regain control of Kursk ‘in a timely manner’, Kremlin says
The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia’s forces would restore control of its Kursk region “in a timely manner”, declining to say how soon this could be achieved.
Russia has been reacting slowly to the first occupation of its territory since World War II, when thousands of Ukrainian troops crossed the border from Ukraine’s Sumy region on 6 August.
On Thursday, a senior Russian commander said Russian troops had recaptured two villages in the Kursk region.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov added on Friday that Russian authorities did not doubt that its forces would return control over the region, though the situation there was “extreme”.
He said: “Our military is doing its job. They will accomplish it. Control will be restored.” While adding that the army would obviously not discuss publicly how it planned to achieve that.
Zelensky’s ‘victory plan’ rests on decisions by allies
Ukraine‘s “victory plan” in the war against Russia will rest on quick decisions being taken by allies this year, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Zelenskiy told a joint press conference with von der Leyen that Ukraine planned to use a proposed multi-billion dollar European Union loan for air defence, energy and domestic weapons purchases.
‘The West should stop supplying weapons to Ukraine’, Russia says
Russia said on Friday that the West should stop supplying weapons to Ukraine and sponsoring “terrorist activity” if it wanted to send a signal it was serious about seeking an end to the war.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that a peace plan put forward by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had nothing to do with settling the conflict.
Full details of Zelensky’s “victory plan” are yet to be disclosed but he is due to present it to US President Joe Biden and to address a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday.
In response, Ms Zakharova told reporters that the plan looked like a self-interested gambit from the Ukrainian leader whom Moscow accuses of trying to drag the West into a full-blown war against Russia.
The European Union set to announce €35bn loan for Ukraine
The European Commission is set to announce a €35 billion ($39 billion) loan to Ukraine as part of a G7 scheme to raise $50 billion on the back of future profits from frozen Russian state assets, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing three people.
Ursula von der Leyen arrives in Kyiv
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has arrived in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv to discuss Europe’s support, winter preparedness for defence and progress on the G7 loans.
She wrote on X: “My 8th visit to Kyiv comes as the heating season starts soon, and Russia keeps targeting energy infrastructure.”
‘We have some sense of contours of Zelensky’s victory plan’, US ambassador to Ukraine says
The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink said that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky plans to present his fully completed victory plan first to US president Joe Biden.
In an interview with The Kyiv Independent, she said that while she has some idea of its framework, she looks forward to reviewing the plan’s details to work together on its implementation.
When asked about her expectations from it, she said: “President Zelensky has been very clear that he is going to show this plan first to President Biden. He and his team have been true to that. We have some sense of the contours of this plan, and of course, we’re working hand in glove with the government to support your victory in many different ways. It’ll be very positive for us to receive the details of the victory plan and be able to work together to follow up on this.”
She was also asked if the US remained committed to supporting Ukraine’s complete victory, which would include reclaiming all territories, including Crimea, and fully defeating Russia militarily. Ms Brink said: “Our position has been very clear as articulated by the president, as articulated by Secretary Blinken when he was just here last week in Kyiv. We support Ukraine and its victory in its win against Russia’s aggression.
“Now our support is in support of a vision of Ukraine – sovereign, independent, democratic, prosperous, integrated into Europe and into Nato. So that vision is a vision from Ukrainians, and it’s a vision of the future that we support. That’s our position. We’re leaving the details of the war, the details of when and how to negotiate up to your democratically elected president.”
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