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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Biden readies $375m arms aid package for Ukraine
The United States is preparing a $375m military aid package for Ukraine, breaking a months-long trend towards smaller packages for Kyiv for its military operations against Russia, two US officials said.
The latest package comes at a crucial time in the war, as Russia pummels Ukraine‘s energy grid ahead of the critical winter months.
The aid package, expected to be announced next week, includes patrol boats, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), 155 and 105 millimeter artillery ammunition, spare parts and other weapons, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The contents and size of the package could change in the coming days ahead of the president’s expected signature.
Australia looking to send decommissioned Abrams tanks to Ukraine
Australia is looking to send its decommissioned Abrams battle tanks to aid Ukraine in the war against Russia.
Officials from the Anthony Albanese administration are working on a plan with the US to send the retired battle tanks, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.
Australia’s former army chief Peter Leahy, who served from 2003 to 2008 in the top role, said he was baffled why the decision to send them hadn’t been made already.
“I’m bemused why the tanks aren’t on offer to Ukraine,” he said. “Although we are retiring them, they are a very competent tank, they should be well-maintained, there are spare parts available and the Ukrainians are very keen to get them,” the former army chief said.
Kremlin prisoner-swap exclusive: How I survived 11 months in Putin’s gulag
Vladimir Kara-Murza, one of the faces of Russian opposition to Putin alongside Evan Gershkovich, sits down with The Independent for the first time since being freed in a historic prisoner swap. Tom Watling reports.
Vladimir Kara-Murza: How I survived 11 months of torture in Putin’s gulag
Vladimir Kara-Murza, one of the faces of Russian opposition to Putin alongside Evan Gershkovich, sits down with The Independent for the first time since being freed in a historic prisoner swap. Tom Watling reports
Suspected Trump assassination plotter travelled to Ukraine in 2022
The erratic life of a struggling roofing contractor suspected of trying to shoot Donald Trump swerved from bounced checks to a weapon felony conviction and a quixotic plan to help Ukraine fight Russia’s invasion, before culminating in what appears to be a foiled assassination plot.
Ryan Routh, 58, was charged with two gun-related crimes in a federal court in Florida on Monday, a day after he was spotted with a rifle hiding in shrubbery on the property line of Trump’s golf course. More charges are expected.
Reuters found profiles on X, Facebook and LinkedIn for a Ryan Routh, and public access to the Facebook and X profiles was removed hours after the shooting.
The three accounts bearing Routh’s name showed he supported Ukraine in its war against Russia.
On 21 April, Routh directed an X message to Elon Musk, writing: “I would like to buy a rocket from you. I wish to load it with a warhead for Putins Black sea mansion bunker to end him. Can you give me a price please.”
The New York Times reported it had interviewed Routh in 2023 for an article about Americans who were volunteering to help the Ukraine war effort. Routh told the Times he travelled to Ukraine, spent several months there in 2022 and was trying to recruit Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban to fight in Ukraine.
One current and another former US volunteer serving with the foreign legion of Ukraine’s army said they recalled Routh and believed that he spent time in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk. Both of them said he exhibited odd behaviour.
The downfall of Putin is inevitable, says freed dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza
Akey British-Russian dissident who escaped death after being rescued from solitary confinement during a historic US-brokered prisoner swap has vowed the downfall of Vladimir Putin is “inevitable”.
Vladimir Kara-Murza, 43, served two years of a 25-year sentence for speaking out against the war in Ukraine before being freed from his Siberian penal colony in August.
As one of the most high-profile opposition figures to Putin, he is adamant that even if he – like Alexei Navalny – is killed, others will rise up against the regime.
In an exclusive sit-down interview with The Independent hours after arriving in the UK for the first time since being freed, Kara-Murza speaks at length about the future of Russia – and how those who object to the status quo cannot be stopped.
Tom Watling sits down with him:
The fall of Putin is inevitable, says freed dissident Vladimir Kara Murza
Exclusive: Key British-Russian activist tells Tom Watling that even if he and other opposition leaders are killed, others will come in their place to challenge Putin, as he thanked The Independent for reporting his plight
Russia says it will take back Kursk in ‘timely manner’
Russia says its army would regain control of its Kursk region “in a timely manner”, declining to say how soon this could be achieved.
“Our military is doing its job. They will accomplish it. Control will be restored,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that the army would obviously not discuss publicly how it planned to achieve that.
“The situation, of course, in those areas that are under the control of Ukrainian fighters - well, of course, it is extreme. This situation will be corrected in a timely manner,” he added.
Ukraine’s incursion on 6 August caught Russia by surprise and provided a morale boost for Kyiv’s forces after months of Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Thursday that the operation had succeeded in diverting Russian troops, relieving some of the pressure on Ukraine’s Donbas region.
Germany plans additional €400m in aid for Ukraine in 2024 — report
Despite earlier reports that Berlin would not approve more aid for Ukraine in 2023, a German finance ministry document revealed an additional €400m in support for Ukraine, according to AFP.
The funds are intended to provide military assistance, including drones and air defence systems, to bolster Ukraine’s defences for the rest of 2024. While Germany has already pledged around €8bn this year, aid is expected to drop to €4bn in 2025, as per a Reuters report in July.
According to the German finance ministry document — a letter to the parliamentary budget committee — additional funds are needed to “fulfil the German government’s support commitments to the Ukrainian armed forces”.
The Kyiv Independent reported that Germany’s political challenges, including gains by “anti-war” parties in regional elections, and budgetary concerns have complicated its ongoing support for Ukraine.
As of June 2024, Germany has allocated €14.7bn in aid to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Russian-held Zaporizhzhia plant says Ukraine staged nearby drone attack
The management at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in eastern Ukraine accused Ukrainian forces of launching a drone attack on a nearby electricity substation yesterday and posing a threat to the plant.
Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest with six reactors, in the early days of Moscow’s February 2022 invasion and each side has since regularly accused the other of staging attacks that endanger its security.
“A drone strike by the Ukrainian armed forces damaged a transformer at the Zarya substation located right next to the perimeter of the Zaporizhzhia station,” the Russian management said in a statement on Telegram.
“This substation contributes to power supplies to the station’s infrastructure. Attacking it creates a potential threat to the nuclear power station’s safety.”
Ukraine’s top officials agree on need for rapid, domestic weapons production
Volodymyr Zelensky said senior Ukrainian officials agreed in an “emotional” discussion that the country needs to make more weaponry domestically and speed up production.
Munitions production was the focus of a meeting with senior officials, including his defence and foreign ministers and top military commanders.
“We discussed the issue of drone production and providing drones to all elements of the defence and security forces in great detail, even emotionally,” he said in his nightly video address.
“We also talked today about the production of missiles, electronic warfare systems and cooperation with partners...The main thing is not just to have contracts and funding for them but also the speed of actual production and real supply.”
Mr Zelensky issues almost daily appeals for Ukraine’s Western allies to provide more military assistance, mainly long-range weapons and air defence systems, but has also focused on stepping up domestic production.
Ukraine ‘victory plan’ depends on quick decisions by allies, says Zelensky
Ukraine’s “victory plan” in the war against Russia depends on quick decisions being taken by allies this year, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
He made the remarks during a visit by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
“Most of the decisions from the plan depend specifically on him (Biden). On other allies too, but there are certain points which depend on the goodwill and support of the United States,” Mr Zelensky said.
He has has provided regular updates on the plan’s preparation but has given few clues to the contents, indicating only that it aims to create terms acceptable to Ukraine after more than two and a half years of war following Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“The entire plan is predicated upon quick decisions from our partners. The plan is predicated upon decisions which should take place from October to December, and not delaying these processes,” he told the press conference alongside von der Leyen.
In his nightly video address, Zelensky said that he was counting on Biden’s support for the plan, intended not only to bring peace but also strengthen his country.
“Ukraine is counting very much on this support,” he said. “And this is fair. Because when one nation wins the battle for its independence and adherence to international law, the whole world wins.”
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