Ukraine-Russia war live: Putin suffers ‘catastrophic’ Satan II missile failure as Zelensky hints at end of war
Ukraine ‘closer to peace than we think’, Zelensky tells allies in Washington
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Russia appears to have suffered a “catastrophic failure” in a test of its Sarmat missile, a key weapon in the modernisation of its nuclear arsenal, according to arms experts who have analysed satellite images of the launch site.
The images captured by Maxar on 21 September show a crater about 60 metres wide at the launch silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. They reveal extensive damage that was not visible in pictures taken earlier in the month.
The RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, known in the West as Satan II, is designed to deliver nuclear warheads against targets thousands of miles away, but its development has been dogged by setbacks.
Meanwhile during his Washington visit, Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was “closer to the end of the war” with Russia than many people realise.
“I think that we are closer to peace than we think,” he told ABC in an interview that is due to be released in full on Tuesday.
In Kursk, the situation remains “serious” around a Russian nuclear power plant some 40km from territory seized by Ukraine, according to UN nuclear agency chief Rafael Grossi.
One killed in Russia’s attack on Zaporizhzhia
At least one person was killed and four more were injured in a Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia overnight, the local emergency services said this morning.
The injured include two children, officials said.
Russian forces launched fresh strikes on the southeastern city housing Europe’s largest nuclear power plant yesterday evening, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Strikes on the city earlier yesterday and the previous night wounded at least 23.
G7 to discuss Ukraine long-range missiles at UN, says EU’s Borrell
The issue of allowing Ukraine to hit Russia with Western-supplied long-range missiles will be discussed by G7 foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
The top official said Russia was receiving new weapons, including Iranian missiles, despite Tehran’s repeated denials. “It’s clear that Russia has been receiving new arms, in particular missiles from Iran,” he said. “This is what we believe, even if Iranians deny it, but it looks like it.”
Tehran and Moscow have dismissed reports about Iran sending ballistic missiles to Russia.
“Ukraine has to improve the military situation in order to go to the peace negotiations in a good way, in a position of strength,” Mr Borrell added.
Ukraine will fight street-to street to keep Russia out of key city
Ukraine will fight street-to-street to keep Russia out of key eastern city
The Russians taking Pokrovsk would split Ukraine’s defensive line in the region and harm supplies in the eastern part of Donetsk, now facing contstant bombing, Askold Krushelnycky speaks to soldiers and residents in Pokrovsk about the the drawn-out siege they are bracing themselves for
Russia launched 81 drones, four missiles overnight on Ukraine
Russia attacked Ukraine using 81 drones and four missiles overnight, the Ukrainian air force said this morning.
The air force said it shot down 66 drones and lost track of 13 more across several Ukrainian regions. “As a result of anti-aircraft combat, 66 enemy attack UAVs were shot down in the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Sumy and Mykolaiv regions,” the air force said on its Telegram channel.
It did not mention the extent of any damage caused by the attack.
Russia 'wants to plunge Ukraine into darkness' before winter
Russia is trying to knock out Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of the winter to leave it dark and in the cold, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
“It’s clear that Russia wants to put Ukraine into the dark and the cold. The winter is coming, and following Russia attacks against energy targets, Ukraine energy production capacity has been reduced by two-thirds,” Mr Borrell told reporters at a press conference in New York.
He was speaking after European Union foreign ministers, and earlier G7 ministers, held talks with Ukrainian officials, including foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, to discuss how to help Ukraine in the coming weeks.
“We have to support Ukraine not only providing military capacity, but electricity production capacity. Otherwise, this country will be facing a very hard time in winter,” Mr Borrell said.
It has become a pattern of the past two and a half years of conflict for Russia to target Ukraine’s energy system before the onset of winter. This has resulted in rolling blackouts and limited electricity supply to some regions for hours each day. Sure enough these sorts of attacks have ramped up in recent weeks.
Ukraine’s electricity supply shortfall could reach 6 gigawatts this winter, about a third of the expected peak demand, the International Energy Agency said in a report published last week.
Russian TV channel simulates devastating nuclear strike on central London
A Russian television channel, known for its pro-Putin stance, has aired a documentary simulating a nuclear attack on central London. The video, shown on Tsargrad’s Telegram channel, shows a nuclear weapons explosion that it says could cause 850,000 deaths.
“Imagine for a moment that the unimaginable happens. A nuclear weapon explodes over London. In this documentary, we explore the devastating consequences of the catastrophe,” the documentary begins.
It shows a warhead with a nuclear yield of 750 kilotons heading towards the UK. The simulated epicentre of the explosion is Westminster.
“Upon detonation, a fireball as hot as the sun rapidly expands, reaching a radius of 950 metres (1,039 yards),” the video claims.
The initial death toll in the simulation is stated to exceed 250,000 people with more than 600,000 injured within a radius of six miles. It claims a further 450,000 people will die from burns, debris, injuries or radiation sickness and “over a million will be traumatised”.
“Within that radius anything that can burn will catch fire. Petrol stations, automobiles, power substations, gas infrastructure,” it claims.
The video adds: “Explosive facilities will explode and amplify the effect of the devastation over a huge area, including areas from Camden to Greenwich and Islington to Wandsworth.”
Russia’s air defence units destroy 13 Ukrainian drones
Russia’s air defence units destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defence ministry said.
Of these, six drones were destroyed each over the Belgorod and Kursk regions, while one was downed over the Bryansk region, Russian news agency TASS reported.
Watch: Russian arms depot ablaze after massive Ukrainian drone attack
Arms depot ablaze deep inside Russia after massive Ukrainian drone attack
An arms depot in Russia’s south-western region of Krasnodar appeared to have been hit in a massive Ukrainian drone attack overnight on Friday 20 September, as verified footage on social media showed explosions at the scene. Other attacks were also reported in occupied Crimea and the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, and Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had shot down more than 100 drones. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from Krasnodar after Ukraine launched the drones over the border.
Moscow suffers ‘catastrophic failure’ after firing ballistic missile named ‘Satan II’
Russia appears to have suffered a “catastrophic failure” in a test of its Sarmat missile, a key weapon in the modernisation of its nuclear arsenal, according to arms experts who have analysed satellite images of the launch site.
The images captured by Maxar on 21 September show a crater about 60 metres wide at the launch silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. They reveal extensive damage that was not visible in pictures taken earlier in the month.
Timothy Wright, research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London, said the destruction of the area immediately surrounding the missile silo was suggestive of a failure soon after ignition.
“One possible cause is that the first stage (booster) either failed to ignite properly or suffered from a catastrophic mechanical failure, causing the missile to fall back into or land closely adjacent to the silo and explode,” he told Reuters.
The RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, known in the West as Satan II, is designed to deliver nuclear warheads to strike targets thousands of miles away in the United States or Europe, but its development has been dogged by delays and testing setbacks.
Ukraine closer to end of war with Russia, says Zelensky
Ukraine is “closer to the end of the war” with Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with ABC News released yesterday,
“I think that we are closer to peace than we think,” he was quoted as saying. “We are closer to the end of the war.”
Mr Zelensky urged Washington and other partners to continue supporting Ukraine. Washington and its allies have provided a multi-billion dollar assistance program to Ukraine while also imposing several rounds of sanctions against Moscow.
Only from a “strong position” can Ukraine push Russian president Vladimir Putin “to stop the war”, Mr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian war-time president has said very little so far about his “victory plan,” except that it would act as a “bridge” to a second Ukraine-led summit on peace that Kyiv wants to hold and invite Russia to later this year. Moscow has rejected the invite.
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