Ukraine-Russia war live: Drone attack ‘wipes Russian arms depot off face of the Earth’, says Kyiv
Attack triggered earthquake-sized blast at major Russian ammunition warehouse
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A drone attack by Ukraine has “wiped off the face of the Earth” a major Russian weapons depot in the Tver region, Ukrainian intelligence sources said.
Sources in the country’s SBU security service told The Kyiv Independent that “an extremely powerful detonation began” at the Russian defence ministry’s warehouse in Toropets following a drone strike.
The depot is believed to have housed Iskander and Tochka-U tactical missile systems, guided aerial bombs and artillery ammunition. The attack “literally wiped off the face of the Earth a large warehouse of the main missile and artillery department of the Russian defence ministry,” the source was quoted as saying.
In Kyiv last night, president Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the outcome of the attack without directly referring to the incident. “A very important result was achieved last night on Russian territory and such actions weaken the enemy,” he said. “I thank everyone involved. Such precision is truly inspiring.”
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky is expected to meet with US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris when he visits Washington next week, according to reports. Republican nominee Donald Trump has also said he will “probably” meet the Ukrainian president.
Mapped: Russia launches counterattack in Kursk after sending ‘significant’ forces to the region
Ukraine ‘drone attack hits major Russian arms depot’ sparking huge fire and evacuations in Tver region
Church that survived Second World War destroyed in Russian aerial bombardment
I’ve witnessed first-hand the horrific cost of Putin’s war – as casualties hit 1 million
Ukrainian attack on Russian weapons store triggers earthquake-sized blast
Nato must respond to Russian breaches of alliance’s airspace, Romania says
Nato must respond to incidents in which Russian missiles or drones fired at Ukraine enter the alliance's airspace, Romanian defence minister Angel Tilvar has warned.
His remarks come just days after Romania reported once again that a Russian drone had breached its airspace during overnight attacks on “civilian targets and port infrastructure” across the Danube River in Ukraine.
Kremlin labels Nato chief comments about Putin ‘extremely provocative and dangerous’
The Kremlin has criticised “dangerous” comments by Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg that allowing Ukraine to use Western long-range weapons to strike Russia would not be a red line that would prompt an escalation by Moscow.
In an interview with The Times, Mr Stoltenberg dismissed a warning by Vladimir Putin last week that letting Ukraine use such weapons to strike deep inside Russian territory would mean the West was directly fighting Russia.
“There have been many red lines declared by him before, and he has not escalated, meaning also involving Nato allies directly in the conflict,” said Mr Stoltenberg, whose tenure as head of the military alliance ends in October.
“He has not done so, because he realises that Nato is the strongest military alliance in the world. They also realise that nuclear weapons, nuclear war, cannot be won and should not be fought. And we have made that very clear to him several times.”
Claiming Mr Stoltenberg’s comments were “extremely provocative and dangerous”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “This ostentatious desire not to take seriously the Russian president’s statements is a move that is completely short-sighted and unprofessional.”
Russia has not detected elevated radiation in atmosphere, Kremlin says
Russian services have not issued any alerts on higher levels of radiation in the atmosphere, the Kremlin has said, after Norway reported having detected elevated levels of radioactive caesium (Cs-137) near the Arctic border with Russia.
The Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA) said on Tuesday it had measured “very low” levels of radioactive caesium at Svanhovd and Viksjoefjell.
The authority detected elevated levels of radioactive caesium (Cs-137) at Svanhovd during the week to Tuesday and at Viksjoefjell between 5 and 12 September, it said, adding that the levels did not pose a risk to humans or the environment.
Asked about the statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “There were no warnings from our relevant services about an increased level of certain isotopes in the atmosphere, there were no warnings about threats to human health either, so I have nothing to say here.”
Church that survived Second World War destroyed in Russian aerial bombardment
The sound of broken brick and glass could be heard underfoot as Ukraine’s special “White Angel” police officers walked through a destroyed church in Donetsk on Tuesday, reports Oliver Browning.
The church was built more than 110 years ago, Gennadiy Yudin, the major of the special police unit said, walking through the debris in Novoeconomichne, a small village a few kilometers from the frontline in eastern Ukraine. The dome was completely destroyed and several icons of Jesus Christ left in ruins.
“Locals are saying that this church survived the Second World War, but was destroyed by the Russian army,” Mr Yudin said. Russian forces destroyed the church with aerial bombardment on 8 July, according to Ukrainian officials.
Financial institutions that help Russia are new focus, EU sanctions envoy says
The EU’s sanctions envoy has said that a new focus for the bloc was to look at financial institutions that underpin battlefield product flows to Russia – as well as the flow of products made in southeast Asia by western subsidiaries.
“A lot of the product going through China is made by subsidiaries of western companies in southeast Asia,” EU sanctions chief David O’Sullivan told a Brussels think-tank event.
“We are looking at which financial institutions are funding the shipments of battlefield products to Russia ... The US has done this to great effect. We are starting to collect the information and compare notes.”
HQ created in Sumy to coordinate defence of region and its energy facilities
Oleksiy Kuleba, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister in charge of reconstruction, regions and infrastructure, has announced that a coordination headquarters has been created to support Sumy region.
The body is intended to coordinate the defence of energy facilities and prepare the region's critical infrastructure for the winter season.
Sumy lies across the border from the Russian region of Kursk, where Kyiv’s forces launched a daring incursion last month, which president Volodymyr Zelensky has said aimed to create a buffer zone to better protect Sumy from frequent Russian attacks.
Russia attacks energy infrastructure in Sumy, officials say
Russia has attacked energy facilities in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy, regional authorities said.
Sumy regional authorities said air defences had shot down 16 drones over the region, where energy infrastructure has repeatedly come under fire, forcing authorities to use back-up power systems.
Man killed and 90-year-old woman injured in Russian attack, authorities say
Russian attacks in the central Ukrainian region of Kirovohrad have left one person dead and a 90-year-old woman injured, as several residential buildings damaged in the city of Kropyvnytsky, local officials said.
No damage to critical infrastructure was reported in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv after air defences went into action there.
Ukrainian drone attack destroyed weapons depot, Kyiv security source says
A Ukrainian drone attack destroyed a warehouse storing missiles, guided bombs and artillery ammunition in Russia's Tver region, close to the border of Belarus, a source in Ukraine's SBU state security service has told Reuters.
Power outages have been reported in the region after a huge blast sparked evacuations and was registered by earthquake monitoring stations and Nasa satellites picked up several sources of fires emanating from the site.
Russia had been building an arsenal for the storage of missiles, ammunition and explosives in Toropets, a 1,000-year-old town in the region, which state media suggested in 2018 was a major arsenal for conventional weapons.
JD Vance says US could drop support for Nato if Europe tries to regulate Elon Musk’s platforms
Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee JD Vance has suggested that American support for Nato should be predicated on the European Union not regulating Elon Musk and his X social media platform.
The Ohio senator claimed in an interview with YouTuber Shawn Ryan that a top EU official had threatened to arrest the billionaire if he allowed Mr Trump back on X.
“The leader, I forget exactly which official it was within the European Union, but sent Elon this threatening letter that basically said, ‘We’re going to arrest you if you platform Donald Trump,’ who, by the way, is the likely next president of the United States,” Mr Vance said in the interview published last week.
He added: “So what America should be saying is, if Nato wants us to continue supporting them and Nato wants us to continue to be a good participant in this military alliance, why don’t you respect American values and respect free speech?” Vance asked.
“It’s insane that we would support a military alliance if that military alliance isn’t going to be pro-free speech. I think we can do both. But we’ve got to say American power comes with certain strings attached. One of those is respect free speech, especially in our European allies.”
Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington DC:
JD Vance says US could veto NATO if Europe tries to regulate Elon Musk’s platforms
Republican vice presidential nominee says ‘Germans and other nations’ – not Russia – would ‘have to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction’
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