Ukraine-Russia war live: US hits back as Zelensky accuses West of ‘dragging out’ long-range weapons delivery

Zelensky defends Vuhledar retreat and says it was done to save ‘citizens of Ukraine’

Trump claims he could end Russia-Ukraine war as he meets with Zelensky

The US has hit back after Volodymyr Zelensky said Western partners are “dragging out” a decision over Kyiv’s request to strike Russia with its long-range weapons.

“We need sufficient quantity and quality of weapons, including long-range weapons, that, in my opinion, our partners are already dragging out,” Mr Zelensky said alongside new Nato chief Mark Rutte yesterday. “We will continue to convince our partners of the need to shoot down Russian missiles and drones,” he said.

The Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh reacted to Mr Zelensky’s remarks. “We have a limited supply of long-range missiles” and “we are not dragging it out,” she said.

On the war frontline, the Ukrainian military chief said he has ordered defences to be strengthened in the eastern Donetsk region after pulling out of Vuhledar. Ukraine’s armed forces commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi said he was working on “one of the hottest front sectors” with the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade.

Mr Zelensky acknowledged the loss of Vuhledar, saying moving troops out and preserving lives was the critical issue.

Key Points

• Zelensky says West ‘dragging out’ weapons request, Pentagon reacts
• Zelensky defends Vuhledar retreat: ‘They’re citizens of Ukraine’
• Ukraine scales up defence in east after leaving Vuhledar
• Russia suffers heavy losses in capturing Vuhledar, says think-tank

[3 October 2024 15:14 · Jabed Ahmed]

Russia says confrontation with West is unparalleled in history

The current confrontation between Russia and the West over Ukraine is unparalleled in history and a mistake could lead to catastrophe, a senior Russian has diplomat said when asked about comparisons to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

The two and a half-year-old Ukraine war, the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two, has triggered a major confrontation between Russia and the West, and Russian officials say it is now entering its most dangerous phase to date.

Russian diplomats have previously invoked comparisons to the 1962 crisis when the Cold War superpowers are considered to have come closest to intentional nuclear war after Moscow secretly put missiles on Cuba.

But Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Thursday: “What is happening has no analogues in the past.”

Mr Ryabkov, who oversees arms control and relations with North America, told reporters in Moscow that the danger of an armed clash between the nuclear powers should not be underestimated.

“We are moving through unexplored military and political territory,” he said.

[3 October 2024 14:43 · Jabed Ahmed]

Russian drone attack kills two adults, child in Ukraine's Chernihiv region

A Russian drone targeted a truck delivering gas in Ukraine‘s northern Chernihiv region, killing two adults and a child, national police said.

Four more people, including two children, were injured in the attack, police said on the Telegram.

[3 October 2024 14:14 · Jabed Ahmed]

Ukraine's top commander orders defences bolstered in east after Vuhledar falls

Ukraine‘s armed forces commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi said he had ordered defences to be strengthened in the eastern Donetsk region, a day after Kyiv forces announced they had withdrawn from the town of Vuhledar.

Russian troops are steadily inching forward in different sectors in eastern Ukraine despite Kyiv’s surprise incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region in August that it was hoped would slow the advances.

Syrskyi said on social media he was working on “one of the hottest front sectors” with the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade.

He gave no details on the exact location but the brigade operates in the Pokrovsk front, an area of intensified Russian assaults.

“While working in the brigade, I made a number of decisions aimed at strengthening stability and effectiveness of our defence,” Syrskyi said.

[3 October 2024 13:45 · Jabed Ahmed]

Ukrainian drones attack airfield and warehouses in Russia’s Voronezh region, says Ukrainian source

Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s military ‘Borisoglebsk’ airfield and warehouses for fuel and guided bombs in the Voronezh region, a Ukrainian security source has told news agency Reuters.

The security source said Ukraine‘s SBU security service continued to take action to reduce Russian troops’ ability to use fighter jets with guided bombs to strike Ukrainian cities, adding the strikes on Russia’s airfields would continue.

[3 October 2024 13:14 · Jabed Ahmed]

Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained

[3 October 2024 12:46 · Jabed Ahmed]

New Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte visits Ukraine in his first trip since taking office

New Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited Ukraine in his first official trip since taking office and pledging continued support for Kyiv. Mr Rutte met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv as air raid sirens twice went off in the Ukrainian capital. The new head of Nato vowed to help shore up Western support for Ukraine. Mr Rutte expressed confidence that he can work with whomever is elected president of the United States, the alliance’s most powerful member, in November.

Mr Zelensky said he would like to see allies shoot down Iranian missiles and drones attacking Ukraine, just as they did during attacks on Israel. He also called on allies to allow deep strikes into Russia.

[3 October 2024 12:14 · Jabed Ahmed]

Full report: The fall of Vuhledar is a microcosm of Ukraine's wartime predicament

[3 October 2024 11:45 · Jabed Ahmed]

Ukraine requires ‘considerable’ assistance from western allies, think tank says

Ukraine still requires “considerable” support from western allies despite increasing its domestic output of weapons and military equipment, a think tank has said.

The Institute for the Study of War said Ukraine’s efforts to expand domestic arms output will allow it to reduce its dependence on western military aid in the long term, but Kyiv still needs “considerable” assistance from allies over the next few years to defend against Russia.

Russia announced yesterday it will raise its defence spending by 25 per cent to its highest on record, reaching 13.5tn rubles (£109bn) in 2025.

[3 October 2024 11:14 · Jabed Ahmed]

Russian court to hear case of American charged as Ukrainian mercenary behind closed doors, state media says

A Russian court has decided to hear the case of Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen accused of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, behind closed doors, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Russian state media have cited prosecutors as saying Mr Hubbard signed a contract with a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in the city of Izyum in February 2022. He was captured by Russian forces that April.

[3 October 2024 10:49 · Jabed Ahmed]

12 injured after a Russian glide bomb smashes into a Ukrainian apartment building

A Russian glide bomb struck a five-story apartment block in Kharkiv, Ukraine‘s second-largest city, injuring at least 12 people including a 3-year-old girl, local officials have said. The bomb hit between the third and fourth floors of the building on Wednesday night, igniting blazes, Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Firefighters searched for survivors through smoke and rubble.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said the latest Kharkiv attack highlighted the urgent need for increased support from Ukraine's Western allies.