Ukraine-Russia latest: Putin faced ‘bloodiest month’ of war in September as Zelensky pitches victory plan
Putin casualties reach more than 600,000 in Ukraine since the war began in 2022, says US
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September proved to be the bloodiest month of attrition with 36,000 casualties for Vladimir Putin since the Russian invasion began in 2022, latest US intelligence assessment shows.
Russia suffered more than 1,200 casualties a day at an average – totalling to at least 36,000 casualties, according to the US and British military analysts, the New York Times reported. Officials in the West have called September the costliest month for Moscow’s troops but did not give an exact number of Russian casualties.
Russia has not released an official number of casualties of its forces in Ukraine and treats the information as a state secret.
Away from the frontline, Volodymyr Zelensky is promoting his “victory plan” in a widespread Europe visit that he said “aims to create the right conditions for a just end to the war” against Russia.
Yesterday, he met with prime minister Keir Starmer, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, French president Emmanuel Macron and Italian premier Giorgia Meloni.
He is now set to meet Pope Francis today for a half-hour audience and then he will meet German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.
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Ministry of Defence sources said discussions are ongoing about whether to send troops to the country to support it amid Russia’s ongoing invasion
Russia's Putin begins a visit to Turkmenistan for forum with regional leaders
President Vladimir Putin has began a visit to Turkmenistan, speaking at an international forum with Central Asian leaders and the president of Iran.
The Kremlin said Putin will discuss the situation in the Middle East with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the conference in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat.
Moscow and Tehran signed a $1.7 billion deal for Iran to export drones to Russia after Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the U.S. also believes it has transferred short-range ballistic missiles.
In his opening remarks at the forum, Putin repeated again that he wants to build “a new world order” with Russia’s friends and partners, according to video shared by the Kremlin.
Ukrainian forces hold around half of Toretsk, trying to beat back Russian advance, local official says
Ukrainian forces control around half of the strategic city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine as they attempt to stave off assaults by Russian troops, the city’s local authorities said on Friday.
“Approximately 40-50 percent of the city can be said to be under the control of the Ukrainian armed forces, while the rest of the territory is captured by the enemy,” Vasyl Chynchyk, head of Toretsk city military administration, said on national TV.
Military analysts say that capturing the hilltop Toretsk would allow Russian invasion forces to further complicate logistics for Ukrainian forces in much of the east.
Four killed by Russian missile strike in Ukraine's Odesa region
Four people were killed by a Russian missile strike in Ukraine‘s southern Odesa region, Governor Oleh Kiper said
Mr Kiper said a ballistic missile struck a two-storey building where civilians lived and worked. Ten more people were wounded.
Starmer, Zelensky discuss Ukraine’s military needs in London
Prime minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the support Ukraine would need in its war against Russia in the coming months during talks in London, Starmer’s spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also reiterated Britain’s view that Ukraine has the right, in certain circumstances, to strike targets inside Russian territory, but said that Britain’s stance on the use of its long-range Storm Shadow missiles was unchanged.
“We obviously want to put Ukraine in the strongest position. But no war has ever been won by a single weapon. And on Storm Shadow specifically, there has been no change to the UK government’s position on the use of long-range missiles,” the spokesperson said.
Mr Zelensky also met Nato secretary general Mark Rutte in London. When asked about long-range weapons, Mr Rutte told reporters: “We discussed it today, but in the end it is up to the individual allies.”
Nato to start annual nuclear exercise as Russia threatens Kyiv’s allies
Nato will hold a long-planned major nuclear exercise next week, the alliance’s chief said, a few weeks after Vladimir Putin announced changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine to discourage Ukraine’s Western allies from supporting attacks on his country.
The “Steadfast Noon” exercise starts on Monday and will run for about two weeks. It will be led by Belgium and the Netherlands, use eight military bases and involve 2,000 personnel and 60 aircraft from 13 nations. The exercise has been held at roughly the same time each year for over a decade.
Bomber aircraft and fighter jets that can carry nuclear warheads are taking part. No live munitions are used. The bulk of the exercise is being held around 900km (560 miles) from Russia in the North Sea. Moscow has been informed about the drills, Nato officials say.
NATO will start an annual nuclear exercise as Russia threatens Ukraine's Western backers
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says the alliance will hold its annual nuclear exercise next week
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Putin redeploys about 50,000 troops to Kursk, Ukraine military chief says
Russian militaty command has redeployed around 50,000 troops to its counteroffensive in Kursk oblast against Ukrainian forces, Ukraine’s military chief said.
“We know that about 50,000 troops from other areas have been redeployed to the Kursk front,” Ukraine commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi told public broadcaster Suspilne last night.
This redeployment by Russia has weakened its position as they are pulling in troops from other parts of the war frontline, he noted. “This, of course, made it easier for us to conduct defensive operations,” General Syrskyi said.
North Koreans deployed with Russia in Ukraine war, officials say
Russia is using North Korean military engineers in the Ukraine war to target Kyiv’s forces with ballistic missiles, senior officials in Kyiv and Seoul said.
They added that the Korean fighters operating in occupied areas of the country have already been killed, reported the Guardian.
Around dozens of North Koreans are behind Russian lines as part of teams firing “support launcher systems for KN 23 missiles”, the report added, citing a source.
North Korean soldiers could fight alongside the Russian army in Ukraine, South Korea’s defence minister told the country’s parliament earlier this month after media reports claimed Pyongyang had lost troops in the war.
Kim Yong-hyun claimed that North Korean troops could be sent to Ukraine under the mutual defence treaty signed during Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June.
Russia attacked port infrastructure almost 60 times in recent months, says Ukraine
Russia attacked Ukraine’s port infrastructure almost 60 times in the last three months and is intensifying such strikes, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.
“The purpose of these attacks is to reduce our export potential. We are talking about deliberately provoking a food crisis in those parts of the world that directly depend on Ukrainian grain supplies,” he said.
Mr Kuleba added that strikes damaged or destroyed almost 300 port infrastructure facilities and 22 civilian vessels.
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