Ukraine-Russia latest: Zelensky says Kyiv is holding onto Kursk positions as Russia launches drone barrage
Russian casualties reach more than 600,000 in Ukraine since war began in 2022, says US
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Russian forces are trying to oust Ukrainian troops from their positions in Russia’s Kursk region but Kyiv’s forces are holding strong, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“Russia tried to push back our positions, but we are holding the designated lines,” the Ukrainian President said in his nightly video address on Saturday.
Overnight, Russia launched 68 drones and four missiles targeting Ukrainian territory, Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday.
Earlier, Ukrainian forces hit a fuel depot supplying Russia’s army, with a fire detected at the facility which stores oil and oil products, Kyiv said.
Mr Zelensky carried out a whirlwind tour of European capitals this week in a bid to continue mustering support for Ukraine and to discuss his proposed “victory plan”.
In a visit to the Vatican, he asked Pope Francis for help in securing the release of Ukrainians held captive by Russia and voiced hope that the war would end next year in a trip to Berlin.
September proved to be the bloodiest month of attrition since Vladimir Putin’s invasion began in 2022, with the latest Western intelligence suggesting Russia suffered as many as 36,000 casualties.
Mapped: Russia claims to have captured two Ukrainian villages as it advances in Donetsk
Zelensky outlines ‘victory plan’ in No 10 talks with Starmer and Nato chief
Boris Johnson defends Donald Trump over 6 January Capitol riots and Ukraine claims
North Korea is ‘highly likely’ sending troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine, South Korea says
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances in Donetsk?
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances in Donetsk?
Russia’s ministry of defence claims it’s forces have captured two small settlements around the city of Kurakhove in eastern Ukraine
Unilever completes sale of Russian business
Unilever completes sale of Russian business
It comes after Unilever had faced criticism for not leaving Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, when other businesses had rushed to pull out.
Can Zelensky’s plan for peace actually work?
Can Zelensky’s plan for peace actually work?
With the US election less than a month away, and his support dwindling across Europe, the Ukraine president is in a last-ditch race against time to shore up support, writes Mary Dejevsky
Zelensky meets German president
Zelenskyy appeals to allies to keep up aid as Germany pledges new weapons package
Zelenskyy appeals to allies to keep up aid as Germany pledges new weapons package
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it’s important that allies’ aid to Ukraine doesn’t decrease next year
Putin hails ‘very close’ relationship with Iran in first meeting with new president
Putin hails ‘very close’ relationship with Iran in first meeting with new president
Moscow say the two leaders were scheduled to have ‘serious conversations’ about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, one that Iran is helping fund from Tehran
EU expected to issue first sanctions for Iranian ballistic missile transfer to Russia, official says
The European Union is expected on Monday to impose sanctions on individuals and organisations over the Iranian transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia, a high-ranking EU official said on Friday.
The official, previewing a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday, said there would be “a first package of designations in the context of Iran’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia.”
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the sanctions would target both individuals and organisations but did not provide further details.
In pictures: Zelensky meets Scholz in Berlin
Germany’s Scholz to discuss Middle East and Ukraine with Erdogan in Istanbul
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on 19 October, where they will discuss the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, a German government spokesperson said.
Migration as well as bilateral and economic policy issues will also be on the agenda, said the spokesperson at a regular government news conference, without giving more details.
Turkey is a very important partner for Germany on the topics of migration and the war in Ukraine, added the spokesperson.
"The federal government is in ongoing talks with Turkey on migration policy issues, including in the area of repatriation cooperation," said the spokesperson.
Ukraine investigates death of journalist in Russian detention
Ukraine have said it was investigating the death in Russian captivity of a Ukrainian journalist whose first-hand reports provided a glimpse into life under Russian occupation early in Moscow’s invasion.
Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 after embarking on a reporting trip to occupied eastern Ukraine, and Russia acknowledged last April that she was being held.
Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets confirmed her death on social media late on Thursday in what he condemned as illegal detention. He did not specify the circumstances.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine‘s military intelligence, told the public broadcaster Suspilne that Roshchyna had been on a list of prisoners to be exchanged, and that “everything necessary had been done” for the swap. She had been due to be transferred to Moscow from the southern city of Taganrog, he said.
The campaign group Reporters Without Borders said Roshchyna had died on Sept. 19, citing a letter that her family received on Thursday from Russia’s Defence Ministry.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office said it had updated its war-crime investigation into Roshchyna’s disappearance to include murder.
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