Ukraine-Russia live: Putin’s forces hit by drone attack in Crimea as North Korea ‘sends more troops’ to Russia

Ukrainian intelligence suggests that 10,000 North Korea soldiers were being prepared to join Russian forces

Ukraine video claims to show North Korean soldiers lining up to collect Russia military gear

Russian air defences destroyed 14 Ukrainian air drones overnight, including 10 drones over the Crimean Peninsula, the defence ministry has claimed, as Vladimir Putin welcomed two dozen world leaders to Kazan for the Brics summit.

Russia said it also destroyed four unmanned boats in the Black Sea heading towards the Peninsula.

The development comes amid a row over the deployment of North Korean troops in Ukraine to help Russia’s war efforts.

South Korea on Tuesday said Seoul was weighing the possibility of directly supplying weapons to Ukraine.

South Korea’s spy agency recently revealed that North Korea had deployed 3,000 soldiers to Russia’s far east for training, with plans to send a total of 12,000 troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. Originally, they had said it was only 1,500.

Both North Korea and Russia have denied the allegations, calling them “fake news”.

Meanwhile, British prime minister Keir Starmer has accused Vladimir Putin of “harming millions of vulnerable people” as new British intelligence suggests ships carrying food aid have been caught up in Russian attacks on Ukraine’s ports.

Key Points

• Russia says it downed about a dozen drones over the Crimean Peninsula
• Putin hosts 36 global leaders at Brics summit
• Putin ‘harming millions’, Starmer claims amid Russian attacks on ports
• Russian war plummeting Ukraine’s population, says UN
• Ukraine slams UN chief for 'accepting Russia summit invite'

[22 October 2024 05:18 · Arpan Rai]

UAE tells Putin it is ‘ready to help resolve Ukraine crisis’

United Arab Emirates is ready to support efforts to find peace in Ukraine, president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan told Russian president Vladimir Putin yesterday.

The two met for informal talks on Sunday that went on until midnight at his residence outside Moscow.

“We continue to make efforts to mediate the exchange of prisoners,” Sheikh Mohammed told Putin in the Kremlin, through a translator. “And I assure you that we will continue to work in this direction. We are ready to make any efforts to resolve crises and in the interests of peace, in the interests of both sides.”

The Russian president has previously praised both Sheikh Mohammed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their mediation efforts over Ukraine.

[22 October 2024 05:10 · Arpan Rai]

Senior Russian air force commander hammered to death, says Ukraine

A senior Russian air force commander who is believed to have been behind an attack on a Ukrainian shopping centre has been killed, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said.

Col Dmitry Golenkov, a senior officer in Russia’s 52nd heavy bomber regiment, was beaten to death with a hammer in an unspecified location inside Russia, the intelligence body said.

Photos published by the agency showed a man with a head injury lying on ground. The agency said it was Golenkov, though this could not be independently verified.

“A Russian Tu-22M3 pilot has been liquidated on the territory of the Russian Federation. His head was smashed with a hammer,” the post said. The Tupolev Tu-22M3 jet is a modernised version of a Soviet-era long-range strategic bomber.

Ukraine said Golenkov was behind one of the most lethal airstrikes on Ukraine, one which targeted a shopping centre with rocket.

[22 October 2024 05:00 · Rachel Hagan]

France vows support for Ukraine's plan to end Russian invasion

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot pledged his support for Ukraine’s plan for ending the 2 1/2-year war with Russia, telling reporters in Kyiv on Saturday that he will work with Ukrainian officials to secure other nations’ backing for the proposal.

Unveiled by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this week, Kyiv’s so-called “victory plan” hopes to compel Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine through negotiations.

The proposal is being considered by Ukraine’s Western partners, whose help is vital for Kyiv to resist its bigger neighbor. A key element would be a formal invitation into NATO, which Western backers have been reluctant to consider until after the war ends.

[22 October 2024 04:18 · Arpan Rai]

Ukraine slams UN chief for 'accepting Russia summit invite'

Ukraine’s foreign ministry has criticised the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres for what it said was his acceptance of an invitation from Vladimir Putin to the Russia-hosted Brics summit this week.

The UN has neither confirmed nor denied whether Mr Guterres will be attending the summit in Kazan,

“The UN secretary general declined Ukraine’s invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland,” the ministry said. “He did, however, accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin. This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace. It only damages the UN’s reputation,” the ministry said.

Putin hosts a summit of Brics nations in the central Russian city of Kazan from Tuesday, aimed at showcasing the clout of non-Western countries. Leaders attending include Chinese president Xi Jinping and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.

According to Russian officials, Mr Guterres had told minister Sergei Lavrov at the UN general assembly last month that he intended to go to Kazan.

It is not clear if the UN chief is visiting Kazan. “Announcements on his future travels will be later on down the line,” said deputy UN spokesperson Farham Haq.