Ukraine-Russia war latest: ‘Former British soldier’ captured as Putin launches hundreds of glide bombs
Zelensky accuses Russia of firing 800 aerial-guided bombs at Ukraine
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Your support makes all the difference.Vladimir Putin’s have forces captured a British man fighting with the Ukrainian army in Russia’s Kursk region, which is still partially controlled by Ukraine, Russian reports claim.
“A mercenary from Great Britain, who called himself James Scott Rhys Anderson, was captured. He is now giving evidence,” a Russian security source told state news agency RIA.
In a video posted on pro-war Russian Telegram channels, a young bearded man wearing military clothing with what appears to be his hands tied in the back, says in English that he formerly served in the British Army.
It came as Russia launched hundreds of deadly glide bombs at Ukraine over the past week.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia fired 800 KAB aerial-guided bombs – winged explosives weighing up to 1,500kg – at Ukraine over the last week. KAB are old-fashioned “iron” aerial bombs of the sort that were dropped by bombers during the Second World War and are particularly destructive.
In response, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine needed to improve its air defences to help fend off almost daily aerial attacks launched by Russia.
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What is an intercontinental ballistic missile and how many does Russia have?
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While Russia has not used an ICBM on Ukraine yet, but Kyiv initially thought a new missile was the long-range weapon
Russia removes commander in Ukraine for misleading reports, war bloggers say
Russia has removed a senior general in Ukraine for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war as Defence Minister Andrei Belousov tries to clear out poor commanders, pro-Russian war bloggers and Russian media said.
Ahead of winter, Russian forces advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the 2022 invasion, though progress was much slower in some areas - particularly around Siversk in the eastern region of Donetsk.
Russian media cited unidentified sources as saying that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the Southern Grouping, had been removed from his command, though there was no official confirmation.
Russian war bloggers have long complained about the command of the operation around Siversk where they said poorly supported Russian units were thrown into deadly battles for little apparent tactical gain.
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The missile has a range of around 155 miles and is designed to evade detection by flying low after being launched
Threat of world war is ‘serious and real’ Poland says as Putin steps up threats against West
World war threat is serious and real, warns Poland
Donald Tusk says war is entering ‘decisive phase’ and ‘the unknown is approaching’
Ukraine needs better air defences, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday Ukraine needs to strengthen its air defences to protect people after its air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight over many regions.
“An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram messenger.
Over the past week Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles of various types, Zelensky said.
“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state. But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us,” he said.
The Ukrainian military said earlier on Sunday that air defence units had destroyed more than 10 Russian drones that were targeting Kyiv in an overnight attack.
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UK cabinet minister Liz Kendall has said there is “a hidden cyber war” and that Russia poses a threat over the cybersecurity of Nato allies.
Speaking to Sky News, she said: “Pat McFadden is right to say that there is not only the open military war with Russia as the aggressor, but there is also a hidden cyber war and that Russia will do everything in its power to destabilise not only within Ukraine but amongst the Nato allies.
“So, we have to be absolutely vigilant in that as a government, but also in businesses and wider society to protect against those cyber hacktivists.
“We have for many months ... really focused on making sure we have all the protections we need including cyber protections because there is a threat from Russia, this hidden warfare, as well as the open military aggression.”
Turkey’s Erdogan to discuss Ukraine war with Nato chief
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the Ukraine war with Nato chief Mark Rutte during his visit to Ankara on Monday, a Turkish official has said.
On Wednesday, Mr Erdogan opposed Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets on Russian territory, saying it would further inflame the conflict, according to a readout shared by his office.
Turkey, which has condemned the Russian invasion, says it supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and it has provided Kyiv with military support. But Turkey it also opposes Western sanctions against Russia, with which it shares important defence, energy and tourism ties.
During their talks on Monday, Mr Erdogan and Mr Rutte will also discuss the removal of defence procurement obstacles between Nato allies and the military alliance’s joint fight against terrorism, the Turkish official said.
Robots causing 'standstill' on battlefield, Ukraine's former chief commander says
New technological advancements in the battlefield will prevent frontline breakthroughs along the Ukraine-Russia border until around 2027, predicts Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the UK Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
“When robots began to appear massively on the battlefield, they made any movement of soldiers impossible. The inability to fight robots led to a standstill,” Mr Zaluzhnyi told Ukrainska Pravda.
Modern technologies help us to destroy the occupiers even more effectively.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) November 23, 2024
📹: @United24media pic.twitter.com/Bn3mNbdOUz
“We couldn’t move forward towards the Russians, and the Russians, accordingly, couldn’t move forward either,” he said.
The former commander-in-chief predicts that any serious breakthroughs on the front line would resume by 2027 when the use of such technology could become commonplace.
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