Ukraine-Russia war latest: Biden ‘working on’ lifting long range weapons ban as Russian freight train derailed
Volodymyr Zelensky, Antony Blinken and David Lammy are due to discuss the long-range weapon strikes policy in Kyiv today
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Joe Biden has suggested the US could soon permit Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia with long-range weapons.
Asked about US policy on Kyiv’s requests, Mr Biden replied that his administration is “working that out now”. US secretary of state Antony Blinken, UK foreign secretary David Lammy and president Volodymyr Zelensky are due to discuss the issue at a meeting in the Ukrainian capital today.
On the war’s frontline, Russia claimed its forces had advanced by 1,000 sq km (390 sq miles) in eastern Ukraine in August and September despite the Kursk incursion by Ukrainian troops going in the other direction.
On Wednesday morning, Russia blamed “interference” for a freight train derailment in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, without directly attributing it to Ukraine.
And the International Monetary Fund announced it had reached a preliminary agreement allowing Ukraine access to about $1.1bn (£840m) in financial assistance.
Earlier, the UK’s national spending watchdog warned that British support for Ukraine’s military “constrains” the MoD’s ability to train its own troops.
The Ukrainian doctors forced to perform surgery without anaesthetic
Ukraine’s attack on Russia started as a triumph – but could turn into a catastrophic strategic mistake
World order under threat ‘not seen since Cold War’, say heads of MI6 and CIA
Training Ukrainian troops ‘constrains’ British army’s own training, watchdog warns
Lammy and Blinken joint visit to Kyiv amid fears over Iran-Russia missile deal
Pictures: Russian building on fire after Ukrainian drone strike
Ukraine struck Moscow and western Russia in one of its biggest ever drone attacks, killing at least one woman, wrecking dozens of homes and forcing the closure of major airports in the capital, Russian officials said.
Social media videos showed flames bursting out of windows of a multi-storey residential building, saying that dozens of flats were damaged in the Ramenskoye district.
“I looked at the window and saw a ball of fire,” Alexander Li, a resident of the district told Reuters. “The window got blown out by the shockwave.”
The Ramenskoye district, some 50km (31 miles) southeast from the Kremlin, has a population of around quarter a million of people, according to official data.
Training Ukrainian troops ‘constrains’ British army’s own training, watchdog warns
Training Ukrainian soldiers “constrains” the UK’s ability to train its own troops, a watchdog has warned.
A National Audit Office (NAO) investigation of British military support for Ukraine found a quarter of the army’s training estate was being used for Operation Interflex, the UK’s basic infantry training programme for Ukrainian recruits.
The use of facilities for Operation Interflex has meant British army units saw bids for time in training areas rejected eight times more often in 2023 than they were in 2019.
In its report published today, the NAO said: “The MoD has acknowledged that Interflex will constrain the British army’s capacity to train its own soldiers.”
Another training programme for Ukrainian marines, Operation Interforge, had to be moved to the Netherlands earlier this year because “the use of training facilities in the UK was threatening to compromise the Royal Marines’ own training needs”, the NAO added.
Training Ukrainian troops ‘constrains’ British army’s own training, watchdog warns
Ministry of Defence defends courses as some Ukrainians criticise training
Russia says it will work with international bodies after Ukraine drone attack on Moscow
Russia has claimed it will work with international organisations after alleging that Ukraine struck Moscow and western Russia in one of its biggest ever drone attacks.
State news agency Ria cited foreign ministry Maria Zakharova as saying they would open up to international organisations.
Previously, Russia has refused international help following strikes and a Ukrainian incursion into the border region of Kursk.
Voices: Why Xi secretly hates and fears Russia – and may be about to betray Putin
The bear and the dragon can never be friends. That is a lesson Xi Jinping heard at a young age. And it explains why the Chinese leader’s “no limits” partnership with Vladimir Putin may turn into a limitless liability – for the Kremlin.
While researching a new biography of Xi, I came across a startling declassified US document. It reveals that the man who was Xi’s mentor in his first job, at the heart of China’s military, was fiercely anti-Russian. Never trust Moscow, he told his staff.
Today, it all looks fine. The two autocrats have boasted of their alliance for more than two years now. It’s clear that Putin gave his “friend” a tip that he was about to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, Xi has stood alongside him, talking peace but sending Russia weapons technology in exchange for oil and gas.
Read the full article by Michael Sheridan, longtime foreign correspondent and diplomatic editor of The Independent:
Why Xi secretly hates and fears Russia – and may be about to betray Putin
Both men want the democracies to fall into chaos and disarray. They see the international order led by the West as presumptuous, weak and ripe for overthrow. But behind the mutual professions of esteem lie deep fissures of history, race and power, writes China expert Michael Sheridan
Ukraine identifies Russian suspect in July attack on children’s hospital
Ukraine‘s prosecutor general has announced that Kyiv suspect a senior Russian air force commander of ordering a missile strike on a children’s hospital in central Kyiv in July that killed two people and caused extensive damage.
Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin did not name the individual, but said the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague had already issued an arrest warrant against him.
In March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, saying he was the commander of Russia’s long-range aviation forces. The ICC said at the time he was suspected of war crimes including ordering strikes on Ukraine‘s energy system.
“We are continuing the investigation to find other people responsible for the strike on Okhmatdyt,” Kostin told reporters, referring to the hospital.
He stood outside the damaged clinic beside ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, who is visiting Kyiv.
According to Kostin, the commander ordered the firing of a Kh-101 air-launched cruise missile from a Russian bomber at 10.45 a.m. on 8 July, the day of the strike.
Khan added that it appeared from various sources that a Kh-101 missile has been identified.
“It does seem from a number of sources and the work that’s been done that a missile, a Kh-101 cruise missile, has been identified,” Khan said. “A number of factors have to be looked into further.”
Russia claims control over several eastern Ukrainian towns
Russia has claimed to have taken a number of towns in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian defence ministry reported they had taken control of Krasnohorivka, Hryhorivka, Halytsynivka and Vodiane.
While Russia has been advancing in the direction of all those frontline towns, the MoD often prematurely claims control over towns.
US could allow Kyiv to use British missiles inside Russia ‘within weeks'
The US could allow Ukraine to use long-range British missiles to strike Russia within weeks, according to British government sources.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, and David Lammy, the foreign secretary, will travel to Kyiv on Wednesday for talks over the use of weapons including British storm shadow missiles.
British government sources now believe that there could be a shift in the US position before a gathering of world leaders at the UN in New York later this month, The Times reported.
US to impose new sanctions on Iran after Russia received Iranian missiles, Blinken says
US secretary of state Anthony Blinken has confirmed it will announce new sanctions on Iran after the Islamic Republic shipped ballistic missiles to Russia despite warnings from the West.
Blinken said Russia is expected to use the missiles in its war in Ukraine in the coming weeks, and was also sharing technology with Iran, including on nuclear issues.
British foreign minister David Lammy described the supply of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia on Tuesday as a “significant escalation”.
“This is a troubling action that we’re seeing from Iran. It is definitely a significant escalation and we are coordinating,” he told a press conference alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, described the sanctions announcement as a “positive step” but added that Kyiv needs its western partners to green-light the use of long-range weapons on targets deeper into mainland Russia.
Wearing prosthetics, Ukraine war veterans take to the runway as fashion week returns
Wearing prosthetics, Ukraine war veterans take to the runway as fashion week returns
Ukrainian war veterans with prosthetic limbs have taken to the runway in Kyiv as the country's fashion week returned home for the first time since the Russian invasion in 2022
Zelensky’s latest reshuffle of his top team has one major aim
Zelensky’s latest cabinet reshuffle seeks to project strength before a tough winter
Despite the morale boost provided by the audacious attack into Russia’s Kursk region, airstrikes and battlefield losses in eastern Ukraine are piling the pressure on President Zelensky, writes Chris Stevenson
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