Ukraine-Russia war live: Zelensky says Putin is ‘afraid’ as Moscow suffers Satan II missile failure
Ukraine ‘closer to peace than we think’, Zelensky tells allies in Washington
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine was “closer to the end of the war” with Russia than many people realise.
Mr Zelensky is currently in Washington DC to attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly. He added Vladimir Putin is “afraid” of Ukraine’s Kursk operation, in which it has taken more than 1,000 square km of Russian territory.
“I think that we are closer to peace than we think,” he told ABC in an interview that is due to be released in full on Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been adamant peace talks will only begin if Kyiv abandons swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine to Russia and drops its NATO membership ambitions.
It comes as Russia appears to have suffered a “catastrophic failure” in a test of its Sarmat (Satan II) missile, a key weapon in the modernisation of its nuclear arsenal.
The Satan II missile is designed to deliver nuclear warheads to strike targets thousands of miles away in the United States or Europe, but its development has been dogged by delays and testing setbacks, according to arms experts.
The 35-metre-long RS-28 Sarmat has a range of 18,000 km (11,000 miles) and a launch weight of over 208 tonnes.
Ukraine accuses Russia of seeking to illegally control strategic sea as arbitration hearings open
Ukraine accuses Russia of seeking to illegally control strategic sea as arbitration hearings open
Ukraine has accused Russia of seeking to illegally seize control of the strategically important Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait
Kremlin says Israeli strikes on Lebanon risk destabilising the Middle East
The Kremlin has warned Israeli strikes on Lebanon had the potential to completely destabilise the Middle East and widen the conflict there.
Israel struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Iran-backed group attacked military facilities in northern Israel on Tuesday, a day after hundreds were killed in Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah targets.
Asked about the Israeli strikes, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call: “This is an event that is potentially extremely dangerous when it comes to the expansion of the conflict, to the complete destabilisation of the region. Of course, this is of extreme concern to us.”
In a separate statement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow condemned what she called “indiscriminate” strikes on Lebanon that target civilians.
“It is urgent to stop the spiral of violence before the situation spirals completely out of control. We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities,” she said.
Russia has deepened ties with Hezbollah patron Iran since the start of its “special military operation” in Ukraine. It has questioned the proportionality of Israel’s bombing of Gaza and the number of civilians killed, straining ties with Israel.
Watch: Putin’s Satan II ballistic missile ‘blows up during test launch’
Putin’s Satan II ballistic missile ‘blows up during test launch’
A Russian RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile likely failed during a test earlier this month, according to arms experts and satellite imagery from the launch site. Maxar satellite images from 21 September show a crater about 60 meters wide at the launch silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia and damage around the area that was not visible in imagery from earlier in the month. It was not clear from the imagery if the liquid-fueled Sarmat failed during a launch or if there was an accident during defuelling. “By all indications, it was a failed test. It’s a big hole in the ground,” said Pavel Podvig, an analyst based in Geneva, who runs the Russian Nuclear Forces project. “There was a serious incident with the missile and the silo.” The 35-meter RS-28 Sarmat, known as Satan II, has a range of 18,000km and a launch weight of over 208 tonnes. It can carry up to 16 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle nuclear warheads as well as some Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles, according to Russian media.
Explained: What is the Satan II missile?
The RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile is designed to deliver nuclear warheads to strike targets thousands of miles away in the United States or Europe, but its development has been dogged by delays and testing setbacks.
The 35-metre-long RS-28 Sarmat, known in the West as Satan II, has a range of 18,000 km (11,000 miles) and a launch weight of over 208 tonnes.
Russian media say it can carry up to 16 independently targetable nuclear warheads as well as Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles, a new system that Putin has said is unmatched by Russia’s enemies.
Since the start of the conflict, President Vladimir Putin has said repeatedly that Russia has the biggest and most advanced nuclear arsenal in the world, and warned the West not to cross a threshold that could lead to nuclear war.
Putin said in October 2023 that Russia had almost completed work on the missile.
Kremlin continues to show public disinterest in peace talks short of complete destruction of the Ukrainian state, think tank says
The Kremlin have continued to show a public disinterest in peace talks unless it involves the complete destruction of the Ukrainian state, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank has said.
ISW analysts noted that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed reports that Ukraine invited Russia to attend Ukraine’s second peace summit but that the Kremlin had not demonstrated any interest in participating.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov recently said there is “no alternative” to Russian victory in Ukraine, reiterating Russia’s unwillingness to negotiate on terms other than Ukrainian “capitulation”.
“ISW continues to assess that the Kremlin is not interested in good faith peace negotiations with Ukraine and that the Kremlin will only invoke the concept of ‘peace plans’ and ‘negotiations’ to prompt the West to pressure Ukraine into preemptive concessions on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the situation report from the ISW said.
World leaders meet at UN conference amid global divisions including three wars and possible middle-east conflict
World leaders will open their annual meeting at the UN General Assembly under the shadow of increasing global divisions, major wars in Gaza, Ukraine and, Sudan and the threat of an even larger conflict in the wider Middle East. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres previewed his opening “State of the World” speech to presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and ministers at Sunday’s “Summit of the Future,” saying “our world is heading off the rails — and we need tough decisions to get back on track.” He pointed to conflicts “raging and multiplying, from the Middle East to Ukraine and Sudan, with no end in sight” and to the global security system, which he said is “threatened by geopolitical divides, nuclear posturing, and the development of new weapons and theaters of war.”
At last year’s UN global gathering, Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, took center stage. Mr Zelensky will be in attendance this year.
One killed and two injured in Russian attack on east Ukrainian town
A Russian guided aerial bomb attack on the eastern Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka has killed one person and injured two, according to the Dontesk regional governor Vadym Filashkin.
The attack damaged two unspecified infrastructure facilities, Filashkin added via the Telegram messaging app.
The eastern town lies some 12 kilometers (8 miles) from Chasiv Yar, a town on high ground where Ukrainian forces are attempting to stave off Russian westward advances.
Moscow denies intentionally targeting civilians in its invasion of Ukraine, although it has killed thousands of them. It says its strikes on infrastructure aim to reduce Ukraine‘s ability to fight.
For Russia's response to the West, listen to Putin, the Kremlin says
The Kremlin has said that people should re-listen President Vladimir Putin’s statements in St Petersburg to understand Russia’s response to a possible decision by the West to allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with Western missiles.
Russia will not test a nuclear weapon as long as the United States refrains from testing, Putin’s point man for arms control said on Monday after speculation that the Kremlin might abandon its post-Soviet nuclear test moratorium.
In St Petersburg in June, Putin said he could deploy conventional missiles within striking distance of the United States and its European allies if they allowed Ukraine to strike deeper into Russia with long-range Western weapons.
Russia will achieve all its aims in Ukraine, Kremlin says
Russia has no alternative but to achieve all of its aims in the “special military operation” in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Peskov said that as soon as the aims were achieved, the military operation would end.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been adamant peace talks will only begin if Kyiv abandons swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine to Russia and drops its NATO membership ambitions.
Special report: Putin’s forces are desperate for a prize eastern city and Ukraine will fight street to street to keep them out
Askold Krushelnycky reports from Ukraine:
Ukraine will fight street to street to keep Russia out of key eastern city
The Russians taking Pokrovsk would split Ukraine’s defensive line in the region and harm supplies in the eastern part of Donetsk. Now facing constant bombardment, soldiers and residents in Pokrovsk speak to Askold Krushelnycky about the drawn-out siege they are bracing themselves for
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