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

Related: Ukraine’s attack is only way to force Russia to negotiating table, Zelensky aide says

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.

Key Points

• Moscow suffers ‘catastrophic failure’ after firing ballistic missile named ‘Satan II’
• Ukraine closer to end of war with Russia, says Zelensky
• Zelensky to present ‘victory plan’ to Biden, Harris and Trump
• Russian strike on apartment block in Kharkiv injures 21

[24 September 2024 03:52 · Arpan Rai]

Situation tense around Russia’s Kursk plant, says UN nuclear chief

The situation remains serious around Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant, UN nuclear agency chief Rafael Grossi said, but his agency planned no permanent mission at the site.

Part of Kursk remains under the control of Ukrainian troops, who poured over from the border last month. They are still some 40km (25 miles) from the nuclear facility, however.

“(The situation) is serious in that a military incursion has taken place and that incursion has reached the stage that it is not that distant from a nuclear power station,” said Mr Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

He had visited the Kursk plant, made up of four reactors, last month and said it would be “extremely exposed” if it came under attack as the facility had no containment dome – a safety feature found in all modern nuclear facilities protecting the reactor.

In his comments to RIA, made in New York ahead of debates at the UN General Assembly, he said he hoped favourable circumstances would mean he would not have to visit the plant again.

“I hope there will be no need to return to the Kursk station as that would mean that the situation has stabilised,” he said.

[24 September 2024 03:00 · Tom Watling]

Putin’s fall is inevitable, says freed prisoner Vladimir Kara Murza

[24 September 2024 02:00 · Tom Watling]

EU chief travels to Kyiv with promise of fresh energy funds to get Ukraine through winter

[24 September 2024 01:00 · Tom Watling]

Northrop Grumman plans ammunition plant partnership in Lithuania

Lithuania has signed a memorandum of understanding with Northrop Grumman Corporation for the development of an ammunition plant in the Baltic country that could also benefit Ukraine, the government and U.S. arms maker said in a joint statement on Monday.

The collaboration would boost Lithuania’s domestic defence industry and minimise the reliance on long supply chains, the government said, without giving any details of locations, time scales or financing.

“We hope that the cooperation with our American allies will strengthen the country’s security and preparedness, while also benefiting the wider region, including Ukraine,” Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste said in a statement.

Steve O’Bryan, corporate vice president and global business development officer of Northrop Grumman said the collaboration was in keeping with the company’s commitment to “supporting U.S. and allied countries through industry partnerships across the globe”.

The project, to be developed with state-owned ammunition manufacturer Giraite Armaments Plant, is expected to produce middle-caliber ammunition, according to the statement.

[24 September 2024 00:00 · Tom Watling]

A charred transformer on a Kyiv square makes for an unusual Ukraine war exhibit

[23 September 2024 23:00 · Tom Watling]

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[23 September 2024 22:00 · Tom Watling]

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[23 September 2024 21:00 · Tom Watling]

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[23 September 2024 20:00 · Tom Watling]

Mapped: Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian Kursk region explained

[23 September 2024 19:00 · Tom Watling]

Ukraine bans Telegram messenger app on state-issued devices because of Russian security threat