Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow threatens Kyiv with ‘massive’ new missile as British Storm Shadow fired
Ukraine fires British long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles to hit Russia
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Your support makes all the difference.Russia has threatened to strike Kyiv with a “massive” new missile in retaliation for Ukraine using Western weapons.
The Russian military could be readying to launch RS-26 Rubezh missile, an intermediate ground-based missile which has not been deployed in the Ukraine war before from a site in the city of Astrakhan by the Caspian Sea, reported a Moscow-based newspaper Moskovky Komsomolets.
This comes as Ukraine has fired British long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time, The Independent understands, as momentum builds in the West’s military support for Kyiv’s war effort.
The British-made missile – which Kyiv has been lobbying to use beyond Russia’s borders for months – was fired at Russia on Wednesday, with images published by Russian military bloggers purporting to show Storm Shadow fragments in Russia’s Kursk region, beyond Ukraine’s northeastern border.
The US also announced yesterday it would allow the Ukrainian military to use anti-personnel landmines, as it seeks to slow down Russian advances.
Ukraine has already used American longer-range ATACMS missiles to strike inside Russia after US president Joe Biden removed restrictions after months of pressure from Kyiv.
Now Ukraine fires British missiles at Russia for first time as UK ‘doubles down’ on support for Kyiv
The US is sending antipersonnel land mines to Ukraine. Here's what it means
US shuts Kyiv embassy over fears of ‘significant air attack’
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile? Ukraine hits Russia with British weapon for first time
Russia says new US base in Poland raises overall nuclear danger
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that a new U.S. ballistic missile defence base in northern Poland will lead to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger and was on a Russian targeting list for potential destruction if necessary.
The air defence base, situated in the town of Redzikowo near the Baltic coast, part of a broader NATO missile shield, was opened on November 13.
“This is another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilising actions by the Americans and their allies in the North Atlantic Alliance in the strategic sphere,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
“This leads to undermining strategic stability, increasing strategic risks and, as a result, to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger.”
The U.S. base at Redzikowo is part of a broader NATO missile shield, dubbed “Aegis Ashore”, which the alliance says can intercept short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
South Korea calls Russia’s recruitment of North Korean youths ‘crime against humanity'
South Korea’s vice defence minister, Kim Seon-ho, told a meeting of ASEAN defence ministers in Laos on Thursday that North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia is a “crime against humanity” thrusting youth into Moscow’s illegal invasion as cannon fodder, his office said.
UK signs security pact with Moldova
The UK has signed a new security and defence partnership agreement with Moldova, as Ukraine’s western neighbour anxiously eyes Russia’s nearby invasion and accuses Moscow of meddling in its elections.
Pro-European president Maia Sandu won re-election last month, but by a smaller margin than expected, as a tiny margin of Moldovan voters backed a referendum to alter the constitution to include provisions on integration with the European Union, presented by premier Dorin Recean on Wednesday.
A UK government statement said the security partnership was aimed at “building on extensive cooperation between the two countries and strengthening Moldovan resilience against external threats”. Foreign secretary David Lammy said: “With Ukraine next door, Moldovans are constantly reminded of Russia’s oppression, imperialism and aggression.”
The deal included £2m to bolster Moldova’s protection against cyberattacks and a £5m grant to improve health services for refugees, as well as an agreement to ensure the return to Moldova of its nationals illegally staying in Britain.
Russia attacks Ukraine with intercontinental ballistic missile
Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from Astrakhan region during a morning attack, Ukraine’s air force said this morning.
Ukraine’s military also said it shot down six Kh-101 cruise missiles launched by Russia during the attack.
The Russian attack targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in the central-eastern city of Dnipro, the air force said, at a time of escalating moves in the 33-month-old war launched by Russia in Ukraine.
It was unclear from the statement what the intercontinental ballistic missile targeted and whether it caused any damage.
The missiles have a range of thousands of kilometres and can be used for delivering nuclear warheads, though they can also have conventional warheads.
The morning strike comes after Ukraine used US and British missiles to strike targets inside Russia this week, something Moscow had warned for months would be seen as a major escalation.
Putin’s nuclear doctrine revision ‘the result of careful escalation management’, says analyst
Vladimir Putin’s alteration of the Russian nuclear doctrine is “the result of careful escalation management by both sides”, an analyst has suggested.
Professor Sam Greene, of the Centre for European Policy Analysis, said on X: “Deep breaths, everyone. The fact that Russia published a revised nuclear doctrine on the same day that Ukraine first fired ATACMs across the border is the result of careful escalation management by both sides.
“We may eventually get to WWIII, but probably not tonight. None of this happened at a moment’s notice. Ukraine had been asking for permission for long-range strikes for ages. Biden made it clear it was a matter of time. Putin will have decided that this--a relatively minor revision of a document--would be his response.
“That said, the same factors that keep Nato and Russia from going to war with each other make it more difficult for Ukraine to win the war, to the enduring frustration of many in Ukraine and elsewhere. It’s a circle the Biden Administration was never able to square.
“The question now is, will Trump do any better?”
UK-trained elite commandos approached to fight for Russia against Ukraine
For Ghulam, it began with a form handed to him by a colleague, offering him a way out. For more than 12 years, he had been part of an elite troop of Afghan special forces set up, trained and paid by the British government.
Now, after being forced to flee the Taliban and leave his homeland for Iran, he worked long days in a recycling factory and had to evade police because of his undocumented status.
The fellow Afghan who gave Ghulam the form knew of his military background and thought he might be open to an offer. For some in Ghulam’s situation, a form comes first; for others, it’s contact by phone from other Afghan veterans.
Some have been approached face to face. However it’s done, and whatever the terms, the offer to these elite UK-trained commandos is broadly the same: come to fight for Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces against Ukraine.
UK-trained elite commandos approached to fight for Russia against Ukraine
Investigation: The UK trained and paid special forces to fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. As hundreds of these fighters live in danger while Britain delays decisions on whether to give them sanctuary, the UK’s adversaries are circling. Holly Bancroft, Fahim Abed, May Bulman and Jessica Purkiss report
Russia and North Korea agree to boost charter flights – reports
North Korea and Russia have signed a protocol on cooperation after meetings covering trade, the economy, science and technology in Pyongyang, North Korean state media KCNA said this morning.
There were few details in the KCNA report, but Russia’s TASS news agency said on Tuesday that the countries agreed to increase charter flights following the meeting, citing Russia’s ministry of natural resources.
Between January and September, the number of tourists travelling between Russia and North Korea amounted to over 5,000 people, with more than 70 per cent travelling by air, it said.
The increased charter flights are expected to take off not only from Russia’s eastern region close to North Korea, but also from major Russian cities in other areas, TASS said, citing the ministry.
During the delegation’s visit, zoo animals were transferred to North Korea as gifts from Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Pyongyang and Moscow have ramped up diplomatic and economic exchanges in the past few years, culminating in Mr Putin’s visit to North Korea in June, when the countries’ leaders agreed a mutual defence pact.
Ukraine and Middle East wars eating away at US air defence stocks, top official warns
Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are eating into US stockpiles of air defences, the top US admiral overseeing American forces in the Asia-Pacific region has warned.
“With some of the Patriots that have been employed, some of the air-to-air missiles that have been employed, it’s now eating into stocks and to say otherwise would be dishonest,” said Admiral Sam Paparo.
“Inherently, it imposes costs on the readiness of America to respond in the Indo Pacific region, which is the most stressing theater for the quantity and quality of munitions, because the PRC is the most capable potential adversary in the world,” he said, using an acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
Russia issues threat of ‘massive’ new missile to hit Kyiv
Russia has issued a fresh threat to strike Kyiv with a “massive” new missile in its growing response to hit Ukraine for using Western weapons.
The Russian military could be readying to launch RS-26 Rubezh missile from a site in the city of Astrakhan by the Caspian Sea, reported a Moscow-based newspaper Moskovky Komsomolets.
The ground-based missile with intermediate range of up to 6,000km which weighs 50 tonnes has not been used in the war before, Western missile experts have said. The projectile reportedly flies at five times the speed of sound, making it tricky for Ukraine’s US-provided patriot anti-missile defence systems to intercept it.
US move to send landmines slammed by human rights groups
Humanitarian groups have criticised the use of antipersonnel mines because they present a lingering threat to civilians.
Amnesty International called the US decision “reckless” and a “deeply disappointing setback.”
“This is a reckless decision and a deeply disappointing setback for a president who once agreed that landmines put more civilians at increased risk of harm. It is devastating, and frankly shocking, that president Biden made such a consequential and dangerous decision just before his public service legacy is sealed for the history books,” said Ben Linden, advocacy director for Europe and Central Asia for Amnesty International USA.
Additionally Norway’s foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, called it “very problematic” because Ukraine is a signatory to an international convention opposing the use of land mines.
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