UK will not be 'bullied' by Putin over Ukraine missiles, foreign secretary says - what you missed

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has shared its figures on Russia's losses since launching its invasion on February 24, 2022.

It says well over 600,000 Russian personnel have been "eliminated" since the start of the conflict, which is in line with estimates by Western intelligence services.

US President Joe Biden will use the rest of his term in office "to put Ukraine in the best possible position to prevail" against Russia, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Saturday during a speech given remotely to a forum in Kyiv.

Sullivan also said Biden will be meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in late September at the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss aid to Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden will use the remaining four months of his term "to put Ukraine in the best possible position to prevail", a close adviser said Saturday.

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The war in Ukraine has created “capability gaps” for the UK's military, Armed Forces minister Luke Pollard has admitted.

He said that giving vital equipment to troops fighting Russian invaders meant the UK now needs to “backfill” its own stocks, with the UK sending "nearly all" of its AS90 mobile artillery units to Ukraine.

The minister insisted that kit had been given to Ukrainian troops “quite correctly” by the previous Tory government, with the backing of Labour. However, he conceded that this support has resulted in “some capability gaps, especially in the British Army”.

The issue of stock will be considered in the UK government’s strategic defence review (SDR), which was launched in July after Labour came to power.

The SDR will also consider the make-up of the UK’s armed forces and how they need to adapt in response to the “changing nature of warfare”.

Pollard told a Ministry of Defence press briefing that the conflict in Ukraine "should be the wake-up call we need to make the case for a stronger defence”, insisting that the review team would seek to "right-size" the UK's military, rather than make cuts.

Russia has published a “drone studies” textbook for 14- and 15-year-olds, part of a Kremlin project to produce a new generation of drone specialists.

The Prosveshchenie publishing house teamed up with Russian drone manufacturer Geoscan to produce the textbook, which contains 34 hours of tuition for an exam.

Mikhail Lutsky, author of the textbook and head of educational projects at Geoscan, said: “The manual will be of interest not only to teachers of ‘Labour (technology) studies’, but also to teachers of related disciplines, such as computer science, physics, the basics of security and defence of the motherland.”

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The head of NATO's military committee said Saturday that Ukraine has the solid legal and military right to strike deep inside Russia to gain combat advantage — reflecting the beliefs of a number of U.S. allies — even as the Biden administration balks at allowing Kyiv to do so using American-made weapons.

“Every nation that is attacked has the right to defend itself. And that right doesn’t stop at the border of your own nation,” said Adm. Rob Bauer, speaking at the close of the committee's annual meeting, also attended by U.S. Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Bauer, of Netherlands, also added that nations have the sovereign right to put limits on the weapons they send to Ukraine. But, standing next to him at a press briefing, Lt. Gen. Karel Řehka, chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, made it clear his nation places no such weapons restrictions on Kyiv.

“We believe that the Ukrainians should decide themselves how to use it,” Řehka said.

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British military intelligence has said Russia is continuing a “high tempo of offensive operations in multiple areas of the frontline” in Ukraine.

A counter-offensive has been launched by airborne and naval infantry units in Kursk, the area of Russia invaded by Ukrainian forces, and they have “highly likely retaken several villages”, the Ministry of Defence said today.

In eastern Ukraine, Putin’s troops are making “gradual advances” around Vuhledar and to the southeast of the important logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

A Ukrainian diplomat has described ongoing talks in the West over the use of long-range missiles as a "stumbling block" in the fight against Russia.

Speaking to Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Natalia Galibarenko, Ukraine's head of mission to Nato, said her country's counter-offensive into Russia has "not failed", although the situation on the battlefield is "complicated".

Asked about the indecisiveness of the US and UK over whether to provide long-range missiles to Ukraine to launch directly into Russia, Galibarenko said her government is "not disappointed".

"We [are] already used to the situation, when we were told at the beginning, there will be no Western attacks, then we were told there would be no F-16 [fighters], and all these obstacles we came through," she told the programme.

"And this is just another thing, a stumbling block, which we should tackle. And we will not be giving up."

She said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy would press US president Joe Biden on this issue at the UN General Assembly meeting later this month.

Liam Fox has said the UK cannot delay the decision to provide long-range missiles to Ukraine for strikes on Russia indefinitely.

Fox is one of five former defence secretaries who have urged prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to allow Ukraine to launch Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory even without the approval of the US.

Speaking to Sky News this morning, he said: "This is Putin's war, he invaded a sovereign democratic European nation – all the way through he's been threatening the West that if we dare to help Ukraine defend itself there will be consequences.

"We know what the consequence will be if Ukraine is defeated - it will be an emboldened Russia, and it will be a message that's heard in Beijing and Tehran.

"One of the key elements of security if deterrence, and one of the things that getting these new missiles would do would be to give president Zelenskyy some greater credibility in deterring greater Russian aggression.

"I think we should accede to that, I think we should do it with our eyes open in consultation with our allies, as the foreign secretary says, but we can't put the decision off forever."

Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian is to attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Russia, as tensions mount in the West over military cooperation between the two countries.

Pezeshkian will attend the summit of the BRICS group of major emerging economies, scheduled to be held in Kazan, Russia from October 22 to 24, according to Iran's state media.

There, Pezeshkian will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Iran's ambassador in Russia, Kazem Jalali, confirmed.

Iran and Russia are set to sign a bilateral comprehensive cooperation agreement, which will further add to concerns of Western leaders.

On Tuesday US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and was likely to use them in Ukraine within weeks. Cooperation between Moscow and Tehran threatened wider European security, he said.

The United States, Germany, the UK and France on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on Iran, including measures against its national airline Iran Air.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday that Tehran did not deliver any ballistic missiles to Russia and that sanctions imposed by the US and the three European countries against Iran were not a solution.

The UK and the US have reportedly discussed their shared concern that Russia provided nuclear secrets to Iran in exchange for ballistic missiles for its Ukraine war.

Prime minister Keir Starmer and US president Joe Biden discussed the fact that Iran and Russia are strengthening their military cooperation during a summit in Washington on Friday, which also covered other key issues around Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, including Kyiv’s use of Western long-range missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia.

Mr Starmer and Mr Biden discussed intelligence pointing to a deal that would see the Kremlin providing Iran nuclear technology, sources on the British side told The Times.

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Ukraine's air defence units destroyed 10 out of 14 drones that Russia launched overnight targeting its territory, Ukraine's air force said on Sunday.

It said on the Telegram messaging app that Russia also launched two Iskander M-ballistic missiles and one Kh-59 guided air missile targeting the southern region of Odesa.

The air force said the guided air missile was destroyed, but did not say what happened to the Iskander missiles or whether there was any damage as a result of the attack.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during the past week Russia used about 30 missiles of various types, more than 800 guided aerial bombs and almost 300 attack drones against Ukraine.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shared images of destruction in his country over the past week as he asked the international community for more support.

In a post on X this morning, he said: "Ukraine needs strong support from our partners to defend lives against Russian terror—air defence, long-range capabilities, support for our warriors. Everything that will help force Russia to end this war."

Five former defence ministers and Boris Johnson have urged Sir Keir Starmer to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles against Russia, even without US backing.

Grant Shapps, Ben Wallace, Gavin Williamson, Penny Mordaunt, Liam Fox and Johnson united in warning Starmer that further delay would only strengthen Putin's resolve.

Starmer's recent talks with Biden in Washington ended without agreement on the issue.

Grant Shapps told The Sunday Times: "Rather than waiting for formal approval from the US, Sir Keir needs to provide President Zelensky with what's desperately needed today. That's how we assumed our global leadership position in supporting Ukraine."

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James Cleverly has said the UK should be providing Ukraine with long-range missiles to fire into Russia.

Appearing on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg Programme, the shadow home secretary and Tory leadership contender said: "I made this point when I was in Estonia last year, not far from the border with Russia.

"I made the case that it is untenable for Ukraine to properly defend itself against the missiles coming in from Russia if it can't neutralise the launch sites."

Cleverly said "we are replaying the conversation now" and that it was "disappointing" that the prime minister and foreign secretary were unable to secure a commitment on this issue on their trip to Washington.

Asked why the UK didn't successfully push for an agreement on long-range missiles when the Tories were in government, the former foreign secretary said: "We constantly pushed our allies to allow the Ukrainians to do more.

"We pushed for main battle tanks, eventually we got main battle tanks, we pushed for jets, eventually we got jets, we pushed for the use of those long-range missiles within Ukraine's territorial boundaries, eventually we got that."

As David Lammy continued to face questions about the potential supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine, the foreign secretary was keen to stress some recent successes Ukraine has made without these weapons.

"This request from Zelenskyy for long-range missiles is a long-standing request, he's been making it now for well over a year. What is important is that allies are able to come together with president Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians to assess what's needed now.

"And given the advances in Kursk, given their desire to keep Pokrovsk, clearly Ukraine has taken back half of its territory that Russia took in the Donbas - again a major advance. We want to put Ukraine in the strongest position going forward.

"I can't tell you operationally on air what we will or won't do, and I particularly won't do that at a time when Russia is buying ballistic missiles from Iran and escalating further.

"But please understand, this is under careful discussion with the Ukrainians as we assess what they need as they head into the winter."

David Lammy has said the UK "won’t be bullied by Putin’s shameless grandstanding", as international talks continue about whether Ukraine should be allowed to use western missiles to strike inside Russia.

Speaking to Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, the foreign secretary said: “Putin said ‘don’t send tanks’. We sent them. Putin said ‘don’t send any missiles’. We sent them. Putin threatens every few months to use nuclear weapons.”

Lammy added: “We won’t be bullied by Putin’s shameless grandstanding. What he should now do is cease his aggression and leave Ukraine.”

Asked if he thought Putin was "lying" when making threats of nuclear war, Lammy told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: "I think that what Putin is doing is throwing dust up into the air, there's a lot of bluster, that's his modus operandi.

"We cannot be blown of course by an imperialist fascist, effectively, that wants to move into countries willy nilly, and if we let him with Ukraine, believe me he won't stop there."

Talks between Sir Keir Starmer and US president Joe Biden in Washington did not produce an agreement on whether the UK and US would give permission to Kyiv, but further discussions are due to take place at the United Nations later this month.

Putin has warned that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that Nato countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia”.

Foreign secretary David Lammy is being grilled on why the UK is hesitant to allow Ukraine to fire long-range missiles provided by the west into Russia.

Asked about the issue on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Lammy said: “No war is won with any one weapon – that is the case.

"It’s important that we support the Ukrainians to continue to repel Russia in the Black Sea, it’s important that they can deal with the huge challenges in the air that are being mounted by Russia.

"And of course that we support them – and we have – with training of their own men and women on the frontline. 45,000 we’ve trained, more I think than any other nation. So let’s be clear, no one weapon wins any war and has won any war.”