Russia targeting British Storm Shadow missiles

Russia is targeting British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles as it ramps up attacks on Ukraine’s air force and runways, it has been reported.

Moscow launched a slew of missile strikes on western Ukraine earlier this week, saying the attacks targeted air bases and air strips.

Kyiv and its Western allies believe the attacks are part of a wider push by Russia to shatter Ukraine’s aerial capabilities, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Colonel Yuriy Ignat, a spokesman for Ukraine’s air force, said: “It’s no surprise that they are trying to destroy our aviation and pilots.” He added that Ukrainian pilots were “causing a lot of trouble”.

Storm Shadow missiles, which are launched from warplanes, carry large warheads designed to destroy hardened and even buried targets.

Valeriy Kondratiuk, the former head of Ukraine’s military and foreign intelligence agencies, said they had played a “decisive role” along with French Scalp missiles in helping Kyiv’s forces make advances as they press a counter-offensive in the east and south.

He added that Russia was left with no alternative way to stop Ukrainian strikes deep behind the war’s frontlines using the Western-supplied weapons than “to hit the airfields where the planes from which these missiles are launched are located”.

The UK was the first country to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles which put all of its Russian-occupied territory, including the annexed-Crimean peninsula, within striking range.

France quickly followed suit, sending its own equivalent of the Storm Shadows, the Scalp missiles.

Germany is now inching towards also arming Ukraine with long-range missiles, despite reportedly fearing Kyiv could use them to strike targets inside Russia itself.

Ukraine says its pilots only fire Western-supplied missiles within its borders, including occupied territories, to strike Russian targets including command posts and logistics points, including bridges.

Earlier this month, Storm Shadow missiles were used to strike key bridges linking Crimea with occupied Ukraine.

03:18 PM BST

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03:11 PM BST

Elderly woman killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv

Ukraine said Thursday that Russian shelling in the northern region of Kharkiv had killed an elderly woman, while Moscow announced its forces had taken up improved positions along the frontline.

The Russian military has said over recent days it is advancing towards Kupiansk, a frontline town that Ukrainian forces captured back from Moscow’s army last year.

The head of the region Oleg Synegubov said that Russian forces had shelled Zaoskillya, a suburb just east of Kupiansk, killing a woman born in 1962.

“Another woman, born in 1963, suffered shrapnel wounds. Medics provided assistance to the injured on the spot,” he wrote on social media.

His announcement came as Russian forces said they had “improved positions” along the frontline near Kupiansk with the support of artillery and aviation forces.

Those reported advances have spurred Ukrainian authorities in Kharkiv to urge vulnerable residents to evacuate.

02:34 PM BST

Ukraine in pictures:

02:26 PM BST

Russia targets independent election monitor in raids

Russian security forces on Thursday launched mass raids targeting the independent election monitoring group Golos, the group said, as its co-chair was taken in for questioning.

Multiple homes connected to Golos members were searched during the raids, according to a statement on the group’s wesbite, while co-chairman Grigory Melkonyants was detained.

His lawyer said the detention was related to Golos’ work with the European Network of Election Monitoring Organisations, which was declared “undesirable” in Russia in 2021.

“No charges have been brought yet,” Melkonyants’ lawyer Mikhail Biryukov told AFP, warning his client may face travel restrictions or another measure of restraint.

The “undesirable” label has been applied to dozens of organisations inside Russia, and puts staff members of targeted groups at risk of prosecution.

02:25 PM BST

Ukraine downs second Russian military helicopter within a week

Ukraine has shot down its second Russian military helicopter in a week, an air force commander has claimed.

Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk, the commander of the air force of the armed forces of Ukraine, said Kyiv’s forces had downed a Ka-52 - a Russian combat helicopter - in the direction of the eastern city of Bakhmut on Thursday morning.

He added that another Ka-52 helicopter had been shot down on Monday.

It came as Ukraine’s military claimed more success in its counter-offensive against Russian forces on the war’s southeastern front.

01:17 PM BST

Watch: Ukrainian troops test makeshift attack drones

01:16 PM BST

Sarkozy blasted for call to compromise with Russia

France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy has stirred outrage in Kyiv and Paris by suggesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be ended with new referendums in occupied territories.

“The Ukrainians... will want to reconquer what has been unjustly taken from them. But if they can’t manage it completely, the choice will be between a frozen conflict... or taking the high road out with referendums strictly overseen by the international community,” Mr Sarkozy told conservative newspaper Le Figaro on Wednesday.

Speaking particularly about the Crimean peninsula, which Russia claimed to have annexed in 2014, the former French leader said that “any return to the way things were before is an illusion”.

“An incontestable referendum... will be needed to solidify the current state of affairs,” he added.

The ex-president insisted that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was “not irrational” and could be reached with the right kind of diplomacy from Europe, harking back to Moscow’s 2008 invasion of Georgia when Sarkozy said he “convinced (Putin) to withdraw his tanks”.

12:13 PM BST

Ukraine alone decides when conditions right for peace talks, says Stoltenberg

It is up to Ukraine to decide when the conditions are right to join any negotiations following the Russian invasion, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said, emphasising the alliance’s unchanged stance after comments this week by a senior colleague.

“It is the Ukrainians, and only the Ukrainians, who can decide when there are conditions in place for negotiations, and who can decide at the negotiating table what is an acceptable solution,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

Speaking at a conference in the Norwegian town of Arendal, he added that Nato’s role was to support Ukraine.

The statement followed remarks by Stoltenberg’s chief of staff at Nato, Stian Jenssen, who on Tuesday said Ukraine may in the end give up territory to Russia as part of a deal to end the war. Jenssen subsequently said he regretted his comments.

“His (Jenssen’s) message, and which is my main message, and which is Nato’s main message, is, firstly, that Nato’s policy is unchanged - we support Ukraine,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

11:52 AM BST

Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers train to use a Leopard 1A5 main battle tank

11:16 AM BST

Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers test home-made drones before sending them to the frontline

10:36 AM BST

'No hope' of using F-16 fighter jets this year, says Ukraine

Ukraine will not be able to use F-16s this year, a spokesperson for the country’s air force said, as Kyiv’s Western allies continue to hold back from supplying the fighter jets.

“It’s already obvious we won’t be able to defend Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets during this autumn and winter,” Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television.

Ukraine has repeatedly called its Western allies to supply the country with F-16s, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said would be a signal that Russia’s invasion would end in defeat.

Joe Biden, the US president, endorsed training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in May but no timing for the supply of warplanes has been given so far.

“We had big hopes for this plane, that it will become part of air defence, able to protect us from Russia’s missiles and drones terrorism,” Mr Ihnat said.

Russia has warned the West any move to supply Ukraine with F16 jets will carry “colossal risks”.

09:34 AM BST

Kuleba: Kyiv's forces to liberate all Ukraine

Ukraine’s military will liberate all territory occupied by Russian forces regardless of how long it takes, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said, adding this was the Ukrainian people’s wish.

“Our goal is victory, victory in the form of the liberation of our territories within (Ukraine’s) borders of 1991. And we don’t care how long it takes,” he said during an interview on Wednesday.

“As long as the Ukrainian people share this goal, the Ukrainian government will move hand in hand with its own people.”

08:57 AM BST

Ukraine vows 'long-term' efforts to deepen Africa ties

Kyiv intends to invest significant political capital to deepen ties with African countries to counter Moscow’s influence on the continent, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told AFP this week.

“We are starting from scratch in Africa. This continent needs systematic and long-term work. It’s not something that happens overnight,” he said in an interview Wednesday, while comparing the push to a diplomatic “counteroffensive” against Russian efforts to cement ties with African leaders.

08:38 AM BST

EU funding for Russia and Belarus reallocated towards Ukraine and Moldova

The EU transferred 135 million euros ($147 million) initially allocated for programs with Russia and Belarus towards strengthening the cooperation with Ukraine and Moldova, it said in a statement.

“The decision (...) is the result of the brutal war of Russia against Ukraine”, EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira said.

The EU also decided that regions in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Poland which were supposed to participate in cooperation programs with Russia and Belarus may participate in other existing programs.

08:24 AM BST

Ukraine modifies British Challenger 2 tanks to protect them from Russian drones

British Challenger 2 tanks have been modified by Ukrainian forces with cages welded on top to fend off drone strikes.

Images of the tanks, which have been circulated in Ukraine, show them inscribed with new tactical markings, which suggests that they are prepared to join a new counter-offensive thrust.

The new mesh screens are likely to defend against drones deployed by Russia to drop munitions from above, as well as some small “kamikaze” drones.

Read more from Danielle Sheridan and Nataliya Vasilyeva here

07:40 AM BST

Ukraine in pictures:

07:33 AM BST

Ukraine claims it has recaptured village of Urozhaine

Kyiv claimed its forces had liberated the settlement of Urozhaine in the industrial Donetsk region as part of a grinding push to wrest Russian forces along the southern front in Ukraine.

“Urozhaine was liberated. Our defenders are entrenched at the outskirts. The offensive continues,” Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar announced.

Kyiv launched its long anticipated counteroffensive in June, but has acknowledged tough battles as it struggles to break through heavily fortified Russian positions.

Ms Malyar’s announcement comes one day after Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said that Ukraine’s military resources were “almost exhausted”, despite receiving arms deliveries from Western allies.

There was no immediate response to the Ukrainian claim from Moscow, which has repeatedly downplayed Kyiv’s offensive capabilities.

07:31 AM BST

Russian air strikes on southern Ukraine damage grain silos

Russian air strikes on southern Ukraine overnight damaged grain silos and warehouses at one of the Danube river ports, a key facility for grains shipments, the governor of the Odesa region on the Black Sea said.

“Russian terrorists attacked Odesa region twice last night with attack drones,” Governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app. “The main target is port and grain infrastructure in the south of the region.”

The presidential office said in a separate statement that there were no casualties.

Photos released by the governor show the destroyed metal walls of the storage facilities and piles of scattered grain and sunflowers.

Ukrainian officials have not yet said whether the attacked port is operating.

07:30 AM BST

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