Ukraine-Russia war live: Kherson ‘symbol of heroism and hope’, says Zelensky on liberation anniversary

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Kherson as a “symbol of heroism and hope” on the day the city marks one year since Ukraine retook it from occupying Russian forces.

The Ukrainian President posted on X on Saturday: “Kherson is a symbol of heroism and hope. It is a city of our people who have not bowed down to the enemy and inspired all of us and the entire world with their resistance.”

The flight of Russian troops from Kherson under prolonged Ukrainian assault a year ago was one of Ukraine’s biggest successes in the war.

It comes after big explosions were heard in Kyiv as the Ukrainian capital came under air attack on Saturday, in the first major attack on the city since late September.

“Strong explosions were heard on in the left bank of the capital,” Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. “Preliminary, air defence was working against ballistic (missiles).”

Russian troops are intensifying their attacks on the key eastern town of Avdiivka, a senior Ukraine officer has said, while the country’s general staff reported its military repelled many Russian assaults in widely separated sectors of the frontline.

Key Points

• Strong explosions’ in Kyiv as Ukrainian capital comes under attack

• Two Russian landing boats filled with armoured vehicles destroyed

• Russia intensifies attacks in Avdiivka

• Ukraine warns any peace talks with Russia are a ‘trap'

• Volodymyr Zelensky says he is certain of battlefield success

Blast kills three Russian officers in occupied town, says Ukrainian intelligence

18:00 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine's intelligence directorate said on Sunday that an explosion in the Russian-occupied town of Melitopol killed at least three Russian servicemen in an attack it described as an "act of revenge" by local underground groups.

The blast occurred during a meeting on Saturday of Russian officers in the town, a hub of Russian forces in the south, the directorate within the defence ministry said in a statement.

"This act of revenge, carried out by representatives of the local resistance, took place in the New Post offices seized by the Russians," it said.

There was no mention of the incident from Russian officials. Reuters was unable to verify the Ukrainian statement.

The intelligence statement said the meeting on Saturday at the local military headquarters was attended by Russian National Guard and FSB intelligence service officers.

"As a result of the explosion at least three National Guard officers were killed at the headquarters," the statement said. "Information of other enemy losses is being clarified."

The statement said police converged on the area and a burned-out car was later seen being towed through the town.

Biden’s reelection pitch when it comes to Ukraine

17:00 , Tara Cobham

US President Joe Biden is facing two wars on two continents, and the fallout from each conflict will shape a second term even if the fighting ends before that.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been going on for almost two years, and Israel and Hamas began their latest clash about a month ago. Biden wants to send military support to Ukraine and Israel, something that he describes as "vital" to U.S. national security interests.

"History has taught us when terrorists don't pay a price for their terror, when dictators don't pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction," he said in a recent Oval Office address.

His plans will require challenging congressional negotiations. Some Republicans are resisting more assistance for Ukraine after Congress has already approved $113 billion in security, economic and humanitarian resistance.

Both conflicts will likely require years of U.S. involvement. For example, Biden is looking for a new opportunity to push for a two-state solution in the Middle East, creating an independent Palestinian country alongside Israel.

Senior Ukrainian officer coordinated Nord Stream attack

16:05 , Lydia Patrick

A Ukrainian military officer coordinated last year’s attack on the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing anonymous sources in Ukraine and Europe.

No one has taken responsibility for the September 2022 blasts, which occurred off the Danish island of Bornholm and ruptured three out of four lines of the system that delivers Russian gas to Europe.

Washington and NATO called it an act of sabotage, while Moscow said it was an act of international terrorism.

Roman Chervinsky, a former intelligence official who served in the Ukrainian military’s special forces, managed a six-person team but did not plan the attack, the Post reported. He denied involvement.

A spokesperson for Ukraine‘s military told Reuters he had “no information” about the claim. The Ukrainian foreign ministry and Kyiv’s domestic security service, the SBU, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

His commanding officer at the time, Maj. Gen. Viktor Hanushchak, told Ukrainian media earlier this year that senior military leadership had signed off on the plot to lure the Russian pilot.

Russian troops continue effort to encircle Avdiivka

13:30 , Lydia Patrick

Ukraine‘s General Staff said that Russian troops were also continuing their weekslong push to encircle Avdiivka, an Ukrainian stronghold south of Bakhmut and a key target since the beginning of the war.

It’s considered the gateway to parts of the eastern Donetsk region under Kyiv’s control.

The General Staff said the air force was playing a key part in the latest Russian assault.Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who leads Ukrainian troops fighting in and near Avdiivka, said Sunday that the attacking Russian forces were ramping up airstrikes, particularly those using guided bombs. He wrote on Telegram that Russian troops over the previous day had launched 30 airstrikes and 712 artillery barrages at the city and surrounding areas, and clashed almost 50 times with Ukrainian units.

Russia ramps up attacks on key cities in eastern Ukraine

12:35 , Lydia Patrick

Moscow’s troops have begun a push to regain territory near Bakhmut, the eastern mining city that was the site of the war’s bloodiest battle before falling into Russian hands in May, the head of Ukraine‘s ground forces wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukrainian troops had recaptured the heights over Bakhmut and made some advances to the city’s west, north and south since Kyiv launched its summer counteroffensive.

“Toward Bakhmut, the Russians have become more active and are trying to recapture previously lost positions. ... Enemy attacks are being repelled,” Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote in a Telegram update on Sunday afternoon.

Ukraine‘s long-awaited counteroffensive has so far resulted in only incremental gains and heavy losses, with Ukrainian troops struggling to punch through Russian lines in the south. Meanwhile, Moscow’s forces have attempted to press forward in the northeast, likely with a view to distract Kyiv and minimize the number of troops it is able to send to key southern and eastern battles.

The Ukrainian ground forces’ spokesperson similarly reported that Russian troops had “switched from defense to active defense” near Bakhmut, “putting pressure” on Ukrainian troops south of the city. Vladimir Fityo made the remarks on Ukrainian TV, adding that Russian troops were searching for weak points in Ukrainian defenses and ramping up artillery strikes on Ukrainian positions.

Germany set to double Ukraine military aid under Scholz plan

12:05 , Lydia Patrick

German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition has agreed in principle to double the country’s military aid for Ukraine next year to 8 billion euros ($8.5 billion), a political source in Berlin said.

If approved by parliament, where Scholz’s parties hold a majority, the boost would lift Germany’s defence spending to 2.1% of its gross domestic product target, beyond the 2% pledged by all North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, the source added.

Lawmakers of Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Free Democrats and the Green party agreed on the increase in negotiations over the proposed 2024 federal budget ahead of a formal meeting of the budget committee of the Bundestag - or lower house of parliament - on Thursday, Nov. 16, the source said.

A spokesperson for Germany’s Ministry of Defence said the Bundestag committee has not finished negotiations and declined to comment further.

Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper also said the committee is due to approve the additional 4 billion euros.

“Doubling the military spending is both the right thing to do and important,” it quoted member of parliament Andreas Schwarz, who acts as an SPD military budget official, as saying.

“With the move we will underscore our promise to Ukraine with the necessary funds. The fact that we will also be able to fulfil our NATO obligation is a great success of the ... coalition,” he was reported as saying.

A European Union plan to spend up to 20 billion euros ($21.4 billion) on military aid for Ukraine is meeting with resistance from EU countries, diplomats said this week.

'We want her back,' husband of US journalist detained in Russia appeals for her immediate release

11:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

This wasn’t how Pavel Butorin expected to celebrate his anniversary this week, with his wife of 21 years in a Russian prison and barely any communication available.

Russian-American journalist, Alsu Kurmasheva — who works as an editor for U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe — has been detained in Russia for almost a month and charged with failing to self-register as a “foreign agent.”

“Alsu should be celebrating this anniversary with me and our children at home, not in a Russian prison,” Butorin told The Associated Press in an interview in Prague on Friday. “We want her back. Alsu must be released as soon as possible,” he said, visibly shaken.

'We want her back,' husband of US journalist detained in Russia appeals for her immediate release

Putin drafting Wagner Group mercenaries into national guard, UK says

10:57 , Lydia Patrick

Large elements of the Wagner Group mercenary group are likely serving in Russia’s National Guard, says the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

Rosgvardiya’s national guard is thought to be led by Pavel Prigozhin, the son of the late Yevgeny Prigozhin - the Wagner leader who died in a plane crash in August of this year soon after the rebel group captured Rostov-on-Don.

Other Wagner fighters are likely to have joined Redut, another Private Military Company, which have a total of 7,000 personnel, say the Ministry of Defence.

Wagner group fighters also joined Chechen Akhmat special forces and 170 former Wagner fighters had already joined Akhmat, according to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

The UK government describes the Wagner mercenary group as a terrorist organisation.

Hungary's Orbán says negotiations on Ukraine's future EU membership should not move forward

10:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Hungary’s prime minister said Friday he does not support moving forward on negotiations on Ukraine‘s future membership in the European Union, signaling again that his country could pose a major roadblock to Kyiv‘s ambitions to join the bloc.

EU leaders are to decide in mid-December whether Ukraine should be formally invited to begin talks to join the 27-member union, with Hungary seen as a potential obstacle. Unanimity among all member states is required to admit a new country into the bloc, giving Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, a powerful veto.

The EU’s executive branch on Wednesday recommended that Ukraine should be permitted to open membership talks once it has addressed some shortfalls. But in an interview with state radio on Friday, Orbán said the embattled country is nowhere near gaining membership in the world’s largest trading bloc.

Hungary's Orbán says negotiations on Ukraine's future EU membership should not move forward

Somber bugles and bells mark Armistice Day around the globe as wars drown out peace messages

09:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

With somber bugles and bells from Australia to western Europe’s battlefields of World War I, people around the globe on Saturday remembered the slaughter and losses just over a century ago that was supposed to be “the war to end all wars.”

Yet the rumble of tanks and the screeching of incoming fire from Ukraine to Gaza pierced the solemnity of the occasion and the notion that humankind could somehow circumvent violence to settle its worst differences.

“This time last year, our thoughts were focused on Ukraine. Today, our minds are full with the terrible images emerging from Israel and Gaza. These are just two of the more than 100 armed conflicts in the world today,” said Benoit Mottrie, the head of the Last Post Association in western Belgium’s Ypres, where some of the fiercest and deadliest World War I battles were fought.

Somber bugles and bells mark Armistice Day around the globe as wars drown out peace messages

Two Russian landing boats filled with armoured vehicles destroyed by Ukraine in ‘significant loss’ for Putin

08:51 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine on Friday said its naval drones had destroyed two small Russian landing boats in Crimea, in an embarrassment for President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian military intelligence said two amphibious Russian ships loaded with armoured vehicles had been hit by naval drones overnight.

One of the boats was identified as an Akula class vessel, while the other landing vessel was a Serna class.

“The results of intelligence conducted on 10 November 2023 near Vuzka Bay in temporarily occupied Crimea show that after an attack by naval drones, two small Russian landing ships have been destroyed,” a Ukraine military report said.

Ukraine destroys Russian landing boats in ‘significant loss’ for Putin

What the Republican candidates have said on the war in Ukraine

07:00 , Tara Cobham

As President Joe Biden likes to remind anyone who will listen, “This is not your grandfather’s Republican Party”.

That has never been more evident than when examining the way the 2024 Republican presidential candidates approach the topic of Ukraine.

Support for Ukraine is dividing the GOP field. Several candidates believe the US should continue to support the war effort – a stance that adheres to more traditional Republican foreign policy beliefs.

Gustaf Kilander and Ariana Baio report:

What are the Republican candidates’ views on the war in Ukraine

Recap: EU’s 20 billion euro plan for Ukraine military aid hits resistance

06:00 , Tara Cobham

A European Union plan to spend up to 20 billion euros ($21.4 billion) on military aid for Ukraine is meeting resistance from EU countries and may not survive in its current form, diplomats have said.

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, proposed in July that the bloc create a fund with up to 5 billion euros a year over four years as part of broader Western security commitments to bolster Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion.

But as EU defence ministers prepare to discuss the plan in Brussels on Tuesday, diplomats say multiple countries - including EU heavyweight Germany - have voiced reservations about committing such large sums years in advance.

The EU and its members have been among the biggest donors of military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022, providing arms and equipment worth some 25 billion euros, according to the bloc's diplomatic service.

Borrell's proposal was an effort to put support on a longer-term footing, by creating a cash pot for Ukraine aid inside a bigger fund, the European Peace Facility, used to reimburse EU members for military assistance to other countries.

"I'm not going to declare it dead at this point yet. But of course, improvements can always be made," a senior EU diplomat said on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Germany has had a lot of questions ... and rightfully so. We're talking about a lot of money."

Ukraine’s current frontline stalemate with Russia is hurting Kyiv

05:00 , Askold Krushelnycky

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his troops can still deliver results on the frontline and says that country has a battlefield plan for 2024, without revealing details.

"We have a plan. We have very concrete cities, very [concrete] directions where we go. I can't share all the details but we have some slow steps forward on the south, also we have steps on the east," he said. "And some, I think good steps ... near Kherson region. I am sure we'll have success. It's difficult."

Ukrainian forces have been trying to establish a bridgehead on the eastern, Russian-occupied, bank of the vast Dnipro river in Kherson region. A rapid counteroffensive liberated the region west of the Dnipro and its capital, Kherson City, almost exactly a year ago.

Read more here:

Analysis: Ukraine’s current frontline stalemate with Russia is hurting Kyiv

Recap: Watch Zelensky saying Russian soldiers must ‘go out’ of Ukraine to end war

04:00 , Tara Cobham

Polish President warns of threat of Russian imperialism on Independence Day holiday

03:00 , Tara Cobham

The Polish President warned that Russian imperialism once again threatens not just Ukraine but the wider region as Poland celebrated its Independence Day holiday.

Thousands of people walked through Warsaw on Saturday in a march organized by nationalist groups, 105 years after the nation regained its statehood at the end of World War I.

Participants carried Poland's white-and-red flag and some burned flares as they marched along a route leading from the city center to the National Stadium.

President Andrzej Duda delivered a speech at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where he warned: "Russian imperialism will go further: it will want to seize more nations, taking away their freedom and their states.”

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent Poland a message on X, formerly Twitter, telling Poles: "May your independence be invincible and eternal."

While many patriotic events take place across the nation of 38 million each year, the yearly Independence March has come to dominate news coverage because it has sometimes been marred by xenophobic slogans and violence.

This year’s event was attended by some 40,000 and passed off peacefully, the Warsaw mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, said.

Russian forces preparing for ‘large-scale’ winter strike, says think tank

02:00 , Tara Cobham

Russian forces have been launching “significantly smaller and less frequent” drone strikes against Ukraine over the past month compared to previous months ahead of an anticipated “large-scale” winter strike, according to a US war think tank.

The Institute for the Study of War added that Vladimir Putin’s forces “continue to struggle with low morale and poor discipline”.

Ukrainian border guard filmed reuniting with young daughter after months

01:00 , Tara Cobham

A Ukrainian border guard has been captured hugging his daughter as the two reunited having spent months apart as a result of the war.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence posted the touching footage on social media of Stanislav and his child Mia embracing after the pair were separated for five months.

Orbán says negotiations on Ukraine’s EU membership shouldn't move forward

00:00 , Tara Cobham

Hungary’s prime minister said Friday he does not support moving forward on negotiations on Ukraine‘s future membership in the European Union, signaling again that his country could pose a major roadblock to Kyiv‘s ambitions to join the bloc.

EU leaders are to decide in mid-December whether Ukraine should be formally invited to begin talks to join the 27-member union, with Hungary seen as a potential obstacle. Unanimity among all member states is required to admit a new country into the bloc, giving Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, a powerful veto.

The EU’s executive branch on Wednesday recommended that Ukraine should be permitted to open membership talks once it has addressed some shortfalls. But in an interview with state radio on Friday, Orbán said the embattled country is nowhere near gaining membership in the world’s largest trading bloc.

Justin Spike reports:

Hungary's Orbán says negotiations on Ukraine's future EU membership should not move forward

Freight cars carrying cargo in Russia‘s Ryazan region were derailed by ‘improvised explosive device'

Saturday 11 November 2023 23:34 , Joe Middleton

Freight cars carrying cargo in Russia‘s Ryazan region were derailed Saturday morning by an improvised explosive device, Russian law enforcement said.

Nineteen carriages traveling from the town of Rybnoye were thrown from the tracks and 15 were damaged, investigators wrote in a statement on social media. They said they would be opening a criminal investigation on terrorism charges.

Both the train driver and assistant train driver received medical attention at the scene.

Russian officials have previously blamed pro-Ukrainian saboteurs for several attacks on the country’s railway system since Moscow invaded the country in February 2022, although no group has claimed responsibility for the damage. Kyiv has not commented on Saturday’s attacks.

Recap: Watch Ramaswamy appearing to call Ukraine’s Zelensky a ‘Nazi’

Saturday 11 November 2023 23:00 , Tara Cobham

Husband of US journalist detained in Russia appeals for immediate release

Saturday 11 November 2023 22:00 , Tara Cobham

This wasn’t how Pavel Butorin expected to celebrate his anniversary this week, with his wife of 21 years in a Russian prison and barely any communication available.

Russian-American journalist, Alsu Kurmasheva — who works as an editor for U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe — has been detained in Russia for almost a month and charged with failing to self-register as a “foreign agent.”

“Alsu should be celebrating this anniversary with me and our children at home, not in a Russian prison,” Butorin told The Associated Press in an interview in Prague on Friday. “We want her back. Alsu must be released as soon as possible,” he said, visibly shaken.

Karel Janicek reports:

Kherson is ‘symbol of heroism and hope’, says Zelenskyy on liberation anniversary

Saturday 11 November 2023 21:00 , Tara Cobham

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Kherson as a “symbol of heroism and hope” on the day the city marks one year since Ukraine retook it from occupying Russian forces.

The Ukrainian President posted on X: “Kherson is a symbol of heroism and hope. It is a city of our people who have not bowed down to the enemy and inspired all of us and the entire world with their resistance.”

In pictures: Russia’s overnight strike on Kyiv

Saturday 11 November 2023 20:00 , Tara Cobham

One year after liberation, Ukrainians in Kherson hold on to hope amid constant shelling

Saturday 11 November 2023 19:00 , Tara Cobham

One year since Ukraine retook the city of Kherson from occupying Russian forces, residents have grown accustomed to hearing outgoing fire from the left bank of the Dnieper river, where Russian troops are positioned. They know that familiar crackle means they have seven seconds to find a shelter, or a sturdy wall to hide behind.

Their lives are mostly limited to the comfort of home and the necessity of the supermarket. Many shops are still shuttered. Municipal workers wear bullet-proof vests and wait to be dispatched to sweep up the rubble from yet another impact.

Between lulls of artillery fire coming from the river, which marks the contact line between battling armies in the Kherson region, Ukrainians venture out to buy food, bicycle down grassy residential lanes or convene in the few restaurants that dare to remain open.

Marking the anniversary of Russia's defeat on 11 November is a bittersweet occasion, many residents say, as Ukraine's counteroffensive grinds on without producing the spectacular gains many had hoped for. But those who stay are steadfast in their belief that one day normal life will return.

"When you have lived under occupation, you know what freedom means," said Grigori Malov, who owns one out of three restaurants still operating in the city. "It's why we have a special attitude toward the continued shelling. We can withstand it because we know how it could be worse."

The flight of Russian troops from Kherson under prolonged Ukrainian assault a year ago was one of Ukraine's biggest successes in the war and was seen as an inflection point. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy triumphantly walked the streets of the newly liberated city back then, hailing Russia's withdrawal as the "beginning of the end of the war." Many hoped it would serve as a springboard for more advances into occupied territory.

Today, both sides are locked in a stalemated battle of attrition.

Armistice Day marked around globe as wars drown out peace messages

Saturday 11 November 2023 18:00 , Tara Cobham

With somber bugles and bells from Australia to western Europe’s battlefields of World War I, people around the globe on Saturday remembered the slaughter and losses just over a century ago that was supposed to be “the war to end all wars.”

Yet the rumble of tanks and the screeching of incoming fire from Ukraine to Gaza pierced the solemnity of the occasion and the notion that humankind could somehow circumvent violence to settle its worst differences.

“This time last year, our thoughts were focused on Ukraine. Today, our minds are full with the terrible images emerging from Israel and Gaza. These are just two of the more than 100 armed conflicts in the world today,” said Benoit Mottrie, the head of the Last Post Association in western Belgium’s Ypres, where some of the fiercest and deadliest World War I battles were fought.

Raf Casert and Marta Fiorin report:

Somber bugles and bells mark Armistice Day around the globe as wars drown out peace messages

Recap: Watch footage Ukraine releases of damaged Russian ship in Crimea

Saturday 11 November 2023 17:00 , Tara Cobham

ICYMI - A Russian missile hits a Liberia-flagged ship in Odesa, Ukraine's main Black Sea port

Saturday 11 November 2023 16:00 , Lydia Patrick

A Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port of Odesa hit a Liberian-flagged freighter, killing a port worker and wounding another, as well as three citizens of the Philippines, crew members on the ship, Ukraine’s armed forces said Thursday.

The report did not give the name of the ship or the country of its owners, but Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the ship was to carry iron ore to China. The extent of the damage was not immediately reported.

The Odesa port and others in the region are economically vital to Ukraine as its outlets to the Black Sea, from which ships can head for world markets. Odesa port facilities have come under Russian attack 21 times since Russia in August declined to renew a deal allowing Ukraine to safely export grain via the Black Sea, Kubrakov said.

A Russian missile hits a Liberia-flagged ship in Odesa, Ukraine's main Black Sea port

ICYMI - Two Russian landing boats filled with armoured vehicles destroyed by Ukraine in ‘significant loss’ for Putin

Saturday 11 November 2023 15:00 , Lydia Patrick

Ukraine on Friday said its naval drones have destroyed two small Russian landing boats in Crimea, in an embarrassment for president Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian military intelligence said two amphibious Russian ships loaded with armoured vehicles had been hit by naval drones overnight.

One of the boats has been identified as an Akula class vessel, while the other landing vessel was a Serna class.

“The results of intelligence conducted on 10 November 2023 near Vuzka Bay in temporarily occupied Crimea show that after an attack by naval drones, two small Russian landing ships have been destroyed,” a Ukraine military report said.

Ukraine destroys Russian landing boats in ‘significant loss’ for Putin

Ongoing wars drown out calls for peace

Saturday 11 November 2023 14:10 , Lydia Patrick

With somber bugles and bells from Australia to western Europe’s battlefields of World War I, people around the globe on Saturday remembered the slaughter and losses just over a century ago that was supposed to be “the war to end all wars.”

Yet the rumble of tanks and the screeching of incoming fire from Ukraine to Gaza pierced the solemnity of the occasion and the notion that humankind could somehow circumvent violence to settle its worst differences.

“This time last year, our thoughts were focused on Ukraine. Today, our minds are full with the terrible images emerging from Israel and Gaza.

These are just two of the more than 100 armed conflicts in the world today,” said Benoit Mottrie, the head of the Last Post Association in western Belgium’s Ypres, where some of the fiercest and deadliest World War I battles were fought.

During a ceremony with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and dozens of dignitaries, Mottrie expressed the sense of powerlessness that so many feel that the lessons of the past cannot automatically be translated into peace today.

“It would be naive to think that our presence here in Ypres will have any direct impact on any of the 100 conflicts. The emotions of those involved are too raw for us to understand, and for them to see the light of what we regard as reason,” Mottrie said.

A recap of overnight strikes

Saturday 11 November 2023 12:45 , Lydia Patrick

Russian forces targeted Ukraine‘s capital, Kyiv, as part of an overnight bombardment felt across the country, local officials said Saturday, while drones that Russian officials blamed on the Ukrainian military targeted areas around Moscow and the region of Smolensk.

A ballistic missile was shot down as it approached the Ukrainian capital, said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. He said that no one was injured.

The Ukrainian air force later confirmed an Iskander-M missile ballistic missile was used in the attack, the first attempted missile strike on Kyiv in almost two months.

The missile was destroyed by the country’s Patriot air defense system.Ukraine‘s air defense systems actively repelled attacks in Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, and Kirovohrad regions.

The country’s air force said Russian troops launched 31 Shahed-136/131 drones, of which 19 were shot down.

The strike in the Odesa region damaged the city’s port infrastructure and a small community of cottages, injuring three people including a 96-year-old woman, said regional governor, Oleh Kiper.

Russia’s military spokesperson, Yuri Ihnat, also said they launched an X-31 aircraft missile, an Onyx anti-ship missile, and an S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile targeting Ukraine overnight, but did not give further details.

Russia’s defense ministry also said it shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Smolensk and Moscow regions.Smolensk governor, Vasiliy Anokhin, said that no one was hurt in the attack.

Russian train carriages derail due to 'unauthorized interference'

Saturday 11 November 2023 12:15 , Lydia Patrick

Trains carrying cargo in Russia’s Ryazan region were derailed Saturday morning due to “unauthorized interference,” Moscow rail operator MZHD said.Russian law enforcement said that 15 train carriages had been derailed southeast of the capital, while MZHD reported the number as 19.

Several Russian media outlets also reported that an explosion was heard in the vicinity on Saturday morning, although this could not be independently verified by The Associated Press.Russian officials have previously blamed pro-Ukrainian saboteurs for several attacks on the country’s railway system since Moscow invaded the country in February 2022, although no group has claimed responsibility for the damage.Kyiv has not commented on Saturday’s attacks.

'We want her back,' husband of US journalist detained in Russia appeals for her immediate release

Saturday 11 November 2023 11:37 , Lydia Patrick

Russian-American journalist, Alsu Kurmasheva — who works as an editor for U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe — has been detained in Russia for almost a month and charged with failing to self-register as a “foreign agent.”

“Alsu should be celebrating this anniversary with me and our children at home, not in a Russian prison,” Butorin told The Associated Press in an interview in Prague on Friday.

“We want her back. Alsu must be released as soon as possible,” he said, visibly shaken.

Kurmasheva was detained on Oct 18, becoming the second U.S. journalist detained in Russia this year, after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges in March.

She is being held in a detention center, awaiting a trial that could sentence her to up to five years in prison.Her ordeal began in May when she decided to travel to Russia’s Tatarstan to see her ailing, elderly mother for what was supposed to be a short trip.

On June 2, she was about to board a return plane for home at Kazan International Airport when she was temporarily detained, both her passports and phone seized and fined for failing to register her U.S. passport with Russian authorities.

“But before Alsu was able to pay the fine that was eventually issued, she was charged with a much more serious offense, and that is failure to register as a foreign agent,” Butorin said.

The state-run news website Tatar-Inform said Kurmasheva faces charges of failing to register as a “foreign agent” and was collecting information on Russian military activities “in order to transmit information to foreign sources.”

ICYMI -

Saturday 11 November 2023 11:07 , Lydia Patrick

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov-on-Don as he assessed the state of his country’s forces in Ukraine as the war drags on toward winter. It was his second public visit to the headquarters in less than a month.

Video shared by a Russian state news agency showed Putin being greeted late Thursday by Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff.

Almost 21 months of war have significantly eroded both Russia’s and Ukraine’s military resources. As winter comes, the fighting is likely to further settle into attritional warfare and analysts expect little change to the more than 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.

Putin and top military leaders visit southern military headquarters to assess his war in Ukraine

A recap of last night’s strike on Kyiv

Saturday 11 November 2023 10:30 , Lydia Patrick

Russia launched a missile attack on Ukraine‘s capital Kyiv and the nearby region for the first time in weeks and pounded the east and south of the country with drones, Ukrainian officials said.

Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said a Russian ballistic missile was launched toward the capital at about 08:00 a.m.(0600 GMT).

“After a long pause of 52 days, the enemy has resumed missile attacks on Kyiv,” Popko said on the Telegram messaging app. “The missile failed to reach Kyiv, air defenders shot it down as it was approaching the capital.”

Popko said there were no casualties or major damage in the capital.

Ruslan Kravchenko, regional governor for the central Kyiv region, said five private houses and several commercial buildings in the area were damaged. He said two Russian missiles struck a field between settlements.

Ukraine‘s air defenders also shot down 19 Iranian-made “Shahed” drones out of 31 launched by the Russian forces in the overnight attack on southern and eastern regions, the air force said in a statement.

Oleh Kiper, Odesa’s regional governor, said the southern region was attacked with missiles and drones on Friday evening and overnight. The strikes wounded three people and damaged port infrastructure facilities, he said without offering further details.

Russia has intensified its bombardments of Ukraine‘s ports, including Odesa, and grain infrastructure since July when Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a wartime deal that enabled Ukraine’s exports to reach many countries facing the threat of hunger.

North Korea condemns Blinken’s remarks on Pyongyang’s relations with Russia

Saturday 11 November 2023 10:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

North Korea has condemned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments on North Korea-Russia relations.

Mr Blinken said on Thursday he shared South Korean concerns about growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, which he called a “two-way street”.

“The US should be accustomed to the new reality of the DPRK-Russia relations,” North Korea’s foreign ministry said.

“No matter what others may say, the friendly and cooperative relations between the DPRK and Russia aspiring after independence, peace and friendship will steadily grow stronger,” the statement added.

Ukraine shoots down 19 Shahed drones

Saturday 11 November 2023 09:28 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Russia on Saturday launched a missile attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and the nearby region for the first time in weeks.

Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said a Russian ballistic missile was launched toward the capital at about 8am (local time).

“After a long pause of 52 days, the enemy has resumed missile attacks on Kyiv,” Mr Popko said. “The missile failed to reach Kyiv, air defenders shot it down as it was approaching the capital.”

Ukraine said its air defenders shot down 19 Iranian-made “Shahed” drones out of 31 launched by the Russian forces in the overnight attack on southern and eastern regions.

Putin and top military leaders visit southern military headquarters

Saturday 11 November 2023 08:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Russian president Vladimir Putin visited the Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov-on-Don as he assessed the state of his country’s forces in Ukraine.

It was his second public visit to the headquarters in less than a month.

Video shared by a Russian state news agency showed MrPutin being greeted late Thursday by defence minister Minister Sergey Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff.

Almost 21 months of war have significantly eroded both Russia’s and Ukraine’s military resources. As winter comes, the fighting is likely to further settle into attritional warfare and analysts expect little change to the more than 1,000km front line.

In Rostov-on-Don, less than 100km from Ukraine’s southeastern border, Mr Putin was “introduced to new types of military equipment” and was informed about the progress of the war, his spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

More here.

Putin and top military leaders visit southern military headquarters to assess his war in Ukraine

Two Russian landing boats filled with armoured vehicles destroyed

Saturday 11 November 2023 08:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Ukraine on Friday said its naval drones have destroyed two small Russian landing boats in Crimea, in an embarrassment for president Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian military intelligence said two amphibious Russian ships loaded with armoured vehicles had been hit by naval drones overnight.

One of the boats has been identified as an Akula class vessel, while the other landing vessel was a Serna class.

“The results of intelligence conducted on 10 November 2023 near Vuzka Bay in temporarily occupied Crimea show that after an attack by naval drones, two small Russian landing ships have been destroyed,” a Ukraine military report said.

More here.

Ukraine destroys Russian landing boats in ‘significant loss’ for Putin

'Strong explosions’ in Kyiv as Ukrainian capital comes under attack

Saturday 11 November 2023 07:52 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Russian air strikes targeted Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Saturday, in a first attack since September, the city mayor said.

There was no immediate information on if there were any casualties.“Strong explosions were heard on the left bank of the capital,” mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

“Preliminary, air defence was working against ballistic (missiles).”

Air alerts for Kyiv and a nearby region were announced just minutes before the explosions were heard as city authorities urged residents to stay in shelters.

Watch: US presidential hopeful appears to call Ukraine's Zelensky a 'Nazi'

Saturday 11 November 2023 06:59 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine beats back Russian attacks on frontline as rain slows down Putin’s troops

Saturday 11 November 2023 06:02 , Andy Gregory

Russian forces were failing to advance against Ukrainian troops as they scaled up their attacks on the eastern town of Avdiivka, senior military officials said on Friday.

They said Moscow wanted to advance while attention remained on Israel.

My colleague Arpan Rai has more here:

Ukraine beats back Russian attacks on frontline as rain slows down Putin’s troops

Putin and top military leaders visit southern military headquarters to assess his war in Ukraine

Saturday 11 November 2023 05:02 , Andy Gregory

Vladimir Putin visited the Southern Military District headquarters in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don – mutinously seized by the late Yevgeny Prigozhin in June – as he assessed the state of Russia’s forces in Ukraine, in his second public visit to the headquarters in less than a month.

Footage shared by a Russian state news agency showed the Russian president being greeted late on Thursday by defence minister Sergey Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia’s General Staff.

Mr Putin was “introduced to new types of military equipment” and was informed about the progress of the war, his spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

He made the visit on the way back from a trip to Kazakhstan, where he aimed to cement ties with Russia’s ex-Soviet neighbour and major economic partner.

Putin and top military leaders visit southern military headquarters to assess his war in Ukraine

Ukraine’s global ‘peace summit’ deferred to next year amid war in Gaza

Saturday 11 November 2023 04:05 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine’s global “peace summit” is likely to take place next year, amid concerns over diplomatic rallying for the end of war in Europe with a simultaneous war raging in Gaza.

The war-hit country is arranging a fourth meeting of national security advisers in late November or early December, said Ihor Zhovka, president Volodymyr Zelensky’s top diplomatic adviser. “And the Global Summit might take place in February 2024,” he said in a statement.

He added that the summit will “definitely” take place “as it will mark both the symbolic beginning of the practical implementation of the Ukraine ‘peace formula’ and summarise all the results that have already been achieved on this track”.

Kyiv is looking to build a global coalition to come together and endorse a 10-point “formula” for peace in the region drafted by Volodymyr Zelensky. My colleague Arpan Rai has more details:

Ukraine’s global ‘peace summit’ deferred to next year amid war in Gaza

Teenager taken to Russia from Mariupol to be allowed to return to Ukraine, officials say

Saturday 11 November 2023 03:04 , Andy Gregory

Ukrainian and Russian officials say they have reached an agreement to bring home a Ukrainian teenager taken to Russia from Mariupol by Moscow’s forces as they devastated the city last year.

Bohdan Yermokhin, a 17-year-old whose parents passed away years ago, will be reunited with a cousin “in a third country” on his 18th birthday later this month, with a view to then return to Ukraine, Russian children’s rights official Maria Lvova-Belova said. Ukraine’s human rights official Dmytro Lubinets also confirmed on Friday that Mr Yermokhin “will soon be in Ukraine.”

Mr Yermokhin is one of thousands of Ukrainian children taken to Russia from Ukraine since the invasion began, which has seen the International Criminal Court issue war crime arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Lvova-Belova.

Mr Yermokhin was taken to Russia from the port city of Mariupol, seized by Moscow’s forces early on in the war. He was placed in a foster family in the Moscow region and given Russian citizenship, but repeatedly expressed the desire to return to Ukraine, his lawyer and family say.

The teenager appears to have already tried to escape Russia. In April, Lvova-Belova admitted Russian authorities had caught Mr Yerkmohin near Russia’s border with Belarus, as he was heading to Ukraine. The children’s rights ombudswoman argued that he was being taken there “under false pretenses”.

Lvova-Belova said on Friday that in August, her office offered Yermokhin the option of returning to Ukraine, but he “clearly stated that he doesn’t plan to move to Ukraine before turning 18 and confirmed it in writing.” He later changed his mind, she claimed, and an agreement with Ukraine regarding his return was reached.

Watch: Putin struggles to pronounce the name of Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

Saturday 11 November 2023 02:04 , Andy Gregory

Full report: Hungary’s Orban says talks on Ukraine’s EU membership should not progress

Saturday 11 November 2023 01:02 , Andy Gregory

Viktor Orban has said he does not support moving forward on negotiations on Ukraine’s future membership in the European Union, indicating once again that Hungary could pose a major roadblock to Kyiv’s ambitions to join the bloc.

EU leaders are to decide next month whether Ukraine should be formally invited to begin talks to join the union. Unanimity among all member states is required to admit a new country into the bloc, giving Mr Orban a powerful veto.

The EU’s executive branch on Wednesday recommended that Ukraine should be permitted to open membership talks once it has addressed some shortfalls.

But in an interview with state radio on Friday, Mr Orban said: “Ukraine is in no way ready to negotiate on its ambitions to join the European Union. The clear Hungarian position is that the negotiations must not begin.”

Justin Spike has the full report:

Hungary's Orbán says negotiations on Ukraine's future EU membership should not move forward

Ukraine claims to sink two Russian boats loaded with armoured vehicles

Saturday 11 November 2023 00:01 , Andy Gregory

Ukrainian naval drones have destroyed two small amphibious Russian landing boats loaded with armoured vehicles in Crimea, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has claimed.

An evening update claimed the attack had been carried out by naval drones on the two vessels in Vuzka Bay, on the west side of the peninsula. It identified one landing craft as an Akula class vessel, the other a Serna class.

“As a consequence of the attack, both vessels went to the bottom, the Akula straight away and the Serna after attempts to save it.”

The Ukrainian military said the vessels were crewed, and loaded with armoured vehicles.

In the latest fighting reports, the Russian state-backed news agency RIA quoted Russia’s defence ministry as saying Russian air defences had brought down two Ukrainian drones over Crimea and one over the Tula region south of Moscow early on Friday.

Long-term EU aid plan for Ukraine may not survive in current form, say diplomats

Friday 10 November 2023 23:04 , Andy Gregory

A European Union plan to spend up to €20bn on military aid for Ukraine is meeting resistance from EU countries and may not survive in its current form, diplomats have told Reuters.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, proposed in July that the bloc create a fund with up to €5bn annually over four years as part of broader Western security commitments to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

But as EU defence ministers prepare to discuss the plan in Brussels on Tuesday, diplomats say multiple countries – including Germany – have voiced reservations about committing such large sums years in advance.

“I’m not going to declare it dead at this point yet. But of course, improvements can always be made,” a senior EU diplomat told Reuters on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Germany has had a lot of questions ... and rightfully so. We’re talking about a lot of money.”

US tells China it ‘must not provide material support for Russian defence industry'

Friday 10 November 2023 22:01 , Andy Gregory

US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng have agreed to “intensify communication” and work together on a range of economic, financial stability and regulatory issues, Washington has said.

The two “had candid, direct, and productive discussions on the US-China bilateral economic relationship and a wide range of issues, including areas of cooperation and areas of disagreement,” the US Treasury said.

The two met in San Francisco ahead of the summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) country leaders, and Ms Yellen emphasised the need for Russia to end its war against Ukraine, stressing that Chinese companies “must not provide material support for Russia’s defence industrial sector”.

Watch: Ukraine releases footage of damaged Russian ship in Crimea

Friday 10 November 2023 21:02 , Andy Gregory

Hungary asks EU to take action against Bulgaria's transit tax on Russian gas

Friday 10 November 2023 20:01 , Andy Gregory

Hungary has asked the European Union’s executive to open a legal procedure against Bulgaria over a tax it recently imposed on Russian natural gas passing through its territory, Budapest’s minister for EU affairs has said.

Bulgaria believes the tax, which it levied in October, will reduce the privileged position of Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom in southeastern Europe and deter Russian influence in the region.

But the tax has angered Bulgaria’s neighbour Serbia, as well as fellow EU member Hungary, which are heavily dependent on Russian gas coming mostly via Turkey and Bulgaria through the TurkStream pipeline.

Hungarian minister Janos Boka said on Friday he had sent a letter to the European Commission urging it to launch an infringement procedure against Bulgaria, the first potential step the bloc can use to ensure its laws are upheld by member states.

Three killed and seven injured in Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson, officials say

Friday 10 November 2023 19:06 , Andy Gregory

Russian artillery and drone attacks killed three people and injured at least seven others in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions on Friday, damaging an infrastructure facility, power lines and a gas pipeline, local officials said.

In Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region, a 67-year-old woman was killed in an afternoon drone attack, said regional governor Serhiy Lysak.

“A 68-year-old man received shrapnel wounds. He’s hospitalised,” he added.

An infrastructure facility, a gas pipeline and power lines, as well as 11 private houses, had been damaged. Images from the site shared by Lysak showed buildings with shattered windows, huge holes in the walls, and a burnt car.

In Kindiyka, Kherson region, shelling in the morning killed a 69-year old man and injured another 63-year-old, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said, later adding that a 61-year-old man was killed and five more injured in a separate shelling in Novoraysk.

Putin and top military leaders visit southern military headquarters to assess his war in Ukraine

Friday 10 November 2023 18:00 , Matt Mathers

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov-on-Don as he assessed the state of his country’s forces in Ukraine as the war drags on toward winter. It was his second public visit to the headquarters in less than a month.

Video shared by a Russian state news agency showed Putin being greeted late Thursday by Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff.

Full report:

Putin and top military leaders visit southern military headquarters to assess his war in Ukraine

Hungary's Orbán says negotiations on Ukraine's future EU membership should not move forward

Friday 10 November 2023 17:00 , Matt Mathers

Hungary’s prime minister said Friday he does not support moving forward on negotiations on Ukraine‘s future membership in the European Union, signaling again that his country could pose a major roadblock to Kyiv‘s ambitions to join the bloc.

EU leaders are to decide in mid-December whether Ukraine should be formally invited to begin talks to join the 27-member union, with Hungary seen as a potential obstacle. Unanimity among all member states is required to admit a new country into the bloc, giving Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, a powerful veto.

Read the full report here.

Russia ‘thwarts attempt to forge bridgehead on River Dnipro’s east bank'

Friday 10 November 2023 15:45 , Matt Mathers

Russia’s military said on Friday that its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to forge a bridgehead on the eastern bank of the River Dnipro and on nearby islands, killing around 500 Ukrainian soldiers in the past week.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield claim, which was made in a Russian defence ministry statement and said the fighting had happened in the Kherson area of southern Ukraine.

"On 9 November, personnel from a motorised rifle company in the Russian military grouping ‘Dnipro’ under the command of Senior Lieutenant Zolto Arsalanov destroyed servicemen from a unit of Ukraine’s 36th Marine Infantry brigade as they were trying to gain a foothold on the left bank of the Dnipro River," the statement said.

The claim could not immediately be independently verified.

French court rejects appeal to extradite Ukrainian billionaire Zhevago

Friday 10 November 2023 15:13 , Matt Mathers

A French court rejected an appeal from the Ukrainian government and ruled that Ukrainian billionaire Kostyantyn Zhevago should not be extradited over accusations of embezzlement, a court spokesperson said on Friday.

Zhevago, who controls London-listed iron pellet producer Ferrexpo, was arrested at a French ski resort in December 2022 at the request of Ukraine, which wants him for alleged embezzlement involving a now-collapsed bank.

Zhevago has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

"(The court) concludes that the petitioning state (Ukraine) is not able to guarantee that Mr. Zhevago will be tried by a court that can ensure fundamental procedural guarantees and protection of the defence rights," a court verdict said.

Biden to meet Xi in first face-to-face talks for a year

Friday 10 November 2023 14:35 , Matt Mathers

President Joe Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping face-to-face for the first time in a year on Wednesday, the White House said, in high-stakes diplomacy aimed at curbing tensions between the world’s two superpowers.

The closely watched interaction, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the San Francisco Bay area, could last hours and involve teams of officials from Beijing and Washington.

It is expected to cover global issues from the Israel-Hamas war to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea’s ties with Russia, Taiwan, the Indo-Pacific, human rights, fentanyl, artificial intelligence, as well as "fair" trade and economic relations, senior Biden administration officials said.

"Nothing will be held back; everything is on the table," according to one U.S. official, who declined to be named, in a briefing with reporters.

"We’re clear-eyed about this. We know efforts to shape or reform China over several decades have failed. But we expect China to be around and to be a major player on the world stage for the rest of our lifetimes."

30,000 Ukrainians trained on Operation Interflex

Friday 10 November 2023 14:04 , Matt Mathers

Britain’s Ministry of Defence says it has now trained 30,000 Ukrainians as part of Operation Interflex.

“The UK and its ten partner nations continued to train Ukrainian recruits in the fight against the illegal invasion of their country”, the MoD said in a statement.

It added that the milestone had been reached ahead of schedule.

Operation Interflex, to help train Ukrainian troops in their battle against Russia’s invasion, was launched in June 2022 with the target of training 30,000 troops by the end of this year.

Germany talks up NATO spending pledge, fighter jet project

Friday 10 November 2023 13:31 , Matt Mathers

German government leaders on Friday pledged to raise regular budget outlays for defence to ensure Berlin meets its NATO spending target of 2 per cent of economic output even after a special 100 billion euro ($106 billion) defence fund has been exhausted.

Defence minister Boris Pistorius said Germany would incorporate higher spending into medium term financing plans.

He was speaking a day after the government pledged to make the German military the "backbone" of European defence as part of a major policy shift to boost spending and modernise its forces following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Officials in Russia-annexed Crimea say private clinics have stopped providing abortions

Friday 10 November 2023 12:40 , Matt Mathers

Russian-installed health officials in Crimea said Thursday that private clinics on the Moscow-annexed peninsula have “voluntarily” stopped providing abortions, which means that the procedure is now only available there in state-run medical facilities.

The move comes amid a wider effort in Russia to restrict abortion, still legal and widely available, as the country takes an increasingly conservative turn under President Vladimir Putin.

Full report:

Officials in Russia-annexed Crimea say private clinics have stopped providing abortions

What the Republican candidates have said on the war in Ukraine

Friday 10 November 2023 12:02 , Matt Mathers

As President Joe Biden likes to remind anyone who will listen, “This is not your grandfather’s Republican Party”.

That has never been more evident than when examining the way the 2024 Republican presidential candidates approach the topic of Ukraine.

Support for Ukraine is dividing the GOP field. Several candidates believe the US should continue to support the war effort – a stance that adheres to more traditional Republican foreign policy beliefs.

Gustaf Kilander reports:

What are the Republican candidates’ views on the war in Ukraine

Russian attacks intensify after war broke out between Hamas and Israel - Ukraine

Friday 10 November 2023 11:01 , Matt Mathers

Russian attacks on a town near the eastern frontline have intensified after war broke out between Hamas and Israel, a Ukrainian military spokesman has said.

Putin’s troops have been bearing down since mid-October on the shattered town of Avdiivka, known for its coking plant and its position as a gateway to the city of Donetsk, 20 km (12 miles) to the east.

Oleksandr Borodin, press officer for Ukraine’s third separate assault brigade, said Russian forces were launching major infantry attacks, while trying to keep equipment intact.

"All this started after the events in Israel," he said. "Perhaps they believe it is the best time to advance, but they have no serious successes."

Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration, told Espreso TV Russian forces were shelling the town "round the clock" but wet ground from several days of rain was holding their troops back.

Putin visits military HQ near border with Ukraine - state media

Friday 10 November 2023 10:13 , Matt Mathers

Russian president Vladimir Putin visited the southern military district headquarters in Rostov-on-Don as he assessed the state of his country’s forces in Ukraine as the war drags on toward winter.

It was his second public visit to the headquarters in less than a month.

Video shared by a Russian state news agency showed Mr Putin being greeted late on Thursday by defence minister Sergey Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff.

In Rostov-on-Don, less than 60 miles from Ukraine’s south-eastern border, Mr Putin was "introduced to new types of military equipment" and was informed about the progress of the war, his spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

Mr Putin made the visit on the way back from a trip to Kazakhstan, where he aimed to cement ties with Russia’s ex-Soviet neighbour and major economic partner in the midst of tensions with the West over Ukraine.

Ukraine GUR post video of Crimea attack

Friday 10 November 2023 08:50 , Tom Watling

Ukraine’s special intelligence service have posted a video purporting to show their overnight operation that destroyed multiple Russian landing ships docked in northwestern Crimea.

They claimed that multiple small vessels “carrying a crew and loaded armoured vehicles” were destroyed in the early hours of this morning.

Local reports suggest the attack took place around the port village of Chornomorske.

Previously, Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) have used small groups of its operatives to carry out swift attacks on Crimea, traversing the Black Sea using jet skis to avoid detection.

Ukraine’s global ‘peace summit’ deferred to next year amid war in Gaza

Friday 10 November 2023 08:33 , Tom Watling

Ukraine’s global “peace summit” is likely to take place next year, amid concerns over diplomatic rallying for the end of war in Europe with a simultaneous war raging in Gaza.

The war-hit country is arranging a fourth meeting of national security advisers in late November or early December, said Ihor Zhovka, president Volodymyr Zelensky’s top diplomatic adviser.

“And the Global Summit might take place in February 2024,” he said in a statement.

He added that the summit will “definitely” take place “as it will mark both the symbolic beginning of the practical implementation of the Ukraine ‘peace formula’ and summarise all the results that have already been achieved on this track”.

Arpan Rai reports.

Ukraine’s global ‘peace summit’ deferred to next year amid war in Gaza

Germany to adapt defence budget to meet NATO target even after special fund exhausted

Friday 10 November 2023 08:16 , Tom Watling

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday that the government will adapt the defence budget to ensure that the country achieves its NATO spending target even after its 100-billion-euro special defence fund has been exhausted.

"This is because procurement processes can only be planned and implemented sustainably if the Bundeswehr can rely on" receiving sufficient funds, said Scholz.

He added that adapting the budget to reach the two percent NATO defence spending target from 2028, without the help of a special fund, would be a formidable but feasible political task.

"Everybody understands that we need to spend more on defence," Scholz said.

While the need for longterm planning for defence investment in Europe has long been known, low levels of stockpiles across the bloc after nearly two years of supporting Ukraine have compounded this problem. Mr Scholz’s announcement appears to be an attempt to remedy this.

Zelensky says more than 150 Ukrainians evacuated from Gaza in last 24 hours

Friday 10 November 2023 08:10 , Tom Watling

More than 150 Ukrainians have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip through the southern border crossing with Egypt in the last 25 hours, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The Ukrainian president issued a statement on X to say that the last round of refugee rescues brought the total to more than 200.

Hundreds of foreign passport holders have been allowed to leave Gaza through the Egyptian Rafah crossing this week, according to local officials, though many others have been refused.

Ukraine beats back Russian attacks on frontline as rain slows down Putin’s troops

Friday 10 November 2023 08:03 , Tom Watling

Russian forces were failing to advance against Ukrainian troops as they scaled up their attacks on the eastern town of Avdiivka, senior military officials said.

They said Moscow wanted to advance while attention remained on Israel.

There were major infantry attacks being launched by the Russian forces as they tried to keep equipment intact, said Oleksandr Borodin, press officer for Ukraine’s third separate assault brigade.

The battlefield is not seeing any dramatic statistics on destruction of Russian equipment because “they use it much less, mainly from a distance”, he said.

“But their movements are quite dense now. It is not just infantry advancing but also parallel work of artillery, drones, aviation, the same air bombing and more,” Mr Borodin said but added that Russian forces were unable to replenish supplies quickly while Ukraine’s defensive positions remained solid.

Arpan Rai reports.

Ukraine beats back Russian attacks on frontline as rain slows down Putin’s troops

Russia will ‘struggle to redeploy’ to southern Ukraine, claims ISW

Friday 10 November 2023 07:56 , Tom Watling

Russia will “struggle to redeploy” combative forces to respond to the ongoing Ukrainian operations in eastern Kherson Oblast, across the Dnipro River, without compromising their defences along what was formerly the main axis of the counteroffensive in western Zaporizhzhia, the Institute for the Study of War said.

Russian military bloggers have claimed that Ukrainian forces are now in the land corridor south of the Dnipro River, in the village of Krynky.

What were formerly small, special forces operations appear to have escalated into a larger scale attack in that region.

Russia’s own specialist VDV forces relocated from Kherson to Zaporizhzhia to fight off the Ukrainian march on Robotyne during the counteroffensive.

But Russia forces will now have to move back if the forces in Kherson prove insufficient. That feat will be difficult.

“Redeployments of considerable elements of the 7th VDV Division or other VDV formations and units in western Zaporizhia Oblast would likely disrupt Russian defensive operations there,” the ISW wrote.

This morning’s top stories from Ukraine

Friday 10 November 2023 07:40 , Tom Watling

Below is a list of this morning’s top stories in and around Ukraine.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday discussed the war in Ukraine with his military top brass in the southern military command HQ in Rostov-on-Don. Putin was shown “new models of military equipment”. Rostov HQ is where Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin staged his coup in June.

• Two Russian high-speed landing craft in northwest Crimea were reportedly hit in the early hours this morning by Ukrainian drones. Local Telegram channel Crimean Wind posted a video of one of the explosions.

• Russian troops are intensifying their attacks on the key eastern town of Avdiivka, a senior Ukraine officer said on Thursday, while the country’s general staff reported its military repelled many Russian assaults in widely separated sectors of the front. Oleksandr Borodin, press officer for Ukraine’s third separate assault brigade, said Russian forces were launching major infantry attacks, while trying to keep equipment intact.

• Ukrainian forces shot down five of the six Shahed "kamikaze" drones and one of the two cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight, according to a statememt by the Air Force.

Here are some of the latest photos from Ukraine

Friday 10 November 2023 07:29 , Tom Watling

Good morning.

Below are some of the latest photos from Ukraine.

Ukraine working to secure more air defence systems, Zelensky says

Friday 10 November 2023 06:58 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine is working with all of its allies to secure air defence systems, Volodymyr Zelensky has said in his nightly address.

“We are trying to add strength to our sky shield virtually every week,” the Ukrainian president said.

“The more protected the Ukrainian sky, Ukrainian cities and villages are, the more opportunities our people will have for economic activity. For production, in particular, for defense production. No matter what happens in the world, Ukraine will have its own strength to defend its sovereignty.”

Watch: US presidential hopeful Ramaswamy appears to call Zelensky a ‘Nazi’

Friday 10 November 2023 05:44 , Andy Gregory

Russian nuclear submarine test launches intercontinental ballistic missile, Moscow says

Friday 10 November 2023 04:31 , AP

The Russian military has reported the successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to carry nuclear warheads from a new nuclear submarine.

It came days after Vladimir Putin signed a bill revoking Russia’s ratification of a global nuclear test ban, in a move that Moscow claimed was needed to establish parity with the United States.

The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the Emperor Alexander III strategic missile cruiser fired the Bulava missile from an underwater position in Russia’s northern White Sea, and hit a target in the far-eastern region of Kamchatka. It wasn’t immediately clear when the test launch occurred.

The Emperor Alexander III is one of the new Borei-class nuclear submarines that carry 16 Bulava missiles each and are intended to serve as the core naval component of the nation’s nuclear forces in the coming decades. According to the ministry, launching a ballistic missile is the final test for the vessel, after which a decision should be made on its induction into the fleet.

The Russian navy currently has three Borei-class submarines in service, one more is finishing tests and three others are under construction, the ministry said.

MEPs call for stronger oversight of EU sanctions scheme

Friday 10 November 2023 03:22 , Andy Gregory

The European Parliament has called for stronger oversight and more effective efforts to limit Russia’s ability to bypass EU sanctions.

In a resolution adopted on Thursday, the parliament voiced its alarm over “loopholes” in the EU’s sanctions regime, with MEPs concerned “about the lack of proper enforcement and attempts to undermine the effort to strategically weaken the Russian economic and industrial base”.

A statement on the European Parliament website said: “MEPs call on the EU and its member states to reinforce and centralise EU-level oversight of sanctions implementation and to develop a mechanism for circumvention prevention and monitoring.”

Ukraine drone pilots fear early advantage over Russia now lost

Friday 10 November 2023 02:15 , Reuters

The soldiers piloting Ukraine’s fleet of small, cheap assault drones are voicing concerns that, despite pioneering their use, they are now being leapfrogged by their adversary as Moscow pumps money and resources into its drone sector.

The use of agile First Person View (FPV) drones in battle has been one of the most successful of the various low-cost strategies Ukraine has used to defend itself from Russia’s invasio. However, Moscow has also gradually mirrored and increased its use of these drones, which were originally made for racing by hobbyists and enthusiasts but are modified to carry explosives, to devastating effect.

Every week, both countries publish onboard camera footage from FPVs – which cost just hundreds of pounds – destroying enemy tanks and radar systems worth millions.

Speaking to Reuters in a field in Donetsk where they had come to perform a test flight, drone pilots from the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade fighting near Bakhmut warned Russia was gaining the upper hand through more organised supplies and greater spending.

“Their drones are always in the air, day and night. We can see they’ve implemented serial production of drones for reconnaissance, surveillance and for strikes,” said a 34-year-old drone platoon commander, who introduced himself by the callsign “Komrad”.