Russia’s possession of nuclear arms is response to threats, Lavrov says; rise in Ukraine battlefield casualties brings total close to half a million
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow’s possession of nuclear weapons protects the country from external security threats, while reminding the west of the risks of a nuclear conflict. “The possession of nuclear arms is today the only possible response to some of significant external threats to security of our country,” Lavrov said in an interview for state-owned magazine The International Affairs. Lavrov warned the US and Nato allies risk ending up in “a situation of direct armed confrontation of nuclear powers”. “We believe such a development should be prevented. That’s why we have to remind about the existence of high military and political risks and send sobering signals to our opponents,” Lavrov said.
The number of battlefield casualties in Ukraine is approaching nearly 500,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, US officials have told the New York Times, marking a significant rise in the death toll this year after intense fighting in the east of the country. Russia’s military casualties are approaching 300,000, the officials claimed, with as many as 120,000 killed in action. Ukraine was said to have close to 70,000 killed and 100,000-120,000 wounded. Fierce fighting near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine have led to significant casualties on both sides, more than doubling the number of dead since November.
Ukrainian forces could fail to retake the Russian-occupied strategic south-eastern city of Melitopol during their counteroffensive, a US official said. Melitopol has been under Russian control since March 2022 and has roads and railways used by its troops to transport supplies to areas they occupy. The US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, was citing an intelligence report, but the prediction is largely in line with Washington’s view that Ukraine’s counteroffensive is progressing slower than expected. The official added that despite the report and limited progress towards Melitopol, the US believed it was still possible to change the gloomy outlook.
One person was killed and two injured as a result of Russian shelling of a village near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, according to the prosecutor general’s office said. Some private houses were damaged in the attack, but no further details were provided. In a separate case, four people were injured after Russia shelled a residential area of the city of Chasiv Yar, located in the Donetsk region close to Bakhmut.
Russia is continuing its crackdown against critics at home and abroad, with authorities shut down prominent rights group the Sakharov Centre, saying it had illegally hosted conferences and exhibitions. Critics say the group is the latest target of the Kremlin’s battle against liberal-leaning organisations that challenge the state. Separately, a Russian court has placed the co-chair of independent election monitoring group Golos in pre-trial detention until at least 17 October. The ruling comes as Russia gears up for regional elections next month. Moscow also announced sanctions against international criminal court prosecutor Karim Khan, who in March issued a warrant against Putin accusing him of having “illegally deported” thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Kyiv has welcomed a US decision to let Denmark and the Netherlands hand F-16 fighter jets over to Ukraine once its pilots are trained to use them. A US official confirmed Denmark and the Netherlands had been given “formal assurances” for the jet transfer. Training by an 11-nation coalition is to begin this month, and officials hope pilots will be ready by early 2024. Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov hailed “great news from our friends in the United States”.
Russian forces have destroyed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and its Black Sea fleet. Russia’s defence ministry said its air force had downed a Ukrainian drone over the capital early Friday morning. Footage showed damage to an expo centre on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment of the Moskva River, 100 metres from Moscow city.
Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal hailed “important and constructive” talks on grain exports with his Romanian counterpart Marcel Ciolacu during a visit to Bucharest. Ciolacu said Romania wanted to double the amount of Ukrainian grain transiting his country to 4m tonnes. The talks came a day after the first civilian cargo ship sailed through the Black Sea from Ukraine to Istanbul in defiance of a Russian blockade.
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