Tehran denies Khayyam satellite will be under Russian control, despite reported admission by Moscow
Russia has launched an Iranian satellite from Kazakhstan amid concerns it could be used for battlefield surveillance in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Iran has denied that the Khayyam satellite, which was delivered into orbit onboard a Soyuz rocket launched from Baikonur cosmodrome, would ever be under Russian control.
Continue reading...UN watchdog raises concerns as Russia and Ukraine trade blame for attack on Europe’s largest nuclear power station
Russia is strengthening its positions and numbers on Ukraine’s southern front to ready itself for a Ukrainian counteroffensive and is likely to be preparing the ground to attack, according to British and Ukrainian military authorities.
The assessment came as both sides traded blame for renewed shelling on Europe’s largest nuclear plant, with the UN nuclear watchdog raising grave concerns about the attack.
Continue reading...Mercenary group does not officially exist but is playing a more public role and openly recruiting in Russia
Three billboards in the Ural city of Ekaterinburg shine a light on what was once one of Russia’s most shadowy organisations, the private military contractor Wagner.
“Motherland, Honour, Blood, Bravery. WAGNER”, one of the posters reads.
Continue reading...UK’s Ministry of Defence says troop build-up could be in anticipation of Ukrainian counter-offensive or for a new assault
Here are some of the latest images from photographers on the ground in Ukraine:
Concerns are growing for the safety of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after an attack by Russian anti-aircraft missiles on 5 August.
Continue reading...Official say plant still works and no radioactive discharges detected; Russian and Turkish presidents met to discuss Ukraine and Syria
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has responded directly to yesterday’s report from Amnesty International, which suggested Ukrainian forces’ tactics are endangering civilians.
The human rights group’s researchers found that Ukrainian forces were using some schools and hospitals as bases, firing near houses and sometimes living in residential flats. The report concluded that this meant in some instances Russian forces would respond to an attack or target residential areas – putting civilians at risk and damaging civilian infrastructure.
There cannot be – even hypothetically – any condition under which any Russian attack on Ukraine becomes justified.
Aggression against our state is unprovoked, invasive and openly terroristic.
Continue reading...Talks expected to focus on Ukraine and could include Kremlin efforts to circumvent western sanctions
Vladimir Putin has met Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for talks expected to focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine and that are being rumoured to include Kremlin efforts to circumvent western sanctions.
Putin welcomed the Turkish president to Sochi, a resort city on the Black Sea, by thanking him for his help in securing an international deal that resumed exports of grain from Ukraine that had been disrupted by the Kremlin war machine – as well as Russian foodstuffs and fertilisers – to world markets.
Continue reading...Kyiv hits back after charity says Russia’s attacks ‘unjustifiable’ but Ukraine’s tactics are endangering civilians. This live blog is closed.
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has again appealed for access to a Ukrainian nuclear power plant now controlled by Russian forces to determine whether it was a source of danger.
Contact with the Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which is at Zaporizhzhia and is being operated by Ukrainian technicians under occupation, was “fragile” and communications did not function every day, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi told Swiss paper Tages-Anzeiger.
During the day, pyrotechnic units of the state emergency service were involved 117 times, 691 explosive objects were detected, removed and neutralised. The territory with an area of 92 hectares was surveyed.
Continue reading...Kabaeva, 39, former rhythmic gymnast the Kremlin denies is romantically involved with Putin, has assets frozen by US treasury
Vladimir Putin’s purported lover has been hit with sanctions from the US government’s treasury department over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Alina Kabaeva, 39, landed on the latest update to the federal Office of Foreign Assets Control’s specially designated nationals list, freezing any of her assets in the US and generally prohibiting Americans from dealing with her.
Continue reading...Hundreds of thousands ‘must evacuate Donetsk’ to avoid falling into enemy hands, says Ukrainian president
Russia has said it has invited United Nations and Red Cross experts to investigate the deaths of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Moscow-backed separatists, Reuters reports.
At least 50 prisoners of war were killed in an attack on a jail in Olenivka, in Russian-occupied Donetsk, on Friday. Both sides in the war have blamed the blast on each other.
Continue reading...Ukraine says comments from Russian embassy Twitter account shows Russia ‘is a state sponsor of terrorism’
These are some of the latest images to be sent to us over the newswires from Ukraine.
The official Twitter account of the Russian embassy in the UK has posted that members of Ukraine’s Azov battalion – which does retain some far-right affiliations – deserve death by “hanging”.
Continue reading...Aide to head of region says it will be liberate by September; minister says preparations to resume grain shipments ongoing as strikes on port draw international condemnation
Without port blockades, Ukraine would be able to export 60m tonnes of grain in eight to nine months, according to Ukraine’s economic adviser, Oleh Ustenko.
Ustenko said Russia’s strike on the port of Odesa showed it would definitely not be that easy, according to Reuters reports of his appearance on television.
Continue reading...We are now pausing our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. We will return in a few hours to bring you all the latest developments.
Three people were killed as 13 Russian missiles hit a military airfield and railway infrastructure in Ukraine’s central Kirovohrad region on Saturday, the local governor said.
Reuters reports that speaking on television, governor Andriy Raikovych said two security guards at an electricity substation had been killed. He also said that one Ukrainian soldier had been killed and nine more wounded.
Russian forces are using artillery fire along the Ingulets River, a tributary of the Dnipro, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said.
“Supply lines of the Russian forces west of the river are increasingly at risk,” the ministry said in an intelligence update.
Continue reading...The new grain deal should help the Black Sea port’s economy – but existence has been hollowed out by the pressure of war
Barely 12 hours after Moscow signed a deal with Ukraine to allow monitored grain exports from Ukraine’s southern ports, Russia targeted the country’s main port of Odesa – through which grain shipments would take place – with cruise missile strikes.
The attack raised new doubts about the viability of the deal, which was intended to release about 20m tonnes of grain to ward off famine in parts of the developing world.
Continue reading...Trying top Russians for act of aggression could bring indictments ‘within three months’, says official
Ukraine has said it wants to establish a one-off international tribunal to try Russia’s top regime members for the act of aggression, which could see it issuing an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.
Andriy Smyrnov, Ukraine’s deputy head of the presidential administration, said on Thursday that Ukraine believed trying Russia separately for the act of aggression, with international participation, would speed up its quest to hold the Russian president and his inner circle accountable.
Continue reading...Turkish president cites Kurdish forces in north-west Syria as justification for extending zone of control
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has used trilateral talks with his Iranian and Russian counterparts in Tehran to make the case for a further Turkish incursion into north-western Syria.
Erdoğan cited Kurdish forces in Tel Rifaat and Manbij, two towns in north-west Syria where Russian and Iranian forces are present, as justification for Turkey extending its zone of control in the country. “What we expect from Iran and Russia is to support Turkey in its fight against terrorist organisations,” he told a press conference following the meeting.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here
The European Union will set out emergency plans later today to reduce gas demand within months, warning countries that without deep cuts now they could struggle for fuel during winter if Russia cuts off deliveries.
Reuters reports:
Europe is racing to fill its gas storage ahead of winter and build a supply buffer in case Moscow further restricts supplies in retaliation for European support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Russia’s Gazprom has already halted deliveries to some EU states.
The European Commission will urge countries to prepare for possible further cuts by slashing gas use. A draft of the EU plan, seen by Reuters, would propose a voluntary target for countries to cut their gas demand over the next eight months, which could be made legally binding in a supply emergency.
EU officials said the target would be for a 10-15% cut in gas use.
The proposal, which could change before it is published, would need approval from EU countries who are largely responsible for their own energy policies.
There has been resistance from some countries, including Poland, who feel their contingency plans do not need a boost from Brussels.
A Reuters snap suggests Ukraine has shelled Antonivskyi bridge in the Russia-controlled southern Kherson region again, according to reporting from Russia’s Tass news agency citing Russia-installed authorities.
The bridge is badly damaged and likely to be closed to traffic today, Tass added.
Rachel Hall here, taking over from Samantha Lock on the blog – do get in touch if there’s anything you think we’ve missed. You can reach me at rachel.hall@theguardian.com.
Tehran meeting saw discord over Erdoğan’s plan to intervene in Syria but ‘progress’ on shipping Ukrainian grain
Vladimir Putin ended his first major summit outside Russia since the invasion of Ukraine with an endorsement from Iran for its response to Nato, a clash with Turkey over Syria and signs of progress over the lifting of the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain.
The White House said the Tehran summit held between Putin, the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, showed how isolated the Russian leader had become – which was not an observation shared by Moscow, who claimed it showed Russia remained respected in the Middle East.
Continue reading...Analysis: while diplomatic efforts continue over Ukraine, Syria risks becoming entrenched as the conflict that was
Before Ukraine there was Syria, a war so vicious and consuming that it was once considered to be the most consequential conflict of the last 50 years.
With more than half a million killed when the counting stopped seven years ago, nearly two-thirds of the country’s prewar population displaced or in exile, and its economy and social fabric in ruins, Syria is a shattered husk, its spoils eagerly eyed by the three leaders who gathered in Tehran on Tuesday.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here
The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in occupied Ukraine, which is only recognised as a legitimate authority by Russia, Syria and North Korea, has stated that as a result of shelling by Ukrainian forces, “one resident of Verkhnotoretske was killed, and three people were injured. Twenty-two residential buildings and seven civil infrastructure facilities were damaged.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
Continue reading...Russian president makes comments in Tehran, where he had a meeting with leaders from Turkey and Iran
Vladimir Putin has claimed on a trip to Tehran that progress has been made that may allow Russia to lift the blockade on Ukrainian wheat, an issue that is threatening famine across Africa.
“I want to thank you for your mediation efforts,” the Russian president told Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his Turkish counterpart, in comments released by the Kremlin.
Continue reading...