New explosions at Sevastopol as Ukraine launches fresh drone strikes on Crimea
Fresh explosions struck Sevastopol and smoke was seen rising from a prominent landmark just kilometres away from the Crimean city as Ukrainian forces announced they were carrying out a joint intelligence operation in the region illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Pro-Russian Telegram channel ChP Sevastopol reported explosions in the area of Cape Fiolent late on Sunday night, while another Telegram channel reporting on Crimea shared visuals of an explosion and smoke arising from the same area. The location, on the Crimean peninsula’s southern coast about 16km away from Sevastopol, has a marine radio engineering unit and a radio engineering station with a dozen radar antennas, an unnamed intelligence source told Ukraine’s Suspilne public broadcaster. The war-hit nation’s intelligence agency said it carried out a joint operation of its Defence Intelligence (DIU) and the Ukrainian navy. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russia-installed governor of Sevastopol, however, claimed everything was calm in the city which houses Russia’s Black Sea fleet. He said three Ukrainian drones were seen in the area, but were brought down by Russia’s air defences. The official said no damage was done. He said that if people saw smoke in the South Bay area, it was due to a standard harmless aerosol camouflage being used by the Black Sea fleet. “Yes, the smell is unpleasant, but it is absolutely safe. Everything is calm in the city,” the Russia-installed official said. “Our enemies today will try with all their might to pass it off as a ‘victory’,” he said on his Telegram channel. At least three Ukrainian drones were downed over southwestern Crimea on Sunday evening, according to the Russian defence ministry. It claimed Russian air defence systems destroyed one drone at about 9.30pm Moscow time, an hour after it said its forces downed another two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the same area. Debris from the downed third drone fell over farmland and no damage was done, their governor Razvozhayev said. This comes just five days after Ukraine carried out what was said to be its largest attack yet on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion. The attack on the Sevastopol shipyard in Russian-annexed Crimea wounded 24 people and set ablaze two ships that were under repair, according to Russian authorities. The Sevastopol shipyard attack is one of the biggest in recent weeks, even though the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, has been a frequent target in the 18-month old war. Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine launched 10 cruise missiles at the shipyard and three sea drones at Russian ships in the Black Sea. Seven missiles were shot down and all the sea drones have been destroyed, the military said, but some of the missiles damaged two ships that were being repaired in the shipyard. While Ukrainian officials have not confirmed the means of the strike, military sources said the attack used Storm Shadow missiles, which were delivered to Kyiv by the UK earlier this year. Read More Nato chief warns Putin eyes ‘long war’ as Ukraine claims eastern village Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kyiv says its retaken Klishchiivka as drones target Crimea and Moscow Ukraine is the spotlight at UN leaders' gathering, but is there room for other global priorities? Ukrainian troops move through destroyed Donetsk settlement as Kyiv announces recapture UK’s top agenda at UN General Assembly: Ukraine, AI and sustainable development
2023-09-18 13:21
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The $300 Trillion Question
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Nato chief warns Putin eyes ‘long war’ as Ukraine claims eastern village
Nato’s secretary general has warned Ukraine it is in for a “long war” with Russia while a Kyiv chief has called for the swift provision of weapons to halt Vladimir Putin’s forces. Ukraine has been continuing its counteroffensive, claiming to have taken the eastern village of Klishchiivka. Kyiv soldiers reportedly continued their counteroffensive on Sunday, using drones to disrupt air traffic in Moscow and causing a fire at an oil depot in the southwest of Russia. Read our live blog of events in Ukraine and Russia here. Ukraine has not yet commented on the attacks. In addition, an anti-Moscow guerilla group claims to have destroyed two Russian vehicles in Kherson. Russia has also been on the attack, striking an agriculture facility in Odessa on Sunday. It has also been reported that a farm worker has died and another left injured in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region after their tractor hit a mine while ploughing a field. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (Nato) chief Jens Stoltenberg told German media on Sunday that he could see no sign of the Kremlin giving up. “Most wars last longer than expected when they first begin,” he said in an interview with Germany’s Funke media. “Therefore we must prepare ourselves for a long war in Ukraine.” The head of Ukraine’s security council has also shared his thoughts on what is needed for the war to come to an end sooner rather than later. Oleksiy Danilov said on Sunday: “Refusing or delaying the transfer of modern weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces is a direct encouragement to the Kremlin to continue the war, not the other way around.” He spoke as Mr Stoltenberg urged Germany to increase its defence spending by an even greater proportion than the 2 per cent target set by chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2024. The Nato chief said: “During the Cold War, when Konrad Adenauer or Willy Brandt governed, defence expenditures consisted of 3 to 4 per cent of economic output. “We did it back then and we must do it again.” The Nato secretary’s comments came as South Korea’s president shared a warning over the increasing ties between Russia and North Korea. Kim Jong Un travelled to Russia last week for a summit with Mr Putin. But away from the images of the pair touring high-profile military and technology sites, insiders fear that Mr Kim might be in discussions about providing ammunition to Mr Putin’s troops. “Military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is illegal and unjust as it contravenes UN Security Council resolutions and various other international sanctions,” South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol said. “The international community will unite more tightly in response to such a move.” Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has insisted that Washington “controls” the war in Ukraine, on the sidelines of a domestic economic forum in Vladivostok. “No matter what it says, it controls this war, it supplies weapons, munition, intelligence information, data from satellites, it is pursuing a war against us,” he claimed. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin ‘creating hedgehog defences’ as Kyiv drones target Crimea and Moscow Biden's national security adviser holds two days of talks in Malta with China's foreign minister First two cargo ships arrive in Ukrainian port after Russia's exit from grain deal
2023-09-18 04:18
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2023-09-17 18:27
First cargo grain ships arrive in Ukraine through Black Sea using new route
Two cargo ships have arrived in Ukraine using a new route to sail into Black Sea ports defying Russia's effective blockade of its ports. Two ships reached Chornomorsk on Saturday to load almost 20,000 tonnes of wheat for African and Asian markets, Ukraine's infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on social media. The ships will deliver the wheat to Egypt and Israel, the minister added. The vessels – Resilient Africa and Aroyat – were located between Ukraine’s Danube River delta and Odessa, Bloomberg reported. The ships carry the flags of Palau and crew members are from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Egypt and Ukraine. The vessels were the first ships to reach a Ukrainian port after Russia pulled out from the Black Sea grain deal, which was brokered by the UN and Turkey in July 2022 to combat a global food crisis worsened by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Since Russia’s exit from the deal, prices for grains and oilseeds have already risen and are expected to get higher if the deal isn’t resumed. Ukraine last month announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the waters to release ships trapped in its ports since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022. At least five vessels have so far left the port of Odesa, using the corridor which hugs the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria. Kyiv, which has been a global food producer and exporter also wants to use the corridor for its food exports. "While the UN is not involved in the movement of those vessels, we welcome all efforts for the resumption of normal trade, especially of vital food commodities that help supply and stabilize global food markets," a UN official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "We continue our efforts to facilitate exports for agricultural products from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation." However, the passage of the ships comes at a risk with Russia warning that it would treat any vessels headed to Ukraine’s ports as carriers of weapons. The Russian Navy in August opened fire on a cargo vessel to force it to stop for checks. “To forcibly stop the vessel, warning fire was opened from automatic weapons,” the Russian defence ministry said. A Ka-29 helicopter carrying Russian soldiers was then scrambled to inspect the ship. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin ‘creating new defences’ amid ‘growing concerns’ over Kyiv counteroffensive Ukrainian troops move through destroyed Donetsk settlement as Kyiv announces recapture Unesco adds two locations in war-ravaged Ukraine on its list of historic sites in danger
2023-09-17 16:54
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Girl, 5, killed as Italian aircraft crashes sending fireball into air during acrobatic exercise
An aircraft of the Italian acrobatic air team crashed on Saturday during a practice run outside the northern city of Turin, killing a child on the ground, according to media reports. The plane or parts of the plane reportedly struck a car carrying a family, killing a 5-year-old girl. A 9-year-old and the parents were being treated for burns, according to Italian news agency ANSA. The pilot ejected and also reportedly suffered burns. Video of the crash shows nine aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori in two tight V-formations, before one of the aircraft drops below the others and crashes, sending a fireball into the air. In the video, the pilot can be seen ejecting with a parachute shortly before impact inside a fence airfield. The crash reportedly happened after takeoff from the Turin Caselle airport, near the industrial northern city. There was no immediate word on the pilot’s condition or the reason for the crash. Photos of the aftermath show the wreckage of the plane in a cornfield, and a burned and wrecked car overturned on the side of a road. The Frecce Tricolori is Italy’s premier team of acrobatic pilots, part of the Italian air force. They typically perform dramatic flybys at events of national importance, leaving streaks of red, green and white smoke for the colors of the Italian flag. They perform more intricate acrobatics during air shows. The squad was preparing for a show on Sunday as part of events marking the 100th anniversary of the Italian Air Force. In 1988, three aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori collided and crashed to the ground during an air show at Ramstein Air Base in Germany attended by around 300,000 people. The three pilots and 67 people on the ground died. Hundreds more suffered injuries. Read More Terror as United Airlines plane drops 28,000ft prompting emergency landing Motorist dies after tree limb falls on vehicle as Atlantic storm Lee batters New England and Canada Outrage as airport worker tells stranded passengers they should be grateful plane didn’t ‘crash into the sea’
2023-09-17 16:52
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Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin ‘creating new defences’ amid ‘growing concerns’ over Kyiv counteroffensive
Russia is likely building new defences in southern Ukraine, amid “growing concern” among Vladimir Putin’s forces about Kyiv’s success in breaching its first defensive line, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said. Moscow’s troops are believed to be “deploying additional checkpoints, ‘hedgehog’ anti-tank defences and digging new trenches” near the Zaporizhzhia village of Tokmak, which is situated just 16km from Ukraine’s forces, and is set to become a “lynchpin” of Russia’s second defensive line, the ministry said. In Donetsk, Ukraine’s armed forces celebrated the recapture of Andriivka, a village near Bakhmut, after a battle in which they claimed Russia had suffered “significant losses” – a liberation the military said was “key to success in all further directions”. The comments came as Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the destruction of a Russian air defence system in the annexed Crimea peninsula, as a Ukrainian minister vowed that “there will be more drones, more attacks, and fewer Russian ships”. Read More Kim Jong Un stops to see a fighter jet factory as Russia and North Korea are warned off arms deals She danced with Putin at her wedding. Now the former Austrian foreign minister has moved to Russia What is a Storm Shadow cruise missile?
2023-09-17 14:52
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