Ukrainian forces have advanced on the Dnipro River onto the opposite bank, crossing into Russian-occupied territory, Russian sources have claimed.
A prominent Russian milblogger ‘Rybar’ claimed Ukrainian troops pushed through Russian defences as they landed on the east bank of the Dnipro river.
He claimed they temporarily occupied the village of Poyma and positions on the northern outskirts of Pishchanivka on the afternoon of 17 October.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the milblogger later claimed that Russian forces pushed Ukrainian forces back from these positions towards the Dnipro River.
He also claimed that a Ukrainian sabotage group is still operating in Pishchanivka as of the afternoon of October 18, according to ISW.
It comes as Ukrainian defence forces made first use of a US supplied long-range weapon by striking two Russian military airfields, successfully destroying nine helicopters and an ammunition base.
Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, described Washington’s decision to supply the ATACMS as “reckless” and “a grave mistake” that would not alter the war’s outcome.
Olympics being used as tool of political pressure and discrimination, Putin says
Russia has learnt that the Olympics can be used as a tool of political pressure and ethnic discrimination, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
“The Games can be used as an instrument of political pressure against people who have nothing to do with politics. And as gross and in fact ethnic discrimination,” Putin said.
Last week the Russian Olympic Committee was banned by the International Olympic Committee for recognising regional organisations from four territories that Russia said it had annexed from Ukraine.
Although the IOC said the Olympic committees of Russia and Belarus would not receive an official invitation to the Paris Games like other countries later this month, a decision on their participation would be made at a later date.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 October 2023 11:20
Russian foreign minister Lavrov meets N.Korean leader Kim
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russia‘s foreign ministry said on Thursday, as the two countries forge closer ties in the face of what they see as a hostile and aggressive U.S.-led Western camp.
Russia‘s state-run TASS news agency reported that Lavrov’s meeting with Kim had lasted over an hour but the ministry did not provide further details.
Lavrov, who arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, earlier thanked North Korea for backing Russia‘s military actions in Ukraine and pledged Moscow’s “complete support and solidarity” for Kim, Russia‘s foreign ministry said.
Lavrov’s visit is seen as setting the stage for a visit by President Vladimir Putin, who has stepped up cooperation with politically isolated North Korea.
Speaking at a reception hosted by the North on Wednesday, Lavrov said Moscow strongly valued Pyongyang’s “unwavering and principled support” for Russia in the Ukraine war, which it calls a “special military operation”.
“Likewise the Russian Federation extends its complete support and solidarity with the aspirations of the DPRK,” Lavrov said, according to the transcript of the speech released on his ministry’s website.
DPRK are the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 October 2023 10:58
Putin says Russia ‘will be able to repel’ Ukraine’s new weapons used to damage Kremlin’s air assets
Vladimir Putin said Russia “will be able to repel” attacks by Ukraine’s new long range weapons supplied by the US, which Kyiv used to launch one of the most damaging attacks on the Kremlin’s air assets since the start of the war.
While the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, result in an additional threat, the weapon would not change the situation along the 1,500km (932 mile) frontline, Mr Putin told reporters in Beijing. He said his forces will be able to repel attacks by the top-tier missile system.
“For Ukraine, in this sense, there’s nothing good… it only prolongs the agony,” the Russian president said during his visit to China.
Putin says Russia ‘will be able to repel’ Ukraine’s new long range weapons
Ukraine says it used the weapons supplied by US to destroy Russian helicopters, ammunitions, an air defence system and other assets
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 October 2023 10:35
Journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as foreign agent- continued
“Alsu is a highly respected colleague, devoted wife, and dedicated mother to two children,” Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty Acting President Jeffrey Gedmin said.
“She needs to be released so she can return to her family immediately.”
Ms Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague with her family, was stopped at Kazan International Airport on June 2 after travelling to Russia for a family emergency on May 20, according to RFE/RL.
Officials at the airport confiscated her US and Russian passports and she was later fined for failing to register her US passport with Russian authorities.
She was waiting for her passports to be returned when the new charge of failing to register as a foreign agent was announced on Wednesday, RFE/RL said.
Ms Kurmasheva reported on ethnic minority communities in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan in Russia, including projects to protect and preserve the Tatar language and culture despite “increased pressure” on Tatars from Russian authorities, her employer said.
Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips after US-Russian tensions soared when Russia sent troops into Ukraine.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 October 2023 10:10
Journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as foreign agent
A Russian-American journalist working for a US government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, according to her employer.
Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva is the second US journalist to be detained in Russia this year.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested for alleged spying in March.
Ms Kurmasheva, an editor with RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir service, is being held in a temporary detention centre, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, citing a Russian state news agency.
The Tatar-Inform agency posted video showing Ms Kurmasheva being marched into an administrative building accompanied by four men, two of whom held her arms and wore balaclavas.
Tatar-Inform said authorities accused Ms Kurmasheva of collecting information about Russia‘s military activities “in order to transmit information to foreign sources”, suggesting she received information about university teachers who were mobilised into the Russian army.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said she was charged with failing to register as a foreign agent in her capacity as a person collecting information on Russian military activities.
If convicted, Ms Kurmasheva could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, the New York-based press freedom group said.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 October 2023 09:55
Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv sees ‘partial success’ in south
At least 10 civilians in Ukraine were killed on Wednesday in Russian attacks as Ukrainian military officials confirmed battlefield gains in counteroffensive operations in the south of the warzone.
The death toll rose to five from four after a missile struck a residential building in southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
A 31-year-old woman was killed in a separate attack in central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk. Officials said she was a resident of the Obukhivka village. Another Russian attack claimed the lives of a man and woman in Kherson, officials said.
Russian missile attacks kill 10 Ukrainian civilians as Kyiv advances in south
Ukrainian general says troops proceeding with planned advance towards Sea of Azov
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 October 2023 09:40
China’s Xi warns West against cutting ties as he welcomes ‘dear friend’ Putin to Beijing
Xi Jinping warned the West against breaking economic ties with China on Wednesday as he welcomed his “dear friend” Vladimir Putin and other allies to a global summit in Beijing.
The Chinese president was hosting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum, part of its long-term plan to build global infrastructure and energy networks connecting Asia with Africa and Europe through overland and maritime routes.
Representatives of more than 130 countries – largely from the global South, but including Hungary – attended the forum.
Xi warns West against cutting ties as he welcomes ‘dear friend’ Putin to Beijing
‘We stand against unilateral sanctions and economic coercion’
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 October 2023 09:25
Kyiv forces make ‘breakthrough’ on Dnipro river
Ukrainian forces have advanced on the Dnipro River onto the opposite bank of Kherson Oblast as they cross into Russian-occupied territory, Russian sources have claimed.
A prominent Russian milblogger ‘Rybar’ claimed Ukrainian troops pushed through Russian defences as they landed on the east bank of the Dnipro river.
He claimed they temporarily occupied the village of Poyma and positions on the northern outskirts of Pishchanivka on the afternoon of 17 October.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the milblogger later claimed that Russian forces pushed Ukrainian forces back from these positions towards the Dnipro River.
He also claimed that a Ukrainian sabotage group is still operating in Pishchanivka as of the afternoon of October 18, according to ISW.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 October 2023 09:02
Russia carries out new overnight air strikes on Ukraine
Russian forces carried out new air strikes overnight on targets in eastern, southern and northern Ukraine, Kyiv’s military said on Thursday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The air force said 17 different weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones, had been used to strike industrial, infrastructure, civilian and military objects.
Ukrainian forces shot down three drones and one cruise missile, it said.
Russia has carried out frequent air strikes since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, including hitting population centres far behind front lines.
Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians. It did not immediately comment on the latest reported air strikes.
Ukraine began a counteroffensive in the south and east in early June but has made only gradual progress against vast Russian minefields and heavily entrenched Russian forces.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 October 2023 08:22
Russian minister Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s war in Ukraine
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for aiding Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine as he landed in Pyongyang for a two-day visit on Wednesday.
Mr Lavrov is in North Korea for meetings viewed as preparatory efforts ahead of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit as Moscow and Pyongyang slide closer in diplomatic cooperation against Ukraine and the West.
Moscow “deeply” valued Pyongyang’s “unwavering and principled support” for Russia in the war, Mr Lavrov said, speaking at a reception hosted by North Korean officials on Wednesday.
Russian minister Lavrov thanks Kim Jong-un for supporting Moscow’s war in Ukraine
Lavrov’s visit to Pyongyang is in backdrop of Russia’s threat to US for sending long-range missiles to Ukraine
