Zelensky says ‘Russian society has raised a second Hitler’ in attack on Putin
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At least one person is dead and six injured including two children as Russian shelling continue to hammer Ukraine‘s southern region of Kherson overnight.
On the Telegram messaging app the governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said Russian forces had launched 71 attacks in the past 24 hours, “aimed at the residential districts”, as well as shops and medical infrastructure, among other establishments.
Twenty of the air and land attacks targeted the city of Kherson, the region’s administrative district, the governor added, while authorities promptly doused a fire sparked by shelling early on Monday.
It came as Yevgeny Prigozhin’s 25-year-old son, Pavel Prigozhin, has been making moves to take over command of the Wagner Group, according to a US thinktank.
He is negotiating with the Russian national guard, Rosgvardia, over having the mercenary organisation rejoin combat in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said, citing a prominent Telegram channel affiliated with the group.
At a ceremony at his father’s grave in St Petersburg, Pavel laid flowers alongside Prigozhin’s mother. Supporters waved the black flags of Wagner which sport a skull and the motto “Blood, Honour, Motherland, Courage”.
Pavel Prigozhin’s son topped to take over Wagner Group
A US thinktank believes that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s 25-year-old son, Pavel Prigozhin, stands to inherit his deceased father’s millions and control of his mercenary fighters – the Wagner Group.
As he lay flowers at his dead father’s mural Pavel is already believed to be negotiating with the Russian national guard, Rosgvardia, over bringing the fighters back to combat in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said.
Pavel emerges as an alternative Wagner commander to Andrey Troshev, who has already signed up with the defence ministry and was publicly embraced by Vladimir Putin.
(Reuters)
It indicates “some Wagner personnel are interested in rallying around a Prigozhin-linked alternative to the Kremlin and MoD-aligned Troshev”, the ISW said.
“It is unclear what the Kremlin thinks the relationship[s] between Wagner elements and the Russian government are,” the thinktank said.
Barney Davis2 October 2023 08:02
Russians launches wave of Robotyne counterattacks, US thinktank says
Russian forces are making headway with tactical counterattacks in the Robotyne area.
Intense fighting has seen significant field fortifications have changed hands several times, the Institute for the Study of War said.
Geolocated footage posted on September 30 shows Ukrainian forces striking Russian troops trying to enter a trench system near the T0408 Robotyne—Tokmak road.
Ukraine had previously held the interconnected system of trenches, firing systems, and dugouts that lie between Robotyne and Novoprokopivka.
Barney Davis2 October 2023 08:29
Governer warns Kherson to stay in shelters after one killed and two injured in Russian shelling
Kherson’s regional governor warned people to stay in their shelters after overnight Russian strikes killed at least one person and injured six, including two children.
On the Telegram messaging app the governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said Russian forces had launched 71 attacks in the past 24 hours, “aimed at the residential districts”, as well as shops and medical infrastructure, among other establishments.
He posted: “Kherson region, missile danger! Also, strike drones are moving towards the region! Stay in shelters!”
Twenty of the air and land attacks targeted the city of Kherson, the region’s administrative district, the governor added, while authorities promptly doused a fire sparked by shelling early on Monday.
There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Barney Davis2 October 2023 07:49
No plans to send British troops to Ukraine, says UK PM
British prime minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday there were no immediate plans to deploy military instructors to Ukraine, rowing back from reported comments by his defence minister that he wanted to begin training Ukrainian troops in the country.
British defence minister Grant Shapps, who was appointed to the role last month, said in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph newspaper that he wanted to deploy military instructors to Ukraine, in addition to training Ukrainian armed forces in Britain or other Western countries.
Hours after that interview was published, Sunak said there were no immediate plans to send British troops to Ukraine.
“What the defence secretary was saying was that it might well be possible one day in the future for us to do some of that training in Ukraine,” Sunak told reporters at the start of the governing Conservative Party’s annual conference in Manchester.
“But that’s something for the long term, not the here and now. There are no British soldiers that will be sent to fight in the current conflict.”
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday said any British soldiers training Ukrainian troops in Ukraine would be legitimate targets for Russian forces.
Joe Middleton2 October 2023 06:00
Ukraine aid left out of US government funding package, raising questions about future support
Congressional supporters of Ukraine say they won’t give up after a bill to keep the federal government open excluded Joe Biden’s request to provide more security assistance to the war-torn nation.
Still, many lawmakers acknowledge that winning approval for Ukraine assistance in Congress is growing more difficult as the war between Russia and Ukraine grinds on. Republican resistance to the aid has been gaining momentum in the halls of Congress.
Voting in the House this past week pointed to the potential trouble ahead. Nearly half of House Republicans voted to strip $300m from a defence spending bill to train Ukrainian soldiers and purchase weapons. The money later was approved separately, but opponents of Ukraine support celebrated their growing numbers.
Joe Middleton2 October 2023 05:00
Zelensky urges Ukrainian victory over Russia at national event honouring country’s military
Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Ukrainian soldiers for their efforts in the war against Russia and said “ahead is our victory” in an event celebrating the country’s military.
The Ukrainian president made the comments on Sunday while marking the Day of the Defenders, a national event honouring the country’s veterans and those killed in battle.
In an address published by the Kyiv Post, he said: “Today we thank everyone who stood, stands and will stand strong. All those who were the first to take on a difficult battle.
Joe Middleton2 October 2023 04:00
Russia ‘shoots down five Ukrainian drones’ in Smolensk and Krasnodar regions
Russia said on Sunday that air defences had shot down five Ukrainian drones over the western Smolensk region and one over the southern Krasnodar region.
Air defences shot down a Ukrainian drone in the Krasnodar region at around 0500 GMT, Russia’s defence ministry said.
At around 0600 GMT, Russia shot down three drones over the Smolensk region and at 0700 GMT shot down two more over the region, Russia’s defence ministry said.
Joe Middleton2 October 2023 03:00
Ukraine needs more military aid, says top EU diplomat
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday that Ukraine needed more military aid and he promised ongoing EU support.
“Ukraine needs more capabilities & needs them faster,” he said in a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He said he had discussed “continuous EU military assistance” during his first in-person meeting with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.
“We are preparing long-term security commitments for Ukraine,” Borrell added.
This week the European Defence Agency said in response to questions from Reuters that seven EU countries had ordered ammunition under a procurement scheme to get urgently needed artillery shells to Ukraine and replenish depleted Western stocks.
Joe Middleton2 October 2023 02:00
Nothing will weaken Ukraine’s resolve in war against Russia, says Zelensky
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech released on Sunday that nothing would weaken his country’s fight against Russia, a day after the US Congress passed a stopgap funding bill that omitted aid to Ukraine.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said separately he had received reassurances about further military assistance in a telephone call with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“Secretary Austin assured me,” he wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, using flags in place of country names, that U.S. support to Ukraine “will continue” and that Ukrainian “warriors will continue to have a strong back-up on the battlefield.”
Zelensky, in a recorded speech marking the Defenders Day holiday, did not address the vote in Congress directly, but reiterated his determination to fight to victory.
No one could “shut down” Ukraine‘s stability, endurance, strength and courage, he said, echoing a Ukrainian verb often used to refer to power outages caused by Russian attacks.
He added that Ukraine would only stop resisting and fighting on the day of victory. “As we draw closer to it every day, we say, ‘We will fight for as long as it takes.’”
US President Joe Biden said on Sunday that Republicans had pledged to provide Ukraine aid through a separate vote and US support could not be interrupted “under any circumstances.”
Joe Middleton2 October 2023 01:00
Ukraine aid left out of US government funding package, raising questions about future support
Congressional supporters of Ukraine say they won’t give up after a bill to keep the federal government open excluded Joe Biden’s request to provide more security assistance to the war-torn nation.
Still, many lawmakers acknowledge that winning approval for Ukraine assistance in Congress is growing more difficult as the war between Russia and Ukraine grinds on. Republican resistance to the aid has been gaining momentum in the halls of Congress.
Voting in the House this past week pointed to the potential trouble ahead. Nearly half of House Republicans voted to strip $300m from a defence spending bill to train Ukrainian soldiers and purchase weapons.
Joe Middleton1 October 2023 23:59
