By The Independent (World News) | Created at 2024-10-04 04:20:19 | Updated at 2024-10-07 16:24:28
3 days ago
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The US has hit back after Volodymyr Zelensky said Western partners are “dragging out” a decision over Kyiv’s request to strike Russia with its long-range weapons.
“We need sufficient quantity and quality of weapons, including long-range weapons, that, in my opinion, our partners are already dragging out,” Mr Zelensky said alongside new Nato chief Mark Rutte yesterday. “We will continue to convince our partners of the need to shoot down Russian missiles and drones,” he said.
The Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh reacted to Mr Zelensky’s remarks. “We have a limited supply of long-range missiles” and “we are not dragging it out,” she said.
On the war frontline, the Ukrainian military chief said he has ordered defences to be strengthened in the eastern Donetsk region after pulling out of Vuhledar. Ukraine’s armed forces commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi said he was working on “one of the hottest front sectors” with the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade.
Mr Zelensky acknowledged the loss of Vuhledar, saying moving troops out and preserving lives was the critical issue.
Russia intercepts drone near Kursk with no damage to nuclear plant, governor says
Russian forces intercepted a Ukrainian drone on Thursday near the Russian town of Kurchatov but there was no damage to the nearby Kursk nuclear power plant, the regional governor said.
Governor Alexei Smirnov said debris from the drone caused explosions in a building unrelated to the plant.
Several Russian Telegram channels earlier reported the alleged Ukrainian attack, which they said had been thwarted by air defences but had resulted in a fire several miles from the nuclear plant.
The plant’s operator, Rosenergoatom, said the facility was operating as usual and radiation levels remained within normal limits.
Jabed Ahmed4 October 2024 05:00
Zelensky says West ‘dragging out’ weapons request, Pentagon reacts
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Western partners are “dragging out” a decision over Kyiv’s request to strike Russia with its long-range weapons.
“We need sufficient quantity and quality of weapons, including long-range weapons, that, in my opinion, our partners are already dragging out,” Mr Zelensky said alongside new Nato chief Mark Rutte. “We will continue to convince our partners of the need to shoot down Russian missiles and drones,” he said in a joint media address.
The Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh reacted to Mr Zelensky’s remarks. “We have a limited supply of long-range missiles” and “we are not dragging it out,” she said.
Arpan Rai4 October 2024 04:47
Zelensky defends Vuhledar retreat: ‘They’re citizens of Ukraine’
President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed Ukraine has moved its troops out of the eastern town of Vuhledar.
The Ukrainian military announced on Wednesday it was pulling troops out of the coal-mining town, a hilltop bastion that had resisted repeated attacks ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Lives (of soldiers) need to be saved because they are our people, they are citizens of Ukraine,” said Mr Zelensky, addressing reporters alongside new Nato secretary general Mark Rutte. “Therefore it is very right that they can retreat and save themselves.”
Ukraine’s eastern military command said it had ordered a pullback from Vuhledar to avoid being encircled by Russian troops and to “preserve personnel and military equipment”. Russia has used this tactic to secure control of other Ukrainian settlements.
Arpan Rai4 October 2024 04:21
Ukraine scales up defence in east after leaving Vuhledar
Ukraine’s armed forces commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi said he had ordered defences to be strengthened in the eastern Donetsk region, a day after Kyiv announced it had withdrawn its forces from the town of Vuhledar.
President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the loss of Vuhledar, saying moving troops out and preserving lives was the critical issue.
General Syrskyi said he was working on “one of the hottest front sectors” with the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade. He gave no details on the location but the brigade operates in the Pokrovsk front, an area of intensified Russian assaults.
“While working in the brigade, I made a number of decisions aimed at strengthening stability and effectiveness of our defence,” Syrskyi said.
Arpan Rai4 October 2024 04:12
Watch: Putin wants to erase Ukraine by stealing our children, Ukrainian tennis pro Svitolina warns
Jabed Ahmed4 October 2024 04:00
Russia fires major drone attack as new Nato chief visits Kyiv
Russian forces have launched a major drone attack on 15 Ukrainian regions, causing damage to energy infrastructure, residential buildings and schools.
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 78 out of 105 Russian drones during the assault, but the aerial attacks damaged power lines and substations’ equipment in the Kyiv, Odesa and Ivano-Frankivsk regions in the past day.
The attacks caused temporary disruption of railway services in the southern Odesa region as well as power cuts in households, Ukraine’s energy ministry said.
Authorities said they had downed around 15 drones over Kyiv and the surrounding area during an air alert that lasted for more than five hours. The regions of Poltava, Cherkasy and Kirovohrad in central Ukraine reported minor damage to property.
Arpan Rai4 October 2024 03:49
Nato’s new chief Mark Rutte makes Ukraine support a top priority
Jabed Ahmed4 October 2024 03:00
Pictured: Nato Secretary General speaks during a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky
Jabed Ahmed4 October 2024 02:00
Drones attack Russian airfield in Voronezh region, Ukraine source says
Ukrainian drones attacked the “Borisoglebsk” military airfield and warehouses for fuel and guided bombs in Russia’s Voronezh region overnight, a Ukrainian security source told Reuters on Thursday.
The security source said Ukraine‘s SBU security service was continuing actions to reduce the ability of Russian troops to use fighter jets with guided bombs to strike Ukrainian cities, and that attacks on Russian airfields would continue.
The drones attacked warehouses, parking lots for Russian Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-34 jets and aviation fuel storage facilities at the Borisoglebsk airfield, the source said.
“From there, the enemy actively bombards Ukrainian territories with guided bombs,” the source said, sharing pictures and a short video clip showing fires.
Jabed Ahmed4 October 2024 01:06
Russia to try elderly American accused of being a Ukrainian mercenary in secret
The trial of a 72-year-old American man whom Russia accuses of working as a mercenary for Ukraine will take place behind closed doors and the verdict will be announced next Monday, Russian state media reported.
Stephen Hubbard is accused of signing a $1,000 per month contract with a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in the city of Izyum in February 2022. He was captured by Russian forces in April that year, and faces a sentence of seven to 15 years if convicted.
The RIA news agency said the judge on Thursday accepted a prosecutor’s request to hold the proceedings in secret to ensure the safety of the participants. It was not clear why the prosecutor believed an open trial would have placed them at risk.
RIA said Hubbard himself supported the move, saying he did not want outsiders to be present. RIA reported earlier that he had pleaded guilty to the charges.
Jabed Ahmed4 October 2024 00:01
