Ukraine claims it thwarted Russian saboteur group crossing border into Sumy
Ukraine claims it has thwarted an attempt overnight by a Russian saboteur group to cross its north-eastern border in the Sumy region, Serhiy Naev, commander of the joint forces of the armed forces of Ukraine, said on Thursday.
“The saboteurs tried to cross the state border of Ukraine and intended to move further towards one of the civilian critical infrastructure facilities,” Reuters reports he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
The eight-member group was repelled by Ukrainian fire, he said, adding that there were no losses among Ukrainian troops.
Key events
Vladimir Putin is in Kyrgyzstan on his first foreign visit since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March.
Putin is wanted by the court over the deportation of Ukrainian children. Its ruling requires members of the ICC, which does not include Kyrgyzstan, to make the arrest if he sets foot on their territory.
Televised footage showed Putin greeting Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov in the capital Bishkek for a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, AFP reports.
Putin said in talks with Japarov:
I would like to thank the president for the invitation. We have good reasons (to be here), but even without reasons this visit is long overdue.
The long-time leader has rarely left Russia since launching the Ukraine offensive in February 2022.
This year, he has travelled only to Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, with his last foreign trips to Belarus and Kyrgyzstan last December – a far cry from the busy international schedule he had earlier in his rule.
He is expected to travel to China next week.
Moscow has likened the prospect of Putin being arrested abroad to an act of war, calling the warrant “illegal”. In practice, however, it has taken precautions: in August, Russia sent foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to a Brics summit in ICC member South Africa, instead of Putin.
Summary of the day so far …
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Ukraine claims it has thwarted an attempt overnight by a Russian saboteur group to cross its north-eastern border in the Sumy region, Serhiy Naev, commander of the joint forces of the armed forces of Ukraine, said on Thursday. “The saboteurs tried to cross the state border of Ukraine and intended to move further towards one of the civilian critical infrastructure facilities,” Reuters reports he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. The eight-member group was repelled by Ukrainian fire, he said, adding that there were no losses among Ukrainian troops.
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Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has arrived in Kyrgystan in what is believed to be his first trip outside Russia since the international criminal court issued a warrant for his arrest over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
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Ukraine claims to have downed 28 of 33 drones launched at its territory overnight by Russia. Port infrastructure was damaged and an elderly woman was injured in Odesa by one of the drones that got through. Some of the drones were aimed at ports on the Danube.
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A handout photograph from the general prosecutor’s office of Ukraine claims to show damage to a grain warehouse as a result. “Unfortunately, there was a hit on port infrastructure. A grain storage facility was damaged, there is damage directly to the grain itself,” Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the southern military command, told an online briefing.
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Romania’s defence ministry has reported the discovery of a drone crater near the Nato member’s border with Ukraine after the Russian attacks.
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Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has posted on social media claiming Ukraine is holding ground in Avdviika, which appears to have been the target of concerted Russian military efforts over the last few days. On Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces had redirected large numbers of troops and equipment to Avdiivka in their largest attack on the town since launching the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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Belgorod governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported that three people, including a small child, had been killed by falling debris from a drone over Russia. Earlier he had claimed that air defence had downed several Ukrainian drones over the region.
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Antti Pelttari, Finland’s security intelligence service director, has said his country cannot rule out the possibility that a “state actor” was involved in damaging the Balticconnector gas pipeline and a parallel telecoms cable. He told the media: “We can say, like the national bureau of investigation, that it seems to be caused by an external actor. Involvement of a state actor in this job cannot be ruled out”. On Wednesday, Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said if the damage to the Balticconnector was “proven to be an attack on Nato critical infrastructure … it will be met by a united and determined response.”
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The Czech Republic’s foreign ministry will summon Russia’s ambassador over Russian attacks on the Ukrainian hamlet of Hroza earlier this month.
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A Russian missile struck a school in the town of Nikopol in the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk on Wednesday, killing at least four people, Ukrainian officials said.
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Zelenskiy urged Ukraine’s allies on Wednesday to arm his country to survive the winter. He made a plea for air defence, long-range missiles and ammunition in the face of fears that the Hamas attack on Israel could distract key backer the United States from the conflict in his country. “How to survive during this next winter for us is big,” Ukraine’s president said as he addressed the media with Stoltenberg before meeting alliance defence ministers. The Nato meeting continues in Brussels on Thursday.
Tass reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin is now in talks with his Kyrgystan counterpart Sadyr Japarov. It reports the expected topics are “further development of bilateral relations in political, trade, economic, military-technical, cultural, humanitarian and other areas” and “an exchange of views on current international issues is also planned.”
Tass states that the pair are expected later to attend a document signing and jointly face the media.
Ukraine’s military have confirmed that a Russian drone strike hit a grain storage facility in the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa overnight, and some grain was damaged.
“Unfortunately, there was a hit on port infrastructure. A grain storage facility was damaged, there is damage directly to the grain itself,” Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the southern military command, told an online briefing.
Reuters reports she did not say how much grain had been damaged.
Reuters reports the Czech Republic’s foreign ministry will summon Russia’s ambassador over Russian attacks on the Ukrainian hamlet of Hroza earlier this month.
Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians since it launched what it terms its “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022. The UN has recorded over 21,000 civilian casualties in that time period, including 7,481 people killed. Those deaths include 554 children.
In Hroza a missile hit a cafe during a wake service, killing more than 50 people.
Finland intelligence director: cannot rule out ‘state actor’ in pipeline damage
Antti Pelttari, Finland’s security intelligence service director, has said his country cannot rule out the possibility that a “state actor” was involved in damaging the Balticconnector gas pipeline and a parallel telecoms cable.
Reuters reports he told the media “We can say, like the national bureau of investigation, that it seems to be caused by an external actor. Involvement of a state actor in this job cannot be ruled out.”
Romania reports it discovered drone crater near border with Ukraine
Romania’s defence ministry has reported the discovery of a drone crater near the country’s border with Ukraine after Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure on Wednesday evening.
Reuters reports the ministry said there was a “possible explosion on impact”, and measures had been taken to secure the area and forces would continue to monitor Romania’s airspace.
“The ministry of national defence strongly condemns the attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against some objectives and elements of civil infrastructure in the Ukrainian ports on the Danube,” it said.
“These attacks are unjustified and in serious contradiction with the rules of international humanitarian law.”
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has posted on social media claiming Ukraine is holding ground in Avdviika, which appears to have been the target of concerted Russian military efforts over the last few days. He posted:
Avdiivka. We are holding our ground. It is Ukrainian courage and unity that will determine how this war will end. We must all remember this.
Avdiivka. We are holding our ground. It is Ukrainian courage and unity that will determine how this war will end. We must all remember this.
Photo: Oleg Palchyk pic.twitter.com/X1vV9CMUAW
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 12, 2023
Three killed by falling drone debris in Russia’s Belgorod region
Tass reports that the death toll from falling drone debris in Russia’s Belgorod region has risen to three, including the child who was reported killed earlier. [See 7.51 BST]
It cites the Telegram account of regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, who wrote:
It is a difficult morning for all of us. At night, preliminary, as a result of the fall of an unmanned aerial vehicle on the outskirts of Belgorod, two residential buildings were actually destroyed and several residential buildings and cars were damaged as a result of the explosion, but most importantly, three people were killed, one of them was a small child.
The report states that two more victims are hospitalised. The claims have not been independently verified.
Odesa port area targeted again in overnight drone strikes by Russia
Ukraine earlier claimed to have shot down 28 drones launched overnight, but it appears five of the total launched by Russia got through. The Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne reports that “private houses and warehouses were damaged” and “there were fires” in the port area of Odesa. An elderly woman was reported injured.
A handout photograph from the general prosecutor’s office of Ukraine has been released this morning that claims to show damage to a grain warehouse as a result of the strike.
Suspilne is reporting that explosions have been heard in Kherson for the second time this morning. Russian war bloggers appear to be claiming on Telegram that military targets in the city were hit. The claims have not been independently verified.
The first set of explosions were reported by Suspilne at around 7am local time, when there was not an air alert in place. Kherson is frequently targeted, as the city is in Ukrainian possession, but is directly opposite the Russian-occupied southern portion of Kherson region.
Russia’s RIA news service is reporting that a child has been killed by falling drone debris in Russia’s Belgorod region. Citing the regional governor it reported that two others were in intensive care in hospital after the debris fell on a residential house. Their condition was described as “extremely serious”.
Ukraine claims it thwarted Russian saboteur group crossing border into Sumy
Ukraine claims it has thwarted an attempt overnight by a Russian saboteur group to cross its north-eastern border in the Sumy region, Serhiy Naev, commander of the joint forces of the armed forces of Ukraine, said on Thursday.
“The saboteurs tried to cross the state border of Ukraine and intended to move further towards one of the civilian critical infrastructure facilities,” Reuters reports he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
The eight-member group was repelled by Ukrainian fire, he said, adding that there were no losses among Ukrainian troops.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has arrived in Kyrgystan in what is believed to be his first trip outside Russia since the international criminal court issued a warrant for his arrest over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Citing the local authority, Suspilne reports that Sumy region was shelled five times overnight, with 21 explosions recorded. Four different communities were targeted. There was no word yet on casualties or damage.
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of the Ukraine war.
Ukraine said it had destroyed 28 Russian drones overnight, while authorities in the south said strikes damaged Odesa port warehouses and private residences, wounding one person.
The air force said on the Telegram messaging app. “Enemy UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were flying in different directions, so air defence was working in at least six regions of Ukraine.
The defence forces of the south of Ukraine meanwhile said Russia had sent another volley of attack drones towards port infrastructure along the Danube river.
Nato defence ministers will continue to meet in Brussels today, after Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a surprise appearance at the summit yesterday, saying he fears that the aftermath of Hamas’s attack on Israel and US politics could threaten military support for his country.
In other developments:
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A Russian missile struck a school in the town of Nikopol in the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk on Wednesday, killing at least four people, Ukrainian officials said.
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Debris from a drone downed by anti-aircraft units over southern Russia’s Belgorod region killed two people and injured at least two, the regional governor said on Thursday. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said a house had been destroyed and two bodies, of a man and a woman, had been recovered from under rubble.
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Russian forces were pressing on with a major push on the key eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka on Wednesday after many months of besieging it, Ukrainian military officials said. The Ukrainian officials said Russian forces had redirected large numbers of troops and equipment to Avdiivka in their largest attack on the town since launching the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Major assaults have been under way since Tuesday.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Ukraine’s allies on Wednesday to arm his country to survive the winter. Zelenskiy made a plea for air defence, long-range missiles and ammunition in the face of fears that the Hamas attack on Israel could distract key backer the United States from the conflict in his country. “How to survive during this next winter for us is big,” Zelenskiy said as he addressed the media with Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg before meeting alliance defence ministers.
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Some US Republican lawmakers said they would resist any funding request from Democratic president Joe Biden that combined military aid for Israel and Ukraine, amid resistance from some Republicans to further assistance for Kyiv.
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Nato has promised a “determined” response if damage to an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia proves deliberate.
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An international team of prosecutors seeking to put Russia’s top officials on trial over the Ukraine invasion has already gathered “thousands” of pieces of evidence, the head of EU judicial agency, Eurojust, has told AFP.
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In its latest intelligence update, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said the Russian military is facing a “mental health crisis”, with many personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Ukraine’s Security Service said it had identified two suspected informers who allegedly helped Russia strike at a wake last week.
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A former prime minister of Slovakia who plans to end the country’s military support for Ukraine is poised to return to office after his political party signed a deal with two other parties to form a coalition government.
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Belgium will send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from 2025, its defence minister, Ludivine Dedonder, said.
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The North Korea leader, Kim Jong-un, exchanged letters with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, on Thursday, vowing to advance their ties and wishing him victory over what he called hegemony and pressure from imperialists, Pyongyang’s state media KCNA said. He pledged to further develop relations to a “new height” and wished Putin good luck in resisting western pressure over Ukraine.
