French Protection Minister Sébastien Lecornu can also be visiting the Ukrainian capital, after Zelensky mentioned he met with Britain’s new protection secretary, Grant Shapps, in Kyiv and mentioned boosting Ukraine’s air defenses.
Jailed Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny has tweeted that he can be moved to a stricter jail for one 12 months. He faces a switch to “the harshest grade in Russia’s penal system,” according to Reuters. Right here’s the most recent on the battle and its ripple results throughout the globe.
Russia launched extra video of its Black Sea Fleet commander, Adm. Viktor Sokolov, whom Ukraine claimed to have killed in a strike within the annexed Crimean Peninsula final week. The video revealed Wednesday confirmed Sokolov talking to reporters, but it surely was not clear when it was recorded. Earlier, the Ukrainian particular operations command mentioned it might make clear info on Sokolov.
Talking in Kyiv, Stoltenberg mentioned Ukrainian forces “are progressively gaining floor” in southeastern Ukraine, the place “they face fierce preventing” with Russian troops. “Each meter that Ukrainian forces acquire is a meter that Russia loses,” he mentioned. Additionally on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Sept. 30 a nationwide vacation to mark Russia’s claimed annexation of jap Ukraine, although the territory stays contested and elements of it will not be beneath Russian management.
Air protection programs in southern Ukraine destroyed greater than 30 drones in a Russian assault in a single day, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian navy’s southern command mentioned Thursday. Natalia Humeniuk mentioned air defenses have been activated within the port of Odessa and close by Mykolaiv. Odessa regional governor Oleh Kiper reported no casualties or main harm. The Mykolaiv governor said particles from intercepted drones broken a constructing and energy line however didn’t trigger casualties.
Navalny described his jail switch because the “strictest doable punishment,” on his account on the social media platform X, previously Twitter. He misplaced his attraction towards a 19-year prison sentence this week. Navalny has already spent a number of months in a one-person “punishment cell” for purported disciplinary violations, in keeping with the Associated Press.
Putin met with Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Muslim-majority Chechen Republic, in Moscow on Thursday. The 2 mentioned, amongst different matters, the position of Chechen fighters in Ukraine, Kadyrov mentioned on Telegram. Kadyrov is an ardent Putin loyalist, however raised ire amongst some Russians final week when he praised his son’s actions in a video that appeared to indicate him beating a prisoner accused of burning the Quran, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian Overseas Minister Dmytro Kuleba mentioned a dispute over grain between Kyiv and Warsaw might be resolved “if there’s a need.” In feedback revealed Thursday, he advised Interfax-Ukraine: “We don’t want this grain battle, and neither does Poland.” The battle has left Ukraine in want of different grain export routes, whereas Poland and different neighboring nations attempt to defend their farmers from a market flooded with low-cost Ukrainian grain.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologized after a veteran of a Nazi unit was applauded in Parliament throughout a go to by Zelensky final week. Yaroslav Hunka was praised on the occasion by the speaker of Canada’s Home of Commons, who resigned after Jewish teams mentioned 98-year-old Hunka fought in a Waffen-SS unit throughout World Struggle II. “This was a mistake that has deeply embarrassed Parliament and Canada,” Trudeau told reporters.
A U.S. authorities shutdown might endanger funding for Ukraine, regardless of $6 billion in support introduced Tuesday as a part of a bipartisan Senate plan to fund authorities operations till mid-November. The uncertainty “underscores the political challenges Kyiv’s supporters have” in persevering with to hunt billions of {dollars} for Ukraine, The Washington Put up reports. President Biden will welcome European Union leaders in Washington on Friday for a summit centering on U.S.-E.U. cooperation, together with help for Ukraine because it fights to reclaim territory, the White Home mentioned.
Evaluation from our correspondents
How the war in Ukraine helped stoke an Armenian tragedy: In a matter of days, roughly half of the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, inside Azerbaijan, have fled their houses to close by Armenia after a shock offensive by Azerbaijani forces. The most recent flip within the long-drawn-out battle has highlighted the shifting position of Russia and the trickle-down impact of the battle in Ukraine, writes Ishaan Tharoor.
“Although it has maintained strong ties with Azerbaijan, Moscow has lengthy counted Armenia as an ally and safety accomplice in its fast neighborhood. However it seems to lack the capability to implement its position as peacekeeper and guarantor of stability not simply within the South Caucasus, however in Central Asia,” he writes.
David L. Stern contributed to this report.
