Russian-backed forces have made some advances in eastern Ukraine, Britain said on Friday, even as Moscow's hold weakens in the south, where a Russian-installed official has advised residents to flee a region Russia claims to have annexed.
A British intelligence update said forces led by the private Russian military company Wagner Group had captured the villages of Optyine and Ivangrad south of the fiercely-contested town of Bakhmut, the first such advance in more than three months.
"There have been few, if any, other settlements seized by regular Russian or separatist forces since early July," said the daily update from London, which normally focuses on Ukrainian battlefield successes.
Ukraine launched a counter-offensive in late August against Russian forces occupying the country since the start of their invasion in February, pushing them out of the northeast and putting them under heavy pressure in the south. Its main focus now is Kherson - one of four partially occupied Ukrainian provinces that Russia claims to have annexed in recent weeks, and arguably the most strategically important.
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War in Ukraine: NGOs file complaint against TotalEnergies: A French and a Ukrainian non-governmental organization have filed a complaint for “complicity in war crimes” against TotalEnergies, which they accuse of having operated a gas field that allegedly produces kerosene used by Russian warplanes in Ukraine. The French oil giant denied producing kerosene for the Russian military. The Paris counterterrorism prosecutor's office confirmed on Friday that it formally received the complaint and is going to examine it.
Putin says draft vital to hold Ukraine front line but will end soon: President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia's call-up of reserve forces to fight in Ukraine, criticised as chaotic by some Kremlin allies, had been vital to hold the front line but would be wound up in the next couple of weeks. Russia has conducted a broad mobilisation of Russians to reinforce its long front after Ukraine won back territory in recent weeks.
Putin: Germany unlikely to accept gas via remaining Nord Stream 2 pipeline: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday Germany was unlikely to accept Russian gas from the one remaining undamaged line of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, two days after Berlin rejected his initial offer. "A decision has not been made and it's unlikely to be made, but that's no longer our business, it's the business of our partners," he said.
Belarus says Russian troops will soon arrive for joint deployment: Belarus said on Friday that Russian troops would soon be arriving to take part in a "regional grouping" of forces to protect its borders. "Troops from the Russian component of the Regional Grouping of Forces will start arriving in Belarus in the next few days," the Minsk defence ministry said.
US to send munitions, Humvees to Ukraine in $725 million aid package: Officials: The Biden administration's next security assistance package for Ukraine is expected to include munitions and vehicles but not significant new capabilities or counter-air defenses, two US officials briefed on the $725 million package told Reuters on Friday.
US warns of sanctions against those providing ammunition to Russia: The United States on Friday warned it can impose sanctions on people, countries and companies that provide ammunition to Russia or support its military-industrial complex, as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that he does not plan more "massive" strikes against Ukraine "for now" and that the Kremlin's aim was not to "destroy" the pro-Western country. (AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was carrying out its mission to invade Ukraine correctly, despite a failed attempt to topple the government and weeks of territorial losses. (AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow has no plans to expand a mobilisation of reservists to bolster its Ukraine invasion after an earlier draft sparked panic and an exodus from the country. (AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had not yet taken a decision on attending a Group of 20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia next month. (Reuters)
Russian President Putin says that India and China supported "peaceful dialogue" in Ukraine, a month after their leaders appeared to differ with him over the conflict at a summit in Uzbekistan last month. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin says more 'massive' missile strikes against Ukraine not necessary (AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin says mobilization of army reservists he ordered will be completed in two weeks. (AFP)
609 high-precision missiles left in Russia: Russia has used 1,235 out of 1,844 Iskander, Kalibr, and air-launched cruise missiles since it started its all-out invasion in February, said Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. Only on October 10, Russia launched 84 cruise missiles and 24 drones across Ukraine. "By using hundreds of high-precision missiles against Ukraine's civilian objects, the aggressor state reduces its ability to strike the military targets," said Reznikov.
Putin says he sees no need for talks with Biden: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he saw "no need" for talks with US President Joe Biden. Speaking at a news conference in the Kazakh capital Astana, Putin said that he had not yet taken a decision on attending a Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia next month.
EU ministers to discuss Iran drones to Russia, future sanctions: European foreign ministers will on Monday discuss the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia and could come to a political agreement on future sanctions related to such activity, two diplomats said on Friday. Ukraine has reported a spate of Russian attacks using Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones in recent weeks. Iran denies supplying the drones to Russia, while the Kremlin has not commented.
Turkey backs Putin gas plan as Nord Stream faces long outage: Large sections of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines built to supply gas to Europe might need to be replaced, the head of Gazprom said, while Turkey on Friday backed Russian proposals to build a gas hub there as an alternative supply route. Russian President Vladimir Putin this week proposed Turkey as a base for gas supplies after the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea were damaged last month by blasts.
Rape used in Ukraine as part of Russian 'military strategy': UN envoy (AFP)Russia increases number of troops at Zaporizhzhia plant: Russian forces are increasing their presence at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in occupied Enerhodar, Ukraine's General Staff reported on October 14.
Russia says there were deaths in alleged Ukrainian shelling of border region: Russia said on Friday it had opened a criminal investigation into alleged Ukrainian shelling of a Russian border region in which it said people had been killed and wounded. The state Investigative Committee did not specify the number of casualties in Thursday's incident, in which it said shells fired from Ukraine had destroyed an ammunition depot in the Belgorod region.
In Norway, Russian man stopped with drones: A 50-year-old Russian man has been detained in Arctic Norway with two drones and is suspected of flying the unmanned aerial vehicles somewhere in the country, police said Friday. Numerous drone sightings have been reported near Norwegian offshore oil and gas platforms in recent weeks. The Russian citizen, who was not identified, was detained on Tuesday. On Friday, the suspect who had confessed to flying a drone in Norway, was ordered held for two weeks in custody.
Russia, under pressure in southern Ukraine, captures villages in east: Russian-backed forces have made some advances in eastern Ukraine, Britain said on Friday, even as Moscow's hold weakens in the south, where a Russian-installed official has advised residents to flee a region Russia claims to have annexed. A British intelligence update said forces led by the private Russian military company Wagner Group had captured the villages of Optyine and Ivangrad south of the fiercely-contested town of Bakhmut, the first such advance in more than three months.
Russia drops criminal case against top economist Mau: Russia's interior ministry has dropped a criminal case against leading economist Vladimir Mau, three sources familiar with the investigation told Reuters, four months after he was charged with massive fraud. The charges against Mau, an economic liberal with close links to top policymakers, sent shockwaves through Russia's academic and economic elite when they were announced in June. Mau denied the charges against him.
Twenty more Ukrianians were released as part of a new prisoner exchange with the Russian Federation. Among them were 14 servicemen of the Armed Forces, 4 territorial defense fighters, one National Guard officer and one naval serviceman, Kyiv Post reported.
Russia needs permission for its vessels to conduct investigations into Nord Stream pipelines incidents in the Baltic Sea, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was quoted by Reuters as saying."The whole question is in the access for our vessels, which should have rights of passage (to the area of the incidents)," Novak told reporters, commenting on Moscow's efforts to investigate the ruptures suffered by the pipelines.
Pro-Russian forces made tactical advances towards Bakhmut in Donestsk Oblast: UK intelligence
Crimea bridge repairs to be finished by July 2023: Repairs to the bridge between the annexed Crimean peninsula and Russia will be finished by July 2023, a document published on the Russian government's website said. The bridge was damaged in an explosion last Saturday.
Russian losses in numbers (Credit: Ukraine defence ministry)
Evacuation in Kherson: Russia-installed official suggested residents of Ukraine's Kherson region should leave for safety. Following this, evacuees from Kherson are now expected to begin arriving in Russia on Friday. Authorities have also promised free accommodation to all residents of the occupied Kherson region who choose to evacuate to Russia."We suggested that all residents of the Kherson region, if they wish, to protect themselves from the consequences of missile strikes ... go to other regions," Russian-installed Kherson administration chief Vladimir Saldo said in a video message. People should "leave with their children".
More blackouts in Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government said power had been restored to millions of people. He also warned Ukrainians to prepare for more blackouts and asked people to cut down on their electricity use wherever possible. Turkey a "gas hub": Vladimir Putin, who had earlier offered to supply gas to Europe via one intact part of Nord Stream 2 pipeline, has proposed a 'gas hub' in Turkey. He floated the idea of exporting more gas through the Turk Stream gas pipeline running beneath the Black Sea to Turkey. He made the proposal during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a regional summit in Kazakhstan.
Responding to the development, France said Putin's fresh proposal makes "no sense" to "allow more Russian gas to be imported".The statement came as deliveries to Germany through the Baltic Sea's Nord Stream pipeline were already halted. Also, Europe is trying to wean itself off Russian gas, whose shortage has sent energy prices soaring.
First Published: Oct 14, 2022 10:40 AM IST
