Russia’s military news outlet Zvezda on Wednesday published an interview with Black Sea fleet commander Viktor Sokolov, despite Ukraine claiming to have killed him in an attack on the fleet’s headquarters in Sevastopol. “The Black Sea Fleet carries out the tasks set by the command confidently and successfully,” Sokolov says in the short video, wearing a military uniform. On Tuesday Russia’s defence ministry released footage showing Sokolov attending a defence board meeting via video call.
Iranian kamikaze drones used in the latest attacks on Ukrainian cities are filled with European components, according to a secret document sent by Kyiv to its western allies in which it appeals for long-range missiles to attack production sites in Russia, Iran and Syria. In a 47-page document submitted by Ukraine’s government to the G7 governments in August, it is claimed there were more than 600 raids on cities using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) containing western technology in the previous three months.
Ukraine’s security forces claim to have arrested two men in the Kyiv region who were assisting Russia. They cite an attack on the city on 21 September as one of the occasions on which the men helped Russia identify targets in the city. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the arrests as “a good signal to all traitors: there will be retribution.”
Scientists investigating the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines have revealed key new details of explosions linked to the event, which remains unsolved on its first anniversary. Researchers in Norway shared with the Guardian seismic evidence of the four explosions, becoming the first national body to publicly confirm the second two detonations, as well as revealing a detailed timeline of events.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, has announced on his Telegram channel that one person has been injured and hospitalised with shrapnel wounds after Ukrainin shelling of the village of Bolshetroitskoe.
The Russian-installed head of occupied Luhansk region has announced that three kindergartens and four schools in Krasnodon have switched to remote learning after the area came under fire.
Germany has welcomed a decision by Switzerland to open the way to sell back some of its German-made Leopard II tanks to help rebuild stocks depleted by aid to Ukraine. To comply with Swiss neutrality laws, Berlin has assured Berne the weapons would not go to Kyiv, but remain in Germany or with a Nato or EU ally.
Robert Telus, Poland’s agricultural minister, has said talks with Ukraine about grain imports are going in a good direction.
The European Union must begin a major wave of change to prepare for the arrival of Ukraine as a member state, the leader of its parliament said on Tuesday. Roberta Metsola told the Guardian said she expected member states to begin formal negotiations with Ukraine as soon as December.
Turkey’s parliament will keep its promise to ratify Sweden’s Nato bid if US president Joe Biden’s administration paves the way for F-16 jet sales to Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Tuesday, according to Turkish media.
