Here's a summary of the latest developments...
A Russian submarine has reportedly been spotted off the French coast and escorted by the French navy. Reuters reports that the vessel was seen off Brittany.
Belarus has said that Russian troops will start arriving in the country in the coming days as part of its joint force. “Troops from the Russian component of the Regional Grouping of Forces will start arriving in Belarus in the next few days,” the Belarus defence ministry said.
Vladimir Putin said on Friday he believed the “partial mobilisation” of army reservists ordered last month would be completed in two weeks, boosting Russia’s fighting force. He told reporters after attending a summit in Kazakhstan on Friday that a total of 222,000 reservists would be called up, down from the 300,000 figure initially circulated.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has called for humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian grain to be closed if they are used for “acts of terror”. Speaking at a news conference in the Kazakh capital Astana he also said that there was “no need” for talks with US president Joe Biden.
The US and Germany are to deliver sophisticated anti-aircraft systems to Kyiv this month to counter attacks by Russian missiles and kamikaze drones, Ukraine’s defence minister said. Oleksiy Reznikov said Ukraine would take receive the IRIS-II air defence system from Germany in October.
A Ukrainian member of Kherson’s regional council has condemned Russia’s “evacuation” of the occupied city, saying it is in fact a “deportation”. The council member also said that it is an evacuation for collaborators, urging residents to go to Ukrainian-controlled territory if they can.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has responded to criticism from the Ukrainian government calling for “immediate and unimpeded access” to all prisoners of war. It comes after the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, accused the ICRC of inaction in upholding the rights of Ukrainian prisoners and called on it to visit Olenivka, a notorious camp in eastern Ukraine where dozens of Ukrainian POWs died in an explosion and fire in July.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX says it can no longer pay for critical satellite services in Ukraine, which it has labelled an exclusive. SpaceX is reportedly asking the US government to start paying instead.
That’s it from me for today. Thank you for reading.
Here’s Alex Hern’s report on Starlink from earlier:
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has said it cannot afford to continue to donate satellite internet to Ukraine and has asked the US government to pick up the bill, according to a report, as the relationship between the billionaire and Kyiv breaks down.
“We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine, or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time,” SpaceX’s director of government sales wrote, in a letter seen by CNN.
In a separate letter reported by CNN, an external consultant working for the company told the Pentagon: “SpaceX faces terribly difficult decisions here. I do not think they have the financial ability to provide any additional terminals or service.”
Musk appeared to confirm that report on Friday morning, writing on Twitter that “nothing was leaked about our competitors in space launch & communications, Lockheed & Boeing, who get over $60B [from the US Department of Defence]”.
In another post, he tweeted: “In addition to terminals, we have to create, launch, maintain & replenish satellites & ground stations & pay telcos for access to Internet via gateways. We’ve also had to defend against cyber-attacks & jamming, which are getting harder. Burn is approaching ~$20M/month.”
Updated
Elon Musk has asked the US defence department to take over funding for his Starlink satellite network, a US official has told AP.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the issue has been discussed in meetings and senior leaders are considering the issue, with no decisions yet made.
The network of more than 2,200 low-orbiting satellites has provided broadband internet to more than 150,000 Ukrainian ground stations. This morning, Musk tweeted that it was costing SpaceX $20m a month to support Ukraine’s communications needs.
Updated
More details on the reported Russian submarine sighting from Reuters:
A Russian submarine was spotted sailing on the surface off the Brittany coast at the end of September and was escorted by the French navy, the French navy said on its Twitter feed.
It said British and Spanish warships had also been involved in monitoring the submarine’s movements.
BFM TV reported that the incident took place on 29 September.
Updated
Ukraine has said it will find a solution to keep Starlink working after reports that Elon Musk’s SpaceX can no longer pay for the critical satellite services.
An adviser to president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it expects Starlink to provide a “stable connection” until the end of negotiations, reports Reuters.
Russian submarine reportedly spotted off French coast
A Russian submarine has reportedly been spotted off the French coast and escorted by the French navy.
Citing BFM TV, Reuters reports that the vessel was seen off Brittany.
Updated
More on the earlier statement from the Red Cross from Daniel Boffey in Kyiv:
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has gone public with its frustration at being refused entry to a notorious Russian prisoner of war camp after scathing criticism from Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
In his daily evening address, Ukraine’s president accused the ICRC of a lack of leadership, suggesting that officials were picking up their salaries without doing their jobs.
Olenivka prison in the occupied Donetsk territory has been under the control of Russia since 2014 but was partly destroyed in July by an explosion that killed 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war (PoWs) and wounded a further 75.
Both sides have claimed the other was responsible, with the Ukrainian army accusing the Russians of blowing up a barrack in order to cover up the torture and murder of Ukrainian PoWs.
Zelenskiy said on Thursday evening that the ICRC had a “moral compunction” to gain access to a “concentration camp where our prisoners are kept” after an earlier meeting between Ukraine government officials and Red Cross representatives.
The Pentagon has responded to reports that Elon Musk’s company SpaceX can no longer pay for critical satellite services in Ukraine (see also 8.55am).
A Pentagon spokesperson told Reuters that the US defence department “continues to work with industry to explore solutions for Ukraine’s armed forces as they repel Russia’s brutal and unprovoked aggression”.
Updated
Belarus says Russian troops to start arriving in coming days
Belarus has said that Russian troops will start arriving in the country in the coming days as part of its joint force, reports Reuters.
“Troops from the Russian component of the Regional Grouping of Forces will start arriving in Belarus in the next few days,” the Belarus defence ministry said.
It comes after the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, said earlier this week that his troops would deploy with Russian forces near the Ukrainian border, citing what he described as threats from Ukraine and the West.
Updated
US officials plan to send munitions and humvees to Ukraine as part of its latest $725m aid package, reports Reuters.
Updated
Here’s a summary of key points from Vladimir Putin’s press conference (see also 2.13pm) from Reuters:
ON UKRAINE
Of course, partners are concerned about future developments in Russian-Ukrainian relations. It is true that there is nothing unexpected here. I keep our partners informed, tell them our point of view. But this does not affect the character, the quality, or the depth of Russia’s relations with these countries.
India and China always talk about the need to establish dialogue and resolve everything peacefully, we know their position. These are our close allies, partners, and we respect their position. But we also know the position of Kyiv - they keep saying that they want negotiations and it seems like they asked for it, and now they have made an official decision that prohibits negotiations.
Right now there is no need for massive strikes [on Ukraine]. For now there are other tasks, because, I believe, out of 29 targets, [only] 7 were not hit as the ministry of defence planned, but they are getting to them gradually. There is no need for massive strikes, in any case case not for now. In future, we’ll see.
ON POTENTIAL FOR CLASHES WITH NATO
The introduction of troops into a direct confrontation with the Russian army is a very dangerous step that could lead to a global catastrophe. I hope that those who speak of this have enough sense not to take such steps.
ON WHETHER HE REGRETS ANYTHING
No. I want to make it clear: what is happening today is unpleasant, to put it mildly, but we would have got the same thing a little later, only in worse conditions for us, that’s that. So we are acting correctly and in a timely manner.
RUSSIA’S MOBILISATION
The ministry of defence initially assumed a smaller figure, not 300,000. Nothing extra is planned. No proposals have been received from the ministry of defence in this regard. And in the foreseeable future, this is not necessary.
GERMANY
[Germany] must decide what is more important for them: the fulfilment of alliance obligations, as they see it, or their national interests. In this case, it seems that Germany placed its obligations to the [Nato] alliance above all. I believe that this is a mistake.
German citizens, businesses, and its economy are paying for this mistake, because it has negative economic consequences for the eurozone as a whole, and in Germany. But very few people take into account its interests, otherwise Nord Stream 1 and 2 would not have been undermined. But although one branch remains, as I said, in working order, a decision has not been made and is unlikely to be made. But this is no longer our business, this is the business of our partners.
TURKEY
Erdogan played a significant role in resolving a number of issues. This is due to the prisoner exchanges, he was personally involved in this work. And, as we see, there have been results. So we are also grateful to him for this, because we got our military personnel and officers back.
TALKS WITH THE US
I don’t see the need for a platform for negotiations [with Biden]. The question of my trip [to the G20 summit] has not yet been finally resolved. Russia will certainly take part in this work, in what format, we will think about that.
Updated
European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday will not take any decisions on additional Iran sanctions linked to a transfer of drones from Tehran to Moscow, Reuters report a senior EU official said today.
The EU was still trying to find independent evidence for the use of Iranian drones by Russia in Ukraine, the official added.
Updated
My colleague Dan Sabbagh has been attending a background briefing on the situation in Ukraine from western officials, and he reports:
The Russian position around Kherson “is extremely fragile” with “a significant force on the wrong side of the Dnipro River”. Asked could the city fall in a week, the officials said “It is conceivable that something happens within a week, but it’s also perfectly conceivable that it doesn’t.”
The officials said Russia is “rapidly exhausting its supply of long range, precision munitions”, and in particular, air launched cruise missiles. Russia cannot sustain attacks like Monday’s. The officials roughly endorsed Ukraine’s estimate that Russia has used two-thirds of its “high-precision” stock.
The officials continued by saying that any use of nuclear weapons by Russia “would break a taboo that has held since 1945”, and would lead to “severe consequences” for Moscow. The consequences were not spelled out though, leaving a deliberate ambiguity.
On the Nord Stream explosions, the officials said “It is our assessment that it is almost certainly sabotage” but they were still not in a position to attribute responsibility to Russia or anybody else.
There was concern that the Ukrainians “won’t be able to maintain their offensive indefinitely,” and that there will come a point later this year when the weather changes, and “a new phase of the conflict” begins. “But for the time being, Ukrainians retain the initiative and momentum.”
Putin: 'partial mobilisation' to be completed in two weeks, total of 222,000 called up
Vladimir Putin said on Friday he believed the “partial mobilisation” of army reservists ordered last month would be completed in two weeks, boosting Russia’s fighting force.
He told reporters after attending a summit in Kazakhstan on Friday that a total of 222,000 reservists would be called up, down from the 300,000 figure initially circulated.
A total of 33,000 of them were said to be already in military units, and 16,000 are involved in the military operation in Ukraine.
Updated
Putin said on Friday that any direct clash of Nato troops with Russia would lead to a “global catastrophe”.
“I hope that those who are saying this are smart enough not to take such steps,” Reuters reports that Putin said.
Russia launched its latest invasion of Ukraine on 24 February this year.
Updated
Asked at this press conference in Astana whether he has any regrets over the Russia’s actions in Ukraine, Putin says “no”, and that it was not Russia’s objective to destroy Ukraine.
Updated
Vladimir Putin is speaking at a news conference in the Kazakh capital, Astana, where he has said that Germany is making a “mistake” by prioritising its allegiance to Nato over its national interest.
He said it would be possible for Russia to pump gas to Germany through the one undamaged Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, but “any such decision was not Russia’s business.”
Updated
Putin threatens closure of humanitarian corridors and says 'no need' for Biden talks
Russian president Vladimir Putin has called for humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian grain to be closed if they are used for “acts of terror”.
Speaking at a news conference in the Kazakh capital Astana he also said that there was “no need” for talks with US president Joe Biden.
He said that he has not yet decided whether he will be attending a G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia next month, reports Reuters.
The US government has said it can impose sanctions on people, countries and companies that provide ammunition to Russia or support its military industrial complex.
Wally Adeyemo, the deputy treasury secretary, said in a meeting of officials from 32 countries that the department will issue guidance to make it clear that Washington is willing and able to impose such a crackdown, reports Reuters.
This morning, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is issuing guidance making clear that we are willing and able to sanction people, companies, or countries that provide ammunition to Russia or support Russia*s military-industrial complex.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce*s Bureau of Industry and Security, he added, will also issue an alert “outlining our actions against Russia’s military-industrial complex and the risks for those providing material support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
US and Germany to deliver anti-aircraft systems to Kyiv this month, says Ukraine
The US and Germany are to deliver sophisticated anti-aircraft systems to Kyiv this month to counter attacks by Russian missiles and kamikaze drones, Ukraine’s defence minister said.
Speaking on Ukrainian television, Oleksiy Reznikov said:
There is a US decision to supply us with a very well-known NASAMS system: the first few batches. Our specialists are already being trained. And they will be delivered this month.
He said Ukraine would take receive the IRIS-II air defence system from Germany in October, reports Reuters.
Updated
More details on the Kherson council member’s deportation claims (see also 11.54am) are being reported by Reuters.
Serhiy Khlan, a member of Kherson’s regional council, told a briefing:
We understand that there can be no evacuation, this is nothing more than deportation that Saldo calls for.
This ‘evacuation’ announced by Saldo is an evacuation for collaborators and traitors in the region ... they want to take these collaborators to Russia.
“The occupiers understand that they will not be able to hold on for long, especially on the right bank [of the Dnieper River] and in the city of Kherson.
Most of the Kherson region was seized within days of the Russian invasion after it sent in troops from Crimea.
Last month, Kherson was one of four partly occupied regions that Russia claimed as its own in a move widely condemned, including by Ukraine and the UN.
Updated
Sweden has rejected plans for a joint investigation with Denmark and Germany of the recent ruptures of Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, reports Reuters.
Citing German weekly Spiegel, which referred to German security sources, it reported that Sweden has decided not to share findings of its investigation with other states for security reasons.
Germany’s federal police have completed their part in investigating an alleged act of sabotage on the Nord Stream pipelines and handed over their findings, an interior ministry spokesperson said.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has met with the Lithuanian president, Gitanas Nausėda, who pledged to continue support for Ukraine.
Meeting on Defenders Day, the Ukrainian president said they discussed the battlefield, Ukraine’s defence needs and “further Euro-Atlantic integration”.
Nausėda said Lithuania would “continue supporting Ukraine on all fronts and advocating for more support from the west”, calling for more air defence systems.
Today, on 🇺🇦 Defenders Day,I spoke to @ZelenskyyUa. While Russia keeps escalating, Ukraine keeps pushing the aggressor's military back.🇱🇹 will continue supporting 🇺🇦 on all fronts&advocating for more support from the West.More air defense systems to🇺🇦 now to protect its citizens! pic.twitter.com/kNXwSjDdU1
— Gitanas Nausėda (@GitanasNauseda) October 14, 2022
In touch with our friend, President of Lithuania @GitanasNauseda. We’ve talked about the situation on the battlefield, Ukraine's defense needs, and further Euro-Atlantic integration. I've accepted congratulations on the Day of 🇺🇦 Defenders.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 14, 2022
Updated
Kherson council member condemns Russian 'evacuation' as 'deportation'
A Ukrainian member of Kherson’s regional council has condemned Russia’s “evacuation” of the occupied city, saying it is in fact a “deportation”.
The council member also said that it is an evacuation for collaborators, urging residents to go to Ukrainian-controlled territory if they can, reports Reuters.
Evacuees from Ukraine’s southern Kherson region were expected to begin arriving in Russia on Friday after a Moscow-installed official suggested residents should leave for safety, a sign of Russia’s weakening hold on territory it claims to have annexed (see also 5.41am).
Red Cross responds to Ukrainian criticism, calling for 'immediate and unimpeded access' to all POWs
The International Committee of the Red Cross has responded to criticism from the Ukrainian government calling for “immediate and unimpeded access” to all prisoners of war.
It comes after the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, accused the ICRC of inaction in upholding the rights of Ukrainian prisoners and called on it to visit Olenivka, a notorious camp in eastern Ukraine where dozens of Ukrainian POWs died in an explosion and fire in July (see also 6.14am).
Here’s the ICRC’s statement:
We share the frustration regarding our lack of access to all prisoners of war (POWs) held in the international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. We have been working since February to obtain access to check on the conditions and treatment of POWs and keep their families informed about their loved ones. We have been able to visit hundreds of POWs but there are thousands more who we have not been able to see.
The Third Geneva Convention obliges parties to an international armed conflict to grant the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) immediate access to all POWs, and the right to visit them wherever they are held.
We want to stress that our teams are ready on the ground—and have been ready for months—to visit the Olenivka penal facility and any other location where POWs are held. However, beyond being granted access by high levels of authority, this requires practical arrangements to materialise on the ground. We cannot access by force a place of detention or internment where we have not been admitted.
All States have committed to respect the Geneva conventions. Giving the ICRC access to visit prisoners of war is a legal obligation. It also helps preserve humanity in an international armed conflict that has created immeasurable loss for countless families.
Our mission can only be achieved through coordinated efforts with parties to the conflict. And we ask them and the international community to support the role we have been given.
Hi, I’m looking after the Ukraine blog for the next few hours. Please get in touch with any tips or suggestions: miranda.bryant@guardian.co.uk
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
Russia announced it will evacuate residents from Kherson after an appeal from the Russian-installed head of the region, raising fears the occupied city at the heart of the south Ukrainian region will become a new frontline.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has issued a message to celebrate Defenders Day in Ukraine, saying “Gratitude to everyone who fought for Ukraine in the past. And to everyone who is fighting for it now. To all who won then. And to everyone who will definitely win now.”
Ukraine’s army boasted of territorial gains near the city of Kherson on Wednesday as Nato allies including the UK delivered new air defence systems in the wake of Russia’s recent missile attacks across the country.
The UK Ministry of Defence says that “Russia continues to prosecute offensive operations in central Donbas and is, very slowly, making progress”. The ministry explained that, “in the last three days, pro-Russian forces have made tactical advances towards the centre of the town of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast” and “likely advanced into the villages of Opytine and Ivangrad to the south of the town.”
Ukraine’s armed forces have liberated more than 600 settlements from the Russian occupation in the past month, including 75 in the highly strategic Kherson region, Ukraine’s Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories claimed late on Thursday.
Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of Kharkiv, has said that two 16-year-old boys were among those injured by Russian shelling in the region in the last 24 hours.
Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti is reporting that people have been killed and there are wounded after an ammunition dump in Oktyabrsky village in the Belgorod region of Russia exploded. Authorities have blamed the explosion on shelling over the border by Ukrainian armed forces. Train operations were also suspended early on Friday near Novyi Oskol, a town in Russia’s Belgorod region after remains of a missile fell near the railway.
Ukraine has accused the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of inaction in upholding the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war and urged it to undertake a mission to a camp in the Russian-occupied east of the country.
Elon Musk appears to have confirmed on Twitter that funding for the Space X Starlink satellite internet system in Ukraine is being pulled. The company is asking the US government to step in and foot the bill. The move comes days after Musk faced huge criticism in Ukraine for a Twitter poll he conducted on a peace proposal that appeared to show Musk’s support for Vladimir Putin’s military aims in Ukraine.
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for now. Miranda Bryant will be with you shortly. I will be back later. Take care.
Updated
Pjotr Sauer writes for the Guardian today on the story of Artur, a 27-year-old fighting with the Ukrainian armed forces, and his father Oleg, a colonel in the pro-Moscow forces in eastern Ukraine:
While most young Ukrainians were concerned for the safety of their parents, Artur, 27, had a different message for his father, Oleg. “You assholes,” the text to his father read.
“Don’t pick up a gun. Kyiv will fall immediately,” Oleg replied after some time.
Throughout the war he has kept in touch with his father in Russian-occupied Donetsk through text messages that he has shared with the Guardian. “We are literally on the opposite sides of the frontline. But only one of us is fighting for the right cause,” said Artur in a video call from Zakarpattia oblast.
In early March, after most Russian troops had been repelled from Kyiv, Artur sent a short video message to his father, mocking him for his earlier warning about the fall of the capital. “I am walking around but can’t see a single Russian. They seem to have disappeared. Can you please advise, I don’t understand where they are?” he said in the video.
Oleg replied that Russia’s fortunes would soon change, once again urging his son to drop his weapons. “At that point, I already saw that his hopes of a Russian victory were dwindling. He started to become more desperate as Ukraine was gaining more ground.”
Read more of Pjotr Sauer’s report here: ‘He joined the enemy’: a Ukraine soldier on fighting his father on Russian side
Elon Musk appears to have confirmed the CNN report that funding is being pulled from SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service provision in Ukraine, by tweeting “We’re just following his recommendation” in reference to Ukrainian diplomat Andrij Melnyk having said “Fuck off is my very diplomatic reply to you” to Musk’s Twitter poll on 3 October.
In the poll, Musk suggested the Ukraine should remain neutral, cede Crimea to Russia permanently, and re-run Russia’s “referendums” in the areas of Ukraine that it militarily occupies.
It should be noted that in the CNN report that says SpaceX is to pull funding, the news organisation suggests that the process was initiated with a letter to the US government in September, which pre-dates Musk’s Twitter poll, in which he appeared to side with Vladimir Putin’s strategic aims in invading Ukraine, and which drew a stinging response from Ukrainians, including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Powerful images from the internationally renowned photojournalist Anastasia Taylor-Lind, made during her time in Ukraine between 2014 and June 2022, document the devastating reality of living amid conflict. They are to be displayed publicly in a UK exhibition for the first time at IWM North from 14 October, and our gallery today features a selection of her best work.
There is a quick snap from Reuters that a Russian government document has been published which states that repairs to the Crimea bridge between the annexed Crimean peninsula and southern Russia, which was damaged in an explosion last Saturday, are to be finished by July 2023.
Elon Musk to pull funding for Starlink satellite internet terminals in Ukraine – reports
Elon Musk’s SpaceX says it can no longer pay for critical satellite services in Ukraine, according to an overnight report by CNN which it has labelled an exclusive. SpaceX is reportedly asking the US government to start paying instead.
In the report, Alex Marquardt writes:
Documents obtained by CNN show that last month Musk’s SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon saying it can no longer continue to fund the Starlink service as it has. The letter also requested that the Pentagon take over funding for Ukraine’s government and military use of Starlink, which SpaceX claims would cost more than $120m for the rest of the year and could cost close to $400m for the next 12 months.
“We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine, or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time,” SpaceX’s director of government sales wrote to the Pentagon in the September letter.
SpaceX, founded by one of the world’s richest people, activated the service in Ukraine shortly after Russia began staging its latest invasion in February 2022.
Musk, under federal investigation over his deal to try and buy Twitter, has been heavily criticised in recent days after posting a poll on Twitter which appeared to side with Vladimir Putin’s military aims, with Musk proposing that Ukraine permanently cede Crimea, remain neutral, and to allow a re-staging of “referendums” in the areas under the military occupation of Russia.
People killed in ammunition dump explosion in Belgorod in Russia – reports
The Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti is reporting that people have been killed and there are wounded after an ammunition dump in Oktyabrsky village in the Belgorod region of Russia exploded.
RIA quotes a Telegram message from the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, saying:
It is reported that in the village of Oktyabrsky, Belgorod District, Belgorod Region, an ammunition depot was blown up as a result of shelling by the armed forces of Ukraine. According to preliminary data, there are dead and wounded.
The Investigative Committee says it is opening up a criminal investigation over the incident.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has also issued a message to celebrate Defenders Day in Ukraine, which has fallen on 14 October every year since 2015. In it he says:
Gratitude to everyone who fought for Ukraine in the past. And to everyone who is fighting for it now. To all who won then. And to everyone who will definitely win now. Win in such a way that it will crown the struggle of many generations of our people with success. The people who always wanted one thing the most – freedom. For themselves. And for their children.
Defenders Day in Ukraine replaced the old Soviet Union derived holiday 23 February’s called Defender of the Fatherland Day.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, Ukraine’s governor of Donetsk, has posted to Telegram to say the night in the Ukrainian-controlled areas of the region passed “relatively calmly”, with “periodic shelling”. He had no casualties to report. He said:
Such “calm” nights are an exception. The Russians will continue to terrorise civilians until we drive them off our land. While the war continues, all civilians must leave the area. Evacuation saves lives!
Here are some of the latest images of the war that have been sent to us over the newswires from Ukraine and beyond.
Today is Defenders Day in Ukraine, and the US ambassador to Kyiv, Bridget A Brink, has issued a video message. In it she says:
We honour the brave men and women who have served in the defence of Ukraine’s freedom. This year, this holiday has a special symbolic meaning. Since 24 February, virtually every citizen of your country has in some way become a defender of your land, your lives, your future.
I know Russia’s war doesn’t stop at the line of contact. And I honour the bravery and resolve of all Ukrainians, men and women, children and the elderly, professional soldiers and volunteers, representatives of every aspect of society from the home front to the frontline. All of you play a vital role in defending Ukraine. We know Ukraine will prevail.
I also honour the memory of those defenders who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Those who gave their lives not only for their neighbours, but also for the dream of a free Ukraine that has driven generations of Ukrainians. Russia’s latest attempt to erase Ukraine’s identity and independence has already failed.
The United States, our partners and allies, will continue to support Ukraine to hold those who commit war crimes accountable, and to work to bring together the world to maintain pressure on the Kremlin until it ends its brutal, unprovoked war against Ukraine and our shared values. And we will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
This year, the Defenders of Ukraine Day has a special symbolic meaning. Since February 24, virtually every citizen of your country has in some way become a defender of your land, lives, future. The United States will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. Slava Ukraini! pic.twitter.com/YrrAxmnJyI
— Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) October 14, 2022
Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of Kharkiv, has said that two 16-year-old boys were among those injured by Russian shelling in the last 24 hours. He posted to Telegram to say:
During the past day, the enemy continued to terrorise the civilian population of Kharkiv region. The enemy massively shelled the city of Kupyansk. Three shops and a trade pavilion were damaged, there were fires. The enemy also shelled populated areas of the Kupyansk, Kharkiv, and Chuhuiv districts with barrel and rocket artillery and mortars. Six people in the Kupyansk district, including a 16-year-old boy, were hospitalised with injuries during the day. Another 16-year-old boy was wounded in the Izium district. Demining continues in the region, during the day, units of the state emergency service neutralised 702 explosive objects.
The claims have not been independently verified.
This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com
The UK Ministry of Defence has published its daily intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine, saying that “Russia continues to prosecute offensive operations in central Donbas and is, very slowly, making progress.”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 14 October 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) October 14, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/ZWBawudl8j
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/nHC771PHQo
The ministry explained that, “in the last three days, pro-Russian forces have made tactical advances towards the centre of the town of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast and that “elements of 2nd Army Corps, the pro-Russia militia of the Luhansk region, likely advanced into the villages of Opytine and Ivangrad to the south of the town.”
It added, however, that there have been “few, if any, other settlements seized by regular Russian or separatist forces since early July.”
Updated
Missile reportedly falls near railway in Belgorod region.
Train operations were suspended early on Friday near Novyi Oskol, a town in Russia’s Belgorod region that borders Ukraine, after remains of a missile fell near the railway, according to Reuters, which cites regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app that anti-craft defences shot down missiles near Novyi Oskol, a town of about 18,000 people which lies about 90 kilometres (56 miles) north of the border with Ukraine.
“Power lines are damaged. Trains are temporarily suspended,” Gladkov said, adding that there were no casualties.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports and there was no immediate reaction from Kyiv.
On Thursday, the city’s governor claimed that a residential building was hit in shelling by Kyiv’s forces.
Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser, denied Kyiv’s military was responsible and said Russia had tried to shell Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv on the border “but something went wrong”.
Ukraine demands Red Cross visit Olenivka prison camp within three days
Ukraine has accused the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of inaction in upholding the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war and urged it to undertake a mission to a camp in the Russian-occupied east of the country, Reuters reports.
In the latest of a series of Ukrainian criticisms of the ICRC, the Zelenskiy said the Red Cross had yet to visit Olenivka – a notorious camp in eastern Ukraine where dozens of Ukrainian POWs died in an explosion and fire in July.
The Red Cross tried to secure access to the camp last month, but said it was denied by Russian authorities, the BBC reports.
“I don’t understand why the Red Cross mission has not yet arrived in Olenivka. We just can’t waste more time. Human lives are at stake,” Andriy Yemak, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Tweeted late on Thursday, announcing that the Ukranian government had given the ICRC three days to send a mission to the facility.
Discussed the issue during a video conference with representatives of the ICRC and other international organizations.
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) October 13, 2022
I don't understand why the Red Cross mission has not yet arrived in Olenivka. We just can't waste more time. Human lives are at stake. pic.twitter.com/LyFpZyXNmf
Zaporizhzhia residents urged to shelter as strikes continue
At 5.20 am local time on Thursday, the governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Oleksandr Starukh, urged residents to remain in shelters as Russia launched strikes on Zaporizhzhia city.
“Attention! Enemy missile attack on the regional centre. Head for the shelters. Stay there!” he said in a post on Telegram.
Kyiv says 600 settlements liberated this month
Ukraine’s armed forces have liberated more than 600 settlements from the Russian occupation in the past month, including 75 in the highly strategic Kherson region, Ukraine’s Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories said.
Some 502 settlements have been liberated in the northeast Kharkiv region where Ukrainian forces last month advanced deep into Russian lines, the ministry said late on Thursday.
The ministry said 43 settlements were liberated in the Donetsk region and seven in the Luhansk region.
There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine’s military or President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office and the Guardian has not independently verified the battlefield reports.
“The area of liberated Ukrainian territories has increased significantly,” the ministry said in a statement on its website.
Kherson evacuees to start arriving in Russia
Evacuees from Ukraine’s southern Kherson region were expected to begin arriving in Russia on Friday, Reuters reports, after a Moscow-installed official suggested residents should leave for safety, a sign of Moscow’s weakening hold on territory it claims to have annexed.
“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”.
The offer applied foremost to residents on the west bank of the Dnipro River, he said. That includes the regional capital, the only major Ukrainian city Russia has captured intact since invading in February.
The first civilians fleeing from Kherson were due to arrive in Russia’s Rostov region on Friday, TASS news agency reported.
Kherson is one of four partially occupied Ukrainian provinces that Russia claims to have annexed in recent weeks, and arguably the most strategically important. It controls both the only land route to the Crimea peninsula Russia seized in 2014, and the mouth of the Dnipro, the 2,200-kilometre-long (1,367-mile-long) river that bisects Ukraine.
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be taking you through the latest for the next few hours.
Evacuees from Ukraine’s southern Kherson region are expected to begin arriving in Russia on Friday, Reuters reports, after a Moscow-installed official suggested residents should leave for safety, a sign of Russia’s weakening hold on territory it claims to have annexed.
Meanwhile Ukraine’s armed forces have liberated more than 600 settlements from the Russian occupation in the past month, including 75 in the highly strategic Kherson region, Ukraine’s Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories said late on Thursday, Reuters reports. There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine’s military or President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office and the Guardian has not independently verified the battlefield reports.
“The area of liberated Ukrainian territories has increased significantly,” the ministry said in a statement on its website.
We’ll have more on these developments shortly. In the meantime, here is a summary of the key recent news:
Russia announced it will evacuate residents from Kherson after an appeal from the Russian-installed head of the region, raising fears the occupied city at the heart of the southern Ukrainian region will become a new frontline.
Ukraine’s army boasted of territorial gains near the city of Kherson on Wednesday as Nato allies including the UK delivered new air defence systems in the wake of Russia’s recent missile attacks across the country.
The city of Mykolaiv, 60 miles north-west of Kherson city, was pummelled by Russian missiles, with one strike on a five-storey apartment block killing a 31-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman. Five further people were said to still be under rubble. Mykolaiv regional governor, Vitaliy Kim, said an 11-year-old boy was pulled from the rubble after six hours and rescue teams were searching for seven more people.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned Moscow that its forces would be “annihilated” by the west’s military response if president Vladimir Putin used nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, did not discuss ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine at their bilateral meeting on Thursday, the state-run RIA news agency reported, citing the Kremlin. Instead, Putin courted Erdoğan with a plan to pump more Russian gas via Turkey that would turn it into a new supply “hub”, in a bid to preserve Russia’s energy leverage over Europe.
Russia said it had summoned diplomats from Germany, Denmark and Sweden to complain that representatives from Moscow and Gazprom had not been invited to join an investigation into ruptures of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. “Russia will obviously not recognise the pseudo-results of such an investigation unless Russian experts are involved,” the foreign ministry said.
Russia will run out of supplies and armaments before the west does, the UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, claimed. He said procurement processes were in place among allies in the west that would ensure that the international community could continue arming Ukraine for years ahead.
Ukrainian officials claimed Iranians in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine were training Russians in how to use the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone, which can conduct air-to-surface attacks, electronic warfare and targeting. Their deployment may indicate the Russian military is running out of its own drones.
Moscow has submitted its concerns to the United Nations about an agreement on Black Sea grain exports, and is prepared to reject renewing a deal next month unless its demands are addressed, Russia’s Geneva UN ambassador told Reuters.
Ukraine’s power grid has been “stabilised” after Russian strikes that targeted energy infrastructure, causing power and hot water cuts, the national energy operator Ukrenergo said Thursday.
A residential building in the southern Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border was hit Thursday in shelling by Kyiv’s forces, the city governor said today. Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser, denied Kyiv’s military was responsible and said Russia had tried to shell Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv on the border “but something went wrong”.
The admission of Ukraine to Nato could result in a third world war, the deputy secretary of the Russian security council, Alexander Venediktov, told Russian state Tass news agency in an interview on Thursday.
