Closing summary
It’s just past midnight in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
At least 51 people including a six-year-old boy were killed during a missile attack on a cafe during a wake service in a village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region on Thursday, according to Ukrainian officials. According to preliminary findings, the Russians targeted the cafe with an Iskander ballistic missile, Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, Ihor Klymenko, said.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, accused Russia of “brutal” and “genocidal aggression” after the missile attack in the village of Hroza, in the Kupiansky district of the north-eastern Kharkiv province. He described it as “a demonstrably brutal Russian crime – a rocket attack on an ordinary grocery store, a completely deliberate act of terrorism”, later saying it was “no blind strike”.
European leaders rallied around the Ukrainian president in the face of US jitters over defence funding. The gathering at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Granada, Spain, gave leaders including the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, a chance to restate their commitment to Ukraine after political turbulence in the US and Europe raised questions about continued support.
Slovakia will not send more military aid to Ukraine for now, prime minister Ľudovít Ódor said. Instead, the decision will be delayed until a new government is formed following last week’s election, which saw a victory for Robert Fico, a populist, pro-Russian three-time former prime minister who campaigned on a promise to end military aid to Ukraine.
The US president, Joe Biden, wants to give a “major” speech on support for Ukraine, the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, without specifying when that would happen. She described the Hroza missile attack as “horrifying”.
Vladimir Putin ramped up his nuclear rhetoric, saying his country had successfully tested the nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable Burevestnik strategic cruise missile, as he suggested Russia could resume nuclear testing for the first time in more than three decades.
Putin also suggested that the plane crash that killed Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in August was caused by hand grenades detonating inside the aircraft, not by a missile attack. “Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash. There was no external impact on the plane – this is already an established fact,” he said.
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war blog today. Thank you for following, we’ll be back tomorrow.
Slovakia freezes military aid for Ukraine after pro-Russian election win
Slovakia will not send more military aid to Ukraine for now, prime minister Ľudovít Ódor said on Thursday.
Instead, the decision will be delayed until a new government is formed following last week’s election, Reuters reported.
Slovakia’s president has asked Robert Fico, a populist, pro-Russian three-time former prime minister who campaigned on a promise to end military aid to Ukraine, to try to form a coalition government after his party came top in weekend elections.
Before falling apart last year, the country’s previous government was a staunch backer of Ukraine, donating arms, including its fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets.
But Fico has vowed to withdraw Slovakia’s military support for Ukraine, and his pro-Moscow stance has sparked fears Slovakia will join Hungary and its authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán in challenging the EU’s consensus on support for Kyiv.
Speaking on the sidelines of an EU summit in Granada, Ódor said his administration would leave the question of more military aid to the next government. He added:
In what form will depend on the government, but I do not think that, at the least, anyone will stop the commercial part of aid.
Biden to deliver 'major' speech on Ukraine support, says White House
The US president, Joe Biden, wants to give a “major” speech on support for Ukraine, the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during her briefing today.
“He wants to give a major speech on this,” Jean-Pierre said, without specifying when that would happen. She added:
We are going to continue to make sure that we meet the battlefield needs that Ukraine has, using existing resources and using those resources provided by Congress.
Biden on Wednesday said he would deliver a “major” speech about funding for Ukraine and “why it’s critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our commitment”, in response to an NBC question.
He told reporters:
I’m going to make the argument that it’s overwhelmingly in the interest of the United States of America that Ukraine succeed.
Updated
The Biden administration is considering using US state department grants to send additional military aid to Ukraine, according to a Politico report.
The White House is weighing a range of options as it scrambles to find funds after Congress on Saturday approved a last-minute spending bill that did not include the $6bn in military assistance that Ukraine said it urgently needed.
The administration has warned for weeks that funds allocated for aid to the Ukrainian war effort have nearly been exhausted.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said “there is another means by which we may be able to find funding for that” but did not elaborate.
The report states:
One option under consideration is using foreign military financing — a program run by the State Department that provides grants or loans to help partner countries purchase weapons and defense equipment — intended for Ukraine and other countries impacted by Russia’s full-scale invasion, said the two officials.
Updated
The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, has called the Hroza strikes “barbaric acts of violence”.
In a tweet on Thursday, Brink echoed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s condemnation of the strikes on the village cafe as “horrifying” and said:
Russia’s horrific attack today on a village store in Hroza has killed over 50 civilians, including a 6 year old child. We will support Ukraine in holding Russia accountable for such barbaric acts of violence.
Russia’s horrific attack today on a village store in Hroza has killed over 50 civilians, including a 6 year old child. We will support Ukraine in holding Russia accountable for such barbaric acts of violence.
— Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) October 5, 2023
Updated
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Hroza attack was 'no blind strike'
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the Russian missile attack in Hroza on Thursday, saying that it was “no blind strike”.
“A deliberate missile strike on a village in Kharkiv region on an ordinary store and cafe,” Zelenskiy said while attending the European Political Community in Granada, Spain, Reuters reports.
‘Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike,’ he said.
Earlier at the summit, Zelenskiy warned that other European countries will be at risk if Russia wins the war.
“We have to win in Ukraine so that Putin cannot scale this aggression to someone, someone else, and it is realistic. That’s why the key things are our unity, the unity and solidarity of all of Europe must be unwavering,” he said.
Updated
The UN high commissioner for human rights has condemned the attack on the village of Hroza that killed at least 51 people
Volker Türk said that he was “shocked and saddened by today’s attack – one of the deadliest in 20 months – which struck the village of Hroza in Kharkiv region”.
“Dozens dead, including a child. Our human rights monitors will visit the site to gather information. Accountability is key,” he added.
#Ukraine: @volker_turk shocked and saddened by today’s attack – one of the deadliest in 20 months – which struck the village of Hroza in Kharkiv region. Dozens dead, including a child. Our human rights monitors will visit the site to gather information. Accountability is key.
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) October 5, 2023
Updated
Russian president Vladimir Putin has called Canada’s former parliament speaker an “idiot” after the parliament gave a standing ovation to a veteran who fought in Ukraine with a Nazi military unit that has been accused of war crimes
“If the speaker of the Canadian parliament says that during World War II this Canadian-Ukrainian or Ukrainian-Canadian Nazi fought against the Russians, he cannot help but understand that he fought on the side of Hitler,” Putin said, Agence France-Presse reports.
“Let’s assume he doesn’t know this,” Putin added, saying, “But if he doesn’t know that Hitler and his minions fought against Russia during the war, then he’s an idiot. It means he just didn’t go to school.”
“It looked absolutely disgusting that everyone applauded this Nazi, especially the president of Ukraine, who has Jewish blood in his veins,” Putin said.
Following the incident, which occurred during the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Canada last month, the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau apologized, saying, “It was a horrendous violation of the memory of the millions of people who died in the Holocaust.”
Updated
White House says missile attack on Kharkiv village cafe is 'horrifying'
The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, described the missile attack that hit a cafe in the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region as “horrifying”.
Speaking during her briefing with reporters, she said the attack was “incredibly horrifying for the people of Ukraine”.
“This is what is happening in Ukraine every day,” she said.
The White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calls the Russian air strike today in Ukraine "horrifying."
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 5, 2023
At least 51 people died when a missile hit a shop and cafe in the small village of Hroza, home to just a few hundred residents.https://t.co/QYEclXw6pC
📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/nePf6jg0md
Updated
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has posted a video showing his meeting this afternoon with the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak.
The pair were seen embracing as they met at the European Political Community summit in Granada in southern Spain.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Sunak said they discussed the “horrific” attack in Hroza, which he said “illustrates Russia’s barbarity”.
During our meeting, @RishiSunak and I discussed efforts to secure lasting global support for Ukraine.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023
Ukraine and the UK will continue and expand defense cooperation.
We also discussed grain export routes and agreed on the need to protect freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. pic.twitter.com/4EmLs976JK
Updated
The International Rescue Committee has released a statement condemning the missile attack in Hroza earlier today
At least 51 people were killed in the attack, including a six-year-old boy, Ukrainian officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has described it as “a demonstrably brutal Russian crime”.
Targeting civilians “goes against the principles of humanity”, the IRC’s Ukraine country director, Marysia Zapasnik, said.
The IRC said it had witnessed an increased number of attacks on critical infrastructure, even in places that had previously been considered relatively safe. “Intense shelling and deaths caused by landmines and other unexploded ordnance are now a daily reality,” it said.
As temperatures plummet, Ukraine will likely suffer from intensified barrages of missile strikes, and a more widespread destruction. The combination of ongoing conflict, destroyed infrastructure, and harsh weather conditions can make life incredibly tough for the people in affected areas.
Updated
A summary of today's developments as our evening coverage begins
Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of the victims of a plane crash in August that killed the former Wagner group mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
German police and customs officers on Thursday searched several properties in southern Germany, which a source familiar with the matter told Reuters belonged to a Russian national targeted by European Union sanctions over Ukraine.
Putin said on Thursday that Russia had successfully tested a potent new strategic missile and declined to rule out the possibility it could carry out weapons tests involving nuclear explosions for the first time in more than three decades.
A Russian missile struck a cafe and grocery store in a village in north-eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least 51 people as they held a memorial service, Ukrainian officials said, according to Reuters.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told more than 40 European leaders gathered in Spain he was confident of the US’s continued support, and asked for their continued assistance and more arms to help him fight against Russian aggression.
Spain has offered new air defense and anti-drone systems to Ukraine to protect its energy and port infrastructures, a government source told Reuters on Thursday.
Updated
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, on Thursday suggested that the plane crash that killed the Wagner mercenary chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in August was caused by hand grenades detonating inside the aircraft, not by a missile attack.
The private Embraer jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg crashed north of Moscow on 23 August, killing all 10 people onboard, including two other top Wagner figures, Prigozhin’s four bodyguards and a crew of three.
Putin suggested the plane was blown up from inside, saying that the head of Russia’s investigative committee had reported to him a few days ago.
“Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash,” Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
“There was no external impact on the plane – this is already an established fact,” Putin said, seemingly rubbishing assertions by unidentified US officials who said shortly after the crash that they believed it had been shot down.
Putin did not give any more details about how a grenade or grenades could have been detonated, but said he thought investigators were wrong to not have carried out alcohol and drug tests on the bodies of those who died in the crash given that quantities of cocaine had been found at Wagner’s office in St Petersburg in the past.
The investigators of the crash have yet to report publicly on the cause.
Prigozhin’s mutiny posed the biggest challenge to Putin’s rule since the former KGB spy came to power in 1999. Western diplomats say it exposed the strains on Russia of the war in Ukraine.
Updated
Putin says fragments of hand grenades found in remains of plane crash that killed Wagner chief Prigozhin
Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of the victims of a plane crash in August that killed the former Wagner group mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
The crash in August came two months after Prigozhin’s short-lived mutiny in which Wagner troops captured a defence headquarters in Rostov and marched on Moscow.
Suspicions swiftly centred on the Russian president, with US and western officials saying it was very likely he was the architect of the incident, as Prigozhin’s armed revolt had ranked as the most serious challenge to the Russian leader in his 23-year hold on power.
More details soon …
Updated
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said he had discussed with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an attack in Ukraine on Thursday that Kyiv said was a Russian missile strike leaving 51 people dead.
“We discussed this horrific attack that has just happened. It just illustrates Russia’s barbarity,” Sunak told reporters after a meeting with Zelenskiy at a summit of the European Political Community in Spain.
“[Russian] president Putin can say all he likes. There is one person responsible for this illegal unprovoked war, and it is him … That’s why the UK has been steadfast in supporting Ukraine and will continue to do so,” Sunak added.
Updated
Sanctioned Russian oligarch at center of German police raid named
German police and customs officers on Thursday searched several properties in southern Germany, which a source familiar with the matter told Reuters belonged to a Russian national hit by European Union sanctions over Ukraine.
The source said Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov was the target of the operation, a Russian-Uzbek businessman who was sanctioned after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“There can be no reason for suspicion against Mr Usmanov, who has always duly declared the personal property that was lawfully acquired by him, in addition to disclosing the funds with which he acquired these assets,” said a spokesperson for Usmanov in response to a Reuters’ request for comment.
The spokesperson added that Usmanov was not the owner of the trust he founded and had no right to control or manage its assets. “As such, he has no way of knowing what is currently happening to the property owned by the trust.”
A special commission labelled “Matryoshka”, set up by the German customs authority’s sanctions office, said in a statement that officers searched properties in greater Munich and Tegernsee in Bavaria.
In September 2022, German police searched Usmanov’s villa in the upmarket holiday town of Rottach-Egern on the shores of Lake Tegernsee. A court later deemed the raids unlawful.
The German customs authority’s special commission said it was acting on court search warrants. It said it could not give further details on the operation for tactical reasons.
• This post was updated on 6 October 2023 to include further comment from Alisher Usmanov’s spokesperson regarding the property having been placed in a trust.
Updated
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Thursday that he felt among EU partners a willingness to continue to support Ukraine.
“There is a very deep, very strong commitment because we all know that we are talking about Europe and about the very possibility of lasting peace on our continent,” he told reporters during a European Political Community summit in Granada, Spain.
Updated
The attack on a village shop in Hroza, Ukraine – which has killed at least 51 people – is among the most deadly during the conflict with Russia. But it is not the first time a strike – which Kyiv has attributed to Russia – has killed a large number of civilians.
Officials in the besieged city of Mariupol said at least 300 people were believed to have been killed in the bombing on 16 March last year of Mariupol’s Drama Theatre, which had been marked with white paint as containing sheltering children. It became the deadliest single attack since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine more than a month earlier.
Five children were among at least 50 people killed when a missile hit the Kramatorsk railway station on 8 April last year. The Kremlin stood accused of carrying out a “monstrous” war crime after a powerful Tochka-U rocket landed outside the main station building where 4,000 people were waiting to be evacuated. The authorities had urged residents to leave the region before a Russian military assault.
At least 43 people died when a missile strike hit a five-story apartment block in Chasiv Yar, in eastern Ukraine, on 9 July last year. According to Kyiv, the residential building was hit by Russian rockets fired from truck-borne systems. A nine-year-old victim was found in the rubble two days after the attack.
A civilian convoy of cars heading to pick up relatives trying to flee Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine was hit by Moscow’s forces near the city of Zaporizhzhia on 30 September last year. Initial reports said dozens of people had been killed and injured, but the casualty figure reached at least 30 people dead and 88 wounded. Footage posted on social media showed a horrific scene with dead and injured people lying on a road on the south-eastern outskirts of the city.
Six children were among 46 people killed when an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro was split in two with its middle reduced to rubble after a Russian missile strike on 15 January this year. One of the dead was boxing coach Mykhailo Korenovskyi, the only member of his family who had been home at the time.
Also, in early May, at least 23 people were killed in Kherson when Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, killing 16 as Moscow tested the strength of the country’s air defences in intensified fighting. Russian attacks on the city hit the main supermarket and also the railway station.
Updated
Putin says Russia has tested nuclear-powered missile, declines to rule out testing nuclear explosion
Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had successfully tested a potent new strategic missile and declined to rule out the possibility it could carry out weapons tests involving nuclear explosions for the first time in more than three decades.
The Russian president said for the first time that Moscow had successfully tested the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable cruise missile with a potential range of many thousands of miles.
He also told an annual gathering of analysts and journalists that Russia had almost completed work on its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile system, another key element of its new generation of nuclear weapons.
Putin, who has repeatedly reminded the world of Russia’s nuclear might since launching his invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, said no one in their right mind would use nuclear weapons against Russia.
If such an attack was detected, he said, “such a number of our missiles – hundreds, hundreds – would appear in the air that not a single enemy would have a chance of survival”.
Russia has not conducted a test involving a nuclear explosion since 1990, the year before the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Putin declined to rule out the possibility it could resume such testing.
Updated
Germany is “working on” providing Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defence system, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said.
Zelenskiy had what he described as a “fruitful” meeting with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, at a gathering of European leaders in Spain on Thursday.
He said: “Germany is working on providing Ukraine with an additional Patriot system for the winter months.
“I’m grateful for Germany’s support in defending our freedom and people. This is also the defence of Europe and our shared values.”
The Patriot system is one of an array of sophisticated air-defence units supplied by the west to help Ukraine repel a Russian campaign of aerial attacks.
Fruitful meeting with @Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023
Germany is working on providing Ukraine with an additional “Patriot” system for the winter months.
I’m grateful for Germany’s support in defending our freedom and people. This is also the defense of Europe and our shared values. pic.twitter.com/xv8k0bXNw3
Updated
Ukraine has lost more than 90,000 troops since the start of its counteroffensive in early June, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said on Thursday.
Putin also said Kyiv had lost 557 tanks and approximately 1,900 armoured vehicles.
Putin was giving a keynote speech at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.
He re-emphasised that he was “sure” Russia would achieve its goals in Ukraine and said its mission was to “de-Nazify” the country. The Russian president has consistently claimed the war is a special millitary operation aimed at combatting Nazis in Ukraine.
Updated
No 10 has stated the UK will stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes”, after a meeting between Rishi Sunak and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
At the meeting of the European Political Community, the prime minister “encouraged leaders to work together to supply further defence weapons” to Ukraine, his office said on X.
At the EPC today, Prime Minister @RishiSunak has:
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) October 5, 2023
✅ Announced £500 million in winter support payments
✅ Delivered £10 million for household electricity
✅ Encouraged leaders to work together to supply further defence weapons
We’ll stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/l9sW5nWcgR
Updated
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, described the missile strike on a village which reportedly left at least 51 dead, including a six-year-old boy, as a “brutal terrorist attack”.
Posting on X, Zelenskiy said: “This was a fully deliberate, demonstrative, and brutal terrorist attack.
“My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones! Assistance is being provided to the wounded. Russian terror must be stopped. All those who help Russia circumvent sanctions are criminals. Those who continue to support Russia are all supporting evil.
“Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for one reason only: to make its genocidal aggression the new normal for the entire world. And I thank every leader and every nation that supports us in the defence of life!
“We are now focused with European leaders, in particular, on how to strengthen our air defence, reinforce our troops, and protect our country from terror. Terrorists will face retaliation. One that is both just and powerful.”
Russian missile struck an ordinary grocery store in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region. This was a fully deliberate, demonstrative, and brutal terrorist attack.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023
As of now, more than 51 people have been reported dead. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved… pic.twitter.com/yxIW2Xwy35
Kyiv has turned the Black Sea region into a no-go zone for Moscow’s bristling warships.
The Guardian’s foreign correspondent in Odesa analyses a moment of humiliation for Moscow and its implications:
Death toll in Hroza rises to 51
A Russian missile struck cafe and grocery store in a village in north-eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least 51 people as they held a memorial service, Ukrainian officials said according to Reuters.
Officials posted footage of dazed-looking rescue workers clambering through smouldering rubble. Some photos showed bodies lying alongside slabs of concrete and twisted metal, and others showed rescue workers carrying away bodies.
The attack was the deadliest in the Kharkiv region since Russia’s invasion more than 19 months ago, a spokesperson for the Kharkiv regional military administration told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.
It also appeared to be one of the biggest civilian death tolls in any single Russian strike since the start of the war.
Updated
The Ukrainian president has accused Russia of “genocidal aggression” after a missile hit a crowded rural cafe, killing at least 48 people including a six-year-old boy.
Read a full report on the Russian attack on Hroza from the Guardian’s foreign correspondent Luke Harding.
Read through the events of today’s European leaders’ summit, held amid tensions over aid to Ukraine, in our live blog:
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, spoke with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, at a meeting of European leaders in Spain.
The meeting saw influential figures in Europe, such as the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, express their ongoing support for Ukraine in its war effort against Russia.
Zelenskiy said of his meeting with Michel: “Ukraine is grateful for the EU’s strong and lasting support, as well as the practical assistance of EU member states.
“The recent meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv had significant symbolic and practical meaning. It underlined the unwavering EU support and strengthened our bilateral and multilateral ties.
“I updated Charles on the progress of our counteroffensive and Ukraine’s priority defence needs. We count on the EU’s and its member states’ further military aid, as well as the stable support within the European Peace Fund.
“We also discussed the peace formula and our preparations for the Global Peace Summit.”
I met with @CharlesMichel.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023
Ukraine is grateful for the EU’s strong and lasting support, as well as the practical assistance of EU member states.
The recent meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv had significant symbolic and practical meaning. It underlined the unwavering EU… pic.twitter.com/DeFjGPHKb8
Updated
Footage shows rescue workers clambering through smouldering rubble after a Russian attack killed at least 49 people, including a six-year-old boy, in a village in the Kharkiv region of north-eastern Ukraine on 5 October, Ukrainian officials said.
The Kharkiv regional governor, Oleh Synehubov, said a cafe and a shop had been attacked in the village of Hroza, in the Kupyansk district of Kharkiv, where many civilians had been at the time.
Updated
Putin claims Ukraine war shows west has 'lost touch with reality'
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said on Thursday that the United States was seeking to impose its crumbling hegemony across the world and that the war in Ukraine showed how far the west had lost touch with reality.
“We did not start the so-called war in Ukraine. On the contrary – we are trying to finish it,” Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The west had caused the war because the US was a “hegemon” which considered itself the only arbiter of truth on the planet, said the Kremlin chief.
Putin said the leaders of the west had lost “a sense of reality” because of what he cast as Washington’s “colonial thinking”. He questioned what right the US had to lecture any other country.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 unleashed a war that has devastated swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, killed or injured hundreds of thousands of people and triggered the biggest rupture in Russia’s ties with the west for six decades.
Updated
Death toll in Hroza rises to 49
Ukraine’s interior minister has now said a Russian attack killed at least 49 people, including a six-year-old boy, in a death count that continues to rise.
The deaths occurred as the victims gathered in a cafe for a memorial service in a village in north-eastern Ukraine on Thursday, the minister added.
A cafe and a shop were struck early in the afternoon in the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said, adding that many civilians had been there at the time.
The interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said residents of the small village of about 330 people had been holding a memorial service in the cafe that was hit.
“From every family, from every household, there were people present at this commemoration. This is a terrible tragedy,” Klymenko told Ukrainian television.
Seven people were also in hospital after the attack, which appeared to be the most devastating Russian strike on a residential area in weeks.
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday reiterated his position that Russia did not start the war in Ukraine but launched what it calls a “special military operation” to try to stop it.
In his yearly speech to the Valdai Discussion Club, being held in Sochi, Putin said Russia, the world’s largest country by area, had no need to take territory from Ukraine.
He said the conflict was not therefore imperial or territorial but about the global order, and that the west, which had lost its hegemonic power and always needed an enemy, had lost touch with reality.
Updated
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, amid a meeting of European leaders in Spain.
Zelenskiy said: “Strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, as well as the security of the Odesa region and the Black Sea, is critical to ensure European and global stability. We are working together toward this end.
“All of our previous agreements to strengthen Ukraine’s defence are being put into action. There will be more good news for our warriors.
“I thank President Macron and the French people for their firm and steady support for Ukraine.”
Great meeting with @EmmanuelMacron.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023
Strenghtening Ukraine's air defense, as well as the security of the Odesa region and the Black Sea, is critical to ensure European and global stability. We are working together toward this end.
All of our previous agreements to strengthen… pic.twitter.com/iAy4HYWNxf
Updated
Ukrainian officials have said a Russian attack on a village in the north-east of the country has killed 48 people and injured at least six more.
The presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and Kharkiv governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said Russian forces shelled a shop and a cafe in the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region at about 1pm, the Associated Press reported.
A six-year-old boy was among those killed in the attack, Syniehubov said, and one child was also among the wounded.
Local sources say the cafe was crowded because a memorial lunch was being held for a villager who recently died.
Earlier, Ukraine’s air force said that the country’s air defences intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.
Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire. He said there were no casualties.
The attack came as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Granada in southern Spain to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Updated
Death toll in Hroza rises to 48
Andriy Yermak, a spokesperson for Zelenskiy, says the death toll from the Russian strike in Kharkiv region is now 48.
Writing on X/Twitter, he said:
A Russian missile hit a civilian object in the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district. So far, we know that 48 lives were lost, a 6-year-old boy among them. There are also 6 injured, including a young girl. Rescue operations are ongoing.
Zelensky says 47 dead in Ukraine after Russian attack on village
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said 47 people have been killed in a Russian attack on a village in the north-eastern region of Kharkiv.
Zelenskiy said on Telegram on Thursday that a missile had hit a food shop.
It comes amid other drone strikes overnight in which a hospital was reportedly targeted.
Updated
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he met the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, on Thursday on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Spain, and discussed the security situation in the South Caucasus.
“Ukraine is interested in the region’s stability and friendly relations with its nations,” Zelenskiy said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“We also discussed our bilateral cooperation and interregional economic projects.”
During our first-ever meeting, Armenian Prime Minister @NikolPashinyan and I focused on the security situation in the South Caucasus. Ukraine is interested in the region’s stability and friendly relations with its nations. We also discussed our bilateral cooperation and… pic.twitter.com/xtOB2XvXsl
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023
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Russia targeted Ukraine with drones in another massive attack early Thursday as President Zelenskyy travelled to Spain to rally support from western allies at a summit of 50 European leaders.
Ukraine’s air force said the country’s air defences intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.
Andriy Raykovych, the head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said that an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to put out a fire. He said there were no casualties.
It was also reported by the Kyiv Independent that a Russian strike against Beryslav in Kherson Oblast damaged a hospital and injured two medical workers, with that outlet citing local governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
⚡️ Russia attacks hospital in Beryslav in Kherson Oblast, injures 2.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) October 5, 2023
A Russian strike against Beryslav in Kherson Oblast damaged a hospital and injured two medical workers, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Oct. 5.
📷 Governor Oleksandr Prokudin pic.twitter.com/JwYGENBlQG
The attack came as Zelenskyy arrived in Granada in southern Spain to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Spain has offered new air defence and anti-drone systems to Ukraine to protect its energy and port infrastructures, a government source told Reuters on Thursday.
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Zelensky tells European leaders he is 'confident in America' to support Ukraine
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told more than 40 European leaders gathered in Spain he was confident of America’s continued support, and asked for their continued assistance and more arms to help him fight against Russian aggression.
In an emotional speech, Zelenskiy said schoolchildren in Kharkiv in east Ukraine were learning remotely or attending classes underground in subway stations because of air raids.
“Until there is a fully effective air defence system, children cannot attend school,” he told the European Political Community summit hosted in Spain’s Granada, 4,000km west of Kharkiv.
He voiced confidence in continued US support despite what he called a “political storm” there recently after aid to Ukraine did not make the cut for a last-minute Congress deal to avoid a government shutdown.
“I am confident in America. They are strong people with strong institutions, and a strong democracy,” he said.
Zelenskiy said Vladimir Putin should not be allowed to beef up his military or else Russia could attack beyond Ukraine by 2028.
“Let only Putin’s ambitions be a ruin, not our countries, not our cities. Children of every country deserve to be safe. Everywhere in the country, not just in the subway, not just in underground shelters, but everywhere. We must make it possible. We must ensure that Ukraine wins.”
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Watch the Ukrainian president insist that US backing for Ukraine is not faltering, as he arrives at the European Political Community summit in Granada.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was a difficult election period for the US and some voices were “very strange”, but he was confident of bipartisan support in Congress.
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Spain offers air defence and anti-drone systems to Ukraine
Spain has offered new air defence and anti-drone systems to Ukraine to protect its energy and port infrastructures, a government source told Reuters on Thursday.
The Spanish army will also train Ukrainian soldiers to use these news systems as well as provide more demining equipment, the source added.
It comes as Ukraine said on Thursday that over 26,000 people, including many civilians, were still unaccounted for since Russia launched its full-scale invasion last year.
The number of officially missing people is difficult to estimate, as Russian forces still occupy around a fifth of the country and neither side regularly releases data on military casualties.
“As of now, more than 26,000 people are wanted and are missing under special circumstances. Of these, 11,000 are civilians and about 15,000 are military personnel,” deputy interior minister Leonid Tymchenko said on national television.
This only includes people whose data has been officially verified, interior ministry spokesperson Mariana Reva told AFP, adding that the “figures could grow”.
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The Russian mercenary group Wagner in 2022 signed a contract with a Chinese company to acquire two satellites and use their images, aiding its intelligence work as the organisation sought to push Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a document seen by AFP.
The contract was signed in November 2022, over half a year into Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in which the Wagner group under its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was playing a key role on the battlefield.
The satellite images were also used to assist Wagner’s operations in Africa and even its failed mutiny in June which has led now to the de-facto break up of the group followed by the death of Prigozhin and other key figures in an air crash in August, a European security source told AFP.
According to a contract seen by AFP written in English and Russian and signed on 15 November 2022, the company Beijing Yunze Technology Co Ltd sold two high resolution observation satellites belonging to the Chinese space giant Chang Guang Satellite Technology (CGST) to Nika-Frut, a company then part of Prigozhin’s commercial empire.
The over $30m (£24.7m) price was for the satellites themselves and additional services.
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Reuters is reporting that Spain will offer air defence, anti-drone systems to Ukraine.
The agency attributes the news to a Spanish government source at the city of Granada, amid a summit of the European Political Community.
Western supporters of Ukraine are exploring options to send seized Russian assets to assist with its war efforts, the president’s chief of staff said today.
Andriy Yermak posted on X that: “The US and the EU are looking for legal options that would allow Ukraine to transfer $300bn (£247m) of frozen Russian assets.
“This is a very positive signal. Whoever kills, destroys, violates the norms of international law and the UN charter must lose. This is a question of justice.”
США та ЄС шукають юридичні можливості, які б дозволили передати Україні $300 млрд заморожених російських активів.
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) October 5, 2023
Це дуже позитивний сигнал. Той, хто вбиває, руйнує, порушує норми міжнародного права та Статуту ООН, має втрачати.
Це питання справедливості.
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European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday she was “very confident” the US would maintain support for Ukraine despite Republican infighting over the issue that has cast doubt over further aid.
European leaders gathering in the Spanish city of Granada where she made her remarks are expected to assure Ukraine of long-term support after US president Joe Biden voiced fears about continuing aid to Kyiv.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy today arrived at the summit of the European Political Community – a forum established last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries from Norway to Albania.
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German police raid several properties owned by sanctions-hit Russian national
A special unit of police and customs officials have raided several properties of a Russian national in the southern state of Bavaria, officials said Thursday, AP reports.
The unidentified Russian is subject to sanctions and asset freezes by the European Union, German customs officials said.
The EU, the US and other western nations have imposed sanctions against Russia in response to Moscow’s war against Ukraine. These include travel bans and asset freezes of a number of Russian government members and certain Russian businesspeople.
“Due to tactical reasons related to the investigation no further information can be provided,” German customs officials said.
Several luxury cars have been confiscated from a villa on the Tegernsee lake in Rottach-Egern, German news agency dpa reported.
In September 2022, a special unit of about 250 police officers raided two dozen properties across Germany linked to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, on suspicion of money laundering and violations of EU sanctions.
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James Cleverly, the UK foreign secretary, has claimed Putin is “stopping food getting to the world’s most vulnerable”, over allegations Russia may use sea mines to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea.
Posting on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, Cleverly said: “Declassified intelligence released today shows that Russia may use sea mines to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea.”
“Putin is stopping food getting to the world’s most vulnerable,” he added. “The world is watching.”
Cleverly had earlier accused Russia of “pernicious targeting” of civilian shipping.
Declassified intelligence released today shows that Russia may use sea mines to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) October 5, 2023
Putin is stopping food getting to the world's most vulnerable.
The world is watching.
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Morning summary
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the main task at meetings during the European Political Community Summit was to preserve unity in Europe. Zelenskiy is the Spanish city of Granada for a forum to discuss cooperation among more than 40 countries established after Russia’s invasion.
US president Joe Biden admitted Wednesday he was worried that political turmoil in Washington could threaten US aid to Ukraine, urging Republicans to stop their infighting and back “critically important” assistance for Kyiv. Biden said that he would soon be giving a major speech on the need to support Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion after the chaos in Washington alarmed US allies.
Two people were killed in Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office said on Thursday. Andriy Yermak, the president’s chief of staff, said on Telegram that one of the dead was a utility worker who trimmed trees.
Britain has accused Russia of plotting to sabotage civilian vessels loaded with Ukrainian grain by planting sea mines on the approaches to the country’s Black Sea ports. Based on what it said was declassified intelligence, the UK said Russia did not want to directly attack merchant ships using Ukraine’s newly created humanitarian corridor with missiles, but instead try to destroy them covertly.
The Kremlin has said questions about Russian naval operations should be directed to the defence ministry after the Wall Street Journal reported that Russia had withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea fleet from its main base in annexed Crimea. The WSJ said the move had been a response to Ukrainian attacks. Russia seized and unilaterally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv has vowed to restore its control over the peninsula and the other territories that Russia has captured, Reuters reported.
The US has supplied Ukraine with more than a million rounds of Iranian ammunition confiscated in the Gulf late last year. The transfer of the ordnance followed a civil forfeiture case pursued by the justice department to gain ownership on the grounds that the bullets were seized as they were being smuggled to Yemeni Houthi forces in violation of a UN arms embargo.
Russia is planning a naval base on the Black Sea coast of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, the leader of the region was quoted on Thursday as saying by the Izvestiya newspaper, a day after meeting president Vladimir Putin. Aslan Bzhania, the self-styled president of the Russian-backed breakaway region, said an agreement had been signed for a permanent naval base in the Ochamchira region.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy is working to provide Ukraine with more air defence systems as winter approaches. Last winter, Russian forces deliberately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure, knocking out power and gas at a time when heating was necessary. More air defence systems could work in preventing that from happening again.
Award-winning Ukrainian freelance journalist Victoria Roshchyna, has not been heard from since 3 August. She had been reporting from a Russia-occupied territory of Ukraine, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) said today. Roshchyna had been reporting from the frontlines of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, and was previously captured by Russian forces in March 2022 and held for 10 days in Berdiansk.
Russian former state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who burst into a news broadcast with a placard that read “Stop the war” and “They’re lying to you”, has been sentenced to eight and a half years in jail in absentia on Wednesday. Ovsyannikova was found guilty of “spreading knowingly false information about the Russian armed forces”, according to a statement posted by the court on Telegram. Ovsyannikova, 45, fled Russia with her daughter for an unspecified European country a year ago after escaping from house arrest, according to her lawyer, saying she had no case to answer.
Ukraine increased its road shipments of agricultural goods in September, according to Spike Brokers, a commercial agent broker on the grain and oil market of Ukraine. In September, 514,000 metric tons of agricultural goods were exported by lorries, while in August, 506,000 tons were exported. The increase is still down from the year before, which saw 639,000 tons in September 2022.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for now. My colleague Charlie Moloney will be along shortly to continue bringing you the latest from Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday the main task at meetings during the European Political Community Summit was to preserve unity in Europe.
Zelenskiy is the Spanish city of Granada for a forum to discuss cooperation among more than 40 countries established after Russia’s invasion.
“The main challenge is to save unity in Europe not only in the EU but in all of Europe,” said Zelenskiy, warning of Russian “disinformation attacks”.
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The Kremlin has said questions about Russian naval operations should be directed to the defence ministry after the Wall Street Journal reported that Russia had withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea fleet from its main base in annexed Crimea.
The WSJ said the move had been a response to Ukrainian attacks. Russia seized and unilaterally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Kyiv has vowed to restore its control over the peninsula and the other territories that Russia has captured, Reuters reported.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the story, or on reports that Russia had signed a deal for a permanent naval base on the Black Sea coast of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia.
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Two people were killed in Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office said on Thursday.
Andriy Yermak, the president’s chief of staff, said on Telegram that one of the dead was a utility worker who trimmed trees.
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The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said on Thursday he had arrived in the Spanish city of Granada to take part in the European Political Community summit, a forum to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries established after Russia’s invasion.
“We will pay special attention to the Black Sea region as well as our joint efforts to strengthen global food security and freedom of navigation,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He said Ukraine’s key priority was to strengthen its air defences as winter approaches.
You can follow our live coverage of the Granada summit here:
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A little more detail on that planned Russian naval base off the coast of the Black Sea via Reuters.
The news agency is reporting:
Russia plans a naval base on the Black Sea coast of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, the leader of the region was quoted on Thursday as saying by the Izvestiya newspaper, a day after meeting president Vladimir Putin.
Aslan Bzhania, the self-styled president of the Russian-backed breakaway region, said an agreement had been signed for a permanent naval base in the Ochamchira region.
“We have signed an agreement, and in the near future there will be a permanent base of the Russian Navy in the Ochamchira district,” Bzhania told Izvestiya.
“This is all aimed at increasing the level of defence capability of both Russia and Abkhazia, and this kind of interaction will continue,” he said. “There are also things I can’t talk about.”
Russia recognized Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states in 2008 after Russian troops repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war which ended on August 12, 2008.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia had withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea Fleet from its main base in annexed Crimea due to Ukrainian attacks.
Russia is planning a naval base on the Black Sea coast of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, the leader of the region has told the Izvestiya newspaper.
US leaders expected to assure Ukraine of long-term support
European leaders are expected to assure Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy of long-term support on Thursday after US president Joe Biden voiced fears that Republican infighting in Congress could hurt American policy on continuing aid to Kyiv, Reuters reports.
Zelenskiy is expected to attend a summit in the Spanish city of Granada of the European Political Community – a forum to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries established last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
His attendance was not announced in advance for security reasons. Officials familiar with the plans said he would take part in the summit, giving him the chance to press for more urgently needed military aid, such as air defence systems.
Zelenskiy said in a video message on Wednesday evening: “We are preparing for intensive international activities – this week and next week should be productive for Ukraine.”
The Granada gathering also gives leaders such as French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and British prime minister Rishi Sunak a chance to restate their commitment to Ukraine after political turbulence in both the US and Europe raised questions about continued support.
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Biden ‘worried’ that turmoil in Washington could disrupt US aid to Ukraine
US president Joe Biden admitted Wednesday he was worried that political turmoil in Washington could threaten US aid to Ukraine, urging Republicans to stop their infighting and back “critically important” assistance for Kyiv.
Biden said that he would soon be giving a major speech on the need to support Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion after the chaos in Washington alarmed US allies.
“It does worry me,” Biden told reporters when asked whether the ousting of Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy by hardliners in his own party could derail more funds for Ukraine’s war effort.
“But I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate of both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine.”
A last-gasp deal in Congress to avoid a US government shutdown at the weekend contained no fresh funding for Ukraine, and hopes for a quick resolution have been further complicated by McCarthy’s exit on Tuesday.
US transfers confiscated Iranian ammunition to Ukraine
ftanThe United States has supplied Ukraine with more than a million rounds of Iranian ammunition confiscated in the Gulf late last year.
The transfer of the ordnance followed a civil forfeiture case pursued by the justice department to gain ownership on the grounds that the bullets were seized as they were being smuggled to Yemeni Houthi forces in violation of a UN arms embargo.
“With this weapons transfer, the justice department’s forfeiture actions against one authoritarian regime are now directly supporting the Ukrainian people’s fight against another authoritarian regime,” the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, said on Wednesday. “We will continue to use every legal authority at our disposal to support Ukraine in their fight for freedom, democracy and the rule of law.”
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UK accuses Russia of planning to mine Black Sea
Britain has accused Russia of plotting to sabotage civilian vessels loaded with Ukrainian grain by planting sea mines on the approaches to the country’s Black Sea ports.
Based on what it said was declassified intelligence, the UK said Russia did not want to directly attack merchant ships using Ukraine’s newly created humanitarian corridor with missiles, but instead try to destroy them covertly.
Russia would then seek to blame Ukraine for the loss of any shipping in an attempt to evade responsibility, the British Foreign Office continued, and the UK said it was going public in order to deter Moscow from carrying out the plan.
James Cleverly, the UK foreign secretary, accused Russia of the “pernicious targeting” of civilian shipping: “The world is watching – and we see right through Russia’s cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks.”
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Opening summary
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. This is Helen Sullivan with the latest.
Our top stories this morning: Britain has accused Russia of plotting to sabotage civilian cargo ships loaded with Ukrainian grain by planting sea mines on the approaches to the country’s Black Sea ports.
And the United States has supplied Ukraine with more than a million rounds of Iranian ammunition confiscated in the Gulf late last year.
The transfer of the ordnance followed a civil forfeiture case pursued by the justice department to gain ownership on the grounds that the bullets were seized as they were being smuggled to Yemeni Houthi forces in violation of a UN arms embargo.
We’ll have more on these stories shortly.
Elsewhere today:
Volodymyr Zelenskiy is working to provide Ukraine with more air defence systems as winter approaches. Last winter, Russian forces deliberately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure, knocking out power and gas at a time when heating was necessary. More air defence systems could work in preventing that from happening again.
US president Joe Biden admitted Wednesday he was worried that political turmoil in Washington could threaten US aid to Ukraine, urging Republicans to stop their infighting and back “critically important” assistance for Kyiv. Biden added that he would soon be giving a major speech on the need to support Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion after the chaos in Washington alarmed US allies.
Ukraine’s navy said on Wednesday that 12 more vessels were ready to enter a Black Sea shipping corridor on their way towards Ukrainian ports, and that 10 other vessels were ready to depart from the country’s ports. Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk made his remarks as Ukraine tries to defy a de facto Russian blockade on Ukrainian exports via the Black Sea after Moscow pulled out of a deal in July that had allowed Kyiv to safely export grain.
Award-winning Ukrainian freelance journalist Victoria Roshchyna, has not been heard from since 3 August. She had been reporting from a Russia-occupied territory of Ukraine, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) said today. Roshchyna had been reporting from the frontlines of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, and was previously captured by Russian forces in March 2022 and held for 10 days in Berdiansk.
Russian former state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who burst into a news broadcast with a placard that read “Stop the war” and “They’re lying to you”, has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail in absentia on Wednesday. Ovsyannikova was found guilty of “spreading knowingly false information about the Russian armed forces”, according to a statement posted by the court on Telegram. Ovsyannikova, 45, fled Russia with her daughter for an unspecified European country a year ago after escaping from house arrest, according to her lawyer, saying she had no case to answer.
Ukraine increased its road shipments of agricultural goods in September, according to Spike Brokers, a commercial agent broker on the grain and oil market of Ukraine. In September, 514,000 metric tons of agricultural goods were exported by lorries, while in August, 506,000 tons were exported. The increase is still down from the year before, which saw 639,000 tons in September 2022.
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