Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he fears that Ukraine will become “a testing ground” for Russian munitions, with the country being targeted by nearly 500 drones in the past week, as well as more than 20 missiles. Though Russia’s first ever use of the Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile on Dnipro on Thursday captured global attention, on Sunday Zelenskyy highlighted the increased level of Shahed drone attacks. Ukraine says Russia has set up two factories to make the distinctive Iran-designed, delta-winged Shahed 136 drones, called Geran-2 by Moscow, about 800 miles from the border in Ukraine.
A British national has reportedly been captured by Russian forces in the Kursk region while fighting for Ukraine. A video posted on pro-war Russian Telegram channels on Sunday, shows a man wearing combat fatigues who identifies himself as 22-year-old James Scott Rhys Anderson from the UK. Speaking with an English accent, the man says that he served as a signalman in the British army until 2023 before joining the International Legion in Ukraine to fight against Russia. The footage, which has not been verified, shows the captured man with his hands tied. It is unclear when the clip was recorded. Thousands of people from around the world have travelled to Ukraine, many joining the International Legion, after a call from Zelenskyy to join the fight.
The geopolitical implications of the Ukraine war are rippling through Asia, with claims in the US that China is growing “increasingly uncomfortable” about North Korea’s engagement with Russia. China is unnerved by the growing cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state has said, with Beijing fearing the issue may help America form alliances with South Korea and Japan in east Asia. Campbell was weighing in on a growing debate among the US’s security partners in Asia on whether China supports the decision of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to send 10,000 troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine. It has been reported that the North Korean troops are now inside Russia.
Falling debris from destroyed Ukrainian drones sparked a fire at an industrial facility in Russia’s Kaluga, officials said early on Monday. Vladislav Shapsha, the regional governor, said that there were no injuries and that three drones were destroyed. He did not say which facility was on fire.
Britain and its Nato allies must stay ahead in “the new AI arms race”, British Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden is expected to say on Monday, warning that Russian cyber criminals are increasingly targeting countries that support Ukraine. Addressing the Nato Cyber Defence Conference in London, McFadden is expected to unveil Britain’s plans to set up a new Laboratory for AI security to help create better cyber defence tools and organise intelligence on attacks, according to Reuters. In the latest warning about Moscow stepping up cyber-attacks on nations backing Ukraine, McFadden will call on the US-led military alliance, businesses and institutions to do “everything they can to lock their own digital doors” to protect themselves from what he called an increasingly aggressive Russia.
In the US, Republican lawmakers are pushing back against criticism that Donald Trump’s pick to lead the intelligence services is “compromised” by her comments supportive of Russia, the Associated Press reports. The accusation came from Illinois Democrat and senator Tammy Duckworth who said she is concerned about the pro-Russian views expressed by Tulsi Gabbard, who was tapped for the post of director of national intelligence. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, told CNN the criticism was “outright dangerous”, while Republican senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri said he thought it was “totally ridiculous” that Gabbard was being cast as a Russian asset for having different political views. “It’s insulting. It’s a slur, quite frankly. There’s no evidence that she’s a asset of another country,” he said on NBC.
