Huge smoke cloud rises after massive explosion at factory in Moscow
The situation on Ukraine’s northeastern frontline is growing more difficult, a top Ukrainian general has said, warning that assault squads of Russian “convicts” are straining Kyiv’s forces near Kupiansk.
Oleksandr Syrskyi warned that Russia’s forces there are trying to smash through Kyiv’s defences “every day” in a bid to blockade and capture the town, which was seized by Russia last February and liberated in Ukraine’s lightning counteroffensive in September.
Ukraine recently evacuated some civilians living close to that war front, and losing the town a second time would deal a blow to Ukraine’s morale as it struggles to push through heavily mined and fortified territory in the south – which it hopes to recapture to break Russia’s land bridge with annexed Crimea.
The reports from Kupiansk come as the Financial Times reported claims that Vladimir Putin has held an emergency meeting to discuss state currency controls, in the latest sign that Russia’s war in Ukraine is damaging its own economy.
