Russia closes two airports in fear of drone strikes
Russian authorities have closed airports in two cities in Russia’s Far North amid fears of further Ukrainian drone strikes.
All flights were cancelled and the airspace restricted over Murmansk, which hosts a military airbase, and Apatity. Both Arctic cities have been largely untouched by the war so far.
Such measures are usually taken by Moscow in the event of expected or incoming Ukrainian drone attacks.
It comes after Kyiv launched what Moscow’s mayor described as “one of the largest” aerial attacks against the Russian capital since war broke out in February 2022.
Some 45 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, and 11 destroyed over the Moscow region, Russia’s ministry of defence claimed.
03:34 PM BST
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03:28 PM BST
Russian soldier blows up military base before defecting to Ukraine
A Russian soldier blew up his assault unit’s headquarters before escaping and defecting to Ukraine, Kyiv has revealed.
The soldier, an FPV drone pilot identified only by his call-sign “Silver”, said the operation was meticulously planned with Ukraine’s military intelligence and the Freedom of Russia Legion, a pro-Kyiv Russian partisan group.
Footage showed the moment Silver threw a grenade into a basement where his commander and fellow officers were sleeping, before he disappeared amidst the confusion.
The defecting soldier then crossed the frontline and surrendered to Kyiv’s forces.
Kyiv claimed on Tuesday that the former Russian soldier has provided “valuable intelligence” on Moscow’s positions and offensive plans.
Silver said he had become disillusioned with Russia’s war in Ukraine “and other crimes carried out by his command, including extrajudicial executions, beatings and extortion” against both civilians and soldiers within his unit.
03:17 PM BST
Modi arrives in Poland ahead of Ukraine trip
Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, has arrived in Warsaw, Poland, ahead of his trip to Ukraine later this week.
Mr Modi will hold talks Thursday in Warsaw with Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk and president Andrzej Duda, which are expected to focus on security and the war in Ukraine.
02:39 PM BST
Six children in hospital after Russian strike on eastern village
Six children were left in hospital after a Russian attack on a village in eastern Ukraine.
A children’s café was reportedly hit in the strike, which occurred in the village of Malokaterynivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on Tuesday.
Yurii Borzenko, chief physician of Zaporizhzhia Children’s Hospital, told Radio Liberty: “Three children are in hospital with concussion of moderate severity without blast injuries.
“One girl is here with mine-blast damage to the soft tissues of her left shoulder. She had a surgery today, she is conscious and talking now. And one more child has neurosurgery and is in the operating room now.”
02:16 PM BST
The Kremlin is sending teenage cannon-fodder to Kursk
If the Kursk incursion was intended to draw Russian troops away from the battle front in Ukraine, it has failed – so far, writes David Axe.
As a strong Ukrainian force including some or all of at least half a dozen brigades pushes deeper into Kursk on the 15th day of the invasion on August 21, it’s apparent the Kremlin is resisting the urge to redeploy a lot of big regular formations to the oblast to meet the Ukrainian advance.
Instead, it’s sending conscripts: young draftees with only cursory training, little heavy weaponry and dubious leadership.
These conscripts aren’t lasting long in combat.
Read the full story here.
02:04 PM BST
Pictured: Russian helicopter fires towards Ukrainians in Kursk
01:37 PM BST
Russia and Ukraine heading for stalemate, says Pentagon
Neither Russia nor Ukraine have the resources to mount major offensives in the next six months, the US Defense Intelligence Agency said in a new report.
The report, which covered the three months up until June 30, suggested Ukraine is only able to hold defensive positions. The assessment was made prior to Kyiv’s daring invasion into Russia’s Kursk region two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, US intelligence said it believed Russia does not have adequate resources to “threaten a deeper advance into Ukrainian-held territory, such as Kharkiv city”.
01:10 PM BST
Russia experiences mass disruption on Telegram and WhatsApp
Russia has recorded mass disruptions on Telegram and WhatsApp, its state telecommunications monitoring service said on Wednesday.
The cause of the mass disruption is not yet known.
Russian media report outages of Telegram, WhatsApp messengers, as well as problems with access to Wikipedia, Skype and other apps and websites.
Earlier, Russian authorities slowed down YouTube and reportedly tested completely blocking its work in Russia. pic.twitter.com/7oWmMDZS2O— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 21, 2024
12:59 PM BST
Kursk pontoon bridge destroyed using US-made rocket systems, says Kyiv
Ukrainian forces destroyed pontoon bridges and engineering equipment using US-made Himars rocket systems in Russia’s Kursk border region, Kyiv said on Wednesday.
It is the first official recognition by Ukraine that Western weapons have been used as part of its invasion.
At least three bridges were damaged or destroyed along the River Seym since Kyiv’s unprecedented invasion was launched two weeks ago.
“Where do Russian pontoon bridges ‘disappear’ in the Kursk region? Operators...accurately destroy them,” Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said on Telegram messenger.
12:41 PM BST
Ukraine launches largest drone attack on Moscow
Ukraine targeted Moscow in “one of the largest” drone strikes ever launched by Kyiv against the capital, Russian officials said on Wednesday.
Eleven drones were destroyed over the Russian capital and its surrounding areas overnight, the defence ministry said.
“This is one of the largest ever attempts to attack Moscow with drones,” Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said.
Mr Sobyanin confirmed no damage or casualties had been reported.
Kyiv rarely targets Moscow with drones, with Russia last claiming to have defended a strike back in May.
It comes as Ukraine continues its daring invasion into Russia’s Kursk border region, where it claims to have captured up to 35 km of land across more than 90 settlements.
12:37 PM BST
Kursk invasion exposing Russian personnel shortages, says MoD
Ukraine’s Kursk invasion has exposed Russian personnel shortages, the UK Ministry of Defence suggested on Wednesday.
Its latest intelligence update stated that Russian troops have been pulled out of high priority areas.
Not only that, specialists have been used in infantry roles, which the MoD said makes it more difficult to retake territory in Kursk.
“The high casualty rates that result mean that Russia needs to continuously replenish front line infantry personnel, which will almost certainly continue to limit Russia’s ability to generate higher capability units,” the update read.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 21 August 2024.
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/RuyUBJmVx3#StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/gpmQHF0fEe— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 21, 2024
12:12 PM BST
Watch: Military footage shows Ukrainian forces fighting in Kursk region
New footage released by Ukraine’s military on Tuesday showed its forced fighting in Russia’s Kursk region.
In a video briefing to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s Army chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, reported fighting in the area of Malaya Loknya, about 11.5 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
He added that he hoped the fighting there would allow Kyiv’s military to capture “many prisoners”.
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12:05 PM BST
Russia says captured another village in east Ukraine
Russia’s army have captured another village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where it is advancing even as Kyiv mounts a major counterattack into Russian territory, it said Wednesday.
In a daily briefing, Russia’s defence ministry said its troops had captured the village of Zhelanne, which lies between the frontline cities of Donetsk and Pokrovsk.
It comes amid claims by Russia that it had captured a string of towns and villages in the Donetsk region in recent weeks.
10:47 AM BST
Ukraine parliament votes to join International Criminal Court
Ukraine’s parliament will join the International Criminal Court which prosecutes serious crimes including genocide and crimes against humanity, it voted on Wednesday.
”Parliament adopted the ratification of the Rome Statute,” opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said on Telegram, referring to the court’s founding treaty.
10:26 AM BST
Watch: Ukraine destroys bridge over the Seym River in Kursk
Ukrainian forces have destroyed three permanent bridges over the Seym River in Kursk over the past six days, as well as an unknown number of pontoon crossings built by the Russians to replace the bridges.
Russian troops south of the Seym in Kursk, to the west of Ukrainian forces in the Russian region, are reliant on these bridges and crossings for vital supplies.
It comes as Ukraine’s incursion into western Russia’s Kursk region entered its third week yesterday.
The move could potentially trap Russian forces between the river, the Ukrainian advance and the Ukrainian border.
Satellite photos by Planet Labs analysed by the Associated Press confirmed a bridge in the town of Glushkovo had been destroyed.
A Russian military investigator said Ukraine had “totally destroyed” one bridge and damaged two others in the area.
Russian military bloggers and several high-profile pro-war Telegram channels in Russia claimed the third bridge had been targeted and damaged, according to the Associated Press.
Ukrainian SOF in concert with Defense forces successfully destroyed pontoon crossings in Kursk region.
Moreover, russian field ammunition depot, EW vehicle as well as 152 mm howitzer were damaged. pic.twitter.com/VjMzIdLFvr— SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES OF UKRAINE (@SOF_UKR) August 21, 2024
10:08 AM BST
Moscow comes under one of largest Ukrainian drone attacks yet, Russia says
Moscow has suffered of the largest barrages yet by Ukrainian drones yet, Russia has said, adding that it destroyed all of them.
Some 45 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, Russia’s ministry of defence said.
It said 11 were destroyed over the Moscow region, 23 over the Bryansk region, six over Belgorod, three over Kaluga and two over Kursk.
“This was one of the biggest attempts of all time to attack Moscow using drones,” Moscow’s mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Telegram.
Mr Sobyanin said all the drones were destroyed because strong defences had been created around the capital.
The governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, said there was a “mass” attack on his region but 23 drones were destroyed.
09:47 AM BST
Ukraine downs 50 out of 69 Russian drones overnight
Ukrainian forces destroyed 50 out of 69 attack drones launched by Russia during an overnight strike, Kyiv’s military said on Wednesday.
The air force said another 16 drones were likely downed by electronic warfare during the attack, which also included two ballistic missiles and one cruise missile - saying it shot down only the latter.
One drone entered Ukraine from Belarus and another had returned to Russia, the military added.
09:19 AM BST
Kremlin believes Kursk invasion will last ‘months’ - report
Moscow believes Kyiv’s assault on Kursk will last for “months”, officials have reportedly told Russia media.
Officials interviewed by Meduza, a Russian outlet based in Latvia, said the estimate is “quite optimistic – if everything goes well”.
The Kremlin has also reportedly readopted measures used during the Covid-19 pandemic, in which citizens were told to prepare for a “new normal”.
08:58 AM BST
Kyiv strikes S-300 missile system in Russia’s Rostov region
Ukraine claimed on Wednesday that it struck an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system in Russia’s southern Rostov region overnight.
The attack took place near Novoshakhtinsk, according to Kyiv’s General Staff, who said the system had been used to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
“Explosions were observed at specified targeting points,” the General Staff said on Wednesday. “The accuracy of the strike is being assessed.”
08:45 AM BST
Pictured: Fires in Kursk region along River Seym
Fires have been seen burning along the River Seym in the Kursk region just days after Kyiv’s forces bombed three crucial bridges.
The satellite image, captured on Tuesday, shows fires near the village of Krasnooktyabrskoe, which is just outside the area Ukraine claims to control in Kursk.
08:30 AM BST
Kyiv continues to make advances in Kursk
Ukrainian forces have continued to make advances in Kursk over the last few days, military analysts have suggested.
Kyiv has also focused on destroying pontoon bridges over the River Seym after three crucial crossings were destroyed by Ukraine over the weekend.
At least one pontoon bridge has been destroyed, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
NEW: Ukrainian forces continued attacking throughout the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on August 20 and recently made additional advances.
Kursk Tactical Updates 🧵(1/11) pic.twitter.com/b0KC6HZrL0— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) August 21, 2024
08:13 AM BST
Nato countries failing to fulfill pledges to Ukraine - report
Several Nato countries have failed to fulfill pledges reportedly made to Ukraine at last month’s Washington summit, according to US media.
At least five air defence systems that were promised have not been delivered to Kyiv, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
It comes after Volodymyr Zelensky called out the UK, US and France over their “slowing support”.
“There are no vacations in war,” the Ukrainian president said on Sunday, adding: “Decisions are needed, as is timely logistics for the announced aid packages.”
07:50 AM BST
Pictured: Putin inspects Nato weapons
Vladimir Putin has been pictured inspecting what Russia describes as “Nato military trophies captured in battle”.
07:43 AM BST
No peace negotiations until ‘complete’ defeat of Ukraine, says Russia
Ukraine’s invasion into Kursk means there will be no peace talks until Moscow “completely defeats” Kyiv, the deputy head of Russia’s security council said on Wednesday.
Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram: “The empty chatter of intermediaries that no one had appointed about the wonderful peace is over. Everyone understands everything now, even though they do not say it out loud.”
He added: “There will be NO MORE NEGOTIATIONS UNTIL THE COMPLETE DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY!”
07:30 AM BST
Moscow airports back to normal after drone strike
Moscow airports returned to normal operations on Wednesday after temporary restrictions were in place overnight at three of the city’s airports.
Temporary restrictions were in place at the Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports from 2.31am Moscow time (11.31pm UK time) until 6.30am, the aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said.
There were no restrictions at the major Sheremetevo airport.
07:26 AM BST
Welcome to our live coverage
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage.
We’re bringing you the latest updates from the Ukraine war.