Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv fires British Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia as US reopens embassy

The US embassy in Kyiv will resume normal operations today after it was shut down yesterday due to threat of a significant air attack.

This follows Ukraine firing American longer-range ATACMS missiles to strike inside Russia after US president Joe Biden removed restrictions after months of pressure from Kyiv.

A US government source said the embassy closure yesterday was “related to ongoing threats of air attacks”. The Italian and Greek embassies said they too had closed their doors, while the French embassy remained open but urged its citizens to be cautious.

This comes as Ukraine has fired British long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time, The Independent understands, as momentum builds in the West’s military support for Kyiv’s war effort.

The British-made missile – which Kyiv has been lobbying to use beyond Russia’s borders for months – was fired at Russia on Wednesday, with images published by Russian military bloggers purporting to show Storm Shadow fragments in Russia’s Kursk region, beyond Ukraine’s northeastern border.

The US also announced yesterday it would allow Ukrainian military to use anti-personnel landmines, as it seeks to slow down Russian advances.

Key Points

• US embassy in Kyiv to resume operations today

• Ukraine fires first UK Storm Shadow missile into Russia – reports

• Russian intel chief warns Russia will retaliate against Nato nations enabling Kyiv strikes

• US embassy in Kyiv shuts down over anticipated air attack

The US is sending anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine – here’s what it means

04:07 , Arpan Rai

The US decision to provide Ukraine with antipersonnel land mines expands the use of a weapon that the international community has long condemned because of its danger to innocent civilians. And it reflects another in a long line of American policy shifts on the controversial issue in the past 30 years.

US officials say the mines are needed to help Ukraine stall Russian progress on the battlefield, where Moscow’s forces are moving in smaller ground units on the frontlines rather than in more heavily protected armored vehicles.

The defence department has been providing Ukraine with anti-tank mines throughout the war. Defence secretary Lloyd Austin said the new policy will give Ukraine “nonpersistent antipersonnel land mines” that are safer because they lose the ability to detonate over time.

The US is sending anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine – here’s what it means

Photos: Ukrainians shelter at subway as Russia rains missiles

03:58 , Arpan Rai

Air raid alarms continued to blare in Ukraine yesterday in the war-hit country, sending people into shelter zones. The fears grew after the US embassy in Kyiv warned of a “potential significant air attack” and shuttered its doors yesterday, following Russia’s vow to respond after Ukraine fired longer-range US missiles at its territory for the first time.

Ukrainian colonel ‘hoping to inflict a lot of damage’ on Russian troops and arms depots

03:46 , Andy Gregory

Asked about Joe Biden’s decision on using US long-range missiles, a Ukrainian colonel – with close links to the army’s top brass – told The Independent: “Hopefully we will be able to upset Russia’s plans by inflicting a lot of damage on troop concentrations and arms depots.”

He added: “It’s better late than never and a positive development.

“But a key issue is how many ATACMS will the US provide? The US can [also] programme the range the missiles can fly – so another important step is what distance they will allow the missiles to strike.”

Askold Krushelnycky has more details:

Ukraine ‘wants to inflict a lot of damage’ with long-range missile strikes in Russia

US embassy in Kyiv to resume operations today

03:07 , Arpan Rai

The US embassy in Kyiv will resume normal operations today after it had shut for the day yesterday due to threat of a significant air attack. A day earlier, the US had given nod to Kyiv to fire US’s ATACMS missiles to strike inside Russia.

Russia had described the strike by US missiles on an ammunition depot in Bryansk as an escalation in the 1,000-day-old war, while Ukraine‘s military spy agency said Russia was trying to sow panic by circulating fake online messages about a looming missile and drone attack.

“@USEmbassyKyiv has resumed services following a temporary shelter-in-place suspension earlier today,” US ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink wrote on X.

“We continue to encourage US citizens to remain vigilant, monitor official Ukrainian sources for updates, and be prepared to shelter in place if an air alert is announced.”

The US State Department had earlier said it expected the Kyiv embassy to resume normal operations today.

The initial State Department statement on the embassy’s website said the embassy would be closed “out of an abundance of caution”. Embassy employees, it said, were being instructed to “shelter in place”.

“The US Embassy recommends US citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.”

The Kremlin said it had no comment.

A US government source said the embassy closure was “related to ongoing threats of air attacks”. The Italian and Greek embassies said they too had closed their doors. The French embassy remained open but urged its citizens to be cautious.

Zelensky says Crimea can only be restored to Ukraine through diplomacy

02:57 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the Crimea peninsula, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, would have to be restored to Ukrainian sovereignty through diplomacy.

Mr Zelensky, interviewed by Fox News on a train in Ukraine and broadcast yesterday, said his country could not afford to lose the number of lives that would be required to retake Crimea through military means.

He again rejected any notion of ceding any territory already occupied by Moscow’s forces, saying Ukraine “cannot legally acknowledge any occupied territory of Ukraine as Russian.”

“I was already mentioning that we are ready to bring Crimea back diplomatically,” Mr Zelensky told Fox News through an interpreter.

“We cannot spend dozens of thousands of our people so that they perish for the sake of Crimea coming backa... and still it’s not a fact that we can bring it back with the arms in our hands. We understand that Crimea can be brought back diplomatically.”

Zelensky visits injured Ukrainian soldiers to award them with state honours

02:43 , Andy Gregory

Putin’s foreign minister’s chilling warning to West after Ukraine fired US-made missiles into Russia

01:40 , Andy Gregory

Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister issued a chilling warning after Ukraine launched US-made missiles over the border on Tuesday, my colleague Holly Patrick reports.

On the sidelines of the G20 summit, Sergei Lavrov said: “If long-range missiles are going to be applied from Ukraine into Russian territory, it will also mean that they are operated by American military experts and we will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia and will react accordingly.”

Scrapping of former Royal Navy flagships ‘shows just how tight resources are in MoD’, says analyst

00:44 , Andy Gregory

The UK government’s decision to axe two former Royal Navy flagships, a frigate and 14 Chinook helicopters shows “just how tight resources must be” in the Ministry of Defence, an analyst has said.

Matthew Savill, military sciences director at RUSI, the world’s oldest defence think-tank, said: "These are mostly capabilities that are approaching retirement anyway, have been at low levels of readiness or aren’t worth further refits or investment.

“But the fact that Defence either can’t crew them, or is prepared to cut them to make very modest savings over five years in the current international environment is an indication of just how tight resources must be in the MOD right now.

“In particular, the Defence Review will be under pressure to set out the future role of the Royal Marines; how the Navy will bring into service and sustain more escorts, which are the workhorses of the fleet; and the impact upon helicopter capacity and procurement.”

Exclusive: Japan nuclear bomb survivor warns Putin he has no idea destruction they cause

Wednesday 20 November 2024 23:59 , Andy Gregory

A survivor of the atomic bomb attack on Japan’s Nagasaki during the Second World War has warned Vladimir Putin that he has no idea of the destruction and pain such weapons cause as he threatens the West with the prospect of nuclear war.

Terumi Tanaka, one of a diminishing number of survivors of the US attacks on Japan in 1945, said the use of nuclear weapons would spell “the end of the human race” and that leaders like Mr Putin “don’t realise the extent of the damage that can be done”.

Mr Tanaka’s warning, made during a sit-down interview with The Independent in campaign group Nihon Hidankyo’s small but bustling Tokyo office, came at a time of escalating nuclear sabre-rattling from the Russian leadership.

Mr Tanaka, 92, said civilisation as we know it faces an “imminent danger” and a nuclear war appears to be “not far away”, adding: “I’m very scared about it.”

The Independent’s Asia editor Adam Withnall has the full exclusive report:

Japan nuclear bomb survivor warns Putin he has no idea destruction they cause

Voices | Nobody can stop the juggernaut of war – not even Putin

Wednesday 20 November 2024 23:12 , Andy Gregory

In this opinion piece for Independent Voices, historian and author Mark Almond writes:

The announcement that the US embassy in Kyiv – and some EU embassies – are shutting for fear of Russian airstrikes adds to the mood of growing crisis over Ukraine.

If the Kremlin was to deliberately target foreign embassies in Ukraine, it would be a huge breach in the taboos protecting diplomatic installations even in wartime. Diplomatic immunity is not the only taboo that could fall.

More immediately and widely effective is Washington’s decision to send anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine to slow Russia’s slow but steady advances across the front in eastern Ukraine.

One thing the US has in common with Russia – not to mention China and the world’s “pariah” regimes like Iran, or states without functioning governments like Libya – is its refusal to join the 1997 anti-personnel landmine treaty. The treaty bans their use by most of the world, including the UK and America’s European allies and even Ukraine itself.

Russia, of course, broke the taboo against aggression – in force since Nuremberg in 1945 – by invading Ukraine in the first place. But if Kyiv reneges on its treaty obligation – arguing military necessity – it will be another nail in the coffin of well-meaning attempts to limit the horrors of war.

What is the next shibboleth to fall? How long before WMD become battlefield necessities justified by the actual state of the war on the ground?

Nobody can stop the juggernaut of war – not even Putin

Czech military to buy 14 Leopard tanks from Germany in a $167m deal

Wednesday 20 November 2024 22:40 , Andy Gregory

The Czech defence ministry has announced plans to buy 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks from Germany in a $167m deal, as the country seeks to modernise its military following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The ministry said it hoped the deal would be signed with Germany’s Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH by the end of the year, with the tanks to be delivered by the end of 2026.

Germany has already donated 28 Leopard 2A4 tanks to the Czechs in exchange for the weapons they gave to Ukraine. The Leopards will replace the obsolete Soviet-era T-72 tanks.

The Czech military to buy 14 Leopard tanks from Germany in a $167 million deal

US defends approving landmines for Kyiv after Amnesty International and Norway condemn move

Wednesday 20 November 2024 22:14 , Andy Gregory

Amnesty International has condemned Washington’s decision to supply Ukraine with anti-personnel mines as “reckless” and a “deeply disappointing setback”.

Norway’s foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, called it “very problematic” because Ukraine is a signatory to an international convention opposing the use of land mines.

However, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin argued that Ukraine already makes its own ant-personnel mines, and that the US has been providing Ukraine with anti-tank mines. He said the new mines the US is giving Kyiv are not persistent, meaning troops can control when they would self-detonate.

“That makes it far more safer eventually than the things that they are creating on their own,” Mr Austin said.

The mines are are electrically fused and powered by batteries so that when the battery runs out, they won’t detonate. They can become inert in anywhere from four hours to two weeks.

Full report: UK ministers scrap warships, helicopters, and drones in £500m defence cuts

Wednesday 20 November 2024 21:48 , Andy Gregory

The defence secretary has announced emergency cuts to the UK military including the Royal Navy’s two amphibious assault ships, a frigate and 31 helicopters.

John Healy has blamed the disputed £22bn black hole left in the finances by the Tories. However, the Conservatives have warned that the cuts have come because Labour refuses to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.

Mr Healey told MPs that Labour had “a dire inheritance” from the Tories in defence so needed to scrap six “outdated” defence projects which will save £500m over the next five years.

“We have begun to fix the foundations going forward,” he added. “For too long our soldiers, sailors and air staff have been stuck with using outdated equipment.”

The emergency statement caught MPs by surprise on Wednesday and has left doubts over whether the UK could take back the Falklands if they were invaded again.

Our political editor David Maddox has the full report:

Ministers scrap warships, helicopters, and drones in £500m defence cuts

When did Britain first send Ukraine Storm Shadow missiles?

Wednesday 20 November 2024 21:22 , Arpan Rai, Rachel Hagan

The UK first confirmed it would supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles in May last year, for use on Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine.

Then defence secretary Ben Wallace had touted that the weapons would give Ukraine the “best chance” of defending itself.

Ukraine has deployed Storm Shadow missiles on several occasions during the war. In June last year, the then-defence secretary Ben Wallace told parliament that the missiles were already having a “significant impact on the battlefield”.

Storm Shadow missiles have also been used by British and French air forces in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya.

What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile?

Wednesday 20 November 2024 20:58 , Andy Gregory

Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French cruise missile with a maximum range of around 155 miles (250km). The French call it Scalp.

After launch, the weapon, equipped with its navigation system, descends to a low altitude to avoid detection before locking on to its target using an infra-red seeker. On the final approach, the missile climbs to a higher altitude to maximise the chances of hitting the target.

On impact, it penetrates the target before a delayed fuse detonates the main warhead. Powered by a turbo-jet engine, the 1,300kg Storm Shadow travels at speeds of more than 600mph, is just over five metres long and has a wingspan of three metres.

My colleagues Arpan Rai and Rachel Hagan have more details in this report:

What is the Storm Shadow missile? Ukraine hits Russia with British weapon

Labour MP says he hopes Storm Shadow missiles ‘can take the fight to the Russians'

Wednesday 20 November 2024 20:34 , Andy Gregory

Labour MP Alex Ballinger, who previously served with the Royal Marines, said he hopes the Storm Shadow missiles can “take the fight to the Russians”.

The MP for Halesowen said it is “completely right to say that defence of the UK starts in Ukraine”, telling the Commons: “It is excellent to hear about the military support that we are providing to Ukraine, including the Storm Shadow missiles that we are hearing about in the media at the moment.

“I trained on those weapons and I hope that they can really take the fight to the Russians.”

Russian chess grandmaster rejects claims Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons is an escalation

Wednesday 20 November 2024 20:08 , Andy Gregory

Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov has rejected suggestions that Ukraine using long-range missiles to hit targets in Russia is an escalation of the war.

Mr Kasparov said: “Russia has been bombarding Ukraine with missiles and drones every day for years. Years! Entire cities erased, tens of thousands of civilians killed.

“Don't treat it like escalation when Ukraine is allowed to strike back at military targets in the aggressor's territory.”

UK defence secretary says Britain ‘doubling down on support for Ukraine'

Wednesday 20 November 2024 19:45 , Andy Gregory

Addressing the Commons after a point of order was raised over reports of Storm Shadow missiles being used by Ukraine to strike Kursk, Labour’s defence secretary John Healey did not deny that the missiles had been used, saying he could not “go into any further operational details.”

But he noted: "We as a nation and government are doubling down on our support for Ukraine" and that “Ukraine’s action on the battlefield speaks for itself”.

Russian intelligence chief warns Russia will retaliate against Nato nations enabling Kyiv strikes

Wednesday 20 November 2024 19:22 , Andy Gregory

In an interview published on Wednesday, Russian foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin said that Moscow would retaliate against Nato countries that facilitate long-range Ukrainian missile strikes, as Kyiv used British Storm Shadow missiles in Kursk.

Sergei Lavrov, Russian foreign minister, said previously that long-range missiles to be fired into Russian territory “operated by American military experts” would be taken as a “new phase of the Western war against Russia and will react accordingly”, he said.

Full report: Ukraine fires British missiles at Russia for first time

Wednesday 20 November 2024 18:59 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine has fired British long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia territory for the first time, The Independent understands, the latest sign of a change in stance from Western countries on involvement in the conflict.

Images circulating online appear to show fragments of Storm Shadow missiles in Russia’s Kursk region – the border area into which Ukrainian forces staged a surprise assault in August, taking a swathe of territory they still hold.

Approval for use of the weapons is believed to have been given in response to the deployment of more than 10,000 North Korean troops in Kursk alongside Russian troops in what UK and US officials have warned was a major escalation of the war.

David Maddox and Alex Croft have the full report:

Now Ukraine fires British missiles at Russia for first time

Trump picks Matthew Whitaker as nominee for Nato ambassador

Wednesday 20 November 2024 18:44 , Andy Gregory

Donald Trump has chosen loyalist and former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker as his nominee for the post of US ambassador to Nato, amid fears the US president-elect could choose to abandon the Western military alliance.

“Matt is a strong warrior and loyal Patriot, who will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended. Matt will strengthen relationships with our Nato Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability – He will put AMERICA FIRST,” Mr Trump said.

Mr Whitaker has been actively involved with the right-wing America First Policy Institute, which has been working closely with the Trump campaign to shape policy for his second term.

US expects embassy in Ukraine to reopen on Thursday, State Dept says

Wednesday 20 November 2024 18:33 , Andy Gregory

The United States expects its embassy in Kyiv to return to normal operations on Thursday after a security threat, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller has said.

The embassy was closed on Wednesday and embassy employees were instructed to shelter in place, a day after Ukraine used American missiles to hit a target inside Russia in what Moscow described as an escalation in the war.

At least 200 jailed in Belarus over pro-Ukraine stance, warns human rights group

Wednesday 20 November 2024 18:00 , Andy Gregory

At least 200 Belarusians have been given prison sentences and hundreds more arrested for showing solidarity with Ukraine, human rights activists have warned, amid a sweeping crackdown by authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who is a key ally of Vladimir Putin.

At least 1,671 Belarusians have so far been detained for their anti-war stance or for expressing solidarity with Ukraine, and at least 200 of them have been given prison sentences ranging from one to 25 years on charges of “extremism” and “conspiracy against the state”, according to the group Viasna.

In addition to the arrests, convictions and prison sentences, the report alleged that people were tortured, held in inhumane conditions and given fines, with some subjected to forced psychiatric treatment.

Viasna warned that the crackdown has escalated in recent weeks, with hundreds arrested in raids targeting relatives and friends of political prisoners and participants in online chats organised by residents of apartment buildings in various cities.

At the same time, Mr Lukashenko has pardoned some political prisoners in an apparent signal that he is open for dialogue with the US and the European Union, which imposed sanctions because of his crackdowns on dissent.

Mr Lukashenko’s office announced on Wednesday that another group of 32 political prisoners have been freed, adding to the 146 who were pardoned since July. Those freed had health problems, wrote petitions for pardons and said they repented.

“There have been contradictory signals from the government, with repressions intensifying, and at the same time small numbers of little-known people granted pardon,” said Viasna’s Pavel Sapelka.

US defence secretary sets out reasoning for U-turn on anti-personnel landmines in Ukraine

Wednesday 20 November 2024 17:47 , Andy Gregory

Speaking to reporters during a trip to Laos, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington’s shift in policy to allow Ukraine to deploy US-supplied anti-personnel landmines follows changing tactics by the Russians.

He said Russian ground troops are leading the movement on the battlefield, rather than forces more protected in armoured carriers, so Ukraine has “a need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians”.

Mr Austin added: “The land mines that we would look to provide them would be land mines that are not persistent, you know, we can control when they would self-activate, self-detonate and that makes it, you know, far more, safer eventually than the things that they are creating on their own.”

Anti-personnel land mines have long been criticised by charities and activists because they present a lingering threat to civilians. Non-persistent land mines generally require batteries, so over time they become unable to detonate, making them safer for innocent civilians than those that remain deadly for years.

Mr Austin noted that Ukraine is currently manufacturing its own anti-personnel land mines. The US already provides Ukraine with anti-tank land mines. Russia has routinely used land mines in the war, but those do not become inert over time.

Irish embassy staff in Ukraine told to work from home as tensions escalate

Wednesday 20 November 2024 17:18 , Andy Gregory

Staff at the Irish embassy in Ukraine have been told to work from home as tensions continue to escalate – after the US shut its Kyiv embassy because of a “potential significant air attack” by Russia.

Irish premier and defence minister Micheal Martin said that “for the purpose of precaution”, Ireland’s embassy staff are working from home and not in the embassy building in Kyiv.

“That follows consultations between different embassies across Ukraine at the moment, but there’s no plans of withdrawing staff from the embassy,” Mr Martin said.

“This is an abundance of caution here, but obviously the situation is escalated, and we believe Russia should stop this war. The amount of carnage in this war hasn’t got the proper headlines, but it’s absolutely unacceptable.

“I spoke to somebody who came back working with an NGO yesterday. He said to me that the level of fatalities of young soldiers on both sides is enormous, and it’s just an appalling lack of any moral compass that leaders can preside and President Putin can preside over such carnage and it should stop.”

Netherlands delivers final two promised F-16’s for training Ukrainian pilots

Wednesday 20 November 2024 16:49 , Andy Gregory

The Netherlands has delivered the final two of 18 promised F-16 fighter jets to a training facility in Romania, where Ukrainian pilots and ground staff are being taught to fly and maintain the planes in battle.

The Netherlands has been one of the driving forces behind an international coalition to supply Ukraine with F-16s to strengthen its air defence against Russia’s invasion, and the training of Ukrainian pilots in Romania began in September.

Pictures purport to show fragments of Storm Shadow missiles in Kursk

Wednesday 20 November 2024 16:23 , Andy Gregory

Russian military bloggers have posted images purporting to show fragments of British-made Storm Shadow missiles fired by Ukraine into Russia’s Kursk region.

Both Bloomberg and the Financial Times cited an unnamed Western official as saying that Ukraine had fired the long-range missiles into Russian territory for the first time.

Downing Street declined to comment on the reports and said it would not comment on operational matters.

Royal Navy flagship and 16 Chinooks to be decommissioned, Britain’s defence secretary says

Wednesday 20 November 2024 15:57 , Andy Gregory

Two former Royal Navy flagships, a frigate and 14 Chinook helicopters will be decommissioned in cost-saving measures announced by Britain’s defence secretary John Healey.

The savings, which Mr Healey blamed on the “dire inheritance” left by the Tories, will see assault ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, which have both been flagships, decommissioned after having been effectively mothballed at a cost of £9m a year. The ageing frigate HMS Northumberland is beyond economic repair and will also be decommissioned.

The Army’s Watchkeeper drones, which cost around £5m each and have been in service for a decade but have been beset by problems and are effectively obsolete, will be grounded.

“For too long our soldiers, sailors, aviators have been stuck with old, outdated equipment because ministers wouldn’t make the difficult decommissioning decisions,” Mr Healey told MPs, who insisted he had “full backing from our service chiefs” as he added: “As technology advances at pace, we must move faster towards the future.”

“These decisions are set to save the MoD £150m over the next two years and up to £500m over five years, savings that will be retained in full in defence,” he said.

But Tories raised concerns about the impact of the decision on the Marines, and former defence committee chair Sir Julian Lewis warned the absence of the assault ships could encourage an enemy “to try something like the Falklands in the future”.

Germany declines to support EU proposal for defence bonds

Wednesday 20 November 2024 15:30 , Alex Croft

The German government has declined to explicitly support an EU proposal to issue defence bonds, as countries look for ways to increase defence spending and strengthen support for Ukraine.

Berlin has previously opposed the idea of joint EU borrowing to fund key investments in areas such as defence, frustrating politicians across Europe.

On Tuesday, foreign ministers from Poland, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK pledged to “strengthen Europe’s security and defence, using all levers available to us, including the economic and financing power of the European Union”.

Despite this, a German foreign ministry spokesperson appeared to play down the prospect of a change in policy.

Asked about the prospect of issuing Eurobonds for defence, the spokesperson said they did “not find any other aspects that you had in your question in the declaration”.

German embassy in Kyiv stays open despite US embassy attack threat

Wednesday 20 November 2024 15:17 , Alex Croft

Germany’s embassy in Kyiv has remained open in a limited capacity and can still be contacted by German citizens in Ukraine, a foreign ministry official said on Wednesday.

“We are in constant contact with our colleagues on the ground so that we can take appropriate measures if the situation changes,” the official said.

The US shut its embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday after it received a “specific information of a potential significant air attack”.

Ukraine’s top spy agency has since said that Russia spread fake information about possible strikes in “massive information-psychological attack” – but it is not confirmed whether they were related.

What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile? Ukraine hits Russia with British weapon for first time

Wednesday 20 November 2024 15:05 , Alex Croft

Ukraine is believed to have used British-made Storm Shdaow long-range missiles inside Russia for the first time.

It comes days after Joe Biden gave the green light for Ukraine to use US-made long-range missiles to target Vlasimir Putin’s forces deep inside Russia, the first such missiles were used on Tuesday.

That opened the door for Britain to do the same, with the UK missiles relying on US targeting programmes.

Read the full report:

What is the Storm Shadow missile? Ukraine ‘hits Russia’ with British weapon

Ukraine fires first UK Storm Shadow missile into Russia - reports

Wednesday 20 November 2024 14:55 , Alex Croft

The Ukranian military has fired a long-range Storm Shadow missile beyond Russia borders for the first time, according to reports.

The British-made missile, which Kyiv has so far been prohibited from using while it defends its territory against Putin’s invasion, was fired at Russia on Wednesday, Bloomberg cited an unnamed source as saying.

Meanwhile, images published by The Telegraph appear to show fragments of a Storm Shadow missile in Russia’s Kursk region.

The UK government has not yet commented.

Report: Putin gifts a lion, bears and dozens of other animals to North Korea zoo

Wednesday 20 November 2024 14:47 , Steffie Banatvala

Vladimir Putin has gifted dozens of animals – including a lion and two bears – to a zoo in North Korea, the latest in a series of gift exchanges as Russia relies on Pyongyang’s artillery and troops to bolster its invasion of Ukraine.

More than 70 animals, including an African lion and two brown bears, were sent by plane with veterinarians from Moscow’s zoo to be transferred to a zoo in Pyongyang.

The animals were “a gift from Vladimir Putin to the Korean people,” the Russian government said.

Steffie Banatvala reports:

Putin gifts a lion, bears and dozens of other animals to North Korea zoo

Report: Stock market today: Asian markets mostly lower as worries over Russia-Ukraine war loom

Wednesday 20 November 2024 14:34 , Alex Croft

Asian stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday, despite gains on Wall Street, as worries mounted over escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war.

U.S. futures edged higher while oil prices were little changed.

On Tuesday, Ukraine fired several American-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia, according to the official, marking the first such use in nearly 1,000 days of war. On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally lowered the threshold for Russia’s use of its nuclear weapons.

Stock market today: Asian markets mostly lower as worries over Russia-Ukraine war loom

China has key role to play in avoiding nuclear escalation, Macron says

Wednesday 20 November 2024 14:22 , Alex Croft

France’s Emmanuel Macron has said that China has an important role to play in avoiding nuclear escalation, after Russian president Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike.

Meeting with China’s president Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro as part of the G20 summit, Mr Macron said he asked him to put pressure on Mr Putin to end the war with Ukraine.

Mr Macron said North Korea’s decision to send troops to fight in Ukraine had raised the stakes for China, and that it should push for a de-escalation after Mr Putin’s decision to change Russia’s nuclear doctrine.

Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of the summit, the French president said he would invite Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk to France in February for an artificial intelligence summit.

Ukraine and Middle East wars eating away at US air defence stocks, top official warns

Wednesday 20 November 2024 14:10 , Alex Croft

Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are eating into US stockpiles of air defences, the top US admiral overseeing American forces in the Asia-Pacific region has warned.

“With some of the Patriots that have been employed, some of the air-to-air missiles that have been employed, it’s now eating into stocks and to say otherwise would be dishonest,” said Admiral Sam Paparo.

“Inherently, it imposes costs on the readiness of America to respond in the Indo Pacific region, which is the most stressing theater for the quantity and quality of munitions, because the PRC is the most capable potential adversary in the world,” he said, using an acronym for the People’s Republic of China.

In pictures: Russian military fires at Ukrainian defences

Wednesday 20 November 2024 13:56 , Alex Croft

German citizen detained on suspicion of terorrism

Wednesday 20 November 2024 13:44 , Alex Croft

Russia has detained a German citizen who is suspected of explosives-smuggling and terrorism, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday.

Nikolai Gaiduk is accused of blowing up a pipe at a gas distribution station, the FSB said, in an attack in Russia’s Kaliningrad Baltic Sea exclave in March, using a home-made bomb.

He was arrested when later attempting to enter Kaliningrad from Poland. Authorities searched his car, finding 0.5 litres of liquid explosive.

The FSB said Gaiduk was born in 1967 and lives in Hamburg. He is accused of acting on instructions of a Ukrainian man also living in Hamburg.

“Currently, measures are being taken to identify and bring to justice the persons who assisted Gaiduk ... in carrying out illegal activities,” the agency said.

The German Foreign Ministry is aware of the case, and the consulate general in St Petersberg has been in contact with Russian authorities.

Special investigation: UK-trained elite commandos approached to fight for Russia against Ukraine

Wednesday 20 November 2024 13:31 , Holly Bancroft, Fahim Abed, May Bulman and Jessica Purkiss

For Ghulam, it began with a form handed to him by a colleague, offering him a way out. For more than 12 years, he had been part of an elite troop of Afghan special forces set up, trained and paid by the British government. Now, after being forced to flee the Taliban and leave his homeland for Iran, he worked long days in a recycling factory and had to evade police because of his undocumented status.

The fellow Afghan who gave Ghulam the form knew of his military background, and thought he might be open to an offer. For some in Ghulam’s situation, a form comes first; for others, it’s contact by phone from other Afghan veterans. Some have been approached face to face. But however it’s done, and whatever the terms, the offer to these elite UK-trained commandos is broadly the same: come to fight for Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces against Ukraine.

Holly Bancroft, Fahim Abed, May Bulman and Jessica Purkiss report

UK-trained elite commandos approached to fight for Russia against Ukraine

Russia spreads fake warning of imminent air attack in Ukraine

Wednesday 20 November 2024 13:17 , Alex Croft

Russia staged a “massive information-psychological attack” on Ukraine by spreading a fake warning about an imminent mass air attack, Kyiv’s top spy agency said on Wednesday.

The fake warning purported to be from Ukrainian military intelligence, but Kyiv has confirmed the message was a hoax.

“A message is being spread via messengers and social networks ... about the threat of a ‘particularly massive’ missile and bomb strike on Ukrainian cities today,” the Main Directorate of Intelligence said in a statement.

“This message is a fake, it contains grammatical errors typical of Russian information and psychological operations.”

ICYMI: Russia warns Kyiv using US-provided ATACMS mark ‘new phase of war’

Wednesday 20 November 2024 13:04 , Alex Croft

Ukraine’s use of US given ATACMS missiles to strike deep inside Russia has marked a new phase of war, a senior Russian official has warned.

Ukraine used US’s ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory yesterday taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of US president Joe Biden on the war’s 1,000th day.

Ukraine said it struck a Russian arms depot about 110km (70 miles) inside Russia, an attack that caused secondary explosions. Ukraine’s military did not publicly specify the weapons used, but a Ukrainian government source and a US official confirmed it had used ATACMS.

“This is, of course, a signal that they want to escalate,” Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said in Brazil yesterday at G20 news conference.

“We will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia. And we will react accordingly,” he added, accusing Washington of helping Kyiv operate the missiles.

Report: Ukraine has seen success in building clean energy, which is harder for Russia to destroy

Wednesday 20 November 2024 12:52 , Alex Croft

Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, the largest private energy company in Ukraine, pulls out a piece of paper with bar charts showing how much new electricity his company has brought online this year in the country versus how much Russian bombs have destroyed.

Total electricity goes up, then down, then up, then down — capturing the company’s constant rebuilding each time Russian missile attacks take out a facility, which include wind and solar farms and thermal (coal or gas-fired) generating stations. The Russian strikes are part of a campaign to target energy infrastructure to reduce power in Ukraine as winter looms.

“What other choice do we have?” said Timchenko during an interview on the sidelines of this year’s U.N. climate talks, taking place in Azerbaijan. “Sit and wait and pray that they don’t hit us, or do our job and bring lights back to our people?”

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Ukraine has seen success in building clean energy, which is harder for Russia to destroy

North Korea sent more conventional weapons to Russia, South Korea says

Wednesday 20 November 2024 12:40 , Alex Croft

North Korea recently supplied additional artillery systems to Russia to support its war efforts against Ukraine, while some of the thousands of North Korean troops deployed in Russia have begun engaging in combat, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday.

The South Korean assessment came after Russia warned Monday that U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles adds “fuel to the fire” of the war. U.S. officials said Biden’s decision was triggered almost entirely by North Korea’s entry into the war.

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North Korea sent more conventional weapons to Russia, South Korea says