Russia Ukraine war: Moscow ‘would be forced’ to go nuclear if Kyiv’s counter-offensive is successful

Vladimir Putin’s aide and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev threatened that Moscow “would be forced” to deploy a nuclear weapon if Ukraine’s counteroffensive was a success.

“Imagine if the offensive, which is backed by Nato, was a success and they tore off a part of our land, then we would be forced to use a nuclear weapon, according to the rules of a decree from the president of Russia,” he said.

Mr Medvedev said that “there would simply be no other option”.

“So our enemies should pray for our warriors’ (success). They are making sure that a global nuclear fire is not ignited,” he said.

The Russian authorities are unable to insulate their population from the war in Ukraine as they continue to raise the chances for drafting men into the military, paired with attacks on Moscow and domestic repression, the British Ministry of Defence said today.

It pointed to the Russian authorities prioritising amending legislation to allow more men to be rapidly drafted into the military.

In mid-July 2023, the State Duma increased the maximum age of liability for conscription from 27 to 30, while retaining the current lower limit at 18, the ministry said.

“While conscripts are not currently deployed in Ukraine, extra draftees free-up professional and mobilised soldiers from other duties inside Russia,” the MoD said in its latest intelligence update.

“The increased chance of being compelled to fight, drone attacks on Moscow, exceptional level of domestic repression, and the recent Wagner mutiny combine to highlight the Russian state’s failure to insulate the population from the war,” it said.

“On 24 July, president Putin signed a bill which will gradually increase the upper age limit for those liable for call up as reservists: senior officers can now be mobilised up to 70. Reservists made up the Autumn 2022 ‘partial mobilisation’ and could provide a more immediate boost to the number available to fight in Ukraine,” the ministry noted.

Ukraine will join the United States this week on discussing security guarantees for Kyiv pending the completion of the process of joining Nato, an aide from president Volodymyr Zelensky’s cabinet said.

Officials from a number of countries were preparing to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss Mr Zelensky’s peace plan for Ukraine, based on the departure of all Russian troops, said Andriy Yermak, the president’s chief of staff said.

He did not say when the next meeting would take place but said the plan would be discussed in three phases, leading up to a meeting of heads of state and government.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the meeting in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, saying it would be held in Jeddah on 5-6 August.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called Sunday “a good day, a powerful day” on the battlefield, particularly near Bakhmut where Ukrainian forces said they were retaking ground lost when Russian forces took the city in May.

“And, of course, the frontline. Thank you all for this day at the front – a good day, a powerful day. Bakhmut direction, other very hot and painful areas in Donbas: Avdiivka, Maryinka, and, of course, the southern directions,” Mr Zelensky said.

Ukraine did not directly claim responsibility for the drone attacks but the war-time president said the war was “gradually returning to Russia’s territory – to its symbolic centres”.

Ukraine has reported regaining further ground from invading Russian forces along the eastern and southern fronts this month as its counteroffensive continues.

Speaking during his latest nightly address on Thursday 27 July, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed the recapture of another village, declaring: “I thank everyone who is fighting for Ukraine! Thank you for the liberation of Staromaiorske. Congratulations again, guys!”

That came after even his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was forced to admit the Ukrainians were making advances and that the fighting had escalated in recent days.

So how significant are the gains?

Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are embroiled in heavy fighting in the war-hit nation’s northeast with military salvo reported in both – Russia-held and Ukraine-held areas – as Kyiv’s forces hold their positions and have also reported some gains.

Ukrainian deputy defence minister said Russian forces were attempting to “drive us out” of elevated positions in the northeast occupied by Moscow shortly after it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The positions were recaptured by Ukraine last year.

“They have attacked endlessly this week. But our troops resist the attacks and sometimes push them back with heavy losses,” the deputy minister said.

She added that the Russians had suffered “no fewer losses than during the heated battles in Bakhmut”, which fell to Russian forces after more than 10 months of fighting.

The key task of Russian forces invading Ukraine, she said, was to “divert out forces from the Bakhmut area, where we have a successful offensive.”

On the southern front, Ms Maliar said Russian forces were also “tenaciously trying to seize back” areas.

While Ukraine has recaptured 200 sq km (77 sq miles) in the south, the minister said advances were limited by entrenched Russian positions and mines.

Russia’s military has also confirmed battlefield action in the northeast and said its forces have halted Ukraine’s troops in the northeast. It claimed to have intercepted and downed three Ukrainian drones which it said were aiming to strike Moscow and damaged a high-rise building reported to house government offices.

A month on from the Wagner Group’s extraordinary attempted mutiny against Russia’s military establishment – the mercenary group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, appears to be back in his homeland.

Under the terms of the truce brokered between Mr Prigozhin and Vladimir Putin by Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko on 24 June, the former was said to have agreed to resettle in Belarus while his troops were ordered to report to camps in that country before either rejoining the Russian military or stepping away altogether without fear of prosecution.

It subsequently emerged that Mr Prigozhin – a former felon who emerged from prison to build up a lucrative catering business and was nicknamed “Putin’s chef” before he formed Wagner – had attended a face-to-face meeting with Mr Putin at the Kremlin five days after the aborted coup, deepening the mystery surrounding the affair.

Read more from Joe Sommerlad here:

Pro-democracy Russians in Serbia protested on Sunday after two prominent anti-war activists and critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin said they faced problems with entry and residence permits in the Balkan country.

Several dozen activists held banners reading “We came to live in peace” and ”I love Serbia and I want safe and happy life here,” as they gathered at a central square in Belgrade, the Serbian capital.

The rally came days after Serbian police refused to extend a residency permit for Vladimir Volokhonski and weeks after another prominent activist, Peter Nikitin, spent more than one day at the Belgrade airport because of an entry ban, according to the two activists.

Amid the ravages of war, Sergey, a seasoned Wagner mercenary, found himself grappling with the relentless violence that has become a way of life and death on the front line. The savage conflict, the sense of betrayal from the Kremlin, and rumours of plots, all combined to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and dread.

At the end he decided to abandon the Wagner group and the savage, meat-grinding combat of Donbas where corpses piled up, and towns and cities were razed.

With the future of the mercenary group in the balance after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed march on Moscow and fear of future retribution, Sergey cannot forget the terrible things he witnessed in the months of bloody conflict.

Read more from Kim Sengupta here:

I know it sounds over the top to actually call a frozen embryo by a name.

I don’t want another child, but it doesn’t stop me from worrying about my frozen embryo or fantasising about Tallulah.

With a ban on flying to Russia from the UK and the EU, and absolutely no word from the private fertility clinic regarding storage fees for a while, now, I started to wonder: what the hell is going on?

Read more from Charlotte Cripps here: