Two US researchers say they have identified a possible deployment site in Russia of the 9M370 Burevestnik; a nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as “invincible”.
Putin has said the weapon – dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO – has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses.
Using images taken on 26 July by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm, the two US researchers identified a construction project abutting a nuclear warhead storage facility known by two names – Vologda-20 and Chebsara – as the new missile’s potential deployment site, news agency Reuters reported.
The facility is 295 miles (475 km) north of Moscow.
Despite Putin’s claims on the weapon, some Western experts say it will not add capabilities that Moscow does not already have and risks a radiation-spewing mishap.
Russia’s defense ministry did not respond to a request to comment on his assessment.
Also on Monday, Russian forces launched a missile on Dnipro in Ukraine, killing one person and injuring three, Dnipropetrovsk Regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said. At least 13 people were also injured in an airstrike on Ukraine‘s northeastern city of Kharkiv.
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Ukraine frontline latest: Zelensky reports tough battles against Russian brigades
Ukraine is facing difficulties in confronting “the most combat-focused Russian brigades” on the eastern front, Volodymyr Zelensky said in his latest remarks on the war’s frontline situation.
“In the Pokrovsk sector, no matter how difficult it is, there has been no (Russian) advance for two days,” he said addressing journalists in the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia alongside Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof. Mr Zelensky said he had been in discussions regarding the situation for two days with commander in chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Military blog DeepState also reported a stabilised situation in villages near Pokrovsk. Ukraine’s General Staff, in an evening account, reported fighting around Selydove and Russian attacks on the city of Ukrainsk.
Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, said fierce fighting was gripping Selydove, 20km (12 miles) south of Pokrovsk, and Ukrainsk, 14km south of Selydove.
He said both sides were pushing forces into the battles for the towns, which had populations of over 20,000 and 10,000 respectively before the full-scale war began in February 2022.
In Moscow’s reports, Russian state news agency TASS said that Ukrainian forces had been driven out of a part of Selydove. The Russian defence ministry has claimed its forces have taken control of the village of Skuchne, east of Pokrovsk.
Arpan Rai3 September 2024 04:19
Putin tells schoolchildren about war gains in Ukraine’s east
Vladimir Putin boasted of Russia’s battlefield gains during a visit to a school on Monday, claiming his forces are taking several square kilometres per day.
“We have not had such a pace in the offensive in Donbas (region) for a long time,” Mr Putin claimed to children at Secondary School No 20 in Kyzyl, in the remote region of Tuva, about 4,500km (2,800 miles) east of Moscow.
“Now we are not talking about moving 200 or 300 metres forward… The Russian armed forces are already bringing territories under control not by 200 to 300 metres but by square kilometres,” he said.
The Russian president’s claims cannot be verified and contradict Kyiv’s assessment that Russia’s troops have made no further advance in the past two days. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged the difficulties in the east, particularly near the city of Pokrovsk.
But it is true that Russia, which now controls 18 per cent of Ukrainian territory, has been making steady advances in eastern Ukraine since the failure of Kyiv’s 2023 counter-offensive to achieve a major breakthrough.
Arpan Rai3 September 2024 04:00
Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is legitimate, says NATO’s Stoltenberg
Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is legitimate and covered by Kyiv’s right to self-defence, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told German weekly Welt am Sonntag in his first reaction to the advance into Russian territory.
“Ukraine has a right to defend itself. And according to international law, this right does not stop at the border,” Stoltenberg told the paper, adding that NATO had not been informed about Ukraine’s plans beforehand and did not play a role in them.
The NATO chief said Ukraine was running a risk with the advance onto Russian territory but that it was up to Kyiv how to conduct its military campaign.
“(Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelensky has made clear that the operation aims to create a buffer zone to prevent further Russian attacks from across the border,” he said.
“Like all military operations, this comes with risks. But it is Ukraine’s decision how to defend itself.”
Kyiv launched a major cross-border incursion into the Kursk region on 6 August, while Moscow’s troops keep pressing towards the strategic hub of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has called the Kursk operation a “major provocation” and said it would retaliate.
Jabed Ahmed3 September 2024 03:30
Russia launches a barrage of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles at Kyiv, Ukraine’s military says
Jabed Ahmed3 September 2024 02:30
UK and Ukraine make AI deal to help post-war rebuild
Jabed Ahmed3 September 2024 01:30
ICYMI: Putin arrives in Mongolia, which is key link in planned gas pipeline to China
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had arrived for a state visit in Mongolia, which lies on the route of a planned new gas pipeline connecting Russia and China.
Russia has been in talks for years about building the pipeline to carry 50 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas a year from its Yamal region to China via Mongolia.
The project, Power of Siberia 2, is part of Russia’s strategy to compensate for the loss of most of its gas sales in Europe since the start of the Ukraine war. It is the planned successor to an existing pipeline of the same name which already supplies Russian gas to China and is due to reach its planned capacity of 38 bcm per year in 2025.
The new venture has long been bogged down over key issues such as the pricing of the gas. However, Putin said on the eve of his visit that preparatory work, including feasibility and engineering studies, were proceeding as scheduled.
He is due to hold talks with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Tuesday.
Ukraine urged Mongolia last week to arrest Putin on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court warrant last year, when it accused him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.
The Kremlin has dismissed the accusation, saying it is politically motivated, and has said it has no worries about Putin making the trip.
The warrant obliges the court’s 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
Asked whether there had been discussions with Mongolian authorities about the ICC warrant, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that “all of the aspects of the visit have been thoroughly discussed.”
Jabed Ahmed3 September 2024 00:30
Special dispatch: Behind enemy lines with Ukraine’s troops in Russia
Behind enemy lines with Ukraine’s troops in Russia
On the main road to Russia, the combat vehicles – some of them British – trundle forward. In the Russian town of Sudzha, Ukrainian troops dig in and prepare for a counterattack. Askold Krushelnycky reports from Kursk
Jabed Ahmed2 September 2024 23:30
Comment: I’ve always dreamed of crossing the Russian border on a Ukrainian tank – now I’ve done it
In a career which has spanned four decades, journalist Askold Krushelnycky has seen first-hand the brutality of the Russian regime. But as Ukraine establishes a foothold in Kursk, could the tide finally be turning?
Read the full article here:
Jabed Ahmed2 September 2024 22:30
Poland has duty to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine, minister says – despite risk of dragging Nato into war
Jabed Ahmed2 September 2024 21:28
Ukraine criticises Mongolia’s failure to arrest Putin
Ukraine‘s Foreign Ministry has said Mongolia’s failure to arrest visiting Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, wanted on an international warrant, dealt a severe blow to the international criminal law system.
Putin arrived in Mongolia on Monday for talks likely to focus on a new gas pipeline connecting Russia and China.
An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued last year against Putin obliges the court’s 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest the Russian president and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhyi said Mongolia’s failure to detain Putin was “a heavy blow to the International Criminal Court and the system of criminal law.
“Mongolia has allowed an accused criminal to evade justice, thereby sharing responsibility for the war crimes,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Ukraine, he said, would work with its allies to ensure Mongolia felt the consequences.
Ukraine urged Mongolia last week to arrest Putin during his visit.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had no worries about any action in connection with the warrant, saying Russia had “a great dialogue” with Mongolia and all aspects of the visit had been discussed in advance.
The ICC warrant accuses Putin of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin has dismissed the accusation, saying it is politically motivated.
Jabed Ahmed2 September 2024 20:45