Vladimir Putin has turned to an old ally to replenish his ammunition supplies while preparing for an offensive in eastern Ukraine, a former security service officer has warned.

There are many signs Russia is set to hammer out an arms deal with North Korea along with ramping up domestic production to continue the full-scale invasion.

A meeting between Kim Jong-un, who rarely travels outside his country, and Putin wrapped up earlier today, with the supreme leader vowing support for Russia’s ‘just fight’.

Ivan Stupak, a former officer for Ukraine’s Security Service, spoke to Metro about what was discussed in the talks in Vladivostock, and what an arms deal may look like between the two nations.

He stressed that Russia is not interested in modern military supplies, but Soviet-era missiles, which North Korea has plenty of.

On the list are projectiles for BM-21 Grad, self-propelled 122mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union; shells for artillery and tanks; rounds for assault weapons and mortar mines.

Mr Stupak added that Russia would also be after repair parts for military vehicles like tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs).

Estimates say North Korea has tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets that could give a huge boost to the Russian army.

These would also be easy to be deployed to different fronts in Ukraine while the Russian army struggles with depleted stock.

‘Russia is running out of weapons, for sure. Key equipment was destroyed by the Ukrainian army using British-donated Storm Shadow missiles,’ Mr Stupak said.

‘For example, in 2022 Russia launched 70,000 missiles daily, while Ukraine could only fire about 10,000. It is our maximum.

‘Russia needs to restock its supplies to continue to have such firepower as it wants to destroy every Ukrainian city.

‘Russia also wants to conduct its own offensive operation on the eastern flank, in the cities of Kupiansk and Lyman. They are going to need all the extra weapons.’

Speculation about military cooperation grew after Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea in July.

Mr Stupak stressed that this is when talks of an arms deal began, and Kim’s trip to Russia was to complete the negotiations.

The leader has not openly spoken about a possible sale of weapons, which is the subject of intense scrutiny and fear in the Asia Pacific and the West.

Meanwhile, Mr Stupak said the isolated Asian country is after Russian agricultural equipment along with food supplies.

‘This could also be just about hard cash for North Korea, or gold bars, just like the deal with Iran for Shahed drones,’ he added.

‘If memory serves me well, it cost the Kremlin $1.5 billion. Kim could also be after naval technologies for his fleet, perhaps for submarine, and fighter jets, just like Sukhoi Su-57.

‘Russia has about 120 Sukhoi Su-35, so it could end up sharing about 10% with North Korea.’

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A Ukrainian infantryman has revealed how his team is using ‘tiny birds’ to destroy Russian tanks as his homeland shifts to drone warfare.

Valentyn Ilchuk is part of a highly mobile team of military-trained volunteers that has fought in some of the country’s hottest spots in support of larger Ukrainian formations.

He now leads a three-man ‘hunter-killer crew’ using first-person view (FPV) kamikaze strike drones loaded with high explosives, capable of taking out targets far behind Russian lines.

The former University of Warwick exchange student told Metro.co.uk he has had British donations to his crowdfunder for the rapid provision of drones to his team in the south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region, one of the areas of the Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian forces.

His crew has been using equipment such as DJI Mavic quadcopters and heavy-duty ‘agro-drones’ which are used as bombers. They are also trained to fly winged unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and have used one that had previously been used to smuggle cigarettes into Romania.

Using high levels of improvisation, they adapt the drones to deploy grenades or larger payloads, depending on the target.

The team leader said: ‘Drones have become an amazing tool for small groups like us to hit the Russians where it hurts.

‘Usually we would work alongside artillery or mortar teams, but now with FPV drones we can do the strikes ourselves, which works miracles.

‘Using the virtual reality goggles for first-person view we can fly the drones into the target where they successfully explode.

‘It is really changing the face of warfare right now.

‘One of those tiny birds costing 500 bucks can take out a tank or a Grad [missile launcher], not in one hit, but by severely damaging it or immobilising it at the very least.

‘If you ask me what war will be like in five to 10 years, there will be far fewer rifles. Sometimes we joke about having to drag our rifles around with us, because in half a year we haven’t shot them once. This is the future of warfare; shooting drones at each other rather than bullets or shells.’

The FPV drones are kamikaze weapons to which the soldiers attach various types of improvised explosive devices.

Mr Illchuk is crowdsourcing for equipment, which includes control boards, batteries, chargers, munitions and ground station software and hardware. In an appeal on Facebook he described his ‘hunter-killer crew’ as ‘eagerly trying to upgrade and resupply’.

A blurb on the fundraising page reads: ‘Imagine how many losses there would be if we stormed these targets with manpower.’

The appeal has so far raised around $25k (£20k) from a $45k (£36k) target sourced from donations from across the world, including the UK.

Mr Ilchuk explained: ‘We usually fly behind the Russian frontline and go deeper in. They have a system where they report back so the radio warfare part of the Russian army can try to bring us down by jamming our signals. It’s a two-stage war. One is carrying the payload to where it needs to hit and not be hit in the process and the other is to break through the jamming.

‘In the south there is barely any urban combat as usually a contested village is just rubble. To prepare for advances by troops on a position, village or the terrain around it, artillery and drones, and a combination of both, are by far the most effective weapons. This is where military technology is heading and we are evolving along with it.’

The digital agency boss is part of the Thor Squad, which consists of Donbas war veterans who had been in civilian roles before voluntarily mobilising at the start of Vladimir Putin’s disastrous full-scale invasion 18 months ago.

He has previously described taking part in a fierce battle to liberate Lukyanivka on the northern outskirts of Kyiv and expressed his joy at being among forward troops in the liberation of the Kherson region.

The squad’s members have adapted to utilise the aerial technology and are currently working in drone strike teams across Zaporizhzhia.

A video of one successful hit shared by Mr Ilchuk, filmed in Donetsk, shows smoke rising from a Russian target in an operation his team carried out alongside UAV operators from the 59th Motorised Brigade.

His wartime service is a far cry from his civilian life as the boss of Zgraya Digital, which specialises in websites, apps and branding.

He studied International Business and Marketing at the University of Richmond in the US, which included an exchange term at Warwick in 2005.

The Thor Squad, which has been in Zaporizhzhia since late November, is registered with the police so it can lawfully fight and is used as a task force, which includes combat, reconnaissance and support missions.

Drone warfare has rapidly become an integral tool for the versatile Ukrainian military in its efforts to drive out the invasion forces.

Damage has been inflicted far behind enemy lines, with repeated attacks on Moscow and on air bases and other military targets deep inside Russia.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces are continuing offensive operations in at least two sectors of the eastern front, the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said yesterday. Kyiv’s forces were said by the research group to have advanced near the shattered city of Bakhmut, along the Adviivka-Donetsk City line and in the west of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Putin is attempting to shore up ammunition for his war with the visit of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un to Russia.

They are likely to discuss the provision of artillery munitions to the Kremlin’s forces, according to the ISW.

MORE : Ukrainian soldier vows to ‘fight to end’ after 365 days of war

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There’s only one thing after five hours of politically-charged talks – and that’s an energy-boosting feast.

Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin rounded off discussions by dining together with a wealth of local delicacies on the menu.

You won’t be finding steak and chips here. Instead, the North Korean and Russian congregation tucked into a starter of duck, fig and nectarine before Russian ‘pelmeni’ dumplings made with Kamchatka crab.

White Amur fish soup and sea buckthorn sorbet followed, according to a Kremlin reporter cited by Reuters.

If that wasn’t enough, the geopolitical powerhouses scoffed a choice of sturgeon with mushrooms and potatoes or an entrecote of marbled beef with grilled vegetables for the main.

And then there’s dessert, of course.

The two pals were served red bilberries from the taiga – Russia’s vast forested Siberia region – with pine nuts and condensed milk.

White and red wines from the Divnomorskoe Manor from southern Russia were available to wash it all down.

It’s likely Kim would have used one of the wines to toast Putin’s health, while telling his counterpart ‘great Russia’ would triumph over ‘evil’.

Kim said: ‘I am deeply convinced that the heroic Russian army and people will brilliantly inherit the tradition of victory, confidently demonstrate invaluable dignity and honour on the fronts of the special military operation.

‘The Russian army and people will certainly win a great victory in the sacred struggle for the punishment of a great evil that claims hegemony and feeds an expansionist illusion.’

The pair earlier in the day inspected the Vostochny space rocket launch site before they held talks on expanding bilateral cooperation between the two countries and held private one-on-one talks.

While little is known about the contents of their discussions, Western officials have expressed concerns their talks focused on arms and what weapons Russia could obtain from North Korea that it could use in Ukraine.

It is believed Moscow would offer Pyongyang food, financial assistance and military technology.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media reporter Pavel Zarubin that ‘North Korea is our close neighbor. And despite any ‘comments’ or ‘shouts’ from the outside, we will build relations with our neighbors in a way that is beneficial to us and beneficial to our neighbors,’ he said.

‘In any case, the full scope of relations implies dialogue and interaction in sensitive areas, such as military cooperation, exchange of opinions on the most pressing issues in the area of security, this will be done as well,’ he added.

Peskov said ‘the rest of the questions are concerning our two countries, two sovereign countries and should not be a point of concern for the third states. Our cooperation is being conducted for the sake of the prosperity of our two countries and not against anyone else.’

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Ukraine staged a devastating attack on a key Russian naval base just hours before Vladimir Putin shook hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

At least 24 people have been injured and two warships were reportedly damaged as a barrage of missiles rained down on Sevastopol port on Wednesday morning.

Blistering strikes sparked as many as seven massive explosions and a shipyard went up in flames after the port in annexed Crimea was bombarded.

Terrifying footage filmed from residents nearby showed multiple blasts and huge flashes of light over the city, which is the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

The Russian defence ministry said ten cruise missiles hit the port – also known by the name Ordzhonikidze – and claimed that seven had been shot down.

A strategically important ship building and repair yard was engulfed in flames, while a power plant and other Black Sea naval facilities also appeared to be hit.

It marks the biggest attack on Sevastopol since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

The strikes also came as the Russian president was due to meet with Kim Jong Un to seek new ammunition supplies which have drained over the last 18 months of the war.

Putin and Mr Kim met at Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia’s far east today, where the time is seven hours ahead of Sevastopol.

Both leaders were expected to inspect the cosmodrome and then sit down for talks, Russian state media reported.

It’s thought that for Mr Kim, it is a chance to get around crippling UN sanctions and years of diplomatic isolation, as he seeks economic aid and military technology.

While the pair met, emergency work continued at the scene of the attack on the port Putin uses as a main hub for strikes on Ukraine.

Russian officials admitted two ships undergoing repair were ‘damaged’ but did not identify the vessels – they also said three kamikaze sea drones were destroyed by the patrol ship Vasily Bykov.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Putin-appointed governor of occupied Sevastopol, said: ‘I am at the scene of a fire on the southern site of Sevmorzavod [Sevastopol Shipyard]. 

‘All operational services are working on the spot, there is no danger to civilian facilities in the city.

‘As a result of the attack, according to preliminary information, a total of 24 people were injured, four are in a moderate condition.

‘All necessary assistance to the victims is provided in full.’

Describing the strikes, which came at 3.18am local time, one eyewitness said ‘This is a f****** nightmare. I live on the northern side, I heard missiles passing over us towards the bay, and the explosions started…

‘Three of four missiles were right over us.’

Another Sevastopol resident said there was ‘a horrendous explosion right outside my window – the sky was on fire’.

‘I woke from three strong explosions… windows were shattered,’ said another.

Another said: ‘My whole block of flats is jumping as our air defence is working.’

One more said: ‘I heard a strong low sound like a missile going in the sky, then a huge flash of flight, a strong explosion, and then three more flashes of light.’

Later, an explosion was heard in the Streletskaya Bay area, although it was unclear if this was a fresh attack or Russian air defences.

Putin did not comment on the carnage in Sevastopol as he arrived to meet Kim, whose officials appeared to be seeking to stop the Russian media from filming him.

‘I’m glad to see you,’ Putin told Kim as they embraced in a handshake – Kim had previously arrived in bizarre red-carpet fashion on a train.

While they were together, North Korea also launched two ballistic missiles towards its eastern seas, once again leaving Japan and South Korea on red alert.

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Russian troops are being forced to fight on as the Kremlin deploys ‘barrier units’ and legal punishments, according to Western analysis.

Disillusioned servicemen subjected to atrocious pay and conditions, and those unwilling to head to Ukraine, face being shot if they try to desert or being brought before the courts, according to the latest insights.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has unearthed evidence of the huge gulf between the Kremlin’s footsoldiers and the wealthy Russian elites, along with other indicators of low morale.

In a video posted on the Russian pro-war Pozdnyakov 3.0 Telegram channel, a group of volunteer soldiers is shown complaining that the wealthy governor of the country’s southern Orenburg region has not paid them.

With his comrades gathered behind him, one of the soldiers explains that they ‘came to defend the motherland’, possibly by mobilising in the oil-rich province ahead of deployment to the frontline in Vladimir Putin’s disastrous full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

He sends a message to the Kremlin and the public that the men cannot afford to pay for electricity and utilities for their families.

MEMRI, a non-profit media analysis organisation based in Washington DC, also cited a Ukrainian web portal named Khochu Zhit, which helps Russian and Belarussian soldiers to surrender and is said by Kyiv to have had 22,000 contacts since September 2022.

The contact point, which is named ‘I Want to Live’ in English, is said to have enabled several hundred troops to give themselves up.

Russian servicemen have also criticised harsh conditions and poor or non-existent pay on social media channels, according to a briefing for Metro.co.uk by MEMRI’s Russian Media Studies Project.

The analysis comes as the Ukrainian counter-offensive continues on the eastern front, with Kyiv’s forces reportedly advancing near Bakhmut and in the Zaporizhia oblast, according to the US Institute for the Study of War.

But there has not been any collapse among Moscow’s deeply entrenched forces in the face of the defenders’ pushback, now in its fourth month.

Dr Patrick Bury, senior lecturer in security at the University of Bath, told Metro.co.uk ‘What this offensive has made clear is that Russia is able to fight defensively with poor morale.

‘At one point I had hoped that if the Ukrainians broke through the Russian lines in the south there would be a collapse like there was in Kharkiv in the first counter-offensive.

‘But Russia can keep bodies in the line because they have got guys with machine guns behind them.’

In June, footage emerged appearing to show Russian troops executing their comrades as they tried to flee the battlefield.

The scenes captured by a Ukrainian drone were said to likely show a ‘barrier unit’ gunning down seven troops in scenes prompting comparisons with Joseph Stalin’s Red Army’s tactics during the Second World War.

The video emerged after the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in November that Moscow was ‘probably’ using the blocking tactic to prevent desertions. The MoD assessed this as likely signifying the ‘low quality, low morale and indiscipline of Russian forces’.

MEMRI also shared analysis pointing to a wide-ranging relationship between Russia and Iran, which has been supplying the Shahed kamikaze drones launched by the Kremlin at targets across Ukraine.

The institute’s Russia project said: ‘Important common factors and interests between Russia and Iran include difficult relations with the West and sanctions on the economy.

‘There are also economic/trade projects, such as the International North–South Transport Corridor project that should connect Russia, Iran and India.

‘Iran has also been providing assistance to Russia in its weapons, aviation and auto industries.’

On the battlefield, the MoD said in an update posted on X yesterday that the Ukrainian counter-offensive was continuing on two ‘likely’ axes towards Kramatorsk in the east and Orikhiv in the south.

The intelligence briefing also stated that the Russian military was attempting to recruit 420,000 ‘contract personnel’, a term used for volunteers, by the end of 2023.

Meanwhile conscription, which is required by law, is having an adverse impact on the country’s non-defence workforce, according to the post.

MEMRI’s analysis also factored in the efforts made by the Kremlin to shore up the war. As of April 2023, Russian military courts had dealt with 1,064 cases of servicemen who left their posts without permission, refused to carry out orders or deserted, the researchers found.

The Russian High Court has also published a resolution since the start of the all-out attack, re-stating that self-harm or ‘simulation’ of sickness to evade service is a crime, according to the institute.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov made no mention of the war yesterday when he said that ‘no one can really compete’ with Putin if he decides to run for re-election in 2024. Peskov asserted that the Russian president ‘enjoys absolute support from the population’.

Russia’s efforts to shore up the all-out attack on Ukraine include the expected meeting between North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un and Putin expected to get underway in Russia today.

Making a rare trip abroad, Kim arrived in the country on a heavily-armoured green-and-yellow train this morning, sparking Western concerns about a potential arms deal with the Kremlin.

MORE : Ukrainian special forces ‘win by being better’ with battlefield medical training

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Vladimir Putin has accused the UK of orchestrating an attack on a Russian atomic facility in a desperate rant against Rishi Sunak’s ‘lack of understanding’ about the war in Ukraine.

The Russian president has claimed captured Ukrainian soldiers revealed they had been instructed to sabotage the facility by British secret services.

He also accused the UK of ‘underestimating’ the consequences of orchestrating an attack, saying he was ‘being provoked’.

Speaking in Vladivostok, Putin said: ‘Do they understand what they are playing with?

‘Are they trying to provoke us into retaliating against Ukrainian atomic power stations?

‘Does the British prime minister know what his secret services are doing in Ukraine?’

Putin also claimed the attack could have been overseen by the US government, The Times reports.

He did not specify which atomic facility was allegedly attacked.

Russian forces have occupied the Zaporozhzhia nuclear station in southern Ukraine for more than a year.

Both Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have accused each other of shelling around the plant’s six reactors.

Putin is expected to meet North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-un tomorrow to discuss a nuclear arms deal.

The meeting has sparked Western concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Last week, US authorities voiced concerns that the pair would discuss the possibility of Pyongyang supplying weapons for Putin’s soldiers to use on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Their meeting will follow a visit to North Korea by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in July.

He is believed to have sealed secret agreements for the supply of weapons for the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine while there.

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Dozens of men from military units under Russia’s command were unmasked as ‘enablers’ of unspeakable war crimes in eastern Ukraine.

These are the faces of the pro-Kremlin puppets who allowed the abuse of civilians and prisoners of war during the occupation of Izium, 30 miles from the border.

Exactly one year has passed since the discovery of mass graves in the town, which laid bare the levels of cruelty that Vladimir Putin’s troops are capable of.

Some 436 bodies – mostly of women and children – were exhumed from a forest just outside Izium, days after it was recaptured by the Ukrainian military.

At least 30 had signs of torture, with some pulled out with ropes round their necks, tied hands, broken limbs, and burn wounds. Several men had their genitals cut off.

Now, an investigation by the Centre for Information Resilience identified Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LDPR) units LDPR who played a significant role in the occupation of the town, including in the violence and abuse against civilians.

Their report released today links the 48 men pictured to a school used as a site for torture and detention of innocent people.

Shared exclusively with Metro.co.uk, the image was taken by Russian propagandist and singer, Roman Razum, linked to the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) militia.

According to investigators, it shows soldiers from the fifth battalion of the 204th Infantry Regiment.

Most are from Luhansk and surrounding cities and towns in eastern Ukraine. Their ages appear to be from early 20s into their 30s.

Using open sources, CIR found they were stationed at School No. 6 from April to July 2022.

Survivors described being subjected to electric shocks, waterboardings, beatings, and threats at gunpoint.

Zhenia, who was detained twice in the building, detailed the horror he endured after being kidnapped from his home.

The 19-year-old said: ‘At the school, one of the soldiers in charge came over and wanted to hit me. I covered my face.

‘He said, “What are you, a boxer”. Then he called over three soldiers and they all started beating me.

‘They held me first in a storage closet and then in an office for three days, but would take me outside sometimes to ask me questions and they would beat me;
they even hit me on the head with their walkie talkies.’

But Zhenia is one of the fortunate ones who survived the crimes in Izium during the occupation.

Another man, Ihor, who was arrested five times, said three Russian soldiers came to his apartment and accused him of having marijuana.

Speaking with Human Rights Watch, the 48-year-old said they searched his home, put a bag over his head, and beat him as they marched him down the stairs and to their car.

He said they drove him to School No. 6 and locked him in a hallway storage closet for about half an hour.

At one point, Ihor accused them pf being fascists and they began beating, kicking, and slapping him.

CIR further geolocated videos at School No. 6 showing soldiers unloading a van with packages for them sent by friends and family.

All the boxes have their names and units written on the front, findings which the investigators have since shared with the Ukrainian government.

Ross Burley, co-founder of CIR, said about the findings: ‘Investigators from our Eyes on Russia team have compiled strong evidence about which pro-Russian military units were based at or near torture sites in occupied Izium.

‘These soldiers may not have carried out torture themselves but they occupied the town, they guarded and protected these locations by their presence, and in doing so these soldiers enabled torture to take place. 

‘Those who survived the Russian occupation describe the Luhansk and Donetsk militias, in particular, as some of the worst behaved of all the occupying forces as they were often drunk, violent and looted homes and shops.

‘There are reports of children being shot dead by drunk militia for breaking curfew and robbing homes while owners are held at gunpoint.’ 

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Two foreign aid workers have been killed and two more injured in the latest Russian shelling of Ukraine.

Four volunteers from the Road to Relief NGO were near the town of Chasiv Yar on Sunday when the van they were in was hit, causing it to flip over and catch fire.

The charity, which helps evacuated wounded people from front-line areas, says Canadian Anthony Ihnat died in the attack, while German medical volunteer Ruben Mawick and Swedish volunteer Johan Mathias Thyr were seriously injured.

Road to Relief couldn’t trace the whereabouts of its director, Emma Igual, a Spaniard who was also in the van, but Spain’s acting foreign minister has since said they had received ‘verbal confirmation’ of her death.

The Bakhmut area of eastern Ukraine has seen Russian shelling on Sunday, while the capital of Kyiv has seen dozens of drone strikes.

Serhii Popko, in charge of Kyiv’s military administration, said ‘over two dozen drones’ had been shot down in the early hours of the morning – but debris had landed in several districts of the city, injuring one civilian.

The volunteers were on their way to assess the needs of civilians on the outskirts of Bakhmut, as Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive against Russian occupation of the town.

Tributes have been paid to Emma Igual in Spanish media.

Spain’s minister of defence Margarita Robles said in a statement translated from Spanish: ‘All my solidarity with the family of the Spanish aid worker and with all the Ukrainian citizens who are victims of these massacres.

‘Here the only person responsible is Putin.’

Acting minister of Labour, Yolanda Diaz, called Emma: ‘A young woman committed to human rights, a woman who represents the best of our country.’

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the People’s Party, said ‘Emma has defended in Ukraine the best of our society: commitment, courage and altruism’ and sent his love to her family, friends and colleagues.

Ruben Mawick and Johan Mathias Thyr were seriously injured but are in a stable condition in separate hospitals, far from the scene, El Mundo reports.

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Vladimir Putin unleashed a wave of kamikaze drones on Ukraine’s capital for around two hours, one of the largest attacks in recent months.

Explosions rocked Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight just moments after air raid sirens alerted residents to take shelter.

Ukraine’s air force said the military destroyed 26 out of 33 Iranian Shahed drones launched by Russia.

Footage showed the nighttime sky illuminated by blasts from Kyiv’s air defences engaging the targets.

A plume of smoke could be seen rising from in between buildings.

Resident Liudmyla said she heard the buzzing of the drones before a blast wave shattered windows in her building and the jars on her windowsill.

‘It was a very frightening experience – I cannot even put it into words,’ she added.

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed that one person was injured in the historic Podil neighbourhood and a fire broke out near one of the city’s parks.

Debris from downed drones fell on the Darnytskyi, Solomianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Podil districts, the city’s military administration said.

‘Drones came onto the capital in groups and all from different directions,’ Serhiy Popko, head of the city military administration, said on Telegram.

Governor of the region Ruslan Kravchenko wrote on Facebook that an unspecified infrastructure facility and eight houses were damaged as a result of the overnight strikes.

Away from Kyiv, Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had destroyed three US-supplied Ukrainian speedboats that had been traveling toward Crimea and eight drones.

The ministry did not say whether there was any damage or injuries from either incidents.

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Romania’s foreign ministry summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires after debris of drones were found inside the Nato member’s border for the second time in a week.

For months, Vladimir Putin has been unleashing his Iranian-made Shahed drones on Ukraine’s largest ports for exporting grain, inching closer and closer to EU and Nato territory.

Earlier this week, Oleg Nikolenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s ministry of defence released a picture of a detonation on Romanian shores, claiming it was caused by Russian drone fragments.

After initially denying the reports, Romania acted with fury as authorities found asecond set of shards to have crashed on its land in a week.

Klaus Iohannis, president of Romania, said this pointed to an unacceptable breach of Romania’s air space.

He stressed the country is ‘on alert’ and in contact with Nato allies.

Iohannis had continuously warned about the proximity of the attacks, describing them as a ‘serious risk to the security of the Black Sea’.

But Russia continued to target civilian and port facilities along the Danube River in the Odesa region, just a few hundred meters from the Nato member.

The strikes have increased security risks for the military alliance whose members have a mutual defence commitment.

‘…The charge d’affaires of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bucharest was urgently summoned on Saturday to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the level of state secretary,’ the foreign ministry said in a statement sent to Agerpres.

‘State Secretary for Strategic Affairs Iulian Fota conveyed the protest of the Romanian side over the violation of Romania’s air space following the identification on (our) territory, near the border with Ukraine, of some drone fragments similar to those used by Russian forces in the aggression against Ukraine.’

Meanwhile, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russian strikes near the border were ‘destabilising’ even if there was no indication Russia intended to hit the member state.

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A gifted young athlete tipped for the Olympics, Kateryna Diachenko’s promising start in life was cut short as Russian forces reduced most of Mariupol to ruins.

The 10-year-old rhythmic gymnast and her father, Alexander, were lost under the rubble of their bombed home, victims of the brutal onslaught on the Ukrainian city.

Her mum, Marina, and older brother, Artem, survived the apparent artillery strike around two months before the port was fully captured by the Kremlin’s troops.

Marina, 41, struggles to speak about the day when her young family was forever split in half.

But she wants the world to remember her daughter, who had been preparing to compete in Ukraine’s traditional rhythmic gymnastics event, the Deriugina Cup.

‘Kateryna was a cheerful and kind girl who loved life,’ Marina says.

‘She was my sunshine, my everything. She had many friends, she was very popular with everyone and always helped others.

‘She loved rhythmic gymnastics and could hardly wait to go to the competitions with her coach Anastasia Meschanenkova and her friends.

‘When she won a medal, she always beamed and was so proud. Her dream was to participate in the Deriugina Cup in Kyiv one day in the future.’

Kateryna and her father, Alexander, died on March 12, 2022 when a shell hit their home, according to Ukrainian social media channels.

At the time, up to 130,000 residents were reported to have been trapped under the heavy Russian bombardment of the besieged city on Ukraine’s south-eastern coast.

Neighbours pulled severely injured Artem and their mother out of the rubble of their home but could not reach Kateryna or her father, according to anecdotal accounts. The mother and son were among Mariupol refugees who fled into Russia, with some managing to transit on to other countries in Europe and even back to Ukraine.

Artem, now 10, was evacuated from Mariupol to a hospital in the Donetsk enclave and then to Moscow.

Doctors in the Russian capital fought successfully to save one of his legs and he also suffered multiple fractures, including to his hip and pelvic spine.

He is currently receiving treatment and rehabilitation under constant medical supervision in the city.

‘There are no words to express what happened that day, it was hell on earth,’ she says. ‘On that day my dearest ones, my Kateryna and my husband Alexander, were taken from me.

‘With them, a part of me also died. I have no tears left — the excruciating pain and sorrow remain inside me along with a heart that writhes and screams and roars silently.’

The grief of child loss is being experienced by many parents in a similar position to Marina across Ukraine, where children have been in the crosshairs of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.

More than 1,500 innocents have been killed or injured in Ukraine since the war began on February 24, 2022, according to United Nations figures released in June 2023.

Marina, a psychologist and restaurant technologist, spoke to Metro.co.uk from Moscow, where she has relocated while Artem receives medical care.

She believes that ‘only God knows’ why her beloved were taken from her.

‘My hope is that no mother has to experience a tragedy like the one I experienced,’ Marina says.

‘When you lose your loved ones, it’s the worst thing that can happen to you.

‘The world stands still. Nothing is the same as before.

‘The question “why” does not arise for me, only God knows why Kateryna and Alexander were taken from life so early. All I can do is to be strong for my wonderful son Artem and give him all my love.

‘I want to see him always happy.’

Marina, who also knew her son and husband as Katyusha and Sasha, still has memories of happy times that included her daughter winning an array of trophies and medals at competitions across Ukraine.

The fun-loving gymnast thrived at coach Anastasia Meschanenkova’s Club Formula Pobedy in Mariupol and had been looking forward to competing at the Deriugina Cup in Kyiv. In tribute, Ukrainian gymnastics official Lidia Vynogradna has said that Kateryna was Olympics material.

‘I wish that my Katyusha will live on forever in people’s hearts,’ Marina says.

‘It is important to create awareness among everyone that children always suffer the most in such a conflict.

‘Every child should be able to grow up carefree and deserves our protection and support. It breaks my heart to see how much Katyusha’s friends and her coach are suffering over her loss. Even several days before competitions, the girls were so happy to present their exercises in front of spectators and their eyes lit up when they won a medal.

‘We were one big inseparable family.’

Thousands of people were killed in Mariupol as around 90% of the city was reduced to ruins before it was captured by Russian forces after a two-month siege. Marina is nevertheless intent on returning to her home city, now said to be undergoing a process of ‘Russification’, after a visit in July.

The mum and some of her daughter’s best friends and fellow athletes are being supported by online portal Swiss Rhythmic Gymnastics.

‘The time I spent in Mariupol showed me how much I long to return home and to my hometown.’ Marina says.

‘I want to be near my beloved Katyusha and Sasha.

‘It is a matter of my heart.’

MORE : ‘Angel’ gymnast, 10, tipped for the Olympics died in Mariupol bombings

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The UN’s atomic watchdog has warned fighting close to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant could be a threat to nuclear safety.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts are deployed at the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine, which is in territory occupied by Russia.

There has been a spike in fighting close to the power plant, as Ukraine’s forces continue their counteroffensive.

IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi said his team had been told staffing at the plant had been reduced to minimum levels due to concerns about increased military action in the area.

He said: ‘I remain deeply concerned about the possible dangers facing the plant at this time of heightened military tension in the region.

‘Whatever happens in a conflict zone, wherever it may be, everybody would stand to lose from a nuclear accident, and I urge that all necessary precautions must be taken to avoid it happening.’

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is in the top 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world, and there are concerns fighting could cause a radiation leak from the facility.

Its six reactors have been shut down for months, but the plant still needs power and qualified staff to keep cooling systems and other safety features running.

Earlier this year concerns were raised after explosives were found at the plant – which has been in Russian hands since the start of the war.

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A Russian analyst has claimed that Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin did not die in a plane crash last month after all – and he’s instead living a life of luxury on a Caribbean island.

Dr Valery Solovey believes Prigozhin was warned of the impending plane crash, which happened on August 23, and escaped death.

Russia claims all 10 people on board were killed, and they say genetic testing confirmed he was among the dead.

But Ukrainian military intelligence raised the possibility that Prigozhin is still alive earlier this week, adding they could not confirm his death.

Dr Solovey – considered to be a conspiracy theorist by some – believes he is holed up on the island of Margarita, off Venezuela.

He’s also previously claimed Vladimir Putin is terminally ill and all of his recent appearances are by doppelgängers.

Both Putin and Prigozhin are believed to use doppelgängers and disguises.

Dr Solovey – without offering proof of his claims – also claimed Prigozhin hatched a deal with Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council, to get away with his ‘trick’.

He said: ‘I promised to tell where [Yevgeny Prigozhin] is.

‘He is in Venezuela. As far as I know, he is on an island called Margarita.

‘Yevgeny Prigozhin was warned about his assassination…that his plane would be destroyed.

‘They developed the ‘trick’ that we observed.

‘When Wagner’s key commanders died [in the plane crash], Yevgeny Prigozhin remained alive and well.’

Dr Solovey reckons Prigozhin could have up to 5,000 mercenaries under his control – and when Putin dies, he could use these troops to fight for power in Russia.

Dr Solovey – a former professor at Moscow’s prestigious Institute of International Relations [MGIMO], a training academy for spies and diplomats – said Prigozhin ‘is enjoying life at a very good resort’.

Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency said it could confirm the deaths of Wagner military commander Dmitry Utkin, 53, and other mercenary army figures in the Tver region Embraer Legacy 600 jet crash, but declined to do so over Prigozhin.

‌A spokesman said: ‘We must operate with confirmed facts, we still need to wait.

‘I will simply focus on the fact that we can confirm the death of Utkin and several other associates of Prigozhin.’

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A British former soldier who died fighting for the International Legion in Ukraine was ‘loved immensely’, his heartbroken family has said.

Jordan Chadwick, 31, from Burnley, Lancashire travelled from the UK to join the fight against Russia in October 2022, the BBC reports.

The former Scots guard wanted to ‘support freedom’ and use his skills to ‘assist’, his mother Anna Chadwick told the broadcaster.

His body was found in water with his hands tied behind his back.

Mr Chadwick’s family learnt of his death on June 26 this year through Lancashire Police and he was repatriated on August 7.

Mrs Chadwick described the news he’d died as ‘devastating’.

‘Although we are extremely proud of his unwavering courage and resilience, his death has been devastating,’ she said.

‘No words can be found to describe the loss of such a short life.

‘A son, brother, grandson, nephew and uncle, who was loved immensely.’

She said he had wanted to be a soldier from an early age.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: ‘We are providing assistance to the family of a British man who died in Ukraine and are in contact with the local authorities.’

The news of Mr Chadwick’s death follows that of Brit Sam Newey, who was killed fighting in Ukraine last month.

The 22-year-old Birmingham University student, who reportedly had no previous military experience, volunteered to serve on the frontline after Vladimir Putin launched an invasion in February last year.

Mr Newey was a member of a group of international daredevil volunteers known as the Dark Angels and fought many battles during his service in the war-torn country.

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A Russian missile strike on President Zelensky’s hometown has killed one policeman and wounded at least 73 others, officials have said.

Nine policemen were among those wounded in the attack on Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, according to Ihor Klymenko, the country’s interior minister.

Photos posted by Mr Klymenko on Telegram showed a building on fire, burnt timbers and emergency services evacuating the wounded.

By evening, the number of wounded rose to 73, according to the interior ministry.

Three people were also killed on Friday after a Russian bomb hit the village of Odradokamianka in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, Mr Klymenko said.

The strikes were among multiple Russian attacks across the country overnight.

They came days after 16 people were killed in a Russian attack on a market in eastern Ukraine and drone debris was found in Romania.

It sparked fears among local residents that the war could spread into the Nato-member country bordering Ukraine.

Three people were also killed on Friday after a Russian bomb hit the village of Odradokamianka in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, Mr Klymenko said.

Also on Friday, a funeral was held for an 18-year-old who was among 16 people killed on Wednesday in a Russian attack on a market in Kostiantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

The attack, which also wounded 33, turned the market into a fiery, blackened ruin and overshadowed a two-day visit by US secretary of state Antony Blinken aimed at assessing Ukraine’s three-month-old counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, Russia is holding local elections in the part of the Kherson region it controls. Local elections are also being held in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

In Kherson, local residents and Ukrainian activists say election poll workers have made house calls accompanied by armed soldiers.

Ukraine has dismissed the elections, calling on its allies to condemn Russia’s actions and urging them not to recognise any administration created as a result of the votes.

The war continued to raise difficult questions for other countries trying to manage the war’s fallout on food security, inflation and other matters.

The UK announced on Friday it will host a global food security summit in November in response to Russia’s withdrawal from a Black Sea grain deal and attacks on Ukraine’s grain supply.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson in the meantime visited Ukraine on Friday and attended the Yalta European Strategy forum.

In a video posted on Mr Zelensky’s Telegram channel, Mr Johnson was seen listening to the Ukraine leader’s speech along with Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia, who now leads an international working group on sanctions against Moscow, with Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Mr Zelensky in his speech said that ‘for many in the world, Ukraine is not just a country in Europe that is defending itself against Russian aggression’, it is ‘now a personal moral choice’ and a symbol of ‘a standard of freedom in which people from different countries recognise their own standards’.

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These unremarkable artefacts act as contemporary exhibits; reminders of lives lost and families broken in Ukraine.

The items are part of the War Fragments project, which offers powerful visual representation of the impact of the war on people’s lives. Each cube represents a story of survival, capturing the personal experiences of those affected.

300 objects were taken from de-occupied towns and villages around Ukraine, the territories that suffered the most and each, sunk in epoxy resin, is accompanied by a unique story of the horrors of war. Among them a pair of baby socks, artillery found in a private garden and a small Ukrainian flag.

With the cubes eventually being auctioned off, the funds will go to children and military men hurt in the conflict.

Tetyana Fiks, one of the exhibition’s co-founders, tells Metro.co.uk: ‘This project means a lot to people.

‘We all understand what these stories are telling. When you live in Ukraine and you have missile attacks almost every day, all parts of Ukraine feel it. The war is inside every one of us.’

Here, we take a look at just some of the pieces on display and get a glimpse of the harrowing stories behind them.

For more information about the exhibition, click here.

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A live map being used to monitor Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine lays bare the scale of attacks on the country’s civilian population.

The dashboard shows how targets including schools and hospitals have come under fire since the start of the war 18 months ago.

The Eyes on Russian map, co-developed by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), is casting light on the Kremlin’s brutal tactics by collating individual incidents through a number of methods.

Mass graves, civilian casualties and damaged homes are recorded in the bird’s eye view of the attacks, mainly comprised of shelling and drone and missile strikes, being carried out by Vladimir Putin’s forces.

Events are being documented at a granular level, with reports in the past fortnight including a casualty being removed from a residential building in Donetsk and damage to a hospice in Kherson.

The rapidly mounting number of alleged Russian war crimes is separately being recorded by the Tribunal for Putin (T4P) coalition, which told last month how it is preparing for the day when Putin faces justice.

Ben Strick, director of investigations at the CIR, said: ‘Open source data and analysis give a remarkable bird’s-eye view of what is going on in Ukraine.

‘It lays bare the damage and suffering inflicted on the Ukrainian people.

‘As Ukrainian children start the new school year, our analysis shows that almost 500 schools, colleges and kindergartens have been damaged or destroyed since the full-scale invasion began. On top of that, we have seen extensive damage to homes, hospitals, businesses, farms, food supplies and more, mostly in the south and east of Ukraine.’

Developed in collaboration with C4ADS, a US non-profit organization tackling illicit networks, the ‘witness project’ is designed to shed light on war crimes and related human rights abuses.

The vast span of videos, photographs, satellite imagery and other media that has become a feature of the war is made more accessible and understandable through the live picture.

Along with attacks on people and the civilian infrastructure, the locations of Russian troops and ground battles can also be traced on the tool hosted by the CIR, a UK-based, non-profit organization.

Strick said: ‘Analysis by the Centre for Information Resilience’s investigators involves double-checking the origins of imagery, geolocation and cross-checking social media videos with satellite imagery.

‘Following the Russian invasion last year, we’ve archived and investigated thousands of pieces of data involving war crimes, human rights abuses and damage resulting from the war in Ukraine. Our Eyes on Russia map makes the damage and destruction to Ukraine fully transparent.’

On Wednesday 15 people, including a child, were killed in an explosion in Kostyantynivka, a city in the eastern Donetsk region.

Kyiv said Russia was behind the explosion, which took place on a busy market street during the middle of the day.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the ‘deliberate strike’ and said: ‘Whenever there is a Ukrainian Defence Forces advance in the offensive, the Russians target civilians and civilian infrastructure wherever their missiles or artillery can reach.’

The T4P’s separate figures show more than 50,000 alleged war crimes having been committed by Russian forces since the start of the Kremlin’s all-out attack up to Thursday this week.

The victims include people killed or injured by shelling and airstrikes and others who have given harrowing testimony of being tortured.

Field work, including witness statements and visual imagery, has been gathered together by the group, backing up what it has described as a ‘systematic’ pattern of war crimes across Ukraine committed by Russian forces and their proxies.

Denys Volokha, media director of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, one of the tribunal’s three trustee organizations, told Metro.co.uk this week that the T4P had recently made two submissions alleging Russian war crimes to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

One, submitted last month, concerns more than 32,000 documented attacks on civilian populations and objects with various types of weapons.

The specimen figure covers the period from February 24, 2022 to April 30 this year, with the number since rising on a daily basis.

Evhen Zakharov, the Kharkiv group’s director, said: ‘There are so many war crimes that investigating them could take decades.

‘However, where will the witnesses, victims and evidence be during this time? That’s why we aim to highlight the most widespread and brutal war crimes that demand accountability from those responsible.’

The targeting of Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure has been a feature of the war, with waves of drone strikes on the power network during the cold winter months and attacks on grain facilities.

In the UK, the CIR is running the Eyes on Russia map as one of several witness projects that also include investigating and documenting human rights abuses in Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sudan.

To view the Eyes on Russia map, click here.

MORE : Coalition that’s recording each Russian war crime ready for Putin’s day of reckoning

Wagner paramilitary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin trained Russian mercenaries to ‘murder children and women’ by throwing grenades through the windows of their homes in Ukraine.

Former prisoners from the Irkutsk region, Alexey Chernyavsky and Maxim Zelenov, fought in the Donetsk region after signing contracts with the PMC in November last year.

Like thousands of others, they were pardoned of their crimes by Vladimir Putin to be deployed to villages near the eastern city of Soledar for what they described as ‘cleansing’.

The ex-convicts recalled how the warlord personally taught his fighters how to kill ‘Wagner-style’ when invading.

They made the sickening claims in an interview with Russian human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin, founder of Gulagu.net.

‘Who gave the order about two grenades into a window and two grenades into a door, and then walk in and finish off [the wounded]?’ he asked them.

Zelenov replied: ‘Prigozhin himself’.

Osechkin asked: ‘Among those killed, how many elderly, adult people, and how many children were there?’

The Wagner fighter told him: ‘When we got to that five-storey block of flats, we definitely killed about 40 people.’

Meanwhile, Chernyavsky said he was ordered to ‘be prepared that once you enter houses, you will have to kill women and children’.

‘No matter who, they would all have to be killed because they are Ukrainians,’ he recalled.

‘They were saying that when we take over towns and villages, and get into houses, we will be killing women and children.

‘Before entering premises, we had to throw a grenade, then get inside and if there were women and children inside who are wounded, not killed, then to finish them off  – because they are Ukrainians. 

‘We had to kill everyone. We are Wagner, we kill everyone.’

After the shock of what they witnessed in Ukraine, Zelenov and Chernyavsky fled from the Wagner camp.

Fearing execution with a sledgehammer – the way in which Prigozhin traditionally treated deserters -or arrest and return to the colony, the two hid for more than eight months.

But after the murder of Wagner boss, they contacted Gulagu.net and testify about the group’s war crimes.

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Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is inching closer and closer to Nato and EU territory.

Until 48 hours ago, only the Danube River separated Russia’s drones – mercilessly attacking port facilities in Izmail and Reni – and Romania.

Footage shows Russia hitting port infrastructure and grain storage facilities, just a few hundred metres from the shores of the neighbouring country.

Romanians filmed the chilling attack right on their doorstep in the middle of the night.

As a large explosion in the near distance lights the sky, one of them can be heard saying: ‘So that’s it, here comes the drone.’

It comes hours after Romanian defence minister Angel Tilvar confirmed that parts of a Russian drone fell on Romania’s soil after a strike on a Ukrainian port on the Danube River.

He said he had briefed Nato allies about the incident but did not deem necessary to convene the Supreme Council of National Defence.

‌Senior officials had previously denied this, despite picture evidence provided from the Ukrainian ministry of defence.

Drone parts were found in the village of Plauru , on the Chilia arm of the Danube River, opposite Izmail.

Romania had previously said that drone incursions by Russian military UAVs were ‘completely inadmissible and a serious violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity’.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that the incident showed the threat posted to Western countries like Romania.

He asked: ‘What would have happened if Putin had succeeded to put its foothold in Ukraine?’

The explosions come the day after at least 17 people were killed and dozens more wounded when Russian shells hit a busy market in Kostiantynivka.

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A kamikaze drone has exploded close to Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine war command in Rostov-on-Don.

Video shows a giant fireball erupting in the city, home to the headquarters of the southern military district command which plays a key role in the invasion.

It was one of the sites seized by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin during his abortive mutiny back in June.

Footage shows a giant fireball erupting after the blast, while a powerful fire also broke out in the vicinity of the base.

Regional governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram that one person was injured and at least three buildings and several cars were damaged.

He claimed Russian air defences shot down two Ukrainian drones targeting the city while a third fell ‘in the centre’ – although it is unclear whether one got through.

Putin used the war command post in Rostov as a backdrop for his New Year message to Russians in 2023, posing with troops.

In all, at least seven kamikaze drones attacked Russia during the night. 

One hit Ramenskoye near Moscow – allegedly a Ukrainian Beaver drone capable of flying up to 620 miles. It is close to Zhukovsky international airport.

The Russian authorities similarly claimed they had shot it down, causing damage to a high rise residential building. 

The attack triggered the closure of air space in Moscow, causing major flight disruption at the city’s four international airports. 

Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said: ‘Tonight in the Ramenskoye urban district, air defence forces thwarted an attempted drone attack on Moscow.’

The railway station in Bryansk – capital of a region bordering Ukraine – was also damaged by a drone attack.

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At least 16 people including a child were killed and many wounded after Russia shelled a busy market in Donetsk.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed and condemned the attack on Twitter, saying a market, shops and a pharmacy had been struck in the industrial city of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine.

Located close to the frontlines, Kostiantynivka is only about 30 km (19 miles) from the city of Bakhmut, where fighting has been heavy for months.

Ukrainian officials posted a video on the Telegram messaging app which showed a loud explosion ripping through shopping alleys, with people falling to the ground and some running for cover. Local media described it as a missile attack.

‘This Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible,’ Zelensky said.

Interior Minister Ihor Klimenko said that in addition to the 16 killed, at least 28 people were wounded in the attack and said it was on the central city market.

On the Telegram messaging app he posted pictures showing rescue workers sifting through the rubble and carrying out bodies in black sacks.

Emergency service workers extinguished the fire that damaged about 30 pavilions at the outdoor market, Mr Klymenko said.

The attack came as US secretary of state Antony Blinken visited Ukraine’s capital, where he was expected to announce more than one billion dollars in new American funding in a display of Washington’s unflagging support for Kyiv’s fight.

Mr Blinken also aimed to assess Ukraine’s three-month-old counter-offensive and signal continued US backing as some western allies express worries about Kyiv’s slow progress in driving out Russian forces after 18 months of war, according to US officials.

‘We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counter-offensive but has what it needs for the long term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent,’ Mr Blinken said during the visit.

‘We’re also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy.’

Mr Blinken was set to pledge more than one billion dollars in new US funding, a senior State Department official said.

The money would be for ‘a range’ of investments, the official said, without elaborating.

Other issues, including support for Ukraine’s war-torn economy were to be discussed, building on Mr Blinken’s announcement in London in June of 1.3 billion dollars in aid to help Kyiv rebuild, with a focus on modernising its energy network, which was bombarded by Russia last winter.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that US assistance to Ukraine ‘can’t influence the course of the special military operation’ – Moscow’s euphemism for the war.

Mr Blinken arrived in Kyiv for an overnight visit hours after Russia launched a missile attack on the city. He was expected to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top officials to discuss the ongoing counter-offensive and reconstruction efforts.

In the Odesa region, one person was killed in a Russian missile and drone attack on the port of Izmail that damaged grain elevators, administrative buildings and agricultural enterprises, authorities said.

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Russia’s defence minister made an embarrassing mistake while bragging about the number of Ukrainian tanks his forces have destroyed.

Sergei Shoigu is in charge of defence at the Kremlin amid Russian president Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

But while sharing details of Ukrainian losses, he bizarrely claimed 6+6=11.

He said: ‘Losses are big [for Ukraine].

‘As a result of serious attacks in the Rabotyne direction they lost six tanks.

‌’In another direction, in Bakhmut, our guys, well, skillfully, I would say, with drones […] destroyed six more vehicles.

‌’So all together 11 armoured vehicles alone were destroyed.’

This blunder isn’t the only recent incident which has drawn attention to Russian forces.

Earlier this week satellite images showed the Kremlin is loading car tyres onto the wings of nuclear bomber planes to try and protect them from drone attacks.

It’s hoped the tyres will shield the planes from damage, after successful Ukrainian drone strikes at Russian air bases last December.

In another more recent attack, four Il-76 transporters were put out of action, with two aircraft beyond repair after being engulfed in flames.

Separately, Kyiv claimed to have damaged four Su-30 fighter jets, one MiG-29 fighter jet, two Pantsir-S1 close-range air defence systems and a radar linked to a long-range S-300 surface-to-air missile system in a strike in Kursk with aerial drones made of cardboard.

Air Force Major General Sergei Lipovoy said it was right to deploy the unconventional means.

‌He said: ‘To protect aircraft, like armoured vehicles, all means are good.

‘Protecting aircraft with rubber tyres is not a known method.

‘I assume that they are used as a short-term protection of our aircraft while preparing a more reliable shelter, including canopies.’

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This is the dramatic moment an advanced Russian attack helicopter, dubbed the ‘Alligator’, is downed by Ukraine’s forces.

Footage shows the successful attack using a portable anti-aircraft missile launcher dispatched by the Swedish army.

A Ukrainian fighter can be heard ordering ‘Shoot’ and just seconds later a jubilant voice yells ‘Got him’.

Costing upwards of £12.5 million, the Ka-52 – hailed by the Kremlin as ‘the world’s best helicopter gunship’ – can be seen plunging to the ground in a fireball.

A video of the aftermath shows fire and smoke spewing from the downed aircraft.

The incident is reported to have happened in August at a field near the recently-liberated Robotyne, in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Footage from Telegram channel War Gonzo showed how – as the ‘Alligator’ was in flames in a field – a Russian transport helicopter flew close and landed.

The pilot was able to run with two rescuers intohelicopter even as thick black smoke poured from his aircraft.

‘Immediately after the crash of the helicopter at the site moved an Mi-28, which surveyed the area, established the location of the survivor and sent a signal for evacuation,’ said the channel.

‌’A short time later, a transport helicopter landed on the field and picked up the pilot.’

The Ka-52 is capable of eliminating ground targets such as tanks, armored and unarmored vehicles and slow-moving airborne targets, according to Airforce Technology.

As troops inch closer to the frontline as part of the three-month counteroffensive, their effectiveness has been thrust into the spotlight.

Ukrainian forces reported the downing of two ‘Alligators’, one near Robytyne, and the other in the vicinity of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region.

Altogether Russia is believed to have lost nine such strike helicopters in the war with Ukraine.

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A major-general in Russia’s FSB security services has been seriously wounded in an explosion at his home in eastern Ukraine.

Yuri Afanasevskii, 64, and his son are both fighting for life in hospital following the blast, which is suspected to have been caused by a bomb concealed inside a mobile phone.

Russian sources have accused Ukraine’s SBU secret service of masterminding the attack in the illegally annexed Luhansk People’s Republic.

A woman has been detained on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly handing him the rigged handset.

Afanasevskii was head of customs in the area of Ukraine’s Luhansk that Vladimir Putin’s forces seized in 2014 and last year claimed to incorporate into Russia. 

He was sanctioned by Britain, the EU, Canada, Switzerland and Japan. The major-general was shown to have financial interests in the British Virgin Islands. 

The Russian Investigative Committee said the woman being held ‘has already confessed’ to the bomb plot.

She told them she handed him ‘a mobile phone with an explosive device that was set off after the phone was activated’, they said.

Investigators have ‘interrogated a wide range of people’ and ‘seized objects of interest’ over the explosion. 

Afanasevskii’s wife was also injured in the blast, according to a report by RT.

A statement from the Russian Investigative Committee said: ‘The man and his son received multiple injuries. They are currently in a medical facility.’

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Vladimir Putin greeted a US diplomat, on his way to Ukraine’s capital to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky, with a wave of missiles.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has arrived in Kyiv on an official visit, sources close to the president’s office told Ukrainian media.

His third visit to the war-torn country comes just days after Zelensky dismissed his defence minister Oleksii Reznikov after a number of recent corruption scandals in the ministry.

The rip is aimed to assess Ukraine’s three-month-old counteroffensive and signal continued US support to drive out the Kremlin’s forces.

Hours before Blinken touched down on Ukrainian soil Russia launched missiles at Kyiv.

People awoke to the sudden sound of air raid sirens at around 5.50am local time followed by explosions in the sky.

Ukrainian officials said air defence systems shot them all down, and no casualties were reported.

‘Another missile attack by the enemy on the peaceful city,’ Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration, said on Telegram.

Falling debris damaged the facades of several buildings, private cars, windows in a medical facility and a police office, officials said.

Away from the capital, Russia also targeted the southern region of Odesa early on Wednesday, killing one civilian.

During the nearly three-hour drone strike, several agricultural and port facilities were damaged.

Several fires were reported in the Izmail district, an important grain exporting hub on the Danube, said regional governor Oleh Kiper.

‘An employee of an agricultural enterprise, who was seriously injured, died in the hospital,’ he added.

Kiper did not name the port. Agriculture consultancy APK-Inform said there had been a fire at the small Kilia river port.

Ukraine operates several river ports on the Danube as well as two major ports, Reni and Izmail, which have previously been attacked by Russian drones.

Kilia, which focuses on dry cargo, was attacked for the first time, APK-Inform said.

Ukraine’s air force said air defence systems destroyed 23 out of the 33 air weapons Russia launched overnight.

They included 25 Iranian-made Shahed drones, seven cruise missiles and one Iskander ballistic missile, it said.

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The Wagner mercenary group, which rose to prominence fighting for Russia in Ukraine, is set to be declared a terrorist group by the UK.

The proscription means it will be illegal to be a member or supporter of Wagner, and the paramilitary’s assets can be categorised as terrorist property and seized.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman described the group as ‘violent and destructive… a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia’, the BBC reported.

A draft order will be laid in parliament to formalise the designation in British law.

It will put the Wagner group in the company of organisations including Boko Haram and Hamas.

Although it became internationally well-known through its efforts doing Putin’s dirty work in Ukraine, the group has also played a major role in advancing Russia’s interests in Africa.

Its notoriety only increased when mercenaries embarked on a march towards Moscow, led by their boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who vented his fury at the military leadership in Moscow over what he perceived as poor decision-making.

The march, widely seen as a coup attempt, fizzled out after several hours despite apparent popular support, and Prigozhin was banished to Belarus along with his fighters.

Ms Braverman added: ‘Wagner’s continuing destabilising activities only continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals.”

‘They are terrorists, plain and simple – and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law.’

Group leader Prigozhin is widely believed to have died in a plane crash on August 23, and at the start of this month the US Department of Defence said it believed Wagner was ‘essentially over’.

Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said during a briefing: ‘The Wagner Group is essentially over.

‘The broader issue here is the Russian government which Wagner was working for, in support of operations in Ukraine. And at one point in time Wagner group were the most effective combat forces Russia had on the ground in Ukraine.

‘And they’ve essentially been removed from the battlefield as anything even remotely being significant in terms of combat capability.’

However, retired colonel Andrei Troshev has been tipped to take over the reins of the paramilitary organisation, with one analyst arguing Wagner is too ‘profitable’ for the Kremlin to lose.

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A kamikaze drone supposedly aimed at Vladimir Putin’s official hunting palace was shot down by Russia’s air defences.

Video footage shows the massive explosion that took place over some trees in the Zavidovo district of the Tver region.

This is the area that is home to Putin’s Rus hunting residence and according to an expert is the second time Putin has been targeted.

Throughout history it has been a retreat for Russia’s rulers and is one of many official and secret residences that belongs to the Russian tyrant.

Analyst Viktor Alksnis, who is a Soviet military tactician, also known as the Black Colonel, said: ‘This is the second attempt by Ukrainian drones to hit the state residences of the president of the Russian Federation.

‘The first was undertaken on May 3, 2023 at the Kremlin.’

Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the strike happened in the same area Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash last month.

It comes after Moscow revealed plans to tighten its air defences amid ongoing drone attacks against the capital.

Talking about the new air defences, Sobyanin said: ‘Last year, we built the largest and most powerful defence line for our military in the special operation zone.

‘This year, a lot has been done to defend Moscow from drones and terror attacks, which the Ukrainian government has been staging on almost a daily basis.

‘Indeed, over the past few weeks we have been creating new air defence sites.

‘Sometimes, air defence systems go into operation, sending missiles to shoot down drones, when the newly laid asphalt under them is still hot.

‘Everything that the Ministry of Defence asks Moscow to do, we do unquestioningly in the shortest possible time.

‘The entire scientific and technological potential of Moscow is also used to help the air defence, the Ministry of Defence, to protect Moscow and Muscovites.’

The number of drone strikes hitting Russian territory during the Russia-Ukraine war has now topped 500 – and it appears multiple regions have been targeted.

In retaliation Russia has flaunted today what it claims to be evidence of the first destroyed British Challenger 2 tank in Ukraine. 

Footage filmed from the inside of a vehicle with a cracked windscreen showed the burning wreck of the battle vehicle – one of the most protected in the world.

It is thought the video was captured just outside the recently-liberated settlement of Robotyne, in the Zaporizhzhia region, where fierce fighting is currently ongoing as part of the counteroffensive in the south.

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A Russian soldier facing down Ukraine’s counter offensive complained to his wife that ‘they are f***ing us up’ as his unit suffered heavy losses, calls intercepted by Kyiv reveal.

The serviceman, named only as Andrey, compared the onslaught to the worst moments of Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union.

‘No f***ing ammunition, nothing… Shall we use our fingers as bayonets?’ he moaned.

The stark exchange was one excerpt from 17 phone calls made by Russian soldiers in the first two weeks of July by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the country’s top intelligence agency.

The expletive-laden intercepts, shared with Reuters by a Ukrainian intelligence source, provide a rare – albeit partial – glimpse into the conditions of some Russian soldiers on the frontline.

The news agency verified the identity of the troops using messaging accounts or social media in their names, some of which featured photos of them in military uniform.

Another soldier, Maxim, from the Siberian region of Irkutsk, told his wife Anna on July 3: ‘That’s it. There is no second battalion left. They f***ing turned it to crumbs.’

He referred to dead comrades as ‘cargo 200’, a term coined during the Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan as a codeword for the zinc coffins used to carry home the bodies of dead Russian troops.

Often shortened to ‘200’, it is still widely used in both Russia and Ukraine to describe slain soldiers, while ‘cargo 300’ denotes the wounded.

‘Basically, they couldn’t even retrieve the (cargo) 300s. The 300s became 200s,’ Maxim said, meaning that the wounded soldiers had been left on the battlefield to die.

While Russia has so far largely stemmed Ukraine’s fightback – with defence minister Sergei Shoigu insisting the counter offensive has failed on every front – the soldiers in the intercepts complain of heavy losses, a lack of ammo, proper training and equipment, as well as poor morale.

Both Russia and Ukraine treat their losses as a state secret.

Reuters traced one soldier all the way back to the day he was mobilised on September 29, when his mother posted a photo of her beside him in his uniform with the caption ‘they took him today’.

In July, he was overheard telling her in a phone call about the devastating losses his men were suffering on the battlefield.

‘They were torn apart. They’re lying there: they can’t even collect some of them. They’re already rotten – eaten by worms,’ he said on July 12.

After his mother replied to ask ‘really?’, he went on: ‘Just imagine, thrown on the front line with no equipment, nothing.’

Alexei derided his superiors and the army high command for concealing the true scale of troop losses. ‘Everything is covered up,’ he said.

A fourth soldier, also named Andrey, told his wife on July 5 about problems retrieving wounded and dead troops from the battlefield as well as heavy casualties sustained by a Russian company.

‘The guys got fucked up yesterday,’ he said. ‘The whole ninth company was turned to rubbish – that’s 72 people. There’s 17 guys left.’

Russian officials have said there are no current plans for a new wave of mobilisation, and it is focused on recruiting professional soldiers.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said in July that 185,000 new recruits had joined the army as professional contract soldiers since the start of the year.

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Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appeared to accidentally declare war on Russia due to a translation blunder during a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

‘There is war between Russia and Turkey,’ the Turkish-Russian translator announced during a meeting between the two leaders at a summit in Sochi.

Turkey is a Nato state, and if true the declaration would plunge the entire world into war.

But Putin, who was there to discuss the Black Sea Grain deal, appeared nonplussed by the apparent blunder.

It was unclear if the male interpreter was Russian or Turkish, but the official record of the meeting showed it was the translator who made the mistake- not Erdoğan.

‘The current situation between Ukraine and Russia….This is the backdrop of this visit,’ the Turkish president told Putin during his opening remarks.

‘And your invitation – we are glad to have received this invitation. My delegation is glad to have received this invitation.’

The summit had been called in order to broker a deal over the Black Sea grain initiative, which would supply food to the world’s poorest nations.

Putin told Erdoğan that Russia is ready to supply up to one million tons of grain at a preferential price through Turkey, who it views as an intermediary between themselves and the west.

The meeting marked a rare visit for a foreign leader to Russia as Putin finds himself increasingly isolated over his bloody war with Ukraine.

In March, the dictator was issued an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over war crimes committed in Ukraine, which makes it difficult for him to travel abroad.

Some say holding the summit in Sochi was a response to this, while others claim it is a cover for Putin’s long-rumoured health problems.

Putin used his press conference to claim he had been cheated by the West over the grain export deal across the Black Sea, and restated Russia’s position that it could only return to the deal if the West stopped restricting Russian agricultural exports from reaching global markets.

‘As usual… it often happens this way with our Western partners, they cheated on us again,’ said the dictator. ‘And didn’t do as promised – again.’

A separate memorandum agreed with the United Nations calls for conditions to facilitate Russia’s food and fertiliser exports.

Erdoğan said Ukraine should soften its negotiating position against Russia in talks over reviving the deal and export more grain to Africa rather than Europe.

‘Ukraine needs to especially soften its approaches in order for it to be possible for joint steps to be taken with Russia,’ he told reporters.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, speaking later on Ukrainian television, said Kyiv would not alter its stand, but would take note of Turkey’s account of the Sochi talks.

‘We should not continue to be hostages to Russian blackmail, where Russia creates problems and then invites everyone to solve them,’ Kuleba said.

‘It is clear that we will stand in defence of all principled positions, especially regarding sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation.’

MORE : Russia downs kamikaze drone ‘aimed at Putin’s hunting palace’

MORE : Intercepted phone calls reveal Russian anger over Ukraine losses: ‘They are f***ing us up’

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Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska has opened up about how the war in Ukraine has caused uncertainty and emotional turmoil for her family.

In a rare interview with the BBC, she described how it is hard for her children to see a future and how the family still live separated one year and six months since war was declared.

‘This may be a bit selfish, but I need my husband, not a historical figure, by my side,’ she said.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, meant Olena and her children had to go into hiding.

Meanwhile, her husband Volodymyr Zelensky was thrust into the limelight as a 21st century war leader.

The pair are childhood sweethearts who worked together as a comedy troupe – him as an actor and her as a scriptwriter.

But the reality of their lives during the war has become restricted and this has impacted the couple’s children more than anything.

‘It pains me to watch that my kids don’t plan anything. At such an age, young people. My daughter is 19. They dream of travelling, of new sensations, emotions. She does not have such an opportunity,’ she said.

‘There are limitations in time in what you can allow yourself, they exist, and we somehow try to live within them.’

Despite what she describes as her ‘selfish’ longing, Olena Zelenska believes her husband ‘really does have the energy, the will power, inspiration, and stubbornness to go through with this war.’

Her recent work focuses on Ukrainians who have been psychologically impacted by the war, with a focus on mental health and resilience.

She said: ‘No one can know what awaits for them. After all, no one could have imagined that in the 21st century, that such a war would be unleashed in the middle of Europe, that it would be so cruel. A bloody war. So, I have never imagined that I would be in this role at this time.’

For many Ukrainians their lives have been turned upside down by the war and forced to flee a place they always called home.

The invasion of Ukraine has had a significant impact on the mobility of people and goods in the EU across all modes of transport.

Many EU countries still face problems with fuel supplies and fuel prices, and logistical challenges with border crossings and airspace restrictions.

MORE : Russian soldiers moan ‘they are f***ing us up’ in calls intercepted by Ukraine

MORE : Ukraine ‘loses first Challenger 2 tank’ as Russia flaunts video of ‘sniper rifle’ in flames

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