Russia-Ukraine war live: one killed in Russian strikes on Izmail port; Moscow reports drone attack over Bryansk | Ukraine

The situation along the eastern frontline remains difficult and the main task of Ukrainian troops is to ensure reliable defense and prevent the loss of fortifications, Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, said last Wednesday.

“The enemy will not abandon his plans to reach the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” ground forces quoted Syrskyi as saying on the Telegram messaging app.

“Our main task is to ensure reliable defense, to prevent the loss of our fortresses and positions in the direction of Kupiansk and Lymansk, as well as the successful advance and arrival of the designated lines of direction of Bakhmut.”

Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv early Wednesday, with the country’s air defense systems shooting down all the missiles before they reached their targets, the capital’s military administration said. in the Telegram messaging app.

Reuters witnesses heard several explosions that sounded like air defense systems were deployed at around 05.50am (02.50 GMT) when air raid alerts were issued for the whole of Ukraine before being called off. about an hour ago.

“Another enemy missile attack on a peaceful city with the aim of killing the civilian population and destroying the infrastructure,” said Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, on the Telegram messaging app.

He added that according to preliminary information, there was no destruction in Kyiv and no casualties.

The extent of the attack, which Popko said involved missiles of various types, was not immediately known.

There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Russia’s defense ministry said its air defense systems destroyed a drone before midnight on Tuesday in the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine.

Alexander Bogomaz, governor of the Bryansk region, said on the Telegram messaging app that there was no damage or casualties.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

AFP: One person was killed in a Russian drone attack on a port district in Ukraine’s southwestern Odesa region early Wednesday, the region’s governor said.

The night attacks lasted three hours and targeted the Izmail district, Oleg Kiper told Telegram.

The Danube river port of Izmail, which borders NATO member Romania, has become a key export route for Ukrainian goods after Russia withdrew from a grain deal UN broker in July.

“Unfortunately, one person died,” Kiper said, adding that it was an agricultural worker who was seriously injured and died in hospital.

“Destruction and fires were recorded in many settlements,” he added, noting that ports and agricultural infrastructure were damaged, including administrative buildings.

Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine with me, Helen Sullivan.

Our top story: One person was killed in a Russian drone attack on a port district in Ukraine’s southwestern Odesa region early Wednesday, the region’s governor.

The night attacks lasted three hours and targeted the Izmail district, Oleg Kiper told Telegram.

Meanwhile, the Russian defense ministry said its air defense systems destroyed the Ukraine-launched drone before midnight on Tuesday in the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine.

Elsewhere:

• A battle video circulating on social media shows the destruction of a British Challenger 2 in Ukraine.which was the first time that one of the tanks was destroyed in combat.

• More than 900 people were killed or injured by cluster munitions in Ukraine last year amid Russia’s widespread use of the widely banned weapons.which pushed the world’s casualty figures to record levels, according to the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC).

• The Kremlin has refused to confirm a possible summit between Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-unwhich US officials say they expect.

• The Democratic and Republican leaders of the US Senate expressed support for continued aid for Ukraine on Tuesday, as lawmakers return to Washington facing a tight deadline for passing spending bills. President Joe Biden last month asked Congress to approve about $40bn in additional spending, including $24bn for Ukraine and other international needs, in a test of the country’s willingness to continue supporting Ukraine while engaging -it was against the Russian invaders.

• Ukrainian lawmakers have voted to restore a requirement that officials declare their assets, a move sought by the International Monetary Fundbut includes a loophole critics say dampens its effect.

• Russia’s pipeline natural gas exports to the EU could fall to 21 billion cubic meters (bcm) this year, almost two-thirds lower than last year and more than a six-fold decrease from 2021, Russian state bank Veb said in a forecast.

• Cuba has identified an alleged human trafficking ring that aims to recruit its citizens to fight on Russia’s side in the war in Ukraine, his foreign ministry said. It is working to dismantle a “trafficking network operating from Russia to include Cuban citizens living there.”

• The first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, spoke about the severe damage of the war on her family. “It might be a bit selfish, but I need my husband, not a historical figure, by my side… But we remain strong, we have strength emotionally and physically. And I’m sure we’ll do it together,” he told the BBC.

• Russia shot down at least three drones launched by Ukraine early Tuesday that targeted the country’s capital, the Russian defense ministry said. The ministry said its air defense systems destroyed two drones in the regions of Kaluga and Tver, which border the Moscow region, as well as one closer to the capital, in the district of Istra in the Moscow region.

• Moscow’s two major airports, Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo, as well as Zhukovksy airport, resumed normal operations from 7.30am (04.30 GMT) after a temporary suspension of traffic on Tuesday, Federal Air said. Transport Agency of Russia.

• Russian air defenses also destroyed a Ukrainian aircraft-style drone over Crimea on Tuesday morning, Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

• The Kremlin said Tuesday it does not think Ukraine’s decision to appoint a new defense minister will change the attitude of the Ukrainian government. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he had fired defense minister Oleksii Reznikov and proposed Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar and former lawmaker, to replace him.

• The governor of Russia’s western Bryansk region said border guards and security forces had “thwarted” an attempt by a Ukrainian sabotage group to cross into Russia. Russia this year has repeatedly reported Ukrainian sabotage attempts on its borders, and sent helicopters to stage a cross-border incursion in the Belgorod region in May.

• Gen Sergei Surovikin, who has not been seen in public since Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s abortive mutiny in June, has apparently resurfaced. Ostorozhno Media published a photo, reportedly taken on Monday in Moscow, of the former aerospace commander with his wife.