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Russia has reportedly received ballistic missiles from Iran, in what the White House and head of the CIA warned would mark “a dramatic escalation” in Tehran’s support for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Despite warnings of further sanctions by the G7, Western officials told the Wall Street Journal that Iran had sent hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles to Moscow, as CIA director William Burns warned of the growing and “troubling” defence relationship between Russia, Iran, China and North Korea.
Russia has been ramping up its aerial attacks on Ukraine and launched 67 drones overnight on Friday, with air raid sirens sounding as mourners held funerals for the 55 people killed in a Russian attack on the city of Poltava.
It came as Britain pledged £162m worth of air defence missiles to Kyiv, as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Russia had lost 6,000 troops during Kyiv’s cross-border incursion into Kursk last month, urging Western leaders to supply more air defence systems and long-range missiles.
Key Points
- Iran sending Russia ballistic missiles would mark ‘dramatic escalation’, CIA chief says
- Russia lost 6,000 troops in Kursk, says Volodymyr Zelensky
- Zelensky presses for long-range strike support
- UK to send 650 air defence missiles worth £162m to Ukraine
Iran sending Russia ballistic missiles would be ‘dramatic escalation’, warns CIA chief
CIA director William Burns has warned of the growing and “troubling” defence relationship between Russia, China, Iran and North Korea
Speaking at an FT event following reports in the Wall Street Journal that Tehran had defied G7 threats of further sanctions by supplying Russia with hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles, Mr Burns warned that such a move would be a “dramatic escalation” of the relationship.
His comments echoed those of White House national security council spokesperson Sean Savett, who told reporters: “Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
North Korea has sent ammunition and missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine, while Iran supplies Moscow with attack drones. Mr Burns said the CIA had yet to see evidence of China sending weapons to Russia, “but we see lot of things short of that.”
Italy’s Meloni vows unwavering support for Ukraine
Italian premier Giorgia Meloni has pledged unwavering support for Ukraine after a meeting with president Volodymyr Zelensky, warning that the conflict cannot be resolved by abandoning Kyiv.
The hard-right prime minister met the Ukrainian leader on the sidelines of the annual TEHA business forum on Lake Como, as Italy prepares to host next year’s conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Ms Meloni told the forum Italy would never backtrack on its support for Ukraine. “It’s a choice that won’t change,” she said, adding that China and India also had a “role to play” in resolving the conflict. “The only thing that cannot happen is to think that the conflict can be solved by abandoning Ukraine.”
She described the idea that the outcome of the war had already been decided as “Russian propaganda”, adding that Western support had made eventual peace talks a possibility.
“With an invasion, you don’t have peace talks, you don’t need a negotiating table. The need for it emerges, if anything, with a stalemate ... the stalemate that we have contributed to creating,” she said.
Andy Gregory7 September 2024 15:30 1725717762Ukraine drone hits Russian munitions depot 80 miles from frontline, source says
Ukrainian drones hit a munitions depot in the Russian region of Voronezh overnight, a Ukrainian security source has told Reuters, adding that Kyiv believed the depot was being used to transfer munitions and equipment to Ukraine.
Alexander Gusev, the province’s Russian governor, said on Telegram that “explosive objects” had detonated after a fire in the region’s Ostorogozhsky district.
There had been no casualties, but a state of emergency had been declared locally, with several hundred people evacuated and a major road closed, he said.
The Ukrainian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the operation was conducted by Ukraine’s internal security service, adding: “At this moment, there are still four pockets of a powerful fire observed at the site, as well as the unceasing detonation of munitions.”
The source said the facility was in the village of Soldatskoe, situated nearly 80 miles from the nearest Ukraine-controlled territory.
Andy Gregory7 September 2024 15:02 1725714271On the ground | Fears Ukraine invasion has made the Russians more ferocious
The city of Kostyantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk has become one of the main targets of relentless Russian attacks to capture the remaining strongholds held by Kyiv’s troops in the region.
Explosions are almost ever-present in and around the city, whether direct shelling attacks, or the sound of artillery batteries firing hundreds of rounds on the front line, reinforcing the sense that something catastrophic is approaching.
Kostyantynivka is one of the few remaining towns of any size still in Ukrainian hands in the region. And it is now perilously close to the front lines. Outgoing Ukrainian fire could also be heard south of the city with a distinctive rapid whoosh-whoosh-whoosh signifying, says one civilian, one of the highly accurate US-provided multiple rocket launchers at work.
Russian attacks are being ramped up across the area – from the commanding heights of Chasiv Yar, less than 10 miles to the northeast, to the mining town of Toretsk, whose slag heaps can be seen eight miles to the south, and Pokrovsk – the key target for Moscow at the moment – some 33 miles to the southwest along a route already vulnerable to shelling by the approaching Russians.
A local businessman, Petro, says: “Our city has been a target for the Russians since 2014, but they have been hitting us hard, smashing away at Kostyantynivka since the start of the full-blown invasion in 2022. There has been an increase in their attacks since August and perhaps the Ukrainian invasion into Russia has made [the Russian troops] more ferocious and so they’re firing more. That’s how it feels.”
Askold Krushelnycky has more in this dispatch from Kostyantynivka:
It feels like the Ukraine invasion has made the Russian invasion more ferocious
Residents of Kostyantynivka, which is perilously close to the front lines, tell Askold Krushelnycky about the relentless shelling they are facing as Russian troops advance on one of the few towns in the region still in Ukrainian hands
Andy Gregory7 September 2024 14:04 1725712604‘Too early’ to say how long Ukraine can hang on in Kursk, says MI6 chief
The head of MI6, Richard Moore, has said it is “too early” to say how long Ukrainian forces would be able to hang on in Russia’s Kursk region.
Speaking at an FT event which Mr Moore also attended in London, CIA director William Burns called Ukraine’s Kursk offensive in Russia “a significant tactical achievement”.
Andy Gregory7 September 2024 13:36 1725710919Ukraine expresses concerns over reports of Iran sending ballistic missiles to Russia
Ukraine’s foreign ministry has expressed its deep concerned over reports about a possible impending transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia.
The ministry said the deepening military co-operation between Tehran and Moscow was a threat to Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East, and called on the international community to increase pressure on Iran and Russia, after CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.
Reuters reported in August that Russia was expecting the imminent delivery of hundreds of Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles from Iran and that dozens of Russian military personnel were being trained in Iran on the satellite-guided weapons for eventual use in the war in Ukraine.
On Friday, the United States, a key ally of Ukraine, also voiced concern about the potential transfer of missiles.
“Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” White House national security council spokesperson Sean Savett said.
Andy Gregory7 September 2024 13:08 1725708066Air raid sirens sound as funerals held for victims of Poltava attack
Funeral services have been held for victims of one of the deadliest Russian airstrikes since the war in Ukraine began, which president Volodymyr Zelensky said left 55 people dead and 328 injured in the city of Poltava.
Hundreds of mourners, including grieving families, local residents, and officials, gathered at the Cathedral of the Assumption in the city, some 200 miles southeast of Kyiv, for the solemn ceremony.
Relatives, many holding red carnations, stood over caskets placed outside the church, draped in yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flags. An air raid siren sounded during the service.
Local residents knelt in silent tribute as hearses carrying the victims passed by on their way to a military cemetery outside the city for burial.
Zelensky ‘discusses peace plan' with Italy’s Meloni
Volodymyr Zelensky has discussed his peace plan to end the war with Russia and reconstruction with a focus on Ukraine’s energy system in a meeting with Italy’s premier Giorgia Meloni, the Ukrainian president said.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy.
Russia claims to seize Donetsk village 20 miles east of Povrosk
Russia’s defence ministry claims its troops have seized the Donetsk village of Kalynove.
Kalynove lies some 20 miles east of Povrosk, the key supply hub which Vladimir Putin’s forces are desperately seeking to seize in their current push on the eastern Ukrainian front line.
Andy Gregory7 September 2024 10:47 1725699699Three killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk town, governor says
Three people have been killed and three others wounded by Russian artillery shelling of the eastern Ukrainian town of Kostyantynivka, Donetsk’s regional governor has said.
Three men aged between 24 and 69 were killed and a multi-storey block, administrative building and a shop were damaged, governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.
Andy Gregory7 September 2024 10:01 Newer1 / 8OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
