Huge smoke cloud rises after massive explosion at factory in Moscow
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A spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence has said Moscow should expect “daily attacks”, after the Russian government announced a drone headed towards the capital was shot down on Friday.
The MoD said a Ukrainian drone was jammed, causing it to crash, as it flew towards its target in Moscow
Andriy Yusov told Kyiv Post that “the concept of security is increasingly distant from the residents of Moscow”, adding that the Russian air defence system is “ineffective, outdated, and cannot adequately respond to modern challenges”.
The airspace over two Russian airports was also temporarily closed on Friday, in a move that the RIA state news agency said was caused by suspected drone flights.
It was not immediately known whether the two incidents were related.
The news of a foiled drone attack on Moscow comes one day after Russia’s emergency service reported a warehouse near Vladimir Putin’s official residence and the Vnukovo airport was on fire.
According to a report by TASS news agency, the warehouse is located 6.5 kms (4 miles) away from Putin’s presidential residence in Novo-Ogaryovo.
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1691775496Day ‘began with the sounds of air defense’, Zelensky shares daily report
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the day “began with the sounds of air defense in the background” in his daily night-time address.
“We worked on rescue operations following Russian strikes, increasing defense production, cleaning up corruption in military recruiting, the Peace Formula, alternative grain export routes, and frontline efforts,” he summarised, alongside his video message on X (formerly Twitter).
Russia attacked the western Ukrainian region of Ivano-Frankivsk with hypersonic missiles on Friday, hitting areas near a military airfield and killing an eight-year-old boy, Ukrainian officials said.
Air defences shot down one of the four Kinzhal missiles near the capital Kyiv as they hurtled towards western Ukraine hundreds of miles from the front, the air force said.
Air Force Colonel Yuriy Ihnat suggested the attack had been aimed at Ukrainian pilots who were about to travel to the West to train to use F-16 fighter jets that Kyiv hopes will eventually be delivered.
In Kyiv’s northern Obolon district, missile fragments crashed into the grounds of a children’s hospital, damaged the roof of a house and also fell on a complex of country homes. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported no casualties.
Maanya Sachdeva11 August 2023 18:38
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How Ukraine’s first lady struck a hammer blow against Putin via the UK
Sitting with Olena Zelenska in the fortified presidential complex in Kyiv, her understated delivery belied a strong defiance of Russia’s invasion, writes The Independent‘s Bel Trew.
“Britain’s sanctions against Moscow’s war machine were quickly expanded in the wake of our interview.”
Maanya Sachdeva11 August 2023 17:38
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People without Russian passports in occupied Lazurne ‘will be denied insulin and medicines’
Local media reported that the Russia-appointed head of occupied Lazurne in Kherson allegedly announced residents without Russian passports would be denied insulin and other medicines.
He also reportedly said children who don’t want to study in Russian schools would be “taken to the contact line”.
Maanya Sachdeva11 August 2023 16:38
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Zelensky fires heads of all military recruitment centres amid corruption crackdown
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the firing of all the heads of regional military draft boards, part of his crackdown on corruption since the outbreak of Russia‘s war in Ukraine more than 17 months ago.
Zelenskyy in Friday said he was firing draft board directors in all the Ukraine‘s regions, adding that the jobs should go to war veterans, including those with injuries.
The step was taken after Ukrainian security services presented details of 112 criminal cases against draft board officials suspected of taking bribes and engaging in corrupt practices, as well as 33 suspects who have yet to be charged. Zelenskyy previously fired senior officials suspected of corruption. That has sent a signal to Western allies providing Kyiv with tens of billions of dollars in military aid that Ukraine is serious about clamping down on graft, which has long plagued the country’s military.
Maanya Sachdeva11 August 2023 15:30
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Ukrainian troops launch surprise raid across Dnipro River and break through some of Russia’s defences
Ukrainian forces broke through Russia’s defensive lines after launching a surprise raid across the Dnipro River.
The river divides liberated Ukrainian territory on one bank and Russian-occupied land on the other, and for months it has served as part of the front line in southern Ukraine.
Russian military bloggers suggest some of Moscow’s soldiers were either killed or captured in the raid.
Chris Stevenson has the full story:
Maanya Sachdeva11 August 2023 14:35
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Kyiv tells Putin and Moscow to expect ‘daily attacks’
A spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence has said Moscow should expect “daily attacks”, after the Russian government announced a drone headed towards the capital was shot down on Friday.
The MoD said a Ukrainian drone was jammed, causing it to crash, as it flew towards its target in Moscow
Andriy Yusov told Kyiv Post that “the concept of security is increasingly distant from the residents of Moscow”, adding that Russian air defence system is “ineffective, outdated, and cannot adequately respond to modern challenges”.
Mr Yosov added: “Perhaps this trend will lead the residents of Moscow to some correct conclusions – whether or not to believe Russian television and Russian propaganda, and whether or not to continue to support the criminal regime.”
Maanya Sachdeva11 August 2023 14:34
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What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know
In a rare interview the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, has spoken to Independent TV about her work rebuilding Ukraine in the middle of war, the pressures on her family and concerns for the future of her country.
From the presidential palace, she told The Independent’s Bel Trew about the need to reconstruct cities despite the fighting raging on, about building cutting-edge facilities to treat the country’s’ war-wounded and fighting stigma on trauma around the country.
What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know
In a rare interview the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, has spoken to Independent TV about her work rebuilding Ukraine in the middle of war, the pressures on her family and concerns for the future of her country. From the presidential palace, she told The Independent’s Bel Trew about the need to reconstruct cities despite the fighting raging on, about building cutting-edge facilities to treat the country’s’ war-wounded and fighting stigma on trauma around the country. Watch the full interview on Independent TV, across mobile and connected TV.
Maanya Sachdeva11 August 2023 14:05
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Ukraine downs one out of four Russian hypersonic missiles in air strike, military says
The Ukrainian air force shot down one out of four hypersonic missiles fired by Russia on Friday at a military airfield in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk, the military said.
“One X-47 (hypersonic) missile was destroyed within the Kyiv region. The rest hit near the airfield. Civilian infrastructure was damaged, and one of the missiles hit a residential area,” it said on the Telegram messaging app.
Maanya Sachdeva11 August 2023 13:35
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Wagner tracker: Charting Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary group through the Ukraine war
From Bucha to the battle for Bakhmut, we track Wagner’s bloody role in Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports:
Maanya Sachdeva11 August 2023 13:05
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Russia says it hit mercenary quarters in Zaporizhzhia
Russia‘s defence ministry said on Friday its forces hit a location where “foreign mercenaries” were quartered in Ukraine‘s Zaporizhzhia region, after Kyiv said a Russian missile struck a hotel on Thursday evening, leaving one dead and 16 injured.
Local media reported the damaged building was Reikartz Hotel in the Zaporizhzhia city centre on the bank of the Dnipro River.
Maanya Sachdeva11 August 2023 12:15
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-putin-latest-news-today-b2391289.html
