Ukraine Russia war: Putin’s forces close in on key town of Pokrovsk

Russia’s military will send naval and air forces to join an exercise held by China in the Sea of Japan and Sea of Okhotsk in September, China’s state-owned Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

The drills aim to deepen “the level of strategic coordination between the Chinese and Russian militaries and enhance their ability to jointly respond to security threats,” Xinhua said.

Russian forces launched eight drones and three missiles at Ukraine in an overnight attack, Kyiv’s airforce said.

Ukraine downed six out of eight drones and two out of three missiles, it added. Overnight air attacks have become a daily occurrence in Ukraine.

Volodmyr Zelensky has urged Western leaders to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia.

Last week, he said: “We need to have this long-range capability, not only on the divided territory of Ukraine, but also on the Russia territory so that Russia is motivated to seek peace.”

The United States has informed allies that it believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, two people familiar with the matter said.

They did not offer any details about how many weapons have been delivered or when the transfers may have occurred, but they confirmed the US intelligence finding. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that has not been disclosed publicly disclosed.

The White House declined to confirm the weapons transfer but reiterated its concern that Iran is deepening its support of Russia. The White House has been warning Iran for months not to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia.

“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 and lead to the killing of more Ukrainian civilians,” National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement. “This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilising influence reaches beyond the Middle East and around the world.”

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:

Vladimir Putin sent greetings to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the occasion of North Korea’s founding anniversary, state media KCNA reported today. He was joined by his Chinese ally and president Xi Jinping.

“I am sure that the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and the DPRK will be strengthened in a planned way thanks to our joint efforts,” Mr Putin said, referring to the North’s official name – the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Mr Xi called for deeper strategic communication and cooperation with North Korea in his message, KCNA said.

On the same day last year, Kim marked the country’s founding with a parade of paramilitary groups and diplomatic exchanges in which he vowed to deepen ties with China and Russia.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down six out of eight drones and two out of three missiles during the latest overnight attack by Russia.

Vladimir Putin’s forces launched an overnight drone attack on Kyiv, and the city’s air defence units were engaged in repelling the strikes, Ukraine’s military said on Telegram.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has warned against a cyber group belonging to a Russian military intelligence (GRU) unit known as 29155, saying it has carried out cyberattacks against Nato and EU countries.

In a post on social media platform X today, the Bundesverfassungsschutz said it was issuing the warning alongside the FBI, US cybersecurity agency CISA, the NSA and other international partners.

“The actor is also said to have attacked networks in Nato member states in Europe and North America, as well as countries in Latin America and Central Asia. The activities included both destructive actions and scanning and data theft,” it said in a statement.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for Russia’s war against Ukraine to end as soon as possible, adding that he and Volodymyr Zelensky agree on the need to include Russia in future peace negotiations.

“There will certainly be a further peace conference, and the president and I agree that it must be one with Russia present,” Mr Scholz said, talking to Germany’s ZDF public television.

“I believe that now is the moment when we must discuss how we get out of this war situation faster than the current impression is,” he said.

Volodymyr Zelensky has renewed his call for the removal of restrictions on using Western-supplied weapons to strike Russian territory, adding that Ukraine was ramping up its own weapons production.

“We are setting up underground weapons production facilities so Ukrainian soldiers can defend themselves, even if supplies from our partners are delayed,” the Ukrainian president said on Saturday.

“We have developed new drones and missiles, and we are gradually bringing this war back to Russia. Eventually, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will feel the pressure to seek only one thing: peace.”

Ukraine foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called Russian drone incursions “a reminder (that) the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation go beyond Ukraine’s borders.”

“The collective response of the Allies should be maximum support for Ukraine now, to put an end to (Russian aggression), protect lives and preserve peace in Europe,” Sybiha said in a post on X.

A drone entered Romanian territory early yesterday as Moscow struck “civilian targets and port infrastructure” across the Danube in Ukraine, Romania’s ministry of national defence reported, while another crashed in eastern Latvia the previous day.

Bucharest deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace and issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions, officials said.

It said investigations were underway at a potential “impact zone” in an uninhabited area along the Romanian-Ukrainian border. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.