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🔴 Live: Russia accuses US, UK of aiding Ukrainian missile strike on Crimea naval fleet HQ
Moscow claimed on Wednesday that Washington and London helped Ukraine strike the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in annexed Crimea last week. The attack was apparently targeting a meeting of the Russian Navy’s leadership in the port city of Sevastopol. Follow our live blog for the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
Issued on: 27/09/2023 – 11:35
Modified: 27/09/2023 – 16:51
8 min
A satellite image shows smoke billowing from a Russian Black Sea Navy HQ after a missile strike in Sevastopol, Crimea, on September 22, 2023.
A satellite image shows smoke billowing from a Russian Black Sea Navy HQ after a missile strike in Sevastopol, Crimea, on September 22, 2023. © Planet Labs PBD handout via Reuters
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4:31pm: US targets Iran drone procurement network, accuses it of aiding Russia
The United States has imposed sanctions on a network it said is helping procure sensitive parts for Iran’s drone program, and accused Tehran of supplying Russia with drones to support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The network has facilitated shipments and financial transactions in support of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) procurement of a critical component used in Iran’s Shahed-136 drones, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
Wednesday’s action targets entities and individuals in Iran, China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the department said.
“Iranian-made UAVs continue to be a key tool for Russia in its attacks in Ukraine, including those that terrorise Ukrainian citizens and attack its critical infrastructure,” Treasury official Brian Nelson said in a statement.
3:56pm: Germany probing possible war crime in Ukraine
German authorities are investigating a possible war crime committed in the Ukrainian city of Hostomel, a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors said.
Civilians including a German citizen were allegedly shot at and injured by Russian forces in the city north-west of Kyiv, the spokeswoman said.
An investigation into the incident was opened in July and German prosecutors are in close contact with Ukrainian authorities, she added.
Germany has in the past repeatedly prosecuted atrocities committed abroad, including the war in Syria.
1:49pm: Poland to boycott international football matches against Russia
Poland will boycott all international football matches against Russian teams, the president of the country’s football federation said Wednesday following a decision by UEFA to lift a ban on youth sides from Russia.
“If Russian national teams are authorised to play, our national teams will not play against them. That is the only good solution,” Cezary Kulesza wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
1:37pm: Warsaw open to Ukraine grain proposals ahead of talks
Poland’s agriculture minister said on Wednesday that his country remained open to a Ukrainian proposal for a grain import licensing system, adding that the thorny issue would be discussed in the coming weeks.
Kyiv has suggested issuing licences to exporters of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflowers in line with Poland’s needs, Robert Telus said, after a video meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart.
“It’s a question that we have to examine, but from the outside the proposal seems like a good thing,” he said.
Ukraine’s grain exports are meant to be transiting through the European Union to Africa and the Middle East in particular, since the war-torn nation’s traditional Black Sea routes were blocked by Russia’s invasion.
But because of logistical issues, grain had been piling up in central Europe and driving down local prices, prompting several countries to declare an embargo on imports which was temporarily approved by Brussels.
1:26pm: Kremlin says Canada must bring Nazi veteran to justice
The Kremlin said Wednesday that a Ukrainian Nazi veteran inadvertently honoured in the Canadian parliament last week should be brought to justice and suggested that he be extradited.
The speaker of Canada’s parliament resigned following the incident, which saw lawmakers publicly applaud 98-year-old Ukrainian veteran Yaroslav Hunka, who fought for the Nazis during World War II.
“Canadian authorities have a duty to bring to justice – or to extradite to those who wish to bring to justice – this criminal,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Poland said Tuesday it was looking at extraditing the veteran, and investigating whether Hunka – who fought for an SS unit – was wanted for crimes against Poles or Polish Jews.
1:18pm: Russian naval commander announced dead by Kyiv appears again on state TV
Russian state media has once again broadcast undated footage of Black Sea Fleet commander Viktor Sokolov, who Kyiv claimed to have killed in a missile attack targeting the fleet’s headquarters in annexed Crimea. Although it is impossible to tell when the footage was recorded, its broadcast is likely meant to suggest that the naval commander is still alive.
Undated footage broadcast Wednesday by the Russian defence ministry’s Zvezda TV channel showed Sokolov saying that the Black Sea Fleet was “fulfilling the tasks the command has set”.
Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, speaks with journalists during an interview at a military sports facility in Sevastopol, Crimea, in this still image taken from video released September 27, 2023.
Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, speaks with journalists during an interview at a military sports facility in Sevastopol, Crimea, in this still image taken from video released September 27, 2023. © Russian Black Sea Fleet via Reuters
12:36pm: Ukraine evacuates nearly 60 children from the front line in Zaporizhzhia
Ukrainian officials said Wednesday they had evacuated all children from several towns and villages near the front line in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a focal point of Kyiv’s counteroffensive.
Kyiv launched its push to recapture territory in June, but Russian forces have put up fierce resistance. Ukraine has ordered evacuations from several regions as their forces wrest back land.
“We have fulfilled the task set by the Ukrainian government … and evacuated all children and their families” from five settlements in Zaporizhzhia, the deputy head of the region, Yevgen Myronenko, said.
Local media cited regional officials as saying a total of 59 children had been removed from the towns.
11:35am: Ukraine will boycott football competitions involving Russian teams
Ukraine has said it will not play in tournaments involving Russian teams after football’s European governing body, UEFA, announced plans to reinstate Russia’s Under-17 sides to European competitions.
In a statement released late on Tuesday, the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) urged UEFA to reconsider its decision and urged other countries not to play against Russian teams.
UEFA decided after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that all Russian teams – national or club sides – would be suspended from participation in its competitions.
But UEFA said on Tuesday that “children should not be punished for actions whose responsibility lies exclusively with adults”, and that Russian U-17 sides would be readmitted to UEFA competitions “in the course of this season”.
10:53am: World’s largest crypto exchange to sell Russia business
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said on Wednesday it will sell its Russia business to newly launched exchange CommEX, becoming the latest company to pull out of Moscow since the country began its war against Ukraine.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, did not disclose financial details of the deal. The company said it will have no ongoing revenue split from the sale, nor will it maintain an option to buy back shares in the business.
“As we look toward the future, we recognise that operating in Russia is not compatible with Binance’s compliance strategy,” Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman said, without referring to the war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special military operation.”
10:21am: Russia alleges US and UK aided Ukraine missile strike on Crimea naval HQ
Moscow claimed on Wednesday that Washington and London helped Ukraine strike the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in annexed Crimea last week.
“There is not the slightest doubt that the attack was planned in advance using Western intelligence assets, NATO satellite equipment, and reconnaissance aircraft,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. The missile strike was carried out “in close coordination with the American and British intelligence services”, she added.
8:51am: Polish minister says Ukraine grain talks are on the right track
Talks with Ukraine about the grain imports are going in a good direction, the Polish agriculture minister said on Wednesday, after a dispute between the two countries over Warsaw’s decision to extend a ban.
Kyiv’s relations with Warsaw have soured since Poland, along with Hungary and Slovakia, decided to extend the ban that was introduced to protect farmers from a surge in grain and food imports from Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The government in Warsaw, which has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies, is also under pressure from the far right to take a tougher stance on Ukraine ahead of October 15 elections.
3:45am: Russian drone strikes on Odesa region hit port area and cut ferry service to Romania
Russia struck the Black Sea region of Odesa in a drone barrage that damaged a warehouse, charred dozens of trucks and injured two drivers in fiery explosions that led to the suspension of the ferry service between Romania and Ukraine, officials said Tuesday.
Video shot from the Romanian side of the Danube River showed rapid bursts of Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire streaking through the night sky followed by two orange fireballs exploding near the port area. Photos showed burned-out frames of trucks.
Romanian Border Police said ferries were anchored on the Romanian shores of the Danube in Isaccea due to the attacks on Ukraine. Traffic was being redirected through Galati, a Romanian town upstream on the Danube.
Ukraine’s air force said it downed 26 of 38 drones launched by Russia overnight.
Key developments from Tuesday, September 26:
Several villages in Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine lost power Tuesday after a Ukrainian drone dropped explosives on an electricity substation, according to the region’s governor.
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Turkey’s parliament will keep its promise to ratify Sweden’s NATO bid if US President Joe Biden’s administration paves the way for F-16 jet sales to Ankara, President Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks carried by Turkish media.
US supplies of long-range ATACMS missiles and Abrams tanks to Ukraine will not change the situation on the battlefield, the Kremlin warned.
And Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and one of Russia’s most senior navy officers, was pictured attending a video conference, a day after Ukrainian special forces said they had killed him.
Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
© France Médias Monde graphic studio
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, and Reuters)
