Russia ‘captures major town in east Ukraine’

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Moscow has claimed to have captured a “major” town in eastern Ukraine as its forces continue to make grinding advances in the Donetsk region.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Monday it had “liberated” the town of Artemovo, known as Zalizne in Ukraine, describing it as one of the area’s “major population centres”.
With a recorded population of 5,000 people in 2022, its capture would represent the largest single gain made by Russia in recent weeks after capturing a series of smaller settlements nearby, some no bigger than a single street.
But as all eyes remain fixed on Ukraine’s unprecedented two-week-old invasion into Russia’s Kursk region, Kyiv has repeatedly warned Moscow is steadily driving towards the key hub of Pokrovsk.
The city is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds in the Donetsk region that supplies Ukrainian troops and towns across the eastern front and has long been a major target for Russia.
Ukraine’s army chief confirmed that “heavy fighting” was taking place close to Pokrovsk, where Russian forces are now less than six miles from the city limits.
Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky said that the enemy had tried to storm their positions 45 times in the past 24 hours, while a record number of clashes were recorded last week.
He added that Kyiv was “doing everything necessary” to protect the town of Toretsk, 29 miles east of Pokrovsk, which has seen an intensified Russian push as well.
Officials in the city on Monday ordered the forced evacuation of families with children from Pokrovsk, where 53,000 civilians including 4,000 children remain.
Civilians have “a week or two, no more,” Serhiy Dobriak, the head of Pokrovsk’s military administration warned, as he urged civilians to get out as soon as possible.
If the city were to fall, it would be the largest population centre taken since the eastern city Bakhmut fell to Russia in May 2023.
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Keir Starmer’s government has insisted there is no change on the UK’s position on Ukraine using Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia despite criticism from Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president complained on Sunday that British support was “slowing down” as his forces continued their unprecedented incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.
No. 10 said on Monday that there had been “no change in the UK’s position on that (Storm Shadow) specifically”, upholding the Conservative’s ban, even though Mr Zelensky called it “crucial” to lift restrictions.
Other weapons supplied by Britain, including Challenger 2 tanks, have been used as part of the Kursk invasion.
It follows ongoing concerns that the use of UK-made Storm Shadows to strike targets deep into Russia could lead to an escalation with nuclear-armed Moscow.
A former American soldier wanted on charges of child pornography in the US has confirmed that he has joined the Russian military. 
Wilmer Puello-Mota, who served in the US air force for 10 years, said he does not consider himself to be a traitor, despite his country’s vehement support of Ukraine in fighting Russia. 
“The United States and Russia aren’t at war,” Mr Puello-Mota said in a video posted by Russia’s ministry of defence on Monday.
Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, will serve as a messenger between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Ukraine this week, US media has reported. 
While Mr Modi turned down the idea of him acting as an official mediator, he has reportedly agreed to share messages between the two leaders, Bloomberg reported on Monday. 
The Indian foreign ministry confirmed today that Mr Modi will visit Ukraine on Aug 23 for the first time since the war broke out. 
Since launching its unprecedented invasion of Kursk nearly two weeks ago, Ukraine claims it has taken control of 1,150 sq km of land across more than 80 settlements.
It was the first time Russia experienced an invasion since the Second World War, a move which Kyiv said on Monday was designed to create a “buffer zone” to prevent further Moscow attacks.
A key part of this has been the destruction of three bridges that cross a strategically important river in Russia’s border region.
Their destruction – detailed in locations below – has left Moscow with few options to bring supplies across the water.
George Clooney’s foundation has been banned from operating inside Russia after Moscow accused the Hollywood star and his wife of discrediting the country “on a Hollywood scale”. 
“The activities of the foreign non-governmental organisation Clooney Foundation for Justice, USA (’Clooney Foundation for Justice’) have been deemed undesirable on the territory of our country,” the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation said on Monday.
According to its website, the Clooney Foundation for Justice has been “actively investigating war crimes in Ukraine” and “crimes against humanity” committed by Russia in Ukraine.
Its stated aim is to “trigger criminal prosecutions and bring justice to the survivors”.
Earlier we reported that Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, will visit Ukraine for the first time since war broke out in 2022.
India’s foreign ministry has now confirmed that Mr Modi will visit Ukraine on Aug 23.
The announcement follows Mr Modi’s meeting with Vladimir Putin last month.
Ukraine has destroyed a third bridge that crosses a strategically important river in Russia’s Kursk region, Moscow has claimed.
The bridge, located near the village of Karzyzh, was the final permanent structure crossing the river Seym, leaving Moscow with few options to bring supplies across the water.
It comes after the head of Ukraine’s air force, Mykola Oleshchuk, published two videos showing air strikes on two other bridges across the river near the towns of Glushkovo and Zvannoe.
Analysts have said their destruction could help Kyiv consolidate its control on the roughly 1,100 sq km of territory it has captured during an unprecedented incursion into Russian soil.
Western analysts believe that the only route Russia has to reinforce and resupply its forces south of the river is a temporary pontoon, which is close to the destroyed bridge near Glushkovo.
Ukraine did not immediately claim responsibility for the apparent strike.
Russia will have added 200,000 extra troops to its armed forces by the end of the year, Ukraine’s deptuy defence minister has suggested.
This would see Moscow’s troops level rise from the current level of 600,000 to 800,000, Forbes reported on Monday. 
There has been no change in the UK’s position on Ukraine using Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson has said. 
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President, has repeatedly asked for permission to use the weapons, which he believes could help Kyiv win the war. 
Asked whether Ukraine is permitted to use the missiles in Kursk, a No 10 spokesperson said: “We are providing military aid to support Ukraine’s clear right to self-defence.”
There has been “no change in the UK’s position on that (Storm Shadow) specifically”, she added. 
More than 121,000 people have been evacuated from Kursk since Kyiv launched its invasion nearly two weeks ago, Russia’s emergencies ministry said on Monday. 
Russian authorities have restricted access to the popular messaging app Signal in a bid to prevent private hostility towards Vladimir Putin’s regime, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. 
Moscow said that access to the app had been limited to “prevent the use of the messenger for extremist or terrorist purposes”. 
Others have suggested that access has been limited to stop Russians spreading information about Kyiv’s invasion into Kursk, which the MoD describes as “unlikely”. 
The MoD said on Monday: “The restriction is likely meant to enhance the Russian authorities’ capacity to monitor and limit the communications of private citizens opposed to the Putin regime.”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 19 August 2024.Find out more about Defence Intelligence’s use of language: https://t.co/dMKKXwAFgP#StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/B3i0eAgERu
A fire at an oil storage depot deep inside Russia is still raging, more than 24 hours after it was attacked by Ukrainian drones.
Russian authorities blamed the blaze at the facility on the outskirts of Proletarsk – a city in the southern Rostov region – on fallen debris after the drones were intercepted by air defence units early on Sunday morning.
“It stored oil and petroleum products that were also supplied to the needs of the Russian occupation army,” Ukraine’s military said in a statement on Sunday, confirming the successful strike.
Russia is “blackmailing the world” with its control of Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.
Mr Zelensky said Moscow’s control of the power plant “poses a fundamental threat to the radiation safety of our country, all of Europe, and the world”.
“Russia is blackmailing the world with the threat of a catastrophe at the ZNPP,” the Ukrainian president said.
“Only the return of the plant to Ukrainian control will ensure full compliance with all safety standards and normalise the situation around the ZNPP.”
Families with children in Pokrovsk were ordered by Ukrainian officials on Monday to evacuate the eastern city amid rapid Russian advances.
“We are starting the forced evacuation of families with children from the Pokrovsk community,” Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said.
As one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and logistics hubs, Pokrovsk has been a key target for Moscow for several months.
Analysts believe its capture would compromise Kyiv’s defensive abilities and key supply routes. 
It comes after Moscow claimed it had taken control of the town Zalizne, also in Donetsk. 
Washington “gave the command” for attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines to go ahead, Russia’s foreign minister has said.
“It is clear that to carry out such a terrorist attack, there was a command from the very top, as they say, the very top for the West is, of course, Washington,” Sergei Lavrov told Izvestia news outlet on Monday.
It follows a report that Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President, authorised a plan to attack the pipelines, before being asked to call it off by the CIA.
German authorities last week issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian citizen named “Volodymyr Z” as part of their investigation.
Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed for the first time that the objective of Ukraine’s operation in Kursk is to create a buffer zone.
The Ukrainian president had previously said that the purpose of the invasion, which was launched on Aug 6, was to protect communities in the bordering Sumy region from constant shelling.
“It is now our primary task in defensive operations overall – to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counter-offensive actions,” Mr Zelensky said on Sunday evening.
“This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory – our operation in the Kursk region.”
Ukraine’s armed forces claimed on Sunday it had destroyed a key bridge over the Seym River in Kursk, which is used to supply Russian forces. The bridge was the second attacked by Ukraine since Friday.
Moscow is not yet ready to hold peace talks with Ukraine, a Russian presidential aide has said. 
Yuri Ushakov said on Monday that peace talks were not possible due to Kyiv’s recent attack on Russia’s Kursk border region. 
Ms Ushakov, speaking as part of a video statement broadcast by the SHOT news outlet, added that its previous peace proposals had not been withdrawn.
Moscow previously said peace talks would only take place if Kyiv recognises Russian sovereignty over the regions it annexed in 2022. 
Moscow has claimed that Ukraine struck and damaged the third and final bridge on the River Seym in Kursk on Sunday, the Reuters news agency reported. 
The first was attacked on Friday near the town of Glushkovo, while a second appeared to have been damaged on Saturday near the Russian town of Zvannoye.
Kyiv has sought to disrupt Moscow’s supply routes by destroying key bridges which are used to resupply Russian forces.
Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk could be a game changer in the course of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Mark Kelly, the senator for Arizona, has said. 
Mr Kelly, who had been in the running to be Kamala Harris’ running mate in the US presidential election, said on Sunday that the “unpredictable” nature of the offensive “could really change the tide of how this conflict’s gonna play out”. 
Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation”, Mr Kelly also confirmed he was comfortable with US weapons being used on Russian soil. 
“The Ukrainians were illegally attacked by Vladimir Putin,” he said.
“This incursion, and I’ll just, let’s characterise it that way for now. I don’t think the Ukrainians want to intentionally hold Russian territory for a long period of time, but this really set Putin back on his heels,” the senator added. 
Ukrainian supporters were pictured waving the country’s flags as they made their way through the streets of Chicago ahead of this week’s Democratic National Convention. 
Last month, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) announced that the month of August in Chicago would be dedicated to Ukraine. 
Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, will visit Ukraine, the country’s foreign ministry has said. 
It will be Mr Modi’s first trip to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in 2022.
It follows his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month. 
Elon Musk has denied gifting a Cybertruck to a Chechen warlord who filmed himself driving the Tesla vehicle around Grozny in Russia over the weekend. 
Ramzan Kadyrov posted the footage over the weekend alongside the caption: “Elon, thank you! Come to Grozny, I will receive you as my most dear guest!”
He added that he would send the Cybertruck to the battlefield to help Russian forces continue its invasion of Ukraine. 
Mr Kadyrov’s post sparked rumours that Mr Musk gifted the staunch Putin ally the vehicle, which the Tesla founder has firmly denied. 
He wrote on X: “Are you seriously so r******d that you think I donated a Cybertruck to a Russian general? That’s amazing.”
He added: “Yet another example of how much the legacy media lies.” 
Kadyrov said he received a Tesla Cybertrack from Elon Musk. He promised to send it to the “special military operation” zone and attached a machine gun to it.”Elon, thank you! Come to Grozny, I will receive you as the most dear guest! I do not think that our Russian MFA will be… pic.twitter.com/m72fg2G2PU
Volodymyr Zelensky has warned Sir Keir Starmer that there are “no holidays in war” in a call for British weapons deliveries to be accelerated.
The Ukrainian president also singled out France and the United States as he seeks to replenish his forces involved in the ambitious incursion into Russian territory in the Kursk region.
“Our guys are doing great on all fronts”, he said in his nightly address late on Sunday. “However, there is a need for faster delivery of supplies from our partners. We strongly ask for this.“There are no vacations in war. Decisions are needed, as is timely logistics for the announced aid packages. I especially address this to the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.”His direct warning to Sir Keir came after the wartime leader had complained British support was “slowing down”, and one of the president’s top aides set out Kyiv’s most comprehensive argument for Storm Shadow cruise missiles to be used to strike targets inside Russia.
Notably, Mr Zelensky did not mention Germany in his appeal after it emerged Berlin was struggling to find the funds to continue supporting Kyiv militarily in the coming years.
Moscow has moved at least 5,000 troops out of Ukraine to defend Kursk, military analysts have suggested. 
As many as eleven battalions may have been redeployed out of Ukraine, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank. 
This includes troops from occupied Donetsk and Vovchansk, Kharkiv. 
Ukraine said on Sunday it had struck a second key bridge in the Kursk region. 
Kyiv has sought to disrupt Moscow’s supply routes as its invasion of Russia stretched through its second week.
“Minus one more bridge,” Mykola Oleshchuk, the Ukrainian air force commander said, publishing an aerial video of a blast tearing through a bridge near the Russian town of Zvannoye.
Sir Keir Starmer is under fresh pressure to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Storm Shadow missiles after Volodymyr Zelensky said British support was “slowing down”, write Ben Riley-Smith and Tony Diver.
Four former Tory defence secretaries told The Telegraph Sir Keir should do more to help Ukraine, after John Healey, his Defence Secretary, said Britain’s support would be “iron clad” under Labour.
That includes Sir Michael Fallon, who served under Theresa May, Ben Wallace, who served under Boris Johnson, as well as Sir Gavin Williamson and Grant Shapps. 
Read the full story here.
Ukraine destroyed all 11 drones that Moscow launched overnight, including on Kyiv, its air force said on Monday.
The drones were destroyed over the Mykolaiv, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Sumy and Donetsk regions, the air force revealed. 
There were no immediate reports of any damage due to the attack or falling drone debris.
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