Summary of the day
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said Russia has now received shipments of ballistic missiles from Iran and “will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians”.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom condemned the export of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia in a joint statement. “This act is an escalation by both Iran and Russia, and is a direct threat to European security,” they wrote.
The three countries also said “we will be taking immediate steps to cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran” and “will pursue the designations of significant entities and individuals involved with Iran’s ballistic missile programme.”
The UK added 7 designations under the Iran sanctions regime and 3 designations under the Russia sanctions regime.
Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s security council, said that Moscow is completing steps in order to sign a new treaty with Iran soon
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said sanctions against Iran are a positive step but reiterated a call for authorising the use of western weapons against military targets on Russian territory.
Ukraine has carried out one its biggest drone attacks on Russia since the beginning of the war, killing a woman in the Moscow region and forcing the closure of airports around the capital.
After Germany announced a plan to impose tighter controls at all its land borders, Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, said the decision is unacceptable for his country.
Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s security council, has said that Moscow is completing steps in order to sign a new treaty with Iran soon, Reuters reported citing Tass.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy has reiterated his position that “this year, we need a second Peace Summit.”
“This needs the maximum global involvement in implementing the Peace Formula and significantly strengthening our positions to make the fair process of restoring peace a reality,” he said.
This year, we need a second Peace Summit. This needs the maximum global involvement in implementing the Peace Formula and significantly strengthening our positions to make the fair process of restoring peace a reality.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 10, 2024
The @MFA_Ukraine team, the entire government team, the… pic.twitter.com/gKgVtbTtC0
The White House has said that sanctions over Russia receiving missiles from Iran are coming later today, Reuters reported.
The White House also said that dozens of Russian military personnel have been trained in Iran to use a close-range ballistic missile system and that there is a risk of miscalculations and missiles hitting outside Ukraine.
As we reported earlier, Germany’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, announced on Monday that the country will extend temporary controls to all German land borders.
Now, Poland’s prime minister has raised concerns about the plan.
Donald Tusk said Germany’s decision is unacceptable for Poland, and that his country would request urgent consultations with all countries affected, Reuters reported.
Updated
UK adds new designations under Iran and Russia sanctions regimes
The UK has “added 7 new designations under the Iran sanctions regime and 3 new designations under the Russia sanctions regime”, according to new guidance published today.
It has also “added 5 new ship specifications under the Russia sanctions regime”.
Updated
France, Germany and UK call export of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia 'direct threat to European security'
France, Germany and the United Kingdom have issued a joint statement.
The three countries condemned the export of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia and said they will be taking immediate steps to cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran. They also said they will pursue the designations of significant entities and individuals and will work towards imposing sanctions on Iran Air.
The governments of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom strongly condemn Iran’s export and Russia’s procurement of Iranian ballistic missiles. This is a further escalation of Iran’s military support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and will see Iranian missiles reaching European soil, increasing the suffering of the Ukrainian people. This act is an escalation by both Iran and Russia, and is a direct threat to European security.
The E3 has privately and publicly been clear that we would take new and significant measures against Iran if the transfers took place. We now have confirmation that Iran has made these transfers. We will be taking immediate steps to cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran. In addition, we will pursue the designations of significant entities and individuals involved with Iran’s ballistic missile programme and the transfer of ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia. We will also work towards imposing sanctions on Iran Air.
The E3 are closely coordinating our strong response to these transfers with our European and international partners. We call on Iran to immediately cease all support to Russia’s war against Ukraine and halt the development and transfers of its ballistic missiles.
Updated
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and his UK counterpart, David Lammy, have announced they will travel to Ukraine together this week.
It will be the first joint UK-US trip to the country as London and Washington seek to reaffirm their commitment to Kyiv.
Russia’s military lost more than 1,100 killed or wounded a day during July and August as it attacked Ukraine, British defence secretary John Healey told the UK’s House of Commons, and its forces are around 8km from the communications hub of Pokrovsk.
“Eastern Ukraine continues to be Russia’s main focus,” the minister said, though he praised Ukraine’s surprise counter attack into the Russian Kursk province last month, which helped “expose the vulnerabilities of [Vladmir] Putin’s frontline forces” and put the Russian president under pressure.
The minister said that “around 900 sq km of territory is now held by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region” - a figure that is lower than the 1,300 square kilometres claimed by Ukraine’s top military commander Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi at the end of last month.
Healey also warned that the UK was facing “a decade of growing Russian aggression” both in and beyond Ukraine, reporting that front line Nato states are “reporting Russian drones violating their airspace” and repeating warnings of Kremlin cyber and sabotage campaigns across Europe.
Britain, the minister told the UK parliament, remained committed to continuing training Ukrainian soldiers in the UK to at least 2025 and lifting defence spending to 2.5% of GDP in the medium term.
But he would not comment if the UK would be willing to spend more on Ukraine if Donald Trump were to win the US presidential election. Concerns remain that Trump, if elected, would cut or even halt US military aid on which Kyiv has relied to sustain its war effort.
The German foreign ministry has said that it will pursue the designations of significant entities and individuals involved with Iran’s ballistic missile programme and the transfer of ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia, Reuters reported.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, has said that “sanctions against Iran for supplying ballistic missiles to Russia are a positive step.”
But he added: “We also need authorization to use Western weapons against military targets on Russian territory, the provision of longer-range missiles, and the enhancement of our air defense systems.”
Sanctions against Iran for supplying ballistic missiles to Russia are a positive step.
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) September 10, 2024
We also need authorization to use Western weapons against military targets on Russian territory, the provision of longer-range missiles, and the enhancement of our air defense systems.
The British foreign secretary, David Lammy, and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, will be traveling to Kyiv together this week.
Blinken said that one of the aims of the trip is to hear from Ukraine’s leadership about their needs in this moment and their objectives.
It’s a pleasure to welcome @SecBlinken to London.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) September 10, 2024
The special relationship has been cherished on both sides of the Atlantic for more than 80 years, but together we are committed to supercharging our alliance to bring security and growth. pic.twitter.com/Z2793GyfGs
Updated
Russia has received ballistic missiles from Iran and 'will likely use them within weeks' in Ukraine, US warns
Russia has now received shipments of ballistic missiles from Iran and “will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians,” the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said today.
The secretary of state said that Washington has warned Tehran both publicly and privately that providing ballistic missiles would “constitute a dramatic escalation.”
“This development and the growing cooperation between Russia and Iran threatens European security and demonstrates how Iran’s destabilising influence reaches far beyond the Middle East,” he said.
Blinken also said the US will announce new sanctions on Iran.
The British foreign secretary, David Lammy, called the supply of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia a “significant escalation”.
Updated
“I think it’s a critical moment for Ukraine,” Antony Blinken said, warning that Russia is ramping up attacks on cities and people, and in particular targeting energy infrastructure.
'I think it's a critical moment for Ukraine'
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 10, 2024
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Secretary David Lammy are holding a news conference in London ahead of a visit to Ukraine later on this weekhttps://t.co/5VDjsJVAFm
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 pic.twitter.com/0Nmh8sksi1
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said that Russia has received shipments of Iranian ballistic missiles, Reuters reported.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, has thanked Australia for its support and said that “in addition to military aid, Ukraine is interested in decommissioned equipment.”
This includes “a large number of Australian decommissioned armoured vehicles and other items. This is a win-win: partners save resources, while Ukraine improves its defense capabilities,” he added.
I stressed that, in addition to military aid, Ukraine is interested in decommissioned equipment. Including a large number of Australian decommissioned armoured vehicles and other items. This is a win-win: partners save resources, while Ukraine improves its defense capabilities.
— Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) September 10, 2024
Ukraine plans to build a million drones by end of the year, prime minister says
Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s prime minister, has said that the country has increased its production of weapons this year, AFP reported.
“In the first eight months of 2024, we have doubled our weapons production compared to 2023. We are making progress. Drone production continues to grow,” the prime minister said, noting that Ukraine plans to build over a million drones by the end of the year.
The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said today that a large-scale drone attack on the Moscow region shows that the “Kyiv regime” is Russia’s enemy and Russia needs to keep fighting it, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian drone attacks kill one and force airport closures in Moscow
Ukraine has carried out one its biggest drone attacks on Russia since the beginning of the war, killing a woman in the Moscow region and forcing the closure of airports around the capital.
Russia’s defence ministry said overnight it had shot down 144 unmanned aerial vehicles, including 20 over Moscow. Others were intercepted in multiple other regions, it said.
Moscow’s mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, confirmed that a blaze had broken out on the runway at Zhukovsky airfield caused by falling debris from a drone. Videos circulating online showed a fire burning next to a plane and a passenger bus.
Three out of four Moscow airports were shut, including Domodedovo international airport, which was reportedly targeted for the first time. More than 30 domestic and international flights were suspended, Russian agencies reported.
A main road into Moscow, the Kashirskoye highway, was blocked because of falling drone wreckage.
Updated
Here’s the latest polling from Germany.
Germany, INSA poll:
— Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) September 10, 2024
CDU/CSU-EPP: 32.5% (+1.5)
AfD-ESN: 19.5% (+0.5)
SPD-S&D: 14% (-1)
GRÜNE-G/EFA: 10%
BSW-NI: 10%
FDP-RE: 4%
LINKE-LEFT: 2.5% (-0.5)
+/- vs. 2-6 September 2024
Fieldwork: 6-10 September 2024
Sample size: 2,010
➤ https://t.co/obOCVirbpF#btw25 #Bundestag… pic.twitter.com/Fmrj5WY3o8
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders has praised Germany’s move to temporarily extend land border controls and said the Netherlands should do the same.
Goed idee moeten wij ook doen! pic.twitter.com/3UYLATBRKj
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) September 9, 2024
Nancy Faeser, the German interior minister, also said that the government has designed a scheme enabling authorities to reject more migrants directly at German borders, Reuters reported.
No details of the scheme were made public yet.
Austria’s interior minister, Gerhard Karner, told Bild that his country would not take in any migrants turned away by Germany, saying “there’s no room for manoeuvre there.”
Germany expands border controls
Germany’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, announced on Monday that the country will extend temporary controls to all German land borders in what she describes as a response to irregular migration and to protect the country from extremist threats.
The interior ministry said that it notified Brussels of the order to set up border controls at the land borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark for a period of six months, the Associated Press reported.
The controls will begin on 16 September, and come in addition to restrictions already in place on Germany’s land borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland.
Faeser said:
We are strengthening our internal security through concrete action and we are continuing our tough stance against irregular migration.
The minister also said:
Until we achieve strong protection of the EU’s external borders with the new Common European Asylum System, we must increase controls at our national borders even more.
The move comes after a deadly knife attack in Soligen killed three people last month and after police in Munich exchange fire with a gunman near the Israeli consulate last week.
It also comes amid growing political pressure on the German coalition government, after the far-right Alternative für Deutschland won a state election in Thuringia this month.
