Closing summary
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, talked with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Saturday, Zelenskiy said, in a call in which the two leaders discussed Ukraine’s peace formula, food security, and the situation in the Middle East.
Russia struck areas of eastern and southern Ukraine with artillery and missiles on Friday and Saturday, killing at least three people and injuring others, officials said.
Three more children have been rescued from Russia and brought back to Ukraine, the Ukrainian parliament’s commissioner for human rights, Dmytro Lubinets, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
More than a third of the territory of Ukraine is contaminated with mines and explosive objects due to the war with Russia, the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine posted on Telegram.
Germany will reportedly provide an additional €200m (£175m) to Ukraine to support the country’s restoration of its education and healthcare systems, its drinking water supplies, and the reconstruction of its cities.
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Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said he has spoken with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, about terrorism, the situation in the Middle East, and Sweden’s Nato accession.
Sweden and Finland applied to join Nato last year after Russia invaded Ukraine. Finnish membership was sealed in April, marking a historic expansion of the western defence bloc, but Sweden’s bid has been held up by Turkey and Hungary.
Turkey has said Sweden must take more steps at home to clamp down on the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which the EU and US also deem a terrorist group.
Turkey, with Nato’s second biggest military force, is still expected to ultimately endorse Sweden’s bid and could rapidly move on it, according to Reuters,
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Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said he has spoken with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He thanked the Turkish leader “for persistently supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Zelenskiy said they discussed a range of topics, including Ukraine’s peace formula, food security and the Middle East.
I spoke with @RTErdogan to thank Türkiye for persistently supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 21, 2023
We discussed the next round of the Peace Formula talks in Malta. Türkiye will participate, adding its authoritative voice and stance.
Food security. Despite…
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A man died as Russian forces shelled the Ukrainian-held town of Nikopol from their stronghold at Ukraine’s largest nuclear plant, according to the regional governor, Serhiy Lysak.
Lysak said that emergency services in Nikopol were working to assess the damage, the Associated Press reports.
Russian troops took over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant early in the war, sparking intermittent fears of a radiation incident as shelling persisted near the site, often targeting Ukrainian-controlled settlements across the Dnipro River.
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Since midnight, Russia has released 24 guided aerial bombs in the Ukrainian region of Kherson, governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Saturday.
He posted on Telegram that four settlements in the Beryslav district were under fire. These claims have not yet been independently verified.
Here are some images taken of members of the Ukrainian army in the Donetsk region of Ukraine:
Summary of the day so far ...
Three more children have been rescued from Russia and brought back to Ukraine, the Ukrainian’s parliament commissioner for human rights, Dmytro Lubinets, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
More than a third of the territory of Ukraine is contaminated with mines and explosive objects due to the war with Russia, the official account of the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine posted on Telegram.
Ukrainian officials said at least two civilians were killed and others injured across Ukraine in the past 24 hours as Russian forces continued to shell frontline areas and other parts of the country. In Kryvyi Rih, a 60-year-old man died on Friday evening when a Russian missile slammed into an industrial facility, according to Telegram posts by mayor Oleksandr Vilkul. In Ukraine’s Kherson region in the south, one civilian was killed and another suffered wounds as Russian forces launched shelling attacks, governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Saturday.
Germany will reportedly provide an additional €200m (£175m) to Ukraine to support the country’s restoration of its education and healthcare systems, its drinking water supplies, and the reconstruction of its cities.
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Three more children have been rescued from Russia and brought back to Ukraine, the Ukrainian’s parliament commissioner for human rights, Dmytro Lubinets, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Three more Ukrainian children returned to the Homeland!
— Dmytro Lubinets (@lubinetzs) October 21, 2023
The work of returning children home will continue, so once again I sincerely thank everyone who helps to do this.
It is necessary for the state, it is necessary for our future!@ZelenskyyUa @UAcinderella pic.twitter.com/ruuRHO2LXo
Kyiv has said about 20,000 children have been taken from Ukraine to Russia or Russian-held territory without the consent of family or guardians. It calls this a war crime that meets the UN treaty definition of genocide.
Moscow, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, denies committing the accusation and says it has protected vulnerable children from the war zone.
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Over a third of Ukraine's territory is contaminated with mines and explosive objects, Ukraine says
More than a third of the territory of Ukraine is contaminated with mines and explosive objects due to the war with Russia, the official account of the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine posted on Telegram.
It wrote:
Over the past week, specialists of the support forces command of the armed forces of Ukraine examined and cleared more than 260 hectares of agricultural land and other territories of explosive objects, where 3,530 explosive objects were removed and neutralized.
In total, since the beginning of the large-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, demining groups of units of the support forces command of the armed forces of Ukraine have cleared more than 11,285 thousand hectares of agricultural land of explosive objects, removed and neutralized 135,792 explosive objects.
At least two civilians have been killed in Russian overnight attacks, officials say
At least two people were killed and others injured across Ukraine as Russian forces continued to shell frontline areas and other parts of the country, local Ukrainian officials reported on Saturday.
In Kryvyi Rih, Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s home town in central Ukraine, a 60-year-old man died on Friday evening when a Russian missile hit an industrial facility, according to Telegram posts by mayor Oleksandr Vilkul.
Vilkul added that the man’s wife was hospitalised with serious shrapnel wounds.
Early on Saturday, Vilkul reported that Russian missiles and drones overnight hit the same site again, causing unspecified damage and sparking a fire that was put out by morning. He said nobody was hurt in the second strike, the Associated Press reports.
In Ukraine’s Kherson region in the south, one civilian was killed and another suffered wounds as Russian forces launched shelling attacks, governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Saturday.
In a Telegram post, Prokudin said Russian troops had used mortars, artillery, tanks, drones, and multiple-rocket launchers to target the province, striking some residential areas. These claims are yet to be independently verified.
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Germany pledges further £175m for Ukraine reconstruction - reports
Germany will reportedly provide an additional €200m (£175m) to Ukraine to support the country’s restoration of its education and healthcare systems, its drinking water supplies, and the reconstruction of its cities.
The commitment was made by Jochen Flasbarth, the state secretary in the federal ministry for economic cooperation and development, the Kyiv Independent cites the dpa news agency as reporting.
While in Kyiv, he was also said to have highlighted the importance of supporting key sectors of Ukraine’s economy, such as agriculture, because people “need prospects and jobs”.
Earlier this month, Germany unveiled another support package for Ukraine, worth around €1bn, according to its defence ministry.
Speaking at the time, the country’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said:
Germany will continue to support Ukraine with what it needs most urgently – air defence, ammunition and tanks.
With this new ‘winter package’ we are further increasing the operational readiness of the Ukrainian armed forces in the coming months.
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Ukraine’s youth and sports committee has recommended adopting a bill on the status of victims of sexual violence related to Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The Telegram account of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, listed a number of legislative proposals that could help determine the legal basis for providing victims with “immediate compensation” and support for themselves and their family members.
The amount of compensation will be determined by the cabinet of ministers of Ukraine, it wrote.
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Here are some of the latest images coming out of Ukraine from the newswires:
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Russia is using its spy network, state-run media and social media to undermine public trust in elections around the world, according to a US intelligence report that has been shared with about 100 countries.
“Russia is focused on carrying out operations to degrade public confidence in election integrity,” said the report released on Friday, citing findings from the US intelligence community.
“This is a global phenomenon. Our information indicates that senior Russian government officials, including in the Kremlin, see value in this type of influence operation and perceive it to be effective.”
The assessment, which was sent in a cable to the embassies of about 100 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia engaged in a “concerted effort” between 2020 and 2022 to undermine public confidence in at least 11 elections across nine democracies, including the United States, the report said.
An additional 17 democracies were targeted through “less pronounced” methods involving Russian messaging and social media activity that sought to amplify domestic narratives related to election integrity, it added.
You can read the full story here:
At night, Russia struck Kryvyi Rih with missiles and drones, Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, posted on Telegram.
There was damage to an industrial infrastructure facility, it was reported.
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In its latest intelligence update, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has commented on Vladimir Putin’s announcement on 18 October that Russia would begin conducting fighter patrols in the eastern Black Sea using the MiG-31I interceptor aircraft armed with Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles.
Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, the MoD wrote:
His justification referred to the recent uplift in the US’ maritime presence in the eastern Mediterranean, with the intent of holding these vessels at risk using a weapon system with a published range of up to 2000km…
The specific mention of the Kinzhal missile and its capabilities by Putin was almost certainly for strategic messaging purposes, to demonstrate that Russia remains able to produce and operate newly developed weapons, despite the ongoing Ukrainian conflict.
The Kinzhal effectively remains in operational testing, with its performance in Ukraine to date being poor.
It remains highly capable on paper, able to fly at hypersonic speeds and evade modern air defence systems, although there almost certainly needs to be significant improvement in how Russia uses it to achieve this potential.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Below is a summary of the latest developments:
The European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council chief, Charles Michel, met Joe Biden at the White House on Friday as the EU sought reassurance of continued US support for Ukraine to repel Russia’s invading forces amid the instability of the Israel-Hamas war.
The United States is by far the biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine.
“These conflicts show democracies must stand together,” Von der Leyen told reporters as the three leaders presented a united front.
Biden - who on Thursday drew a direct link between the two conflicts as he urged Americans to back a $106bn aid package for Ukraine and Israel – said the EU and US “stood together”.
“We stood together to support the brave people of Ukraine in the face of [the Russian president, Vladimir] Putin’s aggression,” Biden said. “We’re standing together now to support Israel in the wake of Hamas’s appalling terrorist attack.”
Other developments include:
The White House asked Congress on Friday to approve a $106bn (£87bn) package of emergency aid to Israel and Ukraine, as well as to the southern US border. The request includes $61.4bn for Ukraine, $44.4bn of which is to provide defence department equipment for the country. For Israel, the Biden administration is asking for $14.3bn. In addition, the package includes $9.15bn for the US state department to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Gaza.
A United Nations commission of inquiry found additional evidence that Russian forces had committed “indiscriminate attacks” and war crimes in Ukraine, including rape and the deportation of children to Russia.
The security service of Ukraine has sent an indictment to the court against the former abbot of the Ukrainian Orthodox monastery Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Authorities charged Metropolitan Pavel with the violation of the equality of citizens, and justification, recognition as legitimate or denial of the armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine. It comes a day after Ukraine’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to advance legislation seen as effectively banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its ties to Moscow, despite the church’s insistence it is fully independent and supportive of Ukraine’s fight against Russian invaders.
Ukraine has recovered 14 archaeological items allegedly stolen by a Russian man, from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. The return of the artefacts is a small victory amid the widespread destruction and pillaging of historical sites and treasures that has accompanied the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have estimated total losses as being in the hundreds of millions of euros, and the ministry of culture reports that the number of buildings of cultural value damaged or destroyed has reached at least 623. After Ukrainian forces liberated the city of Kherson, authorities discovered 16,000 items missing from the art museum.
A Ukrainian strike on Russian helicopters and air defence equipment this week could prompt Moscow to once again move its operating bases and command and control nodes further from the frontline, the UK defence ministry said in its daily intelligence briefing.
A Russian-American journalist has been detained in Russia on charges of violating its foreign agents law, reportedly due to her coverage of Russia’s military mobilisation for its invasion of Ukraine. Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor with Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty’s (RFE-RL) Tatar-Bashkir service, was detained on Wednesday.
European leaders are frustrated about the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, in Beijing this week. “As it has been repeatedly shown, Putin does not meet European leaders with the aim of achieving peace in Ukraine,” said Petr Pavel, the president of the Czech Republic. “Peace can be achieved without any negotiations on his part simply by ceasing attacks and withdrawing his troops from Ukrainian territory.”
Ukraine claimed to make a small incremental gain of 400 metres to the south-west of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region. Military spokesperson Oleksandr Stupun said the southern advance was still difficult because of Russian minefields and heavily fortified defences.
Nato is stepping up patrols in the Baltic Sea after recent damage to undersea infrastructure. “The increased measures include additional surveillance and reconnaissance flights. A fleet of four Nato minehunters is also being dispatched to the area,” Nato said in a statement.
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