Director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs Liam Wasley.
| Photo Credit: PTI

“India, as a critical security provider globally, must play a constructive role in ensuring peace in Ukraine and providing it with the impetus to be able to negotiate with Russia,” a senior U.S. official has said.

Liam Wasley, Director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs at the U.S. State Department said this, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-profile visit to Moscow and his meeting with President Vladimir Putin, including on the Ukraine conflict.

Mr. Wasley said Indians should understand how much of a threat President Putin and his country are to America’s European allies and the NATO alliance. “It has also been a very jarring direct threat to the security of a billion members of democracies,” Mr. Wasley told PTI in an interview.

“I think that the Indian people can recognise how that is impacting the understanding and the approach of our NATO allies. It’s really important for India to be playing a constructive role in ensuring a just peace for Ukraine and providing the impetus for Ukraine to be able to negotiate to ensure its own future,” he said.

Leaders of the 32-member NATO alliance gathered in Washington DC this week for the 75th anniversary summit meeting where Russia’s war in Ukraine and China has been the two major topics of discussion.

He mentioned NATO’s strong statement in Washington on Wednesday on China’s role in enabling the Russian war machine and continuing the war in Ukraine. Russia would not be able to continue its onslaught on the Ukrainian people if it were not for the technology and the support that they are getting from China, Iran, and North Korea.

When asked if the Indian Prime Minister was insensitive to the security concerns of Europe and NATO allies, Mr. Wasley said: “We think it’s important for Indians to understand how those forces are contributing to extending and continuing an unjust, unprovoked war for several years.”

Referring to the meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden along with NATO allies and with the heads of state of Indo-Pacific partners, Mr. Wasley said part of this is because many aspects of security are now global.

“The declaration yesterday focussed on undersea warfare, focused on cyberspace, focussed on war in space. These are conversations that we’re having with our Indo-Pacific partners. Those were conversations that I can see are a future role for India because their security, our security, all of our security is interconnected,” he said, adding that there is room for this conversation to grow.

Describing NATO as a defensive alliance, he said it relies on the interest of other partners to want to be engaged. “I think that that is a decision for India to take, whether it wants a deeper relationship with NATO or with individual NATO partners,” he said.

Responding to a question, he said India has not chosen to be a partner of NATO. “India is a critical security provider and projector in a very large part of the world. We think India has enormous influence and an enormous voice and will have a great impact on how the future of the international security environment develops. This is why I think India can play a constructive role in bringing peace to Ukraine,” he said.

“This is why I think India has a key role in the conversation as we deal with the global security threats that we are all grappling with,” he added.

Mr. Wasley said the NATO alliance has shown that it is united in support of Ukraine and providing Ukraine with the support, the political support, the material support it needs to defend its own people, defend its own territory, and forge a just and lasting peace.

“It’s up to India to figure out how it can best contribute to that role,” he said. “The reference to China in the Washington declaration,” he said, captures the mood of the alliance.

“It captures the tone of the conversations that we’ve been having as allies for the past two years. China has stepped up its role in supporting Putin and in his no-limits partnership. So, I think it’s a recognition that China has decided that it is seeking to influence this conflict by enabling Putin,” Mr. Wasley said.

In this image released by the U.S. Department of Defense, German soldiers assigned to Surface Air and Missile Defense Wing 1, fire the Patriot weapons system at the NATO Missile Firing Installation, in Chania, Greece, on Nov. 8, 2017. U.S. officials say the Pentagon is expected to announce that it will provide about $6 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine. It will include much sought after munitions for Patriot air defense systems and other weapons.
| Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. is expected to announce Friday that it will provide about $6 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said, adding that it will include much sought after munitions for Patriot air defense systems.

The officials said the aid package will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term contracts with the defense industry and means that it could take many months or years for the weapons to arrive. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.

The new funding — the largest tranche of USAI aid sent to date — will include a wide array of munitions for air defense, such as the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAM) and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), as well as the Patriot munitions, Switchblade and Puma drones, counter drone systems and artillery.

The announcement is expected to come as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin convenes a virtual meeting on Friday of defense officials from Europe and around the world to discuss international aid for Ukraine. The gathering — created by Austin and known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group — has been meeting about monthly for the past two years, and is the primary forum for weapons contributions to Kyiv for the war.

It follows the White House decision earlier this week to approve the delivery of $1 billion in weapons and equipment to Ukraine. Those weapons include a variety of ammunition, including air defense munitions and large amounts of artillery rounds that are much in demand by Ukrainian forces, as well as armored vehicles and other weapons.

That aid, however, will get to Ukraine quickly because it is being pulled off Pentagon shelves, including in warehouses in Europe.

The large back-to-back packages are the result of the new infusion of about $61 billion in funding for Ukraine that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday. And they provide weapons Kyiv desperately needs to stall gains being made by Russian forces in the war.

Bitterly divided members of Congress deadlocked over the funding for months, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson to cobble together a bipartisan coalition to pass the bill. The $95 billion foreign aid package, which also included billions for Israel and Taiwan, passed the House on Saturday, and the Senate approved it Tuesday.

Senior U.S. officials have described dire battlefield conditions in Ukraine, as troops run low on munitions and Russian forces make gains.

Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, the U.S. has sent more than $44 billion worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine.

Among the weapons provided to Ukraine were Abrams M1A1 battle tanks. But Ukraine has now sidelined them in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press.

A handout picture released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows a demonstration flight of military drones at a training range in the Moscow military district, in Russia, picture released April 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Ukraine launched a barrage of drones across Russia overnight, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said Saturday, in attacks that appeared to target the country’s energy infrastructure.

Fifty drones were shot down by air defences over eight Russian regions, including 26 over the country’s western Belgorod region close to the Ukrainian border.

Two people — a woman with a broken leg and the man caring for her — died during the barrage, after explosions sparked a blaze that set their home alight, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on social media.

Drones were also reportedly destroyed over the Bryansk, Kursk, Tula, Smolensk, Ryazan, Kaluga regions across Russia’s west and south, as well as in the Moscow region.

Ukrainian officials normally decline to comment about attacks on Russian soil. However, many of the drone strikes appeared to be directed toward Russia’s energy infrastructure.

The head of the Kaluga region, Vladislav Shapsha, said Saturday that a drone strike had sparked a blaze at an electrical substation, while Bryansk Gov. Alexander Bogomaz and Smolensk Gov. Vasily Anokhin also reported fires at fuel and energy complexes.

In recent months, Russian refineries and oil terminals have become priority targets of Ukrainian drone attacks, part of stepped-up assaults on Russian territory.

Ukrainian drone developers have been extending the weapons’ range for months, as Kyiv attempts to compensate for its battlefield disadvantage in weapons and troops.

The unmanned aerial vehicles are also an affordable option while Ukraine waits for more U.S. military aid.

Moscow also said Friday evening that an American citizen known to have fought with Kremlin-backed separatists in Ukraine between 2014 and 2017 had died in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region.

Russell Bentley, 64, was no longer involved in military operations and previously worked for state-owned Russian news agency Sputnik. His death was confirmed by his former battalion and by Margarita Simonyan, head of the state-funded television channel RT, who described him as “a real American.”

He used the call-sign “Texas” and had spent time in prison on charges of drug smuggling before leaving the United States.

No information has been released as to the cause of Bentley’s death, but local police had previously reported the American as missing on April 8.

Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with seven missiles, and air defences downed two missiles and three reconnaissance drones, the Ukrainian air force said Saturday.

Gov. Oleh Kiper, head of Ukraine’s Odesa region, said that ballistic missiles had damaged infrastructure overnight, but did not provide further details.

Previous attacks on the Black Sea city on Friday damaged port infrastructure, including two food export terminals, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Russian shelling also killed a 50-year-old man in the city of Vovchansk, said Gov. Oleh Syniehubov, head of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.

A 60-year-old woman was also injured after shelling struck a nine-story apartment block, he said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
| Photo Credit: AP

A Polish man has been arrested on allegations of being ready to spy on behalf of Russia’s military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Polish prosecutors said Thursday.

The office of Poland’s National Prosecutor said in a statement that the man, identified only as Pawel K., was accused of being prepared to pass airport security information to Russian agents and that he was arrested in Poland on Wednesday.

The man was seeking contact with Russians directly involved in the war in Ukraine and was expected to pass on detailed information about the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport in south-eastern Poland, near the border with Ukraine, which is the gateway for international military and humanitarian supplies for Ukraine. The airport is under the control of U.S. troops.

If convicted, the man could face up to eight years in prison, the statement said.

The prosecutors said the arrest is the result of close cooperation with the prosecutors and security services of Ukraine, who tipped them off and who provided crucial evidence. The case is developing, they said.

European Union member Poland has been a staunch supporter of neighbouring Ukraine and Mr. Zelensky in fending off Russia’s aggression of more than two years.

A resident of Kupwara who joined as a security helper with the Russian Army last year. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

“Two Russia-based agents involved in the human-trafficking network that pushed Indians into the Ukraine war zone are under the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) scanner,” officials said on March 8.

“The agents allegedly confiscated the passports of Indians arriving in Russia and forced them to fight with the armed forces,” officials said. The network was busted by the CBI on March 7.

“Christina and Moinuddin Chippa, a resident of Rajasthan, are based in Russia and were facilitating the trafficking of Indian youth to Russia by offering them lucrative job opportunities there,” officials said.

“The Central probe agency’s FIR has listed 17 other Visa consultancy companies, their owners and agents spread across India,” they said.

Watch | Two years of Russia-Ukraine war: How Russia and the world are changing

The agency has booked them under Indian Penal Code Sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating and human trafficking. The CBI has alleged that the accused persons through their agents trafficked Indian nationals to Russia on the pretext of getting jobs related to the Russian Army, security guards, helpers, better life, and education and a huge amount was charged from these people illegally.

The agents also duped students by providing them admission to dubious private Universities in Russia instead of government or public Universities by offering discounted fees, and visa extensions and ultimately leaving them “at the mercy” of local agents.

Once these aspirants reached Russia their passports were seized by the agents there and they were forced to join the armed forces after combat role training.

“They were being trained in combat roles and provided with Russian Army uniforms and batches. Thereafter, these Indian nationals are being deployed at front bases in the Russia-Ukraine War Zone against their wishes and put their lives in grave danger,” the CBI FIR said. The Central Bureau of Investigation on March 7 had busted the trafficking network.

They said the agency has found 35 instances in which youngsters were taken to Russia after being lured with false promises of high-paying jobs via social media channels and local contacts and agents.

After filing the FIR, the CBI conducted countrywide searches at 13 locations across Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Ambala, Chandigarh, Madurai and Chennai. “The human-trafficking network of these agents is spread over several States across the country and they are operating in an organised manner,” the spokesperson had said.

The Central probe agency has booked 24×7 RAS Overseas Foundation in Delhi and its director Suyash Mukut, OSD Bros Travels and Visa Services Private Limited in Mumbai and its director Rakesh Pandey, Adventure Visa Services Private Limited in Chandigarh and its director Manjeet Singh and Baba Vlogs Overseas Recruitment Solutions Private Limited in Dubai and its director Faisal Abdul Mutalib Khan alias Baba among others.

“It has been ascertained that some of the victims also suffered grievous injuries in the war zone,” the official had said.

“So far, cash worth more than ₹50 lakh, incriminating documents and electronic records such as laptops, mobiles, desktops and CCTV footage have been seized. Searches are going on. Certain suspects have also been detained for questioning at various locations,” he had added.

A Ukrainian soldier fires an RPG toward Russian positions at the frontline near Avdiivka, an eastern city where fierce battles against Russian forces have been taking place, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine.
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukrainian forces downed a Russian early warning and control aircraft on February 23, the air force chief said — a major win for the country as its army fights to repel persistent Russian attacks along the front line as the war enters its third year.

Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk thanked Ukraine’s military intelligence for helping down the Russian A-50 aircraft on Russia’s military holiday on February 23.

“Congratulations to the occupiers on the Defender of the Fatherland day,” Mr. Oleshchuk said on a sardonic note.

Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the United Nations Security Council on February 23 afternoon in New York that as it was discussing the war, an air raid was taking place and a residential building in the southern port city of Odessa was hit. He said two civilians were “heavily wounded” and taken to hospital.

Ukrainian media carried footage purportedly showing a massive fire that erupted when the large warplane crashed in the Krasnodar region on the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov.

The Russian military didn’t comment on the Ukrainian claim, but emergency officials in the Krasnodar region reported that a plane crashed in the area without identifying it. Several Russian military bloggers confirmed the plane’s loss and some alleged that it was downed in a friendly fire accident.

If confirmed, the plane’s downing would mark the loss of the second such aircraft in just over a month. Ukrainian officials said the country’s military downed an A-50 over the Sea of Azov on January 14.

The Russian military never commented on the Ukrainian claim, but Russian bloggers and some media confirmed the aircraft’s loss.

Ukraine’s military intelligence said the A-50 was shot down over the Sea of Azov, describing it as “another serious blow to the potential and capabilities of terrorist Moscow”.

It published a diagram purportedly showing its flight path, noting that the Russian military used the aircraft that costs $350 million to direct missile attacks on Ukraine.

The A-50, which is capable of spotting targets up to 650 kilometres (400 miles) away, is a key command centre aircraft that relays information to troops on the ground.

Such planes are fundamental tools in helping direct Russian battlefield movements in Ukraine. It carries a large radar on its top and typically has a crew of 15. The Russian air force reportedly has been operating a fleet of only nine such aircraft.

If the downing of the precious Russian air asset is confirmed, it will serve as a major morale boost for Ukraine after the loss of Avdiivka, a strategic eastern city. It was captured by Russian forces last weekend after a ferocious four-month battle in which they brought to bear their significant battlefield advantage in men, aircraft and artillery.

Emboldened by its first major triumph in the war in nine months, Moscow appears determined to leverage its superiority as it shifts its economy onto a war footing.

The Russian plane’s downing will also be certain to impress Ukraine’s Western allies.

Kyiv officials have pleaded with Ukraine’s Western partners to accelerate delivery of military aid so its forces can hold out against the onslaught. The front line, running more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) across eastern and southern Ukraine, has not shifted much in the run-up to the war’s two-year anniversary on February 24.

File picture of a Russian drone in Ukraine airspace
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Ukraine destroyed 29 of 31 drones launched by Russia and one cruise missile, its air force said on Tuesday, most of them targeting the regions of Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk.

The waves of overnight attacks lasted more than three hours, the southern command of Ukraine’s forces had said earlier.

Falling debris in the southeastern city of Dnipro caused a fire at a private firm that was quickly doused, said Serhiy Lysak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Damage to manufacturing facilities at an industrial enterprise in the city of Pavlohrad led to a fire that was also put out, he added on the Telegram messaging app.

Sixteen drones were destroyed over the southern region of Mykolaiv, its governor, Vitaliy Kim, said.

Sanatana Dharma | Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks require proper response, PM Modi tells Ministers at informal meeting

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reportedly told his Ministerial colleagues that DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks on Sanatana Dharmarequired a “proper response” based on “facts of the issue” within the contemporary situation and emphasised that the Constitution does not allow for abuse of any religion. On the issue of Bharat being substituted for India in government communication in English as well, Mr. Modi reportedly said that only those authorised to speak on behalf of the government should comment on the issue.

Ready to hold polls as per legal provisions, CEC on ‘one nation, one election’

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on September 6 said the Election Commission of India was “ready to conduct elections as per legal provisions”. He was responding to a query whether the ECI was ready to conduct the much-discussed ‘One Nation, One Election’. The CEC was addressing a press conference in Bhopal on the preparations for the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh due later this year. On the specific questions asked in the context of ‘One nation, One election’, Mr. Kumar said the poll commission was mandated to “deliver elections before the time” as per constitutional provisions and the RP Act (Representation of the People Act, 1951.)

‘India-Bharat’ issue being raised to mislead people: Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on September 6 said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was raising irrelevant issues like changing the country’s name to Bharat because it was unnerved by the formation of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) coalition. “The India-Bharat issue reflects the BJP’s panic. The party is desperately trying to mislead the people,” Mr. Kharge said.

Blocking blacklisting of terrorists smacks of doublespeak: India

India has told the UN Security Council that blocking evidence-based proposals to blacklist globally sanctioned terrorists without providing justifications is uncalled for and “smacks of doublespeak”. “The working methods of the UNSC Sanctions Committees continue to dent the credibility of the UN Security Council,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said here on Tuesday.

40 injured in protest over Army barricade in Manipur

More than 40 people were injured in a stampede at Manipur’s Bishnupur district on Wednesday as security forces fired tear gas shells to disperse over 10,000 people who had converged to demand the removal of an Army barricade. A defence source said the stand-off continued through the day. Armed miscreants fired at the Central security forces and a mob threw stones at them. Three personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialised anti-riot force, were injured in the incident. 

Won’t let INDIA bloc seat-sharing talks become media spectacle: SP leader 

The Samajwadi Party (SP) won’t allow seat-sharing negotiations in Uttar Pradesh to become a media spectacle, said party leader Javed Ali Khan, who is part of the INDIA bloc’s 14-member coordination committee. In an interview to The Hindu, he also junked suggestions that the Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) are pretending to be cosying up to the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as a tactic to get more seats for themselves in the State.

Shah, Meghwal meet Kovind days after he was appointed head of ‘one nation, one election’ panel

Home Minister Amit Shah and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on September 6 met former president Ram Nath Kovind who heads the committee on simultaneous polls in New Delhi, days after the government notified the panel, sources said. They described the nearly hour-long meeting as a “courtesy call”. Efforts are on to hold the first meeting of the high-level committee in the coming days and a venue is being finalised.

Punjab AAP Minister says there is no alliance with Congress 

The cracks between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), partners in the newly formed Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) were on display on September 6 after a Cabinet Minister in Punjab, where the AAP is in power, ruled out any alliance with the Congress. Punjab Tourism Minister Anmol Gagan Maan at a press conference in Chandigarh said there would be no alliance of the AAP with the Congress party in Punjab.

China warns against ‘new Cold War’ at ASEAN summit

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on September 6 it is important to avoid a “new Cold War” when dealing with conflicts between countries as world leaders gathered in Indonesia amid sharpening geopolitical rivalries across the Indo-Pacific region. Speaking at an annual summit involving members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan and South Korea, Mr. Li said countries needed to “appropriately handle differences and disputes”.

Not the joint statement but Ukraine will be EU’s priority at G-20 summit: EU official

Ukraine will be the topmost item on the agenda of the European Union at the G-20 Summit, a senior EU official said on Wednesday. Clarifying the Western expectation about the upcoming summit that will be held here during the weekend, the official expressed confidence about forming consensus about the Global South and placed it on record that the EU “wished” to have the participation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the G-20 summit in New Delhi. He also indicated that Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission is unlikely to travel to Delhi for the summit and said India’s text for negotiating an outcome document is “not sufficient”. 

Ahead of Joe Biden visit, India drops tariff hikes on U.S. almonds, lentils

Two days before U.S. President Joe Biden arrives in New Delhi for a bilateral meeting as well as the G-20 Summit, India has dropped the retaliatory customs tariffs it had imposed on imports of some American goods like almonds and lentils, effective September 6, 2023. India had raised import duties on 28 American products in June 2019, after the United States had hiked its customs duties on certain steel and aluminium products. In a notification issued on September 5, the Finance Ministry dropped some of these tariff hikes “on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do”.

Sri Lanka will investigate allegations of intelligence complicity in 2019 Easter bombings

Sri Lanka’s government will appoint a parliamentary committee to investigate allegations made in a British television report that Sri Lankan intelligence had complicity in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 269 people. A man interviewed in the Channel 4 videos released on Tuesday said he arranged a meeting between a local Islamic State-inspired group and a top state intelligence official to hatch a plot to create insecurity in Sri Lanka and enable Gotabaya Rajapaksa to win the presidential election later that year.

Ukraine’s Parliament approves ex-lawmaker Rustem Umerov as Defence Minister

Ukraine’s parliament approved the appointment of former lawmaker Rustem Umerov as Defence Minister on September 6, in the biggest shake-up of the defence establishment since Russia’s invasion 18 months ago. Mr. Umerov (41) replaces Oleksii Reznikov, who helped secure billions of dollars of Western military aid as Defence Minister but was dogged by media allegations of corruption at the Ministry and sacked by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.

This summer was a global record breaker for the highest heat ever measured, meteorologists say

Earth has sweltered through its hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever measured, with a record warm August capping a season of brutal and deadly temperatures, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Last month was not only the hottest August scientists ever recorded by far with modern equipment, it was also the second hottest month measured, behind only July 2023, WMO and the European climate service Copernicus announced Wednesday.

Asia Cup | Pakistan pace trio too hot to handle as Bangladesh bowled out for 193

Haris Rauf proved to be too quick for the Bangladeshi batters, who were also troubled relentlessly by Naseem Shah as the Shakib Al Hasan-led side was bundled out for a paltry 193, well inside 40 overs in an Asia Cup Super 4 match against Pakistan in Lahore on September 6. Despite a 100-run stand and twin half-centuries by skipper Shakib (53 off 57 balls) and former captain Mushfiqur Rahim (64 off 87 balls), Bangladesh suffered twin batting collapse on either side of the fifth wicket partnership.

Ballon d’Or | Messi, Haaland, Mbappe in shortlist; Ronaldo left out for first time in 20 years

Argentina forward Lionel Messi was among the nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or trophy announced by organisers France Football magazine on Wednesday. Seven-times winner Messi, who plays for Inter Miami, led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in December, their first triumph since 1986. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won the award five times, did not receive a nomination for the first time in 20 years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday announced the departure of defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov, calling for “new approaches” a year and a half into Russia’s invasion.

The announcement came hours after Ukraine fought off an attack by Russian drones in the southern Odesa region early Sunday that hit a Danube port on the border with NATO member Romania.

“Oleksiy Reznikov has been through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” Mr. Zelenskyy said in his daily evening address.

“I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large.”

He nominated Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar who has been head of the State Property Fund since last year, to replace Mr. Reznikov – subject to approval by Ukraine’s parliament.

News of Mr. Reznikov’s removal comes with Kyiv’s counteroffensive underway and amid Ukraine’s general push against corruption in response to EU requests.

Russia meanwhile, continued its military campaign against Ukraine’s infrastructure. For weeks now, since pulling out of a key deal that allowed the safe passage of ships carrying grain, it has launched attacks on targets in the Black Sea and the Danube river.

This latest attack came on the eve of a summit in Russia between President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who hopes to revive the grain deal.

Ukraine said Russia had hit the Odesa region with a barrage of Iranian-made Shahed drones.

But Kyiv also said that some of the drones hit the Danube area, wounding at least two people in attacks on “civilian industrial” infrastructure.

Russia’s army said it had targeted “fuel storage” facilities in the Ukrainian port of Reni, which lies on the Danube river that separates Ukraine from Romania.

Moscow has targeted the Danube ports of Reni and Ismail – both near Romania and across the war-torn country from fighting hotspots – several times over the last few weeks.

Reni, which also lies close to Moldova, is a sea and river port and important transport hub.

Bucharest’s defence ministry condemned the attacks as “in deep contradiction with the rules of international humanitarian law”. But it stressed that the attacks had not posed any direct threat to Romanian territory.

President Maia Sandu of neighbouring Moldova also denounced the “brutal” attack.

The Odesa region attacks came as Kyiv has claimed some successes in its counter-offensive on the southern front this week.

On Wednesday, Kyiv said it had recaptured the village of Robotyne, calling it a strategic victory that would pave the way for its forces to push deeper into Russian positions towards Moscow-annexed Crimea.

General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, leading the southern counteroffensive, told The Guardian newspaper this weekend that Kyiv’s army has made an important breakthrough by breaching Russian lines near Zaporizhzhia.

“We are now between the first and second defensive lines,” Mr. Tarnavskiy – who led Ukrainian troops to liberate the southern city of Kherson – told the UK paper.

Heavily mined territory had slowed Ukrainian troops, he added, saying sappers had cleared a route by foot and at night.

The paper quoted him as saying that Kyiv’s forces were now back on vehicles and that Russia had redeployed troops to the area.

“But sooner or later, the Russians will run out of all the best soldiers,” Mr. Tarnavskiy said.

“Everything is ahead of us.”

At the same time he admitted difficult losses, saying that “we are losing the strongest and best.”

Russia has not announced another mobilisation, seen as an unpopular measure, but has led an active campaign to attract more men into the military as its Ukraine offensive drives on into a 19th month.

Ex-president and Security Council chairman Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday that Moscow had recruited 230,000 people into the army since the start of the year, TASS news agency reported.

“Part of them were in the reserves, part of them volunteers and other categories,” he said during a visit to the Far Eastern Russian island of Sakhalin.

In early August, Medvedev said the army had recruited around 230,000 people since the start of the year.

In September last year, the Kremlin made a U-turn on promises not to announce a military draft, announcing a partial call-up to make up for losses on the Ukrainian front that led to the recruitment of 300,000 men.

But the announcement also triggered another wave of emigration from Russia, with hundreds of thousands believed to have fled abroad.