Moscow, Russia:

Moscow on Saturday launched a “counter-terror operation” in three border regions adjoining Ukraine to halt Kyiv’s biggest cross-border offensive in the two-and-a-half-year conflict.

Ukrainian units stormed across the border into Russia’s western Kursk region on Tuesday morning in a shock attack and have advanced several kilometres, according to independent analysts.

Russia has deployed additional troops and equipment, including tanks, rocket launchers and aviation units to stop the advancing troops.

Russia’s national anti-terrorism committee said late Friday it was starting “counter-terror operations in the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions … in order to ensure the safety of citizens and suppress the threat of terrorist acts being carried out by the enemy’s sabotage groups.”

Under Russian law, security forces and the military are given sweeping emergency powers during “counter-terror” operations.

Movement is restricted, vehicles can be seized, phone calls can be monitored, areas are declared no-go zones, checkpoints are introduced, and security is beefed up at key infrastructure sites.

The anti-terrorism committee said Ukraine had mounted an “unprecedented attempt to destabilise the situation in a number of regions of our country.”

It called Ukraine’s incursion a “terrorist attack” and said Kyiv’s troops had wounded civilians and destroyed residential buildings.

Ukrainian leaders have remained tight-lipped on the operation, and the United States, Kyiv’s closest ally, said it was not informed of the plans in advance.

But President Volodymyr Zelensky has appeared to tout his troops’ early successes, saying earlier this week that Russia must “feel” the consequences of the full-scale offensive it has waged against Ukraine since February 2022.

Russia’s defence ministry published footage on Saturday of tank crews firing on Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region, as well as an overnight air strike, after it said Friday it had deployed yet more units to the border region.

It also said it had downed 26 Ukrainian drones that tried to attack the region overnight.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

As he travels to Moscow on a high-profile visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he is looking forward to reviewing all aspects of India-Russia ties with President Vladimir Putin and sharing perspectives on various regional and global issues.

PM Modi and Putin are set to explore ways to further expand bilateral relations in diverse areas at the 22nd India-Russia annual summit on Tuesday.

After concluding his engagements in Russia, PM Modi will leave for Austria in the first visit by an Indian prime minister to that country in over 40 years.

“The special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia has advanced over the past 10 years, including in the areas of energy, security, trade, investment, health, education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges,” PM Modi said in his departure statement.

“I look forward to reviewing all aspects of bilateral cooperation with my friend President Vladimir Putin and sharing perspectives on various regional and global issues,” he said.

“We seek to play a supportive role for a peaceful and stable region. The visit will also provide me an opportunity to meet the vibrant Indian community in Russia,” PM Modi said.

The prime minister described Austria as India’s “steadfast and reliable partner” “In Austria, I will have the opportunity to meet President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Karl Nehammer,” PM Modi said.

“Austria is our steadfast and reliable partner and we share the ideals of democracy and pluralism.” “This is the first visit of an Indian prime minister in over 40 years. I look forward to my discussions to take our partnership to even greater heights in new and emerging areas of innovation, technology and sustainable development among others,” he said.

PM Modi said he was looking forward to exchanging views with business leaders from both sides to explore mutually beneficial trade and investment opportunities.

“I will also be interacting with the Indian community in Austria which is well regarded for their professionalism and conduct,” he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. File
| Photo Credit: AP

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on May 7 that information it had received until now on alleged chemical weapons use in Ukraine was “insufficiently substantiated.”

Also read:Explained | Chemical and biological weapons: what international regulations bind Russia?

The OPCW also said it had not yet received an official request to investigate any claims after the United States accused Russia last week of using the toxic agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops.

“Both the Russian Federation and Ukraine have accused one another and reported allegations of use of chemical weapons to the Organisation,” the OPCW said in a statement.

“The information provided to the Organisation so far by both sides, together with the information available to the Secretariat, is insufficiently substantiated,” the group added.

The OPCW nevertheless described the situation as “volatile” and “extremely concerning regarding the possible re-emergence of use of toxic chemicals as weapons.”

Last week, the U.S. State Department accused Russia of having used a chemical weapon against Ukrainian forces in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

In addition to the chemical agent chloropicrin, Russia also used “riot control agents [tear gas] as a method of warfare in Ukraine, also in violation of the CWC,” the department said in a factsheet.

Chloropicrin is an oily liquid with a pungent odour known as a choking agent that was widely used during World War I as a form of tear gas.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention label it a “lung-damaging agent” that can cause severe irritation to skin, eyes and respiratory systems.

The OPCW specifically prohibits its use.

Although it does produce tears and is sometimes referred to as a tear gas, it is not classed as a riot control agent.

The Kremlin hit back immediately at the allegations, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying they “sound completely baseless and unsubstantiated.”

Russia has said it no longer possesses a military chemical arsenal, but the country faces pressure for more transparency over the alleged use of toxic weapons.

Moscow has signed and ratified the CWC, which outlaws the production and use of chemical weapons.

“Russia has been and remains committed to its obligations under international law,” Mr. Peskov said last week.

The OPCW recalled in its statement that a member of the body would have to formally request an investigation of any allegation regarding chemical weapons use.

“So far, the Secretariat has not yet received any such request for action,” the OPCW said.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and maintain our readiness to deploy.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands before a meeting at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023
| Photo Credit: AP

Beijing’s top diplomat told President Vladimir Putin that China and Russia must work to strengthen cooperation in the face of a “complex international situation”, Chinese state media reported Thursday.

Speaking at a meeting with Mr. Putin in Saint Petersburg, at which the Russian leader accepted an invitation to visit China next month, Wang Yi said the “world is rapidly moving toward multipolarity”.

“Economic globalization is progressing against headwinds, unilateral actions are unsustainable, and hegemonism is not popular,” Mr. Wang said, according to an English readout by Beijing’s Xinhua news agency.

“Both sides need to strengthen their multilateral strategic cooperation, protect their legitimate rights and interests, and make new efforts to promote the international order toward fairness and justice,” he added.

Mr. Putin, in response, told Mr. Wang “our positions coincide regarding the emergence of a multipolar world”, according to a readout from the Kremlin.

He also said he had “gladly accepted” Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s invitation “to visit China this October as part of a major event to promote the Belt and Road Initiative”.

Mr. Putin is widely expected to attend next month’s third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, which will mark the 10-year anniversary of China’s international infrastructure project.

Precise dates for the summit have not been made public.

Asked Thursday by AFP to confirm when precisely Mr. Putin’s visit would take place, Beijing said it was “keeping close communication with its partners along the Belt and Road”.

“We welcome countries and partners actively participating in the Belt and Road Initiative to come to Beijing to discuss cooperation plans and seek common development,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

China and Russia describe each other as strategic allies, with both countries frequently touting their “no limits” partnership and economic and military cooperation.

They came even closer after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year, which China has refused to condemn.

The Kremlin has sought to deepen ties with China after the start of its Ukraine offensive, which has thrown Moscow into increasing isolation.

China has sought to position itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, while offering Moscow a vital diplomatic and financial lifeline.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un receives a gift from Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu during his visit to the Russian Pacific fleet in Vladivostok, the Russian Far East, on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held discussions with Russia’s Defence Minister on strengthening “strategic and tactical coordination” between the countries’ militaries, the North’s state media said Sunday, as Kim continued a visit to Russia’s Far East that has raised concerns about an arms alliance that would fuel Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

The talks with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu came after Mr. Kim on Friday was shown some of Russia’s most advanced weapons systems deployed for its war on Ukraine, including nuclear-capable bombers and hypersonic missiles, and a key warship of its Pacific fleet, the Korean Central News Agency said.

Mr. Kim’s trip, highlighted by a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, has underscored how their interests are aligning in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with the West. U.S. and South Korean officials have said North Korea could provide badly needed munitions for Putin’s war on Ukraine in exchange for sophisticated Russian weapons technology that would advance Mr. Kim’s nuclear ambitions.

Also read: North Korea’s Kim views Russian nuclear-capable bombers, hypersonic missiles

While his predominant focus is on military cooperation, Mr. Kim also appears to be using his trip to encourage broader exchanges between the countries as he tries to break out of diplomatic isolation.

The governor of Russia’s Primorye region, which includes Vladivostok, said he plans to meet with Mr. Kim on Sunday. Gov. Oleg Kozhemyako said on his messaging app channel they would discuss exchange programs for schoolchildren to attend summer camps in one another’s country and other ways to cooperate in sports, tourism and culture. Russian media said Mr. Kim may also visit food industry businesses in Primorye.

A day after visiting an aircraft plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur that produces Russia’s most powerful fighter jets, Mr. Kim on Saturday traveled to an airport near the port city of Vladivostok, where Shoigu and other senior military officials gave him an up-close look at Russia’s strategic bombers and other warplanes.

All the Russian warplanes shown to Mr. Kim were among the types that have seen active use in the war in Ukraine, including the Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers that have regularly launched cruise missiles.

During Mr. Kim’s visit, Mr. Shoigu and Lt. Gen. Sergei Kobylash, the commander of the Russian long-range bomber force, confirmed for the first time that the Tu-160 had recently received new cruise missiles with a range of more than 6,500 kilometres (over 4,040 miles).

Mr. Shoigu, who had met Mr. Kim during a rare visit to North Korea in July, also showed Kim another of Russia’s latest missiles, the hypersonic Kinzhal, carried by the MiG-31 fighter jet, that saw its first combat during the war in Ukraine.

Mr. Kim and Mr. Shoigu later travelled to Vladivostok, where they inspected the Admiral Shaposhnikov frigate. Russia’s navy commander, Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov, briefed Kim on the ship’s capabilities and weapons, which include long-range Kalibr cruise missiles that Russian warships have regularly fired at targets in Ukraine.

KCNA, which has reported Mr. Kim’s activities in Russia a day late while crafting the details to meet government propaganda purposes, said Mr. Kim was accompanied on Saturday’s visits by his top military officials, including his defense minister and the top commanders of his air force and navy.

Following a luncheon, Mr. Kim and Mr. Shoigu talked about the regional security environment and exchanged views on “practical issues arising in further strengthening the strategic and tactical coordination, cooperation and mutual exchange between the armed forces of the two countries,” KCNA said.

In their July meeting, Mr. Kim gave Mr. Shoigu a similar inspection of North Korean weapons systems before inviting him to a massive parade in the capital, Pyongyang, where he rolled out his most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the United States.

Mr. Kim’s visits to military and technology sites this week possibly hint at what he wants from Russia, perhaps in exchange for supplying munitions to refill Putin’s declining reserves as his invasion of Ukraine becomes a drawn-out war of attrition.

Mr. Kim’s meeting with Mr. Putin was held at Russia’s main spaceport, a location that pointed to his desire for Russian assistance in his efforts to acquire space-based reconnaissance assets and missile technologies.

Experts have said potential military cooperation between the countries could include efforts to modernize North Korea’s outdated air force, which relies on warplanes sent from the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Mr. Kim in recent months has also refocused on strengthening the country’s navy, which analysts say could be driven by ambitions to obtain Russia’s sophisticated technologies for ballistic missile submarines and nuclear-propelled submarines as well as to initiate joint naval exercises between Russia and North Korea.

Later Saturday, Mr. Kim visited a local theater to watch Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty ballet performance. KCNA said Mr. Kim received a rousing ovation by people at the theater and expressed “deep thanks to the performers and the theater for their impressive and elegant ballet of high artistic value.”

Russia’s RIA Novosti state news agency said Kim left after the first act.

An explosion of a drone is seen in the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on September 10, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russia attacked Ukraine with 32 drones overnight into Sunday, Kyiv military chiefs said, most of them aimed around the capital.

Air defences shot down 25 of them, they added, without accounting for the other seven.

The aerial assault comes at a time when national leaders are ramping up calls for extra Western support to repel the Russian invasion.

The military’s general staff said “the occupiers attacked Ukraine with 32 kamikaze drones… of which 25 were destroyed by Ukrainian air defence forces”.

“The Russian occupiers directed most of the attack UAVs to the Kyiv region,” they said.

“Drones entered the capital in groups and from different directions,” Sergiy Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, wrote on Telegram.

Debris fell in several districts, damaging an apartment in a multi-storey building, as well as road surfaces and power lines, he added, saying one person was injured.

Russia systematically targeted Ukrainian cities early in the invasion launched last year, but massive strikes have become less frequent as Moscow’s stockpiles dwindle and Ukraine bolsters its air defences.

Last month, Kyiv destroyed more than 20 drones and missiles in what it called the “most powerful strike” on the capital since spring.

Speeches by several senior Ukrainian officials released Saturday drew a picture of a country at war held back by allies who had failed to grasp the scale and urgency of the crisis.

Newly appointed Defence Minister Rustem Umerov called for more military equipment.

“We are grateful for all the support provided… We need more heavy weapons,” Mr. Umerov said in his speech. But he added: “We need them today. We need them now.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the slow delivery of Western weapons was hampering the counteroffensive against Russian positions in the east and south of the country.

Deputy Intelligence Chief Vadym Skibitsky estimated Saturday that Russia has more than 420,000 soldiers in the east and south of Ukraine, including Crimea.

Mr. Skibitsky also said Russia had for a month been actively launching attacks from Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

“Drones deployed in Crimea are used against our ports of Izmail and Reni” used as alternative export hubs, particularly since the expiry of the deal allowing grain exports on the Black Sea.

Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in the east and south of the country in June but has come up against fierce resistance from entrenched Russian forces.

Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory were mainly aimed at military targets.

“All (the targets) are enterprises of the military-industrial complex,” said Mr. Budanov. “This is the difference that distinguishes us from Russians.”

Attacks on Russian territory, which were rare at the beginning of the offensive, have intensified in recent months, with Kyiv increasingly claiming responsibility for them.

Russian authorities have reported civilian casualties from some Ukrainian attacks.

Ukrainian leaders also deplored the lack of progress on setting up an international tribunal to try Russia’s leaders, and on the transfer of frozen Russian assets.

“Unfortunately, we are in a kind of deadlock on both,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

He said the G7 group favoured a hybrid tribunal based on Ukrainian legislation.

‘A lack of will’

But this would not allow for the immunity of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin or Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to be stripped – an unacceptable option for Kyiv.

Ukrainian officials are arguing for an international court resembling the post-World War II Nuremberg tribunal.

There has been insufficient progress too, on the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine for use in the country’s reconstruction, Mr. Kuleba added.

“After a year and a half, I’m still hearing from Europe and America: we are working on it,” said Mr. Kuleba, who addressed a conference in Kyiv Friday, but whose comments were only released on Saturday.

“There is a lack of will to come to a conclusion. So we have to change that.”

Since Moscow’s invasion in February 2022, Western sanctions have led to the freezing of some 300 billion euros ($320 billion) of Central Bank of Russia foreign exchange reserves around the world.