Latest war in Russia and Ukraine: Putin’s forces suffer ‘significant losses’ as kyiv promises new drone strikes

Two cargo ships arrived in Ukraine on Saturday, Ukrainian port authorities announced. They are the first ships to use a temporary corridor to sail to Black Sea ports and load grain for African and Asian markets.

Ukraine announced last month a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea to free ships stuck in its ports since the war began in February 2022 and to circumvent a de facto blockade after Russia abandoned a deal allowing in Kiev to export grain.

So far, five ships have left the port of Odessa, using the corridor that runs along the western coast of the Black Sea, near Romania and Bulgaria.

Ukraine, one of the world’s leading food producers and exporters, also wants to use the corridor for its food exports. The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, in a Facebook post, said that the bulk carriers “Resilient Africa” and “Aroyat” arrived in the port of Chernomorsk.

Russian air forces foiled a Ukrainian attack on Crimea this morning, destroying at least six drones that targeted the peninsula from different directions, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Two drones were destroyed at 1:15 a.m. (local time) off the west coast of Crimea and four more half an hour later off the northwest and east coasts, the ministry said on Telegram.

The reports follow a series of strikes this week against Russian military targets on the Crimean peninsula, seen as an increased attempt by kyiv to break Russia’s war efforts.

Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine, a move widely condemned in 2014.

Ukraine released images on Saturday (September 16) of troops crossing a war-ravaged settlement in Donetsk oblast after kyiv announced its reconquest.

Video released by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade shows troops moving through rubble in Andriivka, 10 km south of the Russian-occupied town of Bakhmut, after three months of intense fighting.

The clip also shows soldiers hiding behind a broken wall amid mortar fire.

This comes after Ukraine announced a tactical victory in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, retaking the village of Robotyne in late August.

The world must reaffirm its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals if the ambitious targets are to be met, British ministers and diplomats will insist at a UN summit next week.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was accused of snubbing the gathering in New York, blaming his absence on the pressures of his agenda, and sending a team led by his deputy Oliver Dowden instead.

He is not the only world leader expected to miss the summit, which is expected to focus on the war in Ukraine, artificial intelligence and the threat of climate change.

The UN World Heritage Committee has placed two major historical sites in Ukraine on its list of sites it considers in danger.

The iconic St. Sophia Cathedral in the capital, Kiev, and the medieval center of the western city of Lviv, are UNESCO World Heritage sites, at the heart of Ukraine’s culture and history.

The decision announced Friday to place the two sites on the body’s list of “endangered” sites has no enforcement mechanism, but could help deter Russian attacks.

A body has been found during the search for a former British soldier who went missing while fighting in Ukraine.

Former paratrooper Daniel Burke, 36, from south Manchester, was reported missing by his family on August 16 after traveling to join the fighting in 2022.

Greater Manchester Police said on Saturday that officers were working with Mr Burke’s family and Ukrainian authorities to identify the found body and bring it back to the UK.

Five civilians were killed and one injured following intense Ukrainian shelling of the Donetsk region, a Russian official said.

The five people were killed yesterday in the Kirov and Kuibyshevskyi districts and one woman was injured in Svetlodarsk, said Denis Pushilin, the region’s Russian-appointed head.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported intense fighting and partial successes of its forces in Ukraine’s counter-offensive to reclaim lands occupied by Russia during its 19-month invasion.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said its forces had recaptured the village of Andriivka in the Bakhmut region.

“Unwanted “guests” from Andriivka are being evacuated by the 3rd Assault Brigade,” the account tweeted Saturday evening.

However, these facts were disputed by the Russian side.

Earlier Saturday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its troops still held at least two key villages south of Bakhmut, known in Russia by its Soviet-era name, Artyomovsk.

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un has extended his trip to Russia indefinitely as he continues to tour the facilities fueling Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

The hermit kingdom’s leader is on his first excursion outside North Korea since before the Covid pandemic, and appeared to revel in the opportunity to witness aerial demonstrations of Russian Su-35 fighter jets on Friday, as well as than taking a look inside a cockpit.