Russia-Ukraine war updates: Kyiv says Russian targets damaged in Crimea

Russian anti-aircraft units downed two Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk region in southern Russia, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram.

There were no casualties or damage, he added.

The Biden administration “won’t hesitate” to impose more sanctions on Russia and North Korea if they conclude any new arms deals, the US Department of State has said.

“We have taken a number of actions already to sanction entities that brokered arms sales between North Korea and Russia and we won’t hesitate to impose additional actions if appropriate,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

It was troubling that Russia and North Korea are discussing increased cooperation that could violate UN Security Council resolutions, he said.

“When you see what looks to be increased cooperation and probably military transfers, that is quite troubling and would potentially be in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” Miller said.

A leading Russian journalist has had her phone compromised using Israeli spyware, researchers have said, the latest sign that phone hacking tools are being used to spy on media workers and opposition figures worldwide.

A joint investigation by Canadian internet watchdog Citizen Lab and digital rights group Access Now found that the phone of Galina Timchenko had been infected using spyware built by the Israeli company NSO Group.

The infection began on or around February 10, 2023, the researchers said. They did not identify who would have deployed it.

Media defence groups condemned the alleged surveillance, with the Committee to Protect Journalists saying “Journalists and their sources are not free and safe if they are spied on.” Timchenko was quoted in a story published by Meduza as saying the hacking left her feeling “like I’d been stripped naked in the town square”.

Moscow has said it destroyed three Ukrainian drone boats in the Black Sea after a Ukrainian attack in the morning against a shipyard in Russian-annexed Crimea.

The Defence Ministry said in a statement on Telegram that its Black Sea Fleet aviators “detected and destroyed three unmanned boats of the Ukrainian army”.

Ukraine and Russia have increased attacks in the Black Sea since Moscow pulled out of a key deal ensuring the safe navigation of cargo ships.

Russia’s Defence Ministry has said it had detected and destroyed three Ukrainian uncrewed boats in the Black Sea, the RIA news agency reported.

A Ukrainian military intelligence agency official has said that a large Russian landing ship and a submarine struck in an overnight attack on the Crimean port of Sevastopol were likely to have been damaged beyond repair.

“Those are significant damages. We can now say that with a high probability they are not subject to restoration,” Andriy Yusov, the official, said in televised comments.

NATO member Romania has found new fragments of a drone deemed similar to those used by the Russian army near its border with war-torn Ukraine, in the third such finding in a week, defence officials said.

Two helicopters from the Romanian Air Force were deployed with specialist teams to Nufaru and Victoria in the eastern county of Tulcea where the fragments were spread over an area of “several tens of meters,” the Ministry of National Defence said in a statement.

It said in a separate statement that it has notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations about areas near the border that could be at risk of incidents as Russian forces attack Ukraine’s Danube River ports across the river from Romania.

A Russian-installed court in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region jailed two Ukrainian soldiers for 29 years each, Russia’s Investigative Committee has said, after it accused them of killing three civilians.

Russia’s Investigative Committee named the two soldiers as “Ivan Bochkarev” and “Dmitry Kanuper”, and said they belonged to Ukraine’s Azov regiment – a branch of the Ukrainian army considered “extremist” in Russia.

It said that the two “shot at a car with two unarmed civilians using automatic firearms, as a result of which the men in the car died on the spot from their injuries”.

The men then “shot at two other unarmed civilians” on the street, killing one while the other managed to escape, the committee said.

Ukraine increased the range and effectiveness of its long-distance strikes in the 80th and 81st weeks of war, while evidence mounted that it had breached the Russian first line of defence in the south of the country.

Russia’s defence ministry admitted on September 12 that Ukraine had launched 10 cruise missiles and three unmanned surface vehicles against the naval port of Sevastopol in Crimea.

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Estonia has announced that all Russian-registered vehicles will be banned from entering the country.

“They are not welcome here to enjoy privileges freedom has to offer until Ukraine has achieved victory,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, said in a statement on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Starting from today, in 1⃣6⃣ minutes to be precise, #Estonia🇪🇪 will deny entry to all Russian registered vehicles.

They are not welcome here to enjoy privileges freedom has to offer until #Ukraine🇺🇦 has achieved victory.

— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) September 13, 2023

Tallinn’s Baltic neighbours, Latvia and Lithuania, have also announced the ban.

In a post on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has said that “more than 2,000 Shaheds have been launched against Ukraine” since September 13 last year, which the officials in Kyiv say was the first time “Russians first used Iranian drones to attack the country.”

“Overnight, Russian terrorists used Shahed drones to attack Odesa region once again,” the Defence Ministry added.

Overnight, russian terrorists used Shahed drones to attack Odesa region once again.
Unfortunately, there is damage to the port and other civil infrastructure. Seven Reni and Izmail residents were injured.
More than 2,000 Shaheds have been launched against Ukraine since russians… pic.twitter.com/ftdrvAlUNE

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 13, 2023

The export potential of Ukrainian ports on the Danube River has been reduced by nearly 0.5 million tonnes of grain a month because of Russian attacks, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Wednesday.

“This threatens food shortages in countries that depend on Ukrainian agricultural products,” he said on social media platform X.

Ukrainian officials said Russia attacked the ports of Izmail and Reni on Wednesday, the latest in a series of attacks on Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure.

In her annual State of the Union speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says that Ukraine has made “great strides” towards EU membership since getting candidate status in 2022, but more must be done.

As the bloc debated whether to grant Kyiv a formal invitation to begin EU membership negotiations at a summit in December, von der Leyen told lawmakers, “We know this is not an easy road.”

“Accession is merit-based … it takes hard work and leadership. But there is already a lot of progress. We have seen the great strides Ukraine has already made.”

Germany has provided further support for Ukraine by supplying equipment and weapons including 60 infantry fighting Marder vehicles with ammunition, reconnaissance and surveillance equipment, munitions, and other aid in the latest military assistance delivery.

In a statement, the government said that these come from supplies of the Federal Armed Forces and from deliveries from industry financed by the federal government’s funds for security capacity building.

More than 100 port infrastructure facilities have been damaged in Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports since July 18, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov has said.

He also said Ukrainian grain exports had fallen by almost three million tonnes per month since July 18, one day after Russia quit the UN-backed Black Sea grain export deal.

“Since July 18, due to Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports, 105 port infrastructure facilities have been damaged and partially destroyed. As a result of strikes on the ports of the Danube cluster and the blocking of seaports, grain exports to Asia, Africa and Europe were reduced by almost 3 million tons per month,’ Kubrakov wrote on Facebook.

Putin has hailed tech billionaire Elon Musk as an “outstanding person” and businessman whose SpaceX company has become a key player in the space transportation industry.

Putin publicly praised Musk days after the South African-born and United States-based entrepreneur said he refused a Ukrainian request last year to activate his Starlink satellite communication network in the Russian-annexed Crimean port city of Sevastopol to aid an attack on Russia’s Black Sea fleet, saying he feared complicity in a “major” act of war.

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Britain has urged North Korea to end talks over the sale of arms to Russia, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for a rare summit.

“We urge the DPRK to cease its arms negotiations with Russia and to abide by public commitments Pyongyang has made not to sell arms to Russia,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson told reporters.

“This visit serves to highlight Russia’s isolation on the global stage, and as the world unites against Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and he has been forced to turn to regimes such as North Korea,” the spokesperson added.

A meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who rarely travels outside his country, and President Vladimir Putin in Russia lasted about five hours and wrapped up on Wednesday, Russian media outlets have reported.

The pair, arguably the world’s most isolated leaders, had not met since 2019.

What did they discuss?

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Russia sees prospects for cooperating with North Korea in space, the Russian state news agency TASS reports, citing the Kremlin spokesman.

Peskov made the comments after Putin held talks with Kim at a cosmodrome where Moscow conducts space launches.

Putin says Kim will continue his tour of Russia’s Far East with a visit to Vladivostok and to defence and other factories in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, according to Russia’s state news agency RIA.

Putin, who held talks with Kim at the Vostochny Cosmodrome and hosted a lunch for the North Korean leader, also said there were opportunities for military-technical cooperation although he added that Russia would comply with its international obligations.

He said Russia would demonstrate to Kim in Vladivostok the capabilities of its Pacific Fleet. He said Russia also had something to offer North Korea in the area of agriculture.

Putin’s talks with Kim were “important and substantive”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says, according to an Interfax news agency report.

Speaking after the two leaders held talks in Russia’s Far East, Peskov said North Korea was interested in cooperation with Russia in the areas of aviation and transport.

Elements of a possible drone have been identified on Romanian territory, the Ministry of National Defence says.

A Russian drone attack damaged port infrastructure in the Izmail district of southern Ukraine, just across the border from Romania.

Ukraine said on September 6 that Russian drones had been detonated on Romanian territory, after which Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis said he had discussed the issue with the NATO chief and “strongly condemned” the violation of Romanian airspace.

Ukraine’s military has said its troops hit targets and port infrastructure on Wednesday in the bay of the Crimean port of Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

“In terms of vessels, we can now confirm that a large landing craft and a submarine have been damaged,” Ukrainian officials said.

Talks between Kim and Putin have ended, according to reports by Russian state news agencies.

Their meeting lasted about four to five hours, and the leaders raised a toast to their friendship and close ties, the agencies said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has told President Putin via a translator that he is sure that the Russian army and people would triumph against “evil”.

Kim is in Russia’s the far east region amid reports by Western intelligence agencies that Moscow is looking to acquire North Korean weapons and ammunition to use in its military campaign in Ukraine.

The Kremlin and North Korea have not confirmed any arms deal.

President Putin has hosted an official dinner in honour of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. According to Russian state news agency TASS, Putin treated Kim to Siberian and far eastern delicacies, including dumplings with Kamchatka crab.

TASS reported that before serving hot dishes, guests were invited to freshen up and try sea buckthorn sorbet. Traditionally, the main course was served with two dishes to choose from: sturgeon with mushrooms and potatoes or marbled beef entrecote with baked vegetables.

Taiga lingonberries with pine nuts and condensed milk were served as dessert.

Putin also raised a toast to display the strengthening friendship between Russia and North Korea.

Reporting from Seoul, Al Jazeera’s Florence Looi said these images of the leaders shaking hands and raising toasts “is all to display how close the growing friendship” between the two leaders.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, commenting on media speculation about North Korea possibly sending weapons to Russia, says the West has breached many contractual obligations by sending Soviet-era weaponry to Ukraine.

Reporting from Seoul, Al Jazeera’s Florence Looi says it is significant that Kim Jong Un has chosen Putin to be the first foreign leader that he has met since the pandemic.

The North Korean leader’s last visit to Russia was in 2019 and he had not met any foreign official since March 2020.

Looi also explained what North Korea and Russia’s closer ties will look like after the meeting between the two leaders.

“North Korea is one of the few countries to publicly support Russia in its invasion and war in Ukraine. Now Kim has stated that he considers this war a righteous endeavour, and he also said that North Korea is ready to stand with Russia, against imperialism. That appears to be a reference to US dominance of global affairs. So we can take this reference as these two countries challenging the global world order,” Looi said.

“Now whether or not these meetings will lead to an arms deal that the US has been warning about, that is the million dollar question,” she explained.

Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov told reporters that cooperation on sensitive matters should not be made public.

“We can take that as an indication that if an arms deal between North Korea and Russia were to be agreed, there may not be any confirmation from either side,” Looi added.

China is the key to restraining a potential arms deal between Moscow and Pyongyang, an expert on North Korean military and politics has said as President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appear poised to meet for talks in Russia’s far east.

Fyodor Tertitskiy, a historian of North Korea and leading researcher at Kookmin University’s Institute for Korean Studies in Seoul, told Al Jazeera that any agreement will be an “alliance of convenience” and one in which China – being the largest trading partner as well as Moscow and Pyongyang’s most powerful political patron – will tacitly have great influence in deciding the outcome.

Read more.

Reporting from Moscow, journalist Yulia Shapovalova says that media in Russia have been told that the Kremlin has organised an official dinner and reception in honour of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Shapovalova added that before these events a conversation between Kim and the Russian President Vladimir Putin which was open to the press, lasted about nine minutes.

“Before that the two leaders were observing the installation and testing site for the Angara rocket complex, used to launch vehicles. We are trying to assess what’s going to happen next,” Shapovalova added.

The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence says Russia is rushing units into action partly because it continues to grapple with an over-stretched force along the front lines as Ukraine continues its counteroffensive on three different axes.

Members of the 25th Combined Arms Army (25 CAA) have been sent to Ukraine for the first time, the ministry said. It was formed a year ago and is being deployed three months earlier than planned, it added.

“There is also a realistic possibility that Russia will attempt to use parts of 25 CAA to regenerate an uncommitted reserve force in the theatre to provide commanders with more operational flexibility,” the ministry said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 13 September 2023.

Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/uO3TsZPWr4

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/FM2pLekMzc

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) September 13, 2023

Russia’s position on the UN Security Council’s sanctions against North Korea will not prevent the development of ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was cited by state-run TASS news agency as saying.

“Russia maintains its position in the United Nations, in the Security Council, but this cannot and should not, and will not be an obstacle to the further development of Russian-North Korean relations,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

In 2017, as Kim accelerated his country’s nuclear and missile tests, Russia supported stringent Security Council sanctions that included limiting oil supplies and cracking down on the country’s labour exports.

A Russian drone attack damaged port infrastructure in the Izmail district of southern Ukraine, an important grain exporting hub, Ukrainian officials have said.

The attack on Izmail, which is in the Odesa region, was carried out in several waves, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said.

“Unfortunately, there were hits: damage to port and other civil infrastructure was recorded,” he said on the Telegram messaging app, without giving details of the damage.

The Ukrainian military later said the four and a half hour attack had caused a fire at a truck parking lot. The prosecutor general’s office said six truck drivers and one resident had been hurt.

Referring to two ports on the Danube river that are used to export grain, Kiper said six civilians were injured in Reni and one in Izmail.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has told Putin that his country offers its “full and unconditional support” for Russia’s “sacred fight” to defend its security interests in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine.

He said Pyongyang will always stand with Moscow on the “anti-imperialist” front.

Kim also called North Korea’s relations with Russia “the first priority”.

Bilateral ties between Russia and North Korea are set to get stronger as the two countries’ leaders meet in Russia, Kim Jong Un has said.

“I believe my meeting with President [Vladimir] Putin will serve as a stepping stone to raise the bilateral ties to a new high level,” the North Korean leader said, according to footage broadcast on Russian television.

Watch the moment when Putin meets Kim ahead of summit:

Russia and North Korea intend to cooperate in “sensitive” areas, which will not be made public, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

Peskov made his comment when asked whether Kim and Putin would discuss the issue of weapons.

The US has said that Putin is seeking to gain access to North Korean ammunition stockpiles to aid Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will take part in the summit between Putin and Kim, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian state media reports.

Shoigu visited Pyongyang in July, becoming the first Russian defence minister to visit North Korea since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

During his visit, Shoigu was invited by Kim to a defence exhibition that featured North Korea’s banned ballistic missiles.

Kim is accompanied on his visit to Russia by top North Korean military officials including Korean People’s Army Marshal Pak Jong Chon and Munitions Industry Department Director Jo Chun Ryong, the country’s state media reports.

Analysts believe that Putin will request artillery shells and antitank missiles from Kim at the summit, while the North Korean leader will likely seek access to advanced satellite and nuclear-powered submarine technology in return.

Kim, speaking via a translator, thanked Putin for the invitation to visit Russia and for the warmth of his reception when they met at the space centre.

Putin congratulated Kim on a series of North Korean anniversaries, including 75 years since the establishment of North Korea in 1948, then took Kim on a tour of the building where Russia’s new space launch rocket, the Angara, is assembled.

The 42.7-metre Angara rocket launches objects into low Earth orbit.

Kim asked Putin a large number of detailed questions on the tour, Russian state media reports.

Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s sister, is also present at the Vostochny Сosmodrome for the summit with Putin.

In June, Kim Yo Jong promised more North Korean satellite launches after the country’s attempt to send its first military spy satellite into orbit ended in failure.

Putin said Russia will help North Korea build space satellites, Russian state news agencies report.

When asked if he and Kim will discuss weapons supplies during the summit, Putin said the two leaders would discuss all topics.

Putin welcomed Kim at the entrance to a launch vehicle assembly building at the Russian space facility.

The two men shook hands and Putin said he was “very glad to see” Kim, according to news reports.

Kim’s translator thanked Putin for the warm welcome, “despite being busy”.

The two leaders are inspecting the cosmodrome and will then sit down for talks, Russian state media reported.

Kim and Putin have arrived at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s far eastern Amur region, according to Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.

The two leaders could be seen shaking hands at the space facility in video footage released by the Kremlin.

The two will hold talks on “trade ties” and “international affairs”, Russian news agencies reported.