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Trending topics, 18 patrol boats sent to ukraine set for river duty, says pentagon.

The 18 patrol boats being sent to Ukraine as part of additional aid announced Thursday will be used to monitor and protect Ukraine’s rivers, a senior defense official told reporters Friday.

The United States will be sending two small unit riverine crafts that are 35 feet long, six maritime combat crafts that are 40 feet long and 10 medium force protection patrol boats that are 34 feet long, the senior defense official said.

It is unclear of where the in the inventory the boats are coming from, although because they are authorized through the presidential drawdown, they must come from existing Department of Defense supply.

The Navy referred a question about the patrol boats coming from the sea service to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which declined to comment further beyond the morning briefing.

The boats will have limited use for coastal defense, the senior defense official said. Instead, Ukraine is relying on systems like Harpoons, which Denmark has provided . The U.S. will also be sending vehicle-mounted Harpoon launchers as part of previously announced assistance .

The U.S. has not sent large naval vessels to Ukraine as part of assistance packages. Lawmakers proposed sending five littoral combat ships to Ukraine, but the country rejected the idea, Defense News reported .

The senior defense official was not able to provide a number of Russian ships currently in the Black Sea, although the official noted that the Russian blockade was still ongoing, which has cut Ukraine off from the Sea of Azov.

USNI News contributor H.I. Sutton tweeted satellite imagery showing seven Russian ships and a submarine near Novorossiysk Friday. They include three Ropucha-class landing ships, an Alligator-class landing ship, an Ivan Gren-class landing ship, a Grisha-III-class light frigate, a patrol ship and a Kilo-class diesel attack submarine.

Heather Mongilio

Heather Mongilio is a reporter with USNI News. She has a master’s degree in science journalism and has covered local courts, crime, health, military affairs and the Naval Academy. Follow @hmongilio

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August 30, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

By Jessie Yeung , Sophie Tanno, Caolan Magee, Mike, Hayes, and Hannah Strange, CNN

Ukrainian military boats with special forces on board destroyed in Black Sea, Russia claims

From CNN’s Mariya Knight and Josh Pennington

Russian aircraft destroyed four Ukrainian military boats with special forces on board in the Black Sea, Russia's defense ministry claimed on Wednesday.

“On August 30, at about 00.00 Moscow time, a naval aviation aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet in the Black Sea destroyed four high-speed military boats with landing groups of Ukrainian special operations forces with a total number of up to 50 people,” the ministry claimed in a Telegram post. 

CNN has reached out to Ukrainian officials for comment.

The Russian claim comes nearly a week after Kyiv officials said Ukrainian forces  had carried out one of their most complex and ambitious operations to date against  Russian military facilities  in the  occupied region of Crimea .

Special forces landed on the western shore of Crimea in a joint operation with the country’s Navy, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence said last week.

Drone wars: Russia's defense ministry also said several Ukrainian drones were intercepted over various Russian regions in the early hours of Wednesday.

Three drones were intercepted over the southwest Bryansk region, one over the western Oryol region and one over Kaluga, southwest of Moscow, the ministry said.

Meanwhile in Crimea, Sevastopol Gov. Mikhail Razvozhaev said Russian air defenses repelled Ukrainian drone attacks in the area of Sevastopol Bay in the early hours of Wednesday.

Ukraine blasts Pope Francis' address to Russian youth as "imperialist propaganda"

From CNN's Mariya Knight and Jessie Yeung

Ukrainian  officials have criticized Pope Francis’ recent address to Russian youth, calling his remarks  “imperialist propaganda.”

The pontiff made a video address to the 10th All-Russian Catholic Youth Assembly in St. Petersburg on Friday, during which he urged them to view themselves as descendants of the Russian empire.

“Never forget your heritage. You are the descendants of great Russia: the great Russia of saints, rulers, the great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that empire – educated, great culture and great humanity. Never give up on this heritage,” the pope said. “You are descendants of the great Mother Russia, step forward with it. And thank you – thank you for your way of being, for your way of being Russian.”

On Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko lambasted the pope’s speech.

The pope’s mission should be “precisely to open the eyes of Russian youth to the devastating course of the current Russian leadership” and instead he is promoting “Russian great-power ideas, that are, in fact, the reason for Russia’s chronic aggression,” Nikolenko said.

Read the full story here.

Russian military intercepts drone attack on airport in Pskov, regional governor says

From CNN's Mariya Knight and Josh Pennington

The airport in Russia's western city of Pskov — which is used for both civilian and military aircraft — came under drone attacks on Tuesday, according to the region's governor.

In a Telegram post, Pskov Gov. Mikhail Vedernikov said he was at the scene and there were no casualties, according to preliminary information.

Vedernikov posted a video showing what appears to be a large plume of smoke coming from behind buildings in what looks like a residential area. 

Russian state news agency TASS reported that "as a result of drone attacks four Il-76 aircraft were damaged," in Pskov. A fire broke out and two aircraft were engulfed in flames, TASS said, citing emergency services

Flights over Pskov and the region have been restricted, TASS added. 

US announces additional $250 million security assistance package for Ukraine

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

The United States is providing an additional $250 million security assistance package to Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.

Blinken said the package includes air defense missiles, artillery ammunition, Javelin systems and rockets, and mine-clearing equipment

The US will also supply ambulances, "spare parts, services, training, and transportation," Blinken said.

"This package of weapons and equipment, which are valued at $250 million, is being executed under drawdowns previously directed for Ukraine," he said. "Russia started this war and could end it at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks. Until it does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes."

Prigozhin's internet trolls blame West and defend Putin over Wagner chief’s death, researchers say

From CNN's Katharina Krebs

A Russian network of  internet trolls  has begun to spread messages online blaming “enemies from the West” for the  plane crash  that killed Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin last week, according to two experts who monitor the activity of the trolls.

Prigozhin had previously turbo-charged the use of trolls to push messages designed to disrupt and polarize Western societies. His St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency created hundreds of fake accounts on social networks aiming to meddle in other countries’ politics, leading the United States in 2018 to  sanction Prigozhin  for election meddling.

At that time, CNN obtained  undercover video  recorded inside the secretive Internet Research Agency, where internet provocateurs worked 12-hour shifts, aiming to distort political debate in the US.

It’s unclear whether the Internet Research Agency still exists, especially in the light of US sanctions and the  short-lived mutiny  led by Prigozhin at the end of June. But two groups of independent analysts —  Bot Blocker  and  Chef’s Trap  — have been analyzing several dozen Russian troll accounts on the social networks Vkontakte and X, formerly known as Twitter.

The creator of Bot Blocker, who does not reveal his identity for security reasons, told CNN he was “extremely convinced” that Prigozhin and his structures had remained in charge of the troll accounts up until his death.

Read more here.

Ukrainian rocket attack kills civilians, Russian governor says

From CNN's Darya Tarasova 

A Ukrainian cross-border rocket attack killed an unspecified number of people, including a child, in Russia's southwestern Bryansk region, the local governor said Tuesday.

Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram that the Ukrainian military had fired at the village of Klimovo with multiple launch rocket systems.

"According to preliminary information, unfortunately, there are dead, including one child. As a result of the shelling, five civilians, including children, were injured," he said, adding school buildings and several administrative buildings were damaged, and residential premises destroyed.

Bryansk and other Russian regions bordering Ukraine have come under almost daily attack in recent months, with Russian officials saying Ukrainian drones and shelling have wounded or killed civilians.

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Sweden Mobilizes To Save Ukraine’s River Force: Ten New Armored Boats With Remote Guns

Swedish CB90 boats could survive Russian drone-attacks

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A CB90. The infantry ride in a compartment in the bow.

While Russia-aligned Republicans in the U.S. Congress continue to block U.S. aid to Ukraine, European countries are scrambling to fill the gap.

Perhaps, most notably, Sweden. A once non-aligned country that applied to join NATO in the months following Russia’s wider invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and which still is waiting for the last alliance holdout—Hungary—finally to vote in favor of ascension.

Despite still being on the periphery of Europe’s security architecture, Sweden strongly has supported Ukraine. Its latest aid package is its biggest: $680 million worth of artillery shells, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles and a whopping 30 riverine boats.

The consignment of boats includes 10 CB90 assault craft. The 52-foot CB90 is a riverine classic: thickly-armored and heavily-armed with three crew, space for 21 infantry and a top speed of 40 knots out to a distance of up to 240 miles.

The Swedish navy operates around 140 of the Saab-built boats and has additional copies on order. The Norwegian navy has a squadron of CB90s. The U.S. Navy even bought a couple of the boats for its brief-lived modern riverine force, which disbanded a few years ago.

The American boats infamously strayed into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf in 2016, triggering a now-forgotten diplomatic crisis.

With their top-mounted remote guns laying down covering fire and their frontal armor shrugging off enemy small arms, a squadron of 10 CB90s could land a company of marines “with a degree of survivability for both the craft and embarked troops,” according to retired U.S. Navy officer Pete Pagano, writing in Proceedings , the professional journal of the U.S. fleet.

Survivability is exactly what the Ukrainian navy’s battered riverine flotilla needs right now. Initially forming with former civilian boats, the navy’s river squadron gradually rearmed with purpose-built military boats supplied by Ukraine’s allies.

But the navy and its sister services have lost scores of their potentially hundreds of boats resupplying the Ukrainian marine corps’ narrow bridgehead in Krynky, on the left bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine. The river is just a few miles wide, but Russian artillery, bombs and explosive drones harry the Ukrainian boats by day and night.

Even after installing radio-jammers to help to confuse Russian drones, Ukrainian boat crews have struggled to complete their missions on time. And that has stranded Ukrainian marines on the far side of the river, leaving them exposed to air and artillery attack. “The left bank was like purgatory,” one marine told The New York Times .

The CB90s with their guns and armor should fare better against Russian drones than flimsier boats have done. And that’s good news for Ukraine’s marines, should the navy assign the CB90s to the Krynky resupply mission.

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Ukraine to Receive Australian Marine Boats to Bolster River Fleet

Australia is sending state-of-the-art inflatable boats to Ukraine as part of a 100-million-Australian-dollar ($65.6 million) military aid package.

The Sentinel 830R RHIB (Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat) is designed for a range of missions across rivers and seas, featuring customized weapon consoles and surveillance systems.

“The speed and agility of the 830R platform is expected to be used across a range of mission profiles, from riverine operations in Ukraine’s complex waterways, through to open sea boarding operations,” Sentinel Boats CEO, George McGuire said .

“The 830R can be rapidly deployed and requires minimal maintenance, resulting in greater operational availability whenever the Ukrainian forces need it.”

The craft are being produced at Sentinel Boats’ Hobart workshop and will be sent in the coming months along with other pledged equipment .

https://x.com/AmbVasyl/status/1790557351952703949

To Bolster Ukraine’s River Fleet

The offering is essential to bolster the Ukrainian Navy’s depleted riverine fleet, consisting of reconfigured civilian boats and purpose-built vessels sent by allies.

Russian artillery and explosive-laden drones damaged and sunk “scores” of boats of both the Ukrainian Navy and Marines while they were “resupplying the Ukrainian marine corps’ narrow bridgehead in Krynky, on the left bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine,” according to Forbes .

The boats are also required to launch raids across the river in Russian-controlled territory.

Some of the notable boats delivered to Ukraine include the 52-foot (16 meters) Swedish CB90 assault craft and the US-donated Dauntless SeaArk patrol boat.

Sentinel 830R

The 8.3-meter (27 feet) craft can accommodate a crew of 10 and features a speed of 40 knots (74 kilometers/46 miles per hour).

It is built using high-density polyethylene (HDPE), featuring strength and impact resistance, as well as vibration dampening qualities to reduce crew fatigue.

According to the Tasmania-based manufacturer, the HDPE is resistant to the electrolysis effect that reduces the service life of similar aluminum boats in harsh environments.

“The reduced cost of ownership benefit HPDE offers is demonstrated by Sentinel’s first boat still being in active service after nearly 30 years of daily use in a demanding commercial environment,” McGuire explained.  

“It is the ultimate honor to have our craftsmanship and reliability trusted internationally and to have this opportunity to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.” 

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US delivers firepower for Ukraine’s MK VI patrol boats

As part of its package of MK VI patrol boats to Ukraine, the US will continue to deliver more gun weapon systems.

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Since 2020, the US Department of Defense (DoD) has been delivering Mark VI patrol boats and accompanying weapon systems to Ukraine under its Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

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The DoD has added to this growing venture by contracting the original equipment manufacturer, Safe Boats International, with a $16m contract to procure and install four gun weapon systems onto the MK VI boats, and provide further training and spare parts.

Work will be performed in Tacoma, Washington, and is expected to be completed by June 2026. Foreign military sales (FMS) Ukraine funds in the amount of $16.2m will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

The last time the DoD delivered gun weapon systems, training and spare parts for this platform to Ukraine was on 15 September 2022. At that time last year the cumulative value had reached $92.3m.

Eight patrol boats – the first six contracted in September 2021 , and the second two in December 2021 – are due to be completed by March 2026. Ukraine is looking to procure up to 16 Mk VI patrol boats from the US at an  estimated cost  of $600 m via the FMS programme.

The Mark VI patrol boat is built by Safe Boats Intenrational . It is a shift in the US Navy’s focus from Cold War-era blue water engagements to placing importance on littoral water operations.

It was designed to replace the legacy Riverine Command Boat for open water and near shore operations, the Mark VI is larger, more survivable, and better equipped with modernized weapons, communications, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.

Despite the name the craft is not a replacement for the Mark V from 1998-2012 in a special operations role.

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US announces a new $400 million package of weapons for Ukraine to try to hold off Russian advances

FILE - A police officer examines fragments of a guided bomb after the Russian air raid in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Russia pounded a town in Ukraine’s northeast with artillery, rockets and guided aerial bombs Friday May 10, 2024 before attempting an infantry breach of local defenses, authorities said, in a tactical switch that Kyiv officials have been expecting for weeks as the war stretches into its third year. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko, File)

A firefighter pets a dog as he rests after putting out a fire in a private house hit by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Yevhen Titov)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. announced a new $400 million package of military aid for Ukraine on Friday, as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the northeast Kharkiv region.

This is the third tranche of aid for Ukraine since Congress passed supplemental funding in late April after months of gridlock. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned Thursday that his country was facing “a really difficult situation” in the east, but said a new supply of U.S. weapons was coming and “we will be able to stop them.”

The package includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and rockets for them, as well as munitions for Patriot and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank munitions, and an array of armored vehicles, such as Bradley and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles.

It will also provide a number of coastal and riverine patrol boats, trailers, demolition munitions, high-speed anti-radiation missiles, protective gear, spare parts and other weapons and equipment. The weapons are being sent through presidential drawdown authority, which pulls systems and munitions from existing U.S. stockpiles so they can go quickly to the war front.

Also on Friday, the State Department approved a proposed emergency sale of HIMARS to Ukraine for an estimated $30 million. State said Ukraine has asked to buy three of the rocket systems, which would be funded by the government of Germany.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that an emergency exists that supports the “immediate sale” to Ukraine. The systems will come from Army inventory.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Friday that the latest package of military aid was intended, in part, to help Ukraine fend off the surging Russian effort to capture Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.

Kirby noted that Russia has already launched initial incursions into areas around the towns of Vovchansk and Lyptsi, near Kharkiv.

“It is possible that Russia will make further advances in the coming weeks, but we do not anticipate any major breakthroughs,” Kirby said. “And over time, the influx of U.S. assistance will enable Ukraine to withstand these attacks over the course of 2024.”

The U.S. has now provided about $50.6 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

Almost immediately after President Joe Biden signed the $95 billion foreign aid package, the Pentagon announced it was sending $1 billion in weapons through that drawdown authority,. And just days later the Biden administration announced a $6 billion package funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term contracts with the defense industry and means that the weapons could take many months or years to arrive.

Russia has sought to exploit Ukraine’s shortages of ammunition and manpower as the flow of Western supplies since the outbreak of the war petered out while Congress struggled to pass the bill. Moscow has assembled large troop concentrations in the east as well as in the north and has been gaining an edge on the battlefield, Zelenskyy said.

Officials did not say if the latest package includes more of the long-range ballistic missiles — known as the Army Tactical Missile System — that Ukraine has repeatedly requested. The U.S. secretly sent a number of the missiles to Ukraine for the first time this spring and the White House has said it would send more. In one case, Ukraine used them to bomb a Russian military airfield in Crimea.

The new missiles give Ukraine nearly double the striking distance — up to 300 kilometers (190 miles) — than it had with the mid-range version of the weapon that it received from the U.S. in October.

___ Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

Zelenskyy warns Russia’s Kharkiv offensive may only be ‘first wave’

New laws overhauling army mobilisation rules in Ukraine take effect in effort to address acute troop shortages.

Russia’s offensive in Ukraine’s northeastern border region of Kharkiv may just be the “first wave” in a wider assault, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned as he appealed to allies to send more air defence and fighter jets.

Russian forces, which had made only moderate advances in recent months, launched a surprise assault in the Kharkiv region on May 10 that resulted in their biggest territorial gains in a year and a half.

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Zelenskyy in kharkiv as ukraine claims to partially halt russia’s offensive, russia to expel uk defence attache in a tit-for-tat move, russia’s putin eyes greater support from china for ukraine war effort.

Zelenskyy conceded on Friday, in an interview with the AFP news agency, that Ukraine only has a quarter of the air defences it needs to hold the front line while the war grinds on.

He said Russian forces managed to advance between five to 10km (3-6 miles) along the northeastern border before being stopped by Ukrainian forces.

On Saturday, Kharkiv’s Governor Oleg Synegubov said “a total of 9,907 people have been evacuated” from the region following a ground attack by Russian troops.

Al Jazeera’s John Holman, reporting from Kharkiv, said that at present Ukraine is “outmanned in terms of soldiers” in parts of the front line even before the latest Russian attacks.

“Ukraine said that there were seven Russian soldiers to one Ukrainian soldier, so that’s going to put fresh pressure on them,” he said.

In an effort to increase troop numbers, Zelenskyy signed two laws, one to enable prisoners to join the army and another that increases fines for draft dodgers fivefold, which took effect on Saturday.

Ukraine’s mobilisation age remains high at 25, while Russia’s is 18, Holman reported, adding that the government was reluctant to “hollow out its already small number of younger men by calling them up”.

The new legislation is aimed at shoring up a depleted – and ageing – army.

“We need everyone. Older people because they’re more experienced in their specialty. But if we’re talking about some combat positions, where there should be endurance, physical condition and cold-bloodedness, those should be filled by young people,” Yaroslava Kashka, head of recruitment at the 12th Azov Brigade, told Al Jazeera.

Zelenskyy also acknowledged that Russian forces were “going deeper into our territory”, adding that in order to achieve at least a level of air “parity” with Russia, Ukraine needs “120 to 130” F-16 fighter jets or other advanced aircraft.

“Today, we have about 25 percent of what we need to defend Ukraine. I’m talking about air defence,” he told AFP.

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the offensive in the Kharkiv region is aimed at creating a buffer zone and Russia has no plans to capture the city of Kharkiv.

Speaking to reporters while on a visit to China , Putin said Moscow launched its attacks in response to Ukrainian shelling of Russia’s neighbouring Belgorod region.

“I have said publicly that if it continues, we will be forced to create a security zone, a sanitary zone,” he said. “That’s what we are doing.”

Meanwhile, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskii, said Russia’s new offensive has “expanded the zone of active hostilities” by almost 70km (45 miles) to attempt to force Ukraine to spread its forces and use reserve troops.

In response to the new attacks, Ukraine launched a counterstrike and drone raids on the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory of Crimea.

A Ukrainian intelligence official confirmed to The Associated Press news agency that the country’s intelligence services struck Russia’s military infrastructure sites in Novorossiysk, on the Black Sea coast, and in the Russian-occupied city of Sevastopol.

The operation, carried out by Ukraine-built drones, targeted Russian Black Sea Fleet vessels, the unnamed official said.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said 51 Ukrainian drones were downed over Crimea, 44 over the Krasnodar region of Russia and six over the Belgorod region. Russian warplanes and patrol boats also destroyed six sea drones in the Black Sea, it said.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol, which is the main base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, said the drone attack damaged the city’s power plant.

Ukraine war latest: Armed ship destroyed in Crimea, Kyiv says; controversial US television host launches show in Russia

Ukraine says it hit and destroyed the Russian missile ship Tsiklon in Crimea over the weekend. Meanwhile, analysts say Moscow is seeking to draw out Kyiv's forces - as Putin makes another significant change to his cabinet.

Wednesday 22 May 2024 14:47, UK

• Kyiv claims it has destroyed last Russian warship armed with cruise missiles in Crimea
• Tucker Carlson launches new show in Russia
• Putin sacks minister in new sign of shift in war strategy
• European country now pushing to let Ukraine strike deep into Russia with Western weapons
• Russia using 'understaffed and incohesive forces' in bid to draw out Ukrainian troops
• Big picture: What you need to know as war enters new week

As we've not been providing rolling coverage of the war in Ukraine today, here is a quick update on what's been happening since this morning. 

One of the most significant new stories is the UK accusing China of providing or preparing to provide lethal aid to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine. 

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told a news conference this morning that US and British defence intelligence had evidence "lethal aid is now, or will be, flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine".

He called this a "significant development".

We also heard from the Kremlin this morning, which said "in-depth dialogue" was needed to reduce rising tensions between Russia and the West - particularly with regards to nuclear issues. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused the "collective West" of refusing to engage with Russia despite the potential dangers. 

Here are more of the top stories: 

• Russian forces have taken over the village of Klishchiivka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, close to the city of Bakhmut, according to Russian news agencies 
• At least nine people have been injured in a Russian air attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
• Russia accused Ukraine of using a drone to attack a non-nuclear facility at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, causing no critical damage
• Moscow said it is bolstering its efforts to protect its energy infrastructure from drone attacks
• Six children were handed over to Ukraine by Russia and reunited with their families, after a deal was brokered by Qatar. 

We're pausing our coverage of the Ukraine war for the moment.

Scroll through the blog below to catch up on today's developments.

Vladimir Putin has praised the late president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, and said he was a "reliable partner".

Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash near the Azerbaijan border over the weekend along with his foreign minister and seven others.

Speaking on the leader, Mr Putin said he was "a man of his word" who carried out any agreements the pair made.

"He was truly a reliable partner, a man sure of himself, who acted in the national interest," Russian news agencies quoted Mr Putin as telling Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's lower house of parliament.

"He was, of course, a man of his word and it was always good to work with him. What I mean is if we came to an agreement on something, you could be sure the agreement was carried out."

The Kremlin leader asked Mr Volodin, who will be attending memorial events in Iran, to pass on "words of our sincere condolences in connection with this tragedy".

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has strengthened political, trade and military ties with Iran in a deepening relationship that the US and Israel view with concern.

Heavy fighting in the Pokrovsk area in eastern Ukraine has forced Ukrainian troops to engage in "manoeuvres," the Ukrainian military's general staff have said.

Their report said Pokrovsk, northwest of the Russian-held city of Donetsk, remains the front's "hottest" sector.

"In some areas, the situation requires our troops to engage in manoeuvres," the general staff report reads.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has referred to the region and adjacent areas as "extraordinarily difficult" in his nightly video address.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said allies are taking too long when it comes to decisions on military support for Ukraine.

In an interview with Reuters, the Ukrainian leader said every decision which everyone came to was "late by around one year".

"But it is what it is: one big step forward, but before that two steps back. So we need to change the paradigm a little bit," he said.

"When we're quick, they fall behind. And then there's a gap - six, eight months of unpassed (aid) packages, and then two-three months of supplies - and a year goes by. We would like not to lose the advantage."

Mr Zelenskyy also said Ukraine had never used Western weapons on Russian territory.

A senior Russian diplomat has said that the EU plan to channel profits from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine would have "unpredictable" consequences, according to the TASS news agency.

According to TASS, Kirill Logvinov, Russia's acting permanent representative to the EU in Brussels, told Russia journalists: "The only predictable thing is that those in the EU will be obliged sooner or later to return to our country what has been stolen."

For context : In March the European Commission proposed transferring to Ukraine profits generated by Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe.

The plan would see 90% channeled through the European Peace Facility fund to buy weapons for Ukraine. 

The rest would be used for recovery and reconstruction.

Russia's defence ministry has said it has begun a round of drills involving tactical nuclear weapons. 

The exercises were announced by Russian authorities this month in response to remarks by senior Western officials about the possibility of deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine.

It was the first time Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, although its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises.

According to the ministry's statement, the first stage of the new drills include nuclear-capable Kinzhal and Iskander missiles.

The maneuvers are taking place in the southern military district, which consists of Russian regions in the south.

A Moscow court has ordered a Russian journalist who covered the trials of the late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and other dissidents must  remain in custody pending an investigation and trial on charges of extremism.

Antonina Favorskaya was arrested in March. 

She is accused of collecting material, producing and editing videos and publications for Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which had been outlawed as extremist by Russian authorities, according to court officials.

Today, Moscow's Basmanny district court ordered that she remain in custody until at least 3 August.

Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokeswoman, said earlier that Ms Favorskaya did not publish anything on the foundation's platforms and suggested that Russian authorities have targeted her because she was doing her job as a journalist.

Former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson has launched his own show in Russia.

The controversial US media personality, who this year became the first Western journalist to interview Vladimir Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine, will host his show on the state-owned Russia 24 (Rossiya 24).

In the first episode, Carlson will discuss the dangers of ticks and Lyme disease.

Who is Carlson?

Carlson, who has been a vocal supporter of Mr Putin in the past, was sacked from Fox News in April last year.

He took up the prime-time weekday evenings spot on Fox News in 2016 with his show Tucker Carlson Tonight, and quickly established himself as a key player in the network and an influential voice in Republican politics.

The presenter often embraced conspiracy theories and far-right issues. He repeatedly questioned the efficacy of COVID vaccines and compared mandates to "Nazi experiments".

While he found success with viewers, his inflammatory comments caused some advertisers to distance themselves from the programme.

After his departure from Fox News he rebooted his show on X last year, calling Elon Musk's site the last big remaining platform to allow free speech.

Ukraine says it has destroyed the last Russian warship armed with cruise missiles that was stationed on the occupied peninsula of Crimea.

It comes after we reported earlier comments by Ukraine's military, which said they had hit the Russian missile ship Tsiklon (see post at 3.09pm).

Ukraine's military reported conducting a long-range attack that destroyed the Russian minesweeping navy vessel on Sunday and said it needed more time to confirm what else had been damaged.

"According to updated information, the Ukrainian defence forces hit a Russian project 22800 Tsiklon missile ship in Sevastopol, on the night of 19 May," the general staff said today.

The Ukrainian navy later said on X that the vessel had been "destroyed".

Ukrainian navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said the Tsiklon was Russia's "last cruise missile carrier" based on the peninsula.

Tsiklon never fired a cruise missile while on active service, Mr Pletenchuk said in televised comments.

Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 and is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters at Sevastopol.

The Russian defence ministry has not commented.

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Ukraine appears to have launched its biggest drone attack ever, with reports of explosions at two major Russian ports

• Ukraine may have launched its biggest drone attack ever, per the Kyiv Independent.
• Russia shot down a total of 102 aerial and six naval sea drones overnight, it said.
• Two of its major ports, Sevastopol and Novorossiysk, were affected, per reports.

Ukraine appears to have launched its biggest drone attack ever, with reports of explosions at two major Russian ports.

In a Telegram post , Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 51 drones over Crimea, 44 drones over the Krasnodar region, and six drones over the Kursk region on Thursday night.

It also said its naval aviation and Black Sea Fleet patrol boats destroyed six uncrewed surface vessels, or USVs, in the Black Sea.

This would amount to a total of 102 aerial and six naval drones shot down in just one night, and if true, would be Ukraine's largest drone attack since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to the Kyiv Independent .

Business Insider couldn't independently verify these numbers.

The independent Russian media outlet Astra, citing its own sources and footage, reported drones hit at least two oil depots and two terminals in the port city of Novorossiysk and neighboring villages on Thursday night.

Novorossiysk residents told the outlet that more than 35 explosions occurred in the city, causing power outages. The outlet shared multiple videos of what appeared to be the blasts.

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The outlet also shared a photo of a refinery on fire in Tuapse, east of Novorossiysk.

Veniamin Kondratyev, the regional governor, said Russian air defense forces shot down more than 10 drones over Novorossiysk on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, Russian forces shot down dozens of drones and more than five sea drones in the port of Sevastopol last night, with drone debris hitting the city's substation and causing power outages, Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russian-installed regional governor, said in a Telegram post .

A video shared by Astra appears to show blasts in Sevastopol. BI could not independently verify the footage in the reports.

The Security Service of Ukraine SBU and Ukraine's intelligence agency GUR launched a joint operation to strike Russian military and logistics facilities in Novorossiysk and occupied Sevastopol, the Associated Press reported , citing an unnamed Ukrainian intelligence official.

Ukraine has ramped up attacks on Russian warships in occupied Crimea, inflicting significant losses on Russia's Black Sea Fleet and forcing it to relocate some maritime activities to Novorossiysk.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of the UK Armed Forces, said in February that 25% of Russia's Black Sea boats had been sunk or damaged.

The fleet was "functionally inactive" after Ukraine claimed to have struck two of its ships in March, the UK's Ministry of Defence said at the time.

Satellite images from April shared by the UK's MoD showed Russia upgrading the defenses of its Black Sea Fleet naval base in Novorossiysk, confirming that most of its ships and submarines have been relocated further eastwards.

Ukraine's GUR did not immediately reply to a request for comment by BI.

Watch: Ukraine sends 'army of drones' to fight Russian troops

• Main content

Ukraine launches massive attack on Russian port, oil refinery, power plant

T he Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) utilized over a hundred drones overnight to attack Russian targets in Sevastopol, Tuapse, and Novorossiysk. These targets include a seaport, an oil refinery, an oil terminal, and a power substation.

According to sources within the special services, some Russian military facilities were targeted. The comprehensive operation utilizing surface and aerial drones aimed at neutralizing ships and other vessels of the Russian Black Sea Fleet based in Sevastopol and Novorossiysk.

As a result of the deployment of enemy air defense systems, other objects were also damaged. Russian sources report that over a hundred drones attacked their military infrastructure. Sources within Ukrainian special services assert that all drones used were of Ukrainian origin.

Specifically, the SBU and GUR conducted a joint operation in Sevastopol Bay, resulting in fires throughout the night.

Additionally, reconnaissance units struck the seaport of Novorossiysk, where explosions occurred near the oil terminal and at the railway station.

Furthermore, the SBU targeted the Tuapse oil refinery with drones, which the Russians had begun to restore. However, after the new explosions, repairs will have to start again, sources note. The Sevastopol power substation was also attacked, leading to power disruptions.

"Today's special operation showed that the Russians cannot protect their main naval bases in Sevastopol and Novorossiysk. All they can do is hide military ships deep in ports behind civilian vessels. The dominance of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is something the Russians can forget about. Ukrainian 'bavovna' ('explosions' - ed.) will find them everywhere!" noted an informed source.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported today that over 100 Ukrainian drones were allegedly destroyed over Russian territories last night, as well as in the occupied Crimea.

Reportedly, the Russian air defense system destroyed and intercepted 51 UAVs over the Crimean peninsula, 44 over the Krasnodar Krai, 6 over the Belgorod region, and 1 over the Kursk region.

Additionally, it was claimed that Ukrainian unmanned boats in the Black Sea were destroyed by the maritime aviation and patrol boats of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

However, footage from the attack sites tells a different story. Initially, Novorossiysk in the Krasnodar Krai was targeted, where witnesses counted over 35 explosions, and the port was de-energized. Videos of a fire at an oil refinery in Tuapse emerged online. There was also significant activity in the occupied Sevastopol, where a power substation was hit, leading to reported power outages.

Ukraine’s First MK VI Patrol Boat Breaks Cover

The hull of the first of eight mk vi patrol boats bound to ukraine just broke cover. a video published on 24 january by the port of tacoma shows its transfer to a safe boats facility for outfitting..

Tayfun Ozberk 26 Jan 2023

Tayfun Ozberk story with additional reporting by Xavier Vavasseur

Port of Tacoma underlined that the delivery was completed earlier this month, but didn’t mention the exact date.

“This boat is the first of eight that SAFE Boats will be creating and outfitting under contract with the U.S. Navy for Ukraine. They plan to complete this commission by increasing their workforce by up to 75 new positions, primarily at their Tacoma facility.” Port of Tacoma

For the record, the United States’ State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Government of Ukraine of up to 16 Mark VI Patrol Boats and related equipment for an estimated cost of $600 million back in June 2020 . The U.S. Department of Defense on 5 January 2021 awarded SAFE Boats International a US$ 19 million order to start production of Ukraine’s first two Mk VI Patrol Boats. Eight months later NAVSEA awarded SAFE Boats International a US$ 84 million contract modification for the delivery of six more Mk VI patrol boats , with an option for an additional two boats.

As Naval News reported earlier this month , the U.S. Navy’s fleet of 12 MK VI Patrol Boats is no longer active. Pictures taken last Summer by Chris Cavas show a number of the vessels stored at a Fairlead facility in Newport News near Norfolk, Virginia.

U.S. Navy’s Mark VI and 40-foot Patrol Boat Updates

A U.S. Navy spokesperson  told us back in August 2021:

“ The MK VIs will be returned to the Boat Inventory Manager in the continental U.S. for final disposition. The Navy continues to assess options for final disposition, including the potential transition to another service or another U.S. government agency, nomination for Foreign Military Sales, or placement into long-term storage.”

Meawhile, another type of patrol boat, the (smaller) 40 foot (12.2 meters) long ‘40 Defiant’ had already been delivered to the Ukrainian Navy and are already patrolling the Black Sea . These were built by Metal Shark in Franklin, Louisiana:

Ukraine’s New U.S. Supplied Combat Boats Already Patrolling Black Sea

About Mk VI patrol boat

The Mark VI is a class of patrol boat designed and built by SAFE Boats international since 2015. Their main purposes are littoral and riverine surveillance but is reconfigurable to embark special forces or medical facility. The rear deck is able to launch and recover a small UAV or UUV. The U.S. Navy is the only user of this class of boat and owns twelve of them.

Main specifications

• Displacement: 72 tonnes
• Length: 25.8m
• Draft: 20.5m
• Propulsion: 2 x MTU 5200 horse power
• Speed: 45 knots
• Range: 750 nautical miles at 25 knots
• Weapons: 2 x MK 38 Mod 2 25mm chain guns. The mount can change depending on the mission. According to the FMS notice, the Ukrainian Navy boats will be fitted with the Mk44 Bushmaster II which is a 30mm chain gun.

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Pentagon vows to keep weapons moving to Ukraine as Russia renews its assault

The U.S. defense secretary and as many as 50 defense leaders from Europe and around the world met Monday to coordinate more military aid to Ukraine.

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WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin committed Monday to keeping U.S. weapons moving to Ukraine as Kyiv faces one of its toughest moments against a renewed assault by Russia.

Austin and as many as 50 defense leaders from Europe and around the world met Monday to coordinate more military aid to Ukraine as it tries to hold off a Russian offensive in the northeast while launching its own massive assault on the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula.

“We’re meeting in a moment of challenge,” Austin said, noting that Russia’s new onslaught on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, showed why the commitment was vital. Austin vowed to keep U.S. weapons moving “week after week.”

Austin told reporters the group spent a lot of time talking about Ukraine’s critical need for air defense systems, which he said are helping stave off the Russian attacks.

“We’ll continue to push to ensure that Ukraine owns its skies and can defend its citizens and its civilian infrastructure far from the front lines,” he said after the meeting ended.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. take part in a press briefing at the Pentagon on Monday in Washington. Kevin Wolf/Associated Press

Speaking alongside Austin, Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that while there are no plans now to put U.S. trainers back into Ukraine to work with Ukrainian forces, the U.S. could do that after the war. Advertisement

“Once this conflict is over and we’re in a better place, then I would suspect we would be able to bring trainers back in,” he said.

The U.S. announced no new aid packages Monday, even as Ukrainian forces continue to complain that weapons are just trickling into the country after being stalled for months due to congressional gridlock over funding. Pentagon officials have said that weapons pre-positioned in Europe began moving into Ukraine soon after the aid funding was approved in late April.

It’s unclear how much of that has reached some of the front lines, where Russian troops have intensified their assault.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday during a visit to China that Moscow’s offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region aims to create a buffer zone but there are no plans to capture the city.

Ukrainian troops have been fighting to halt Russian advances in the Kharkiv region, while also increasing their offensive attacks in Crimea, including on military infrastructure on the Black Sea coast and in the Russian-occupied city of Sevastopol.

Ukraine has struggled to get enough troops to the front lines, as the war drags on into its third year and fighting takes its toll. In an effort to increase troop numbers, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed two laws, allowing prisoners to join the army and increasing fines for draft dodgers fivefold. The controversial mobilization law goes into effect on Saturday. Advertisement

In the four weeks since President Joe Biden signed the $95 billion foreign aid package, which included about $61 billion for Ukraine, the U.S. has sent $1.4 billion in weapons pulled from Pentagon stockpiles and announced it was providing $6 billion in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. USAI pays for longer-term contracts with the defense industry and means that the weapons could take many months or years to arrive.

In recent packages the U.S. has agreed to send High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and rockets for them, as well as munitions for Patriot and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank munitions, and an array of armored vehicles, such as Bradley and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles.

The U.S. is also providing additional coastal and riverine patrol boats, trailers, demolition munitions, high-speed anti-radiation missiles, protective gear, spare parts and other weapons and equipment.

The State Department has also approved a proposed emergency sale of HIMARS to Ukraine for an estimated $30 million. State said Ukraine has asked to buy three of the rocket systems, which would be funded by the government of Germany.

The U.S. has now provided about $50.6 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

Related Headlines

At least 11 killed as Russia presses forward with its offensive in northeastern Ukraine

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Portland City Council clears the way for demolition of former children’s museum

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