Ukraine war - live: Zelensky praises troops on visit to newly liberated city

Russia ‘almost certainly’ buying weapons from Iran and North Korea, says MoD

Ukrainian troops enter Sviatohirsk in Donetsk Oblast after recapturing town

Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked his troops on a visit to a newly captured city in the northeast province of Kharkiv.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian president travelled to Izium to attend a flag-raising ceremony.

The now devastated city was used by the Russians as a key supply hub, before it was liberated late last week by the Ukrainian army as part of the significant advance it has made in northeast Ukraine.

In total, Kyiv is believed to have retaken about 8,000 square kilometres in the region in under a week.

The president said the presence of Ukraine’s forces had breathed life back into places like Izium.

“I see how people meet them, in what a sensitive moment. It means that with our army, the life comes back,” he said.

In other developments, the Kremlin is “almost certainly” sourcing weapons from Iran and North Korea as it struggles with supply shortages, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Defence experts believe the Russian army has been forced to buy from the pariah states in part because of the impact of Western sanctions.

Key points

• Zelensky visits newly recaptured town of Izium
• Russia ‘almost certainly’ importing weapons from Iran and North Korea, says MoD
• Accounts of Russian torture emerge from area liberated by Ukraine
• ‘About 150,000 people liberated in Balakliia’
• In recaptured Ukraine town, locals sob with relief, relate harrowing accounts
• ‘Ukraine has made progress but still a long haul,’ says Biden

[14 September 2022 08:10 · Namita Singh]

Russian forces ‘ordered to retreat’ from Kharkiv as some leave weapons behind in ‘apparent panic’

Russian forces have been ordered to retreat from advancing Ukrainian troops in Kharkiv to focus instead on defending their position in the eastern Donbas region, according to western intelligence sources.

Vladimir Putin’s generals are expected to cede an area nearly half the size of Wales before setting up a new defensive line to the east of the Oskil river, according to intelligence.

Ukrainian forces have reclaimed more than two thousands square miles of territory as they continue their counter-offensive, the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said, regaining key locations in the Kharkiv region.

He has urged the West to speed up arms supplies to maintain the momentum of its offensives.

Some Russian units fled their positions in “apparent panic” leaving behind a “significant quantity” of weapons, vehicles and ammunition as they fled, Western officials said.

Jon Stone and David Harding report:

[14 September 2022 08:25 · Namita Singh]

Kremlin hails importance of Vladimir Putin-Xi Jinping meeting in Samarkand

The Kremlin has hailed the significance of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week amid tensions with the West.

Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the two leaders are scheduled to meet on Thursday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on the sidelines of a summit of a security pact dominated by Moscow and Beijing.

“The meeting has a special significance in view of the current international situation,” Mr Ushakov told reporters, saying Mr Putin and Mr Xi will discuss the international situation, along with regional issues and bilateral cooperation.

China has pointedly refused to criticise Russia’s action in Ukraine and denounced Western sanctions against Moscow.

Russia, in turn, has strongly backed China amid tensions with the US that followed a recent visit to Taiwan by US House speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“China has taken a well-balanced approach to the Ukrainian crisis, clearly expressing its understanding of the reasons that prompted Russia to launch the special military operation,” Mr Ushakov said.

“The issue will be thoroughly discussed during the meeting.”

More in this report:

[14 September 2022 08:40 · Rory Sullivan]

Russia forced to import North Korean military kit, says MoD

Vladimir Putin’s forces are being forced to source equipment from North Korea and Iran as the impacts of sanctions and military losses in Ukraine bite, defence experts believe.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said their forces had shot down an Iranian-made drone in Kharkiv province.

“Russia is almost certainly increasingly sourcing weaponry from other heavily sanctioned states like Iran and North Korea as its own stocks dwindle,” the British Ministry of Defence said.

[14 September 2022 09:00 · Rory Sullivan]

EU’s solidarity with Ukraine ‘unshakeable’, says von der Leyen

Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine remains “unshakeable”, Ursula von der Leyen has said.

Speaking in the bloc’s parliament in Strasbourg, the European Commission president said: “I stand here with the conviction that with courage and solidarity, Putin will fail and Europe will prevail.”

“Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine will remain unshakeable,” she added.

Ms von der Leyen also announced a surprise visit to Kyiv later on Wednesday to mark the bloc’s ongoing support for Ukraine.

[14 September 2022 09:20 · Rory Sullivan]

Kremlin ‘acknowledges defeat’ in Kharkiv, says ISW

The Kremlin has acknowledged its defeat in Kharkiv province, the first time it has been open about one of its setbacks in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.

In less than a week, Kyiv’s forces have retaken thousands of square kilometers of land in the northeast region.

Moscow tried to recast previous failures - including its withdrawal from areas around Kyiv this spring - as strategic decisions.

However, its approach to the Kharkiv defeat has been slightly different.

“The Kremlin’s acknowledgment of the defeat is part of an effort to mitigate and deflect criticism for such a devastating failure away from Russian president Vladimir Putin and onto the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the uniformed military command,” the ISW said.

[14 September 2022 09:42 · Rory Sullivan]

EU ‘not complete’ without eastern neighbours, says von der Leyen

The EU is not complete without some of its eastern neighbours, Ursula von der Leyen has said.

Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and countries in the Western Balkans are part of the European family, she added.

“You are part of our family, you are the future of our union,” Ms von der Leyen said. “Our Union is not complete without you.”

[14 September 2022 10:00 · Rory Sullivan]

Taiwan learning from Ukraine’s communications strategy

Taiwan is learning from Ukraine’s communications strategy, the country’s digital minister has said.

After US house speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei last month, China launched large-scale war games off the island, raising fears that it could invade Taiwan.

“We look at the experience of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. We found that the whole world can know what is happening there in real time,” the Taiwanese digital affairs minister Audrey Tang said.

“It’s not only for our own people, but also for the people who care about us all over the world, so that we can enlist the assistance of international friends.”

[14 September 2022 10:20 · Rory Sullivan]

Russia spent $300m to covertly influence world politics, says US

#icymi

The Biden administration has released a cable which suggests that Russia has spent $300 million over the last eight years on attempts to influence politicians and other officials in dozens of countries.

[14 September 2022 10:40 · Rory Sullivan]

Putin rejected Ukraine peace deal recommended by aide early in war, say sources

Vladimir Putin rejected a deal one of his envoys brokered with Ukraine as the war began, sources have told Reuters.

It is thought that the Ukrainian-born envoy, Dmitry Kozak, obtained a provisional deal that satisfied the Kremlin’s desire that Ukraine never join Nato.

However, the Russian leader reportedly changed his mind, deciding he wanted to annexe swathes of Ukraine.

“After 24 February, Kozak was given carte blanche: they gave him the green light; he got the deal. He brought it back and they told him to clear off. Everything was cancelled. Putin simply changed the plan as he went along,” one Kremlin source said.

Responding to the story, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, said: “Today, we clearly understand that the Russian side has never been interested in a peaceful settlement.”

The Kremlin has claimed that the Reuters exclusive is based on “absolutely incorrect information”.

[14 September 2022 11:00 · Rory Sullivan]

Ukrainian advance brings frontline closer to Luhansk ‘separatist’ border

Ukrainian soldiers are advancing close to the borders of the land claimed by separatist fighters in Luhansk province, a Russian-backed commander has said.

Since 2014, pro-Russian troops have taken control of parts of eastern Ukraine, with the intention of wresting the entire Donbas region from Kyiv’s control.

However, a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive over the last week is pushing the new front line closer to the self-proclaimed borders, Andrey Marochko said.