Live blog: Possession of nuclear arms is response to threats – Lavrov

Friday, August 18, 2023

2310 GMT - Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that possession of nuclear weapons protects Russia from security threats, and Moscow keeps reminding the West of risks to prevent a conflict between nuclear powers.

"The possession of nuclear arms is today the only possible response to some of the significant external threats to the security of our country," Lavrov said in an interview for state-owned magazine The International Affairs, published early on the foreign ministry website.

Lavrov said that the United States and NATO allies risk ending up in "a situation of direct armed confrontation of nuclear powers".

"We believe such a development should be prevented. That's why we have to remind about the existence of high military and political risks and send sobering signals to our opponents," Lavrov said.

More updates 👇

2000 GMT – International response to Russia sends signal to China about Taiwan: Biden

US President Joe Biden said the international response to Russia over its invasion of Ukraine is a signal to China regarding Taiwan.

Biden said, although China wasn’t a target during the summit, Beijing came up during Camp David talks with the leaders of South Korea and Japan.

At a joint news conference, He said if there had not been a strong international response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "What signal would that send to China about Taiwan?"

1952 GMT – US extends temporary deportation protections for Ukrainians

The US announced the extension of temporary protection from deportation for Ukrainians currently living in the country, allowing them to stay for another 18 months.

The Homeland Security Department said the extension affects about 26,000 current temporary protected status beneficiaries, and it will allow 166,700 additional Ukrainians in the US to apply for temporary protected status.

"Russia’s ongoing military invasion of Ukraine and the resulting humanitarian crisis requires that the United States continue to offer safety and protection to Ukrainians who may not be able to return to their country," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

"We will continue to offer our support to Ukrainian nationals through this temporary form of humanitarian relief."

1939 GMT – Ukraine hails 'great news' as US approves Danish, Dutch F-16 jet transfers

Kiev hailed 'great news' after the United States told Denmark and the Netherlands they can hand Ukraine their F-16 fighter jets when the country's pilots are trained to use them.

"Great news from our friends in the United States!" Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov said on social media.

Both Denmark and the Netherlands, which are leading the program to train Ukraine's pilots on the F-16, have been given "formal assurances" for a jet transfer, a State Department spokesperson said.

"This way, Ukraine can take full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first set of pilots complete their training," the spokesperson said.

1615 GMT — Troop casualties in Russia-Ukraine conflict nears 500,000: report

The number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed or wounded since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022 is nearing 500,000, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed US officials.

Russia's military casualties are approaching 300,000, including as many as 120,000 deaths and 170,000 to 180,000 injuries, the newspaper reported.

Ukrainian deaths were close to 70,000, with 100,000 to 120,000 wounded, it added.

More updates 👇

1934 GMT — Russia shells village near Ukrainian Kherson

One person was killed and two were injured as a result of Russian shelling of a village near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the prosecutor general's office said.

The prosecutors did not provide details of the incident and did not name the village, but said some private houses were damaged.

In a separate case, the prosecutors said, four people were injured after Russia shelled the residential area of the city of Chasiv Yar, located in the Donetsk region close to Bakhmut.

1930 GMT — Russia bans 54 British nationals

Russia has banned entry to 54 British nationals, including the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

According to a written statement by the Foreign Ministry, measures were taken in relation to the "hostile attitude" of the British government towards Russia.

The statement also said that UK Defense Minister Annabel Goldie, who Moscow says is responsible for delivering cluster munitions to Ukraine, was barred from entering Russia, and that Karim Khan, the chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), who issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, was placed on the sanctions list.

The statement also said that 54 British citizens, including some journalists from the BBC, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, were banned from entering Russia.

1620 GMT — Ukraine, Romania to ease border red tape

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said that Kiev was seeking to ease passage for goods to Romania during a visit to Bucharest.

Romania has emerged as a key transit point for grain exports from Ukraine since Moscow scrapped a deal last month allowing safe passage for vessels on the Black Sea.

Shmygal hailed "important and constructive" talks with his counterpart Marcel Ciolacu and said the countries had signed an agreement "ensuring the reliable transit of Ukrainian goods".

Ukrainian ports on the Danube river have become a key target for Russian forces since Moscow exited the exports accord last month.

Shmygal said the two countries had agreed to rebuild and improve destroyed infrastructure on the river, which cargo ships now rely on to ship grain to Romania.

1605 GMT — UK announces over aid for Ukraine's air defence

The UK has announced further military aid worth $114.6 million to strengthen Ukraine's air defence.

In a statement, Britain's Ministry of Defense said that three contracts have been signed to deliver air defence equipment to Ukraine worth more than $114.6M on behalf of the International Fund for Ukraine.

"These include a £56M counter-uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) contract with Norwegian defence company Kongsberg and two further contracts to provide further air defence capabilities," read the statement.

This comes as delivery begins of a new package of drones to Ukraine by the fund.

"These air defence systems have the capability and flexibility to be rapidly deployed to either protect Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure, or be put to use on the frontline," Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in the statement.

1250 GMT — US approves Netherland to deliver F-16 to Ukraine

The United States has given its approval for the Netherlands to deliver F-16s to Ukraine, the Dutch defence minister said, in a major gain for Kiev even though the fighter jets won’t have an immediate impact on the almost 18-month war.

"I welcome the US decision to clear the way for delivery of F-16 jets to Ukraine. It allows us to follow through on the training of Ukrainian pilots," Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We remain in close contact with European partners to decide on the next steps.”

Apart from delivering the warplanes, Ukraine's allies also need to train its pilots. Washington says the F-16s, like the advanced US Abrams tanks, will be crucial in the long term as Kiev faces down Russia.

0821 GMT – Ukraine forces cross to east bank of Dnipro, official says

Ukrainian forces have crossed into the Russian-held east bank of the Kherson region and took positions there, the region's Russian-backed governor said.

He said Ukrainian "sabotage groups" had managed to hide out on the outskirts of the Russian-controlled town of Kozachi Lageri, near the Dnipro river, but that they were later "cleared out" by Moscow's forces.

"On the first day of the provocation...individual sabotage groups were able to hide on the outskirts of the settlement," Moscow-supported official Vladimir Saldo said.

"As of today, the Kozachi Lageri area has been completely cleared physically -- there is no Ukrainian military there," he added in comments published by the TASS news agency.

0655 GMT — Russia claims it thwarted another Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow

Russia claimed it thwarted yet another Ukrainian drone attack on the capital Moscow.

“On August 18, at about 04:00 Moscow time (0100GMT), the Kiev regime launched another terrorist attack using an unmanned aerial vehicle against objects located in Moscow and the Moscow region,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

It added that the drone changed its flight path and fell on a non-residential building in Moscow’s Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment after being “exposed to air defence systems,” causing no deaths or injuries.

Russia also said it thwarted a Ukrainian naval drone attack on its warships in the Black Sea, the latest in a string of assaults on its fleet in the flashpoint waterway.

"Today at 22:55 (1955 GMT), the armed forces of Ukraine made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the ships of the Black Sea Fleet with an unmanned sea boat," the ministry said in a statement.

"The ships were performing the tasks of controlling navigation in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, 237 km southwest of Sevastopol."

The ministry said the drone was destroyed by the Pytlivyi and Vasily Bykov patrol ships before it could reach its target.

0008 GMT — Belarus warns against any aggression from Ukraine, Poland, or Baltic

Belarus will instantly respond if Ukraine, the Baltic countries or Poland act aggressively against it, President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"There can only be one threat: aggression against our country. If aggression begins even on the part of Ukraine, on the part of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, we will respond instantly with everything that we have," Russian state news agency TASS cited Lukashenko as saying in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko posted on her YouTube channel.

"We are not competing with them. Yet we will deliver an overwhelming strike on them and they will end up with an overwhelming loss, damage," he noted.

Lukashenko underscored that despite the Ukrainian capital being surrounded by Russian troops at one point during the war, Russia did not storm Kiev because that would have killed a lot of people, TASS reported.

"We had a conversation with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin in connection with this. I say, ‘In order for the war to end, naturally, the capital needs to be taken.’ He says to me: 'You know, it can be done immediately, instantly, but a huge number of people will die,'" he added.

Lukashenko also warned that Ukraine may lose all of its territory if it continues its military activities, according to TASS.

For our live updates from Thursday (August 17), click here.