Live blog: Russia hits civilian vessel entering Odessa port — Ukraine

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

1735 GMT — A Russian missile damaged a Liberia-flagged civilian vessel entering the Black Sea port of Odessa region, killing one and injuring four people, the Ukrainian officials said.

After pulling out of a deal that guaranteed safe shipments of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, Russia has been repeatedly attacking Ukrainian port infrastructure.

"The missile hit the superstructure of a civilian vessel under the flag of Liberia, at the moment of its entry into the port," Ukraine' s southern military command said on Telegram messenger.

More updates 👇

1841 GMT — US funds for Ukraine are 96 percent depleted: White House

The United States has gone through 96 percent of the funds that it allocated for Ukraine, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

The US believes that Ukraine can win back its territory, Kirby said, but acknowledged that progress had been slow.

1540 GMT — Russia will challenge confiscation of frozen assets in West: Kremlin

The Kremlin said Russia will challenge the confiscation of its frozen assets in the West, reacting to a decision in the US to transfer them to Ukraine, where Moscow launched a "special military operation" in February 2022.

"We have been observing these trends for a long time, both in the US and EU. Indeed, this matter is consistently leading to illegally continuing the confiscation of our holdings," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a press briefing in Moscow.

1535 GMT — Finland, Sweden reiterate support for Ukraine’s EU bid

Finland and Sweden reiterated their support for Ukraine’s EU bid, Finnish media said.

Following a meeting between the Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen and Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and their Swedish counterparts, Pal Jonson and Tobias Billstrom, respectively, the parties stressed in a news conference that the membership process must proceed appropriately, paying particular attention to the eradication of corruption in Ukraine, announced state-run Yle news agency.

"Ukraine belongs to the EU family," said Billstrom.

1445 GMT — NATO is trying to expand its geographic boundaries to Asia: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that NATO is attempting to expand its geographical boundaries, most notably in the direction of Asia.

"We see attempts by some countries to expand their zone of influence, and the North Atlantic Alliance, oddly enough, in violation of its own doctrinal documents, is making attempts to go beyond the geographical boundaries of its activities," Putin said ahead of a meeting with Zhang Youxia, the vice chair of China’s Central Military Commission, in the Moscow region.

1412 GMT — Russia puts another ICC judge who issued warrant for Putin on wanted list

The Russian Interior Ministry put another judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on its wanted list.

"Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez is wanted for a criminal offence," says a notice published on the Interior Ministry's online database, without elaborating on the charges.

Godinez was one of the ICC judges who issued arrest warrants for Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in March, accusing them of committing the "war crime of unlawful deportation of children" from Ukraine to Russia.

1332 GMT — EU adopts enlargement package recommending talks with Ukraine, Moldova

The EU adopted its 2023 Enlargement Package, which includes a mandate for the bloc to open negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on their full membership.

"Another historic step for the citizens of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding their EU aspirations," the European Commission said on X.

"We've adopted our 2023 Enlargement Package recommending to open negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, to grant candidate status to Georgia, and to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, once the necessary degree of compliance is achieved," said the commission.

1206 GMT — New Slovak government refuses to approve military aid package for Ukraine

The new Slovak government refused to approve a military aid package for Ukraine, local media reported.

The $43 million package was prepared by the outgoing government and included four million bullets for rifles, 5,172 pieces of artillery shells, 140 air-defence missiles, eight mortars, and 1,200 mines, said the state-run TASR news agency.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, Slovakia provided Ukraine with 13 military aid packages worth $716 million.

1148 GMT — Mini-Grad systems used intensively against Russian positions in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia

Mini-Grad multiple rocket launcher systems in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region are being used intensively by the Ukrainian military against Russian positions.

"I can't say that Mini-Grads are something very new for us. We have been using this type of weapon for about a year. The purpose of using them is that they are more mobile.

The fact that they are less noticeable on the front line and can get closer to forward positions also provides an advantage," a Ukrainian officer with the callsign "Gall" told Anadolu.

0924 GMT — Russia-backed lawmaker in Ukraine's Luhansk killed by car bomb

A Russian-backed lawmaker in the city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine was killed in a car bomb attack, the region's Russian-supported governor said.

Mikhail Filiponenko, a lawmaker in the Russia-backed Luhansk assembly and a former top security official in the region died after a bomb planted in a car exploded, a local news agency cited his son as saying.

Filiponenko, who had been active in Luhansk's pro-Russian separatist movement since 2014, had served as one of the top commanders in the army of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic.

0908 GMT — Brussels to report on opening door for Ukraine EU bid

The EU's executive was expected to recommend opening formal membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova, nudging them further along the long road to joining.

Ukraine launched its bid to become part of the European Union in the days after Moscow's all-out military operation in 2022 and was officially named a candidate to join last June.

Now the European Commission is delivering its verdict on whether Kiev has made good on initial reforms, and then it will be for the EU's 27 leaders at a summit in December to decide whether to start talks or not.

0908 GMT — Russia 'attacked' Ukrainian energy infrastructure 60 times in recent weeks

Ukraine's energy ministry said that Russia had attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure with different weapons 60 times in recent weeks.

"After each new attack, the need for energy equipment grows, and therefore the help of partners for the Ukrainian energy sector is very important," the ministry said in a statement.

0831 GMT — Russian, Chinese officials discuss deepening military ties

Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu held talks in Moscow with a senior Chinese military official and said they would discuss steps to deepen cooperation, Interfax news agency reported.

"We, unlike some aggressive Western countries, are not creating a military bloc. Relations between Russia and China are an example of strategic interaction based on trust and respect," it quoted Shoigu as saying at the meeting with General Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission.

It was the second time the two men had met in the space of 10 days, following talks on the sidelines of a forum that Shoigu attended in Beijing on October 30.

0838 GMT — Efforts to revive grain deal bearing no results: Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that UN attempts to revive the Black Sea grain initiative were still bearing no results.

Russia withdrew in July from the deal which had allowed Ukraine to safely export grain from its Black Sea ports despite the war. Since then it has frequently attacked Ukrainian ports and storage facilities, and Kiev says hundreds of thousands of tons of grain have been destroyed.

Russia says it quit the deal because the arrangement was not delivering grain to the poorest countries, and because it still faces barriers to its own exports of grain and fertiliser.

0638 GMT — Nuclear weapon use at risk due to Western actions: Russia

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev has said that the "destructive" policies of the United States and its allies were increasing the risk that nuclear, chemical or biological weapons would be used.

"The natural consequence of the United States' destructive policies is the deterioration in global security," Patrushev, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, was quoted as saying by state news agency TASS.

"The risk that nuclear, chemical and biological weapons will be used is increasing," Patrushev said. "The international arms control regime has been undermined."

G7 foreign ministers are "united" in their resolve to continue providing "strong support" to Ukraine in its war with Russia, Japan said following talks among the group's foreign ministers in Tokyo.

"As a result of the discussion, the G7 Foreign Ministers concurred that... the G7 will remain united in its attitude to impose severe sanctions against Russia and provide strong support for Ukraine, even in today's international situation," Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

It added that the G7 would "accelerate efforts for mid- to long-term recovery and reconstruction in the unity of public and private sector," and that it was "necessary to advance the process of Peace Formula together with international partners."

0146 GMT — Brussels to report on opening door for Ukraine EU bid

The EU's executive gives its advice on whether Ukraine is ready to begin formal membership talks, as momentum builds in favour of Kiev's ambition to join the bloc.

Now the European Commission is delivering its verdict on whether Kiev has made good on initial reforms, and then it will be for the EU's 27 leaders at a summit in December to decide to start talks or not.

"Ukraine will make the European Union stronger and more secure, and together we will increase stability in the entire Europe," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote ahead of the report.

0037 GMT — Ukraine forces 'repel' Russian attacks in northeast, south

Ukraine's military has said its troops had repelled Russian assaults in widely separated sectors of the war and braced for a fresh attempt to capture the key frontline eastern town of Avdiivka.

Ukraine's General Staff, in its evening report, said its forces had beaten back 15 attacks near Kupiansk in the northeast and 18 attacks near Maryinka further south, where battles have raged for months.

Nine attacks were repelled in and near Avdiivka, where Moscow launched the latest of several drives in mid-October.

For our live updates from Tuesday (November 7), click here.