Live blog: Russia blames Ukraine, West for Dagestan riots, Kiev rejects

Monday, October 30, 2023

1844 GMT — Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine and "Western special services" of instigating the anti-Israel riot at Dagestan's Makhachkala airport Sunday evening.

"The events in Makhachkala last night were instigated also through social networks, not least from Ukraine, by the hands of agents of Western special services," Putin said in televised comments.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin will gather top advisers and spy chiefs to discuss the "West's attempts to use the events in the Middle East to split Russian society."

"Yesterday's events at Makhachkala airport are, to a large extent, the result of external interference," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Against the backdrop of TV footage showing the horrors of what is happening in Gaza - the deaths of people, children, old people, it is very easy for enemies to take advantage of and provoke the situation," Peskov said.

A senior Ukrainian official said that Kiev had nothing to do with anti-Israel unrest in Dagestan region, rejecting an accusation by Russia to that effect as groundless.

"Of course, Ukraine has nothing to do with the latest large-scale surge of xenophobic sentiments on the territory of the Russian Federation," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said.

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1837 GMT — Russia charge of Ukraine role in airport riot 'absurd': US

The United States urged accountability by Russia over an airport riot against Israeli and Jewish passengers in Muslim-majority Dagestan and brushed aside the Kremlin's charges that Ukraine was involved.

"I've seen their comments about blaming Ukraine. That is absurd," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

"We call on Russian authorities to publicly condemn these violent protests, to hold anyone involved accountable and to ensure the safety of Israelis and Jews in Russia," he said.

1630 GMT — Rutte: Dutch F-16s for Ukraine to arrive in Romania within two weeks

The first US-made F-16 combat aircraft the Netherlands is donating Ukraine will arrive in Romania's training centre within two weeks, outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

"I expect the Patriot missiles to be delivered shortly, to aid Ukraine in the upcoming winter. And the same speed applies to the F-16s," Rutte during a video conference with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy posted on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

"The first ones will be shipped to the training centre in Romania within the next two weeks so that day we will get ready for further training," he added.

Denmark, Norway and Belgium have also announced they will give F-16 jets to Ukraine.

"What is happening now in Gaza and the terrorist attack on Israel and all the follow-up from that will not, shall not and cannot distract us from what is happening between you and Russia, the fact that you are fighting off the Russia aggression," Rutte said.

"We have to make sure that the world is able to focus both on Ukraine and of course is involved very much of what is happening now in the Middle East."

1501 GMT — Ukraine boosts grain deliveries to Black Sea ports as new export route working

The success of Ukraine's new Black Sea export corridor has led to a sharp increase in the number of rail wagons heading to the ports of Odesa region, a senior railways official said.

Valeriy Tkachov, deputy director of the commercial department at Ukrainian Railways, said that over the last week the number of grain wagons heading to Odesa ports increased by more than 50 percent to 4,032 from 2,676.

More than 700,000 metric tons of grain have left Ukrainian ports via the new route since August.

Ukraine's first deputy farm minister said last week that grain shipments through the new corridor may exceed one million metric tons in October.

1244 GMT — Russia beefs up forces near Bakhmut, switches from defensive posture - Ukraine commander

Kiev military officials said that Russia has bulked up its forces around the devastated city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and has switched its troops from defence to offence, but Ukraine has been preparing to repel the attacks.

"In the Bakhmut area, the enemy has significantly strengthened its grouping and switched from defence to active actions," General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the ground forces, wrote on Telegram messenger.

He described the situation in the east as difficult with Russian forces particularly active near the northeastern Ukrainian-held town of Kupiansk, where he said Moscow's troops were trying to advance simultaneously in several directions.

Russian troops have suffered heavy losses, he said.

1138 GMT — Ukraine says hit Russian air defence system in Crimea

Ukraine said it had struck part of Russia's air defence system in annexed Crimea overnight, as Moscow said it repelled a major attempted missile strike on the peninsula.

"The Armed Forces successfully hit a strategic object of the air defence system on the western coast of occupied Crimea," the Ukrainian army's strategic communications unit said on social media.

It gave no further details and Russia gave no official comment.

Later the day, Russia said its air defences had successfully shot down eight Ukrainian missiles fired at the peninsula.

"On October 30, at around 13:00 (1000 GMT), an attempted attack by the Kiev regime with eight Storm Shadow cruise missiles at targets on the Crimean peninsula was stopped," Russia's defence ministry said.

"As a result of air defence systems repelling the attack, all missiles were shot down," it added.

0837 GMT — Ukraine: Two civilians dead as Russia pounds frontline Kherson region

Russian shelling pounded the frontline region of Kherson in southern Ukraine, killing two civilians, hurting at least eight others and hitting a bus, a critical infrastructure facility and cemetery, local authorities said.

"As of now, we know about seven victims as a result of the shelling of a (bus) in Kherson. Two men and five women," regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram messenger, adding that some of them had sustained severe injuries.

The bus had been at a crossroads when a shell exploded nearby, local prosecutors said. Images published by local officials online showed the floor of a badly-damaged bus covered in shards of glass and blood.

"Residential buildings, power lines, and vehicles were also damaged," the prosecutors said on Telegram.

0731 GMT — Russia arrests man in Crimea for passing secrets to Ukraine

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had detained a Russian man in Crimea on suspicion of treason, accusing him of passing military secrets to Ukraine, according to a state news agency.

In a statement quoted by RIA, the FSB said that the unnamed man had "collected and transmitted information about specified sites with reference to geographic coordinates to a representative of the Ukrainian military".

Crimea, which is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, has been under de facto Russian control since 2014.

0309 GMT — Russia's Shoigu accuses West of seeking to expand Ukraine war to Asia-Pacific

Speaking at the Xiangshan Forum, China's biggest military diplomacy conference, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the US-led NATO alliance was "covering up the buildup of military force in the Asia-Pacific region with an ostentatious desire for dialogue, imposing alliances and lines of operational interaction on partners," the TASS agency reported.

"Having provoked an acute crisis in Europe, the West is seeking to spread conflict potential to the Asia-Pacific region, and in several directions."

Not only were NATO countries driving an Asian arms race, but the emergence of security blocs such as the Quad and AUKUS was also undermining the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and nuclear non-proliferation efforts in Asia, Shoigu said.

"The concept of 'indivisibility of security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific region' imposed by Westerners is intended to justify the emergence of alliance forces and infrastructure in Asia," Shoigu said.

The Quad groups the US, Australia, India and Japan and says it aims to uphold peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

0256 GMT — Russia 'ready' to begin talks for post-Ukraine resolution

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that Russia is ready for talks on the post-conflict settlement of the Ukraine crisis at a military forum in Beijing.

Speaking at the Xiangshan Forum, China's largest annual military diplomacy event, Shoigu added that Russia is also ready for talks on further 'co-existence' with the West.

He also accused the West saying that it is seeking to potentially expand the conflict in Ukraine to the Asia-Pacific region.

Shoigu said NATO is covering up a build-up of force in the Asia-Pacific region with an "ostentatious desire for dialogue", Russia's TASS news agency reported.

For our live updates from Sunday (October 29), click here.