Wallace told parliament that Britain had suspended patrols following the incident and raised its concerns with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. It said an “unarmed RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft” “interacted” with two Russian SU-27s, one of which “released a missile near the RAF Rivet Joint beyond visual range”. Russia said it was a technical malfunction and Wallace said Britain had now resumed patrols. The patrols are now escorted by fighter jets, he added. The British Defense Secretary made the statement in the Commons after returning from a visit to see his American counterpart in Washington. Updated at 13.18 BST Important events Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Russia has collected $16.2 billion from its main external asset fund to cover its budget deficit, AFP reports, as the invasion of Ukraine continues to weigh heavily on its public finances. The finance ministry said the government approved taking the funds from the national wealth fund “to finance fiscal expenditure” and “to ensure the balance of the budget”. He added that the funds will be used mainly for “settlement of the public debt and provision of loans to regions”, as well as for the payment of social benefits to Russian citizens. Russian federal government spending from January to September rose 21 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Finance Ministry data. A government forecast published last month put the budget deficit this year at 0.9% of GDP. Russia’s national wealth fund reached $188 billion in October 2022, according to Finance Ministry data. Russia has said the Red Cross had permission to visit a notorious prison where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners died in a bomb attack in July, but was prevented by the security situation. Kyiv earlier this week accused the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of “inaction” on Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia, saying a lack of visits to detained soldiers and civilians made them vulnerable to torture. The ICRC said it shared the frustration, but stressed it could only carry out visits once it was granted authorization and security guarantees. Each side in the conflict has blamed the other for the July 29 deadly strikes, while the United Nations has warned of deplorable sanitary conditions for those who remain at the facility. Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s ambassador to Geneva, said the Russian Defense Ministry had given permission for the Red Cross to visit Olenivka on August 4. “They gave the green light,” he told reporters during a briefing organized by the UN Correspondents’ Association, stressing, however, that “this situation is changing from a military point of view.” In a statement on Friday, the ICRC said they were seeking access to the prison but were not able to force entry. Under the Geneva Conventions, all parties to international armed conflicts are required to grant the ICRC access to all Detained Prisoners in order to assess their situation. Daniel Boffi The Guardian’s Daniel Boffey, currently based in Kyiv, reported earlier that analysis has shown that the cost to Ukraine of shooting down “kamikaze” drones launched into its cities far exceeds the amounts paid by Russia to supply and launch the cheap Iranians. technology. He writes: With the price of Iranian-made Shahed-136s ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 euros per vehicle, the total cost to Russia of the failed drone strikes it has launched in Ukraine in recent weeks is estimated by military analysts at the NGO Molfar to be between $11, 66 million (£10.36 million) and $17.9 million (£15.9 million). Ukraine has deployed a host of weapons to shoot down drones, including MiG-29 jets, C-300 cruise missiles, Nasams ground defense systems and small arms fire. The estimated cost to Ukraine is more than $28.14m (£25m), according to the analysis, which is based on open sources. The data includes drones launched between September 13 and October 17. It highlights the low economic cost to Russia of drone attacks, which continue to unleash terror in Ukraine, killing civilians and knocking out the country’s energy infrastructure. You can read Daniel’s full report here: Economic toll on Ukraine from downing drones ‘far exceeds Russian cost’ Updated at 17.16 BST
Russian-based Kherson authorities say 15,000 ‘evacuated’
Authorities installed by Russia in the annexed Kherson region of southern Ukraine said around 15,000 people have been “evacuated” in the face of the Ukrainian advance, AFP reports. “About 15,000 people have heard it [evacuation] recommendation of the Kherson region leadership,” a pro-Russian official, Kirill Stremousov, said on the Telegram messaging app. He encouraged people to cross to the left bank of the Dnieper for safety and posted a video of a column of buses. The Moscow-backed Kherson authorities announced the start of the so-called evacuations on Wednesday, with Kyiv denouncing the measures as “deportations” of its civilians to Russia. But Stremusov called on Kherson residents to follow instructions backed by Moscow. “Give the army a chance to do what it needs to do,” he said, while asserting that the Russian army would not hand over Kherson. “Remember, no one is going to leave Kherson,” he added. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin imposed martial law in the four Ukrainian regions he claims to have annexed: Kherson, Zaporizhia, Lugansk and Donetsk. Civilians evacuated from the Russian-controlled Kherson region of Ukraine arrive in the town of Dzhankoi in northern Crimea. Photo: Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters Updated at 16.44 BST Moscow has brought charges from the US against five Russian nationals for alleged sanctions violations in an attempt to intimidate the business community in Russia and abroad, its foreign ministry said. On Wednesday, US prosecutors charged the five with sanctions evasion and other violations related to shipping military technology purchased by US manufacturers to Russian buyers. Some of the electronics obtained through the scheme have been found on Russian weapons platforms seized in Ukraine, prosecutors said. One of the accused in the case was arrested in Germany and another was detained in Italy. According to Reuters news agency, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: The cynicism of this situation is that it is about hostage taking for further political gain. We view the detention of Russian citizens … for their subsequent extradition to the US as a continuation of Washington’s large-scale campaign to arrest Russians on whom the US has “claims”, with a view to their subsequent guaranteed conviction by US criminal justice for long prison terms. The accusations came as Washington seeks to expand its sanctions and pressure the Kremlin to halt the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation.” As part of Washington’s de facto involvement in Ukraine as a party to the conflict, there is another attempt to stage a showdown to intimidate the business community in Russia and abroad. It is clear that the hunt for Russian citizens by US law enforcement and intelligence agencies will only increase. Such hostile actions will of course not go unanswered. Updated at 15.49 BST Iran’s top diplomat has denied claims that Tehran planned to send missiles to Russia for use in the Ukraine war. It comes as the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, announced the bloc had agreed to sanctions against three individuals and an entity allegedly supplying Iranian attack drones to Russia for use against Ukrainian targets. Citing US and allied security officials, the Washington Post reported on Sunday that Tehran also plans to send Iranian surface-to-surface missiles to Russia. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian tweeted: During a telephone conversation with (EU foreign policy chief) Josep Borrell, I told him that our policy … is that we are against the war and its escalation in Ukraine. The allegation of sending Iranian missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine is unfounded. We have defense cooperation with Russia, but it is certainly not our policy to send weapons and drones against Ukraine Updated at 15.43 BST Russia’s foreign ministry has welcomed the departure of Liz Truss as British prime minister, calling it a “shame” for a leader who will be remembered for her “disastrous illiteracy”. Truss resigned earlier this afternoon after just 45 days in office – making her the shortest-serving prime minister in UK history – having crashed markets, lost two key ministers and lost the confidence of almost all of her own MPs. “Britain has never known such a shame of a prime minister,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a social media post. Tras has been the target of withering comments from Moscow since she visited in February as part of a futile attempt by Western politicians to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The claim of illiteracy appears to refer to that trip, when Truss was British Foreign Secretary. In a meeting with Russia’s veteran foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, he appeared to confuse two regions of Russia with Ukraine, prompting widespread derision in the Russian media. Zakharova also mocked Truss’ high-profile photo shoot in Estonia last year, where she donned a jacket and helmet to ride in a tank during a visit to British troops stationed in the Baltic country. Liz Truss delivers her resignation letter outside 10 Downing Street. Photo: Andy Rain/EPA Updated on…
