After RAF Typhoons intercepted Russian bombers flying north of Scotland, a military analyst has said the tactic may be an attempt to make the West nervous about supporting Ukraine. Got a question on the war? Submit it below and our analysts and correspondents will answer a selection.
Monday 14 August 2023 22:36, UK
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After take an axe to the top jobs of all Ukraine’s regional army recruitment centre chiefs, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has turned his attention to military medical commissions.
If you weren’t with us on Friday, we reported how the president said abuse by officials in recruitment centres across Ukraine had been exposed, ranging from illegal enrichment to transporting draft-eligible men across the border.
Now, in today’s evening address, Mr Zelenskyy said an “important topic” is how commanders manage their personnel.
“Motivation of warriors, training of warriors, manning of units: There are a lot of problems due to the poor performance of the military medical commissions. We will develop solutions.”
He did not specify what those solutions might be.
A 16-month low in the rouble-to-dollar value has prompted Russia’s central bank to hold an extraordinary meeting on interest rates.
The sharply weakening Russian currency has prompted calls for higher borrowing costs, and Vladimir Putin’s economic adviser criticised the central bank for loose monetary policy.
As military spending rises and exports fall, roubles traded at below 99 per dollar on Friday, hit 101 earlier today, before settling at 100 after the central bank announced Tuesday’s meeting.
The meeting had been scheduled for 15 September. The bank’s key interest rate is currently 8.5%.
China’s defence minister will speak at the Moscow Conference on International Security, a spokesperson has said.
General Li Shangfu will also visit Belarus to meet with state and military leaders, in a trip that started today and ends on Saturday.
During his stay in Russia, General Li is expected to meet with defence departments heads, the spokesperson said.
Western nations have not been invited to the event, though UN representatives have, according to Russian state news agency Tass.
Attendees will discuss “ways to restore constructive international cooperation in the context of aggressive claims by Euro-Atlantic elites for world domination”, Alexey Zaitsev, deputy director of the Russian foreign ministry, told the news site.
Russian officials have frequently attempted to justify the war in Ukraine by framing it as part of a fight to protect Russia from the West in general and the US as a “unipolar” world power in particular.
Military vehicles are repaired and painted in Zaporizhzhia.
Ukrainian athletes will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, its sports minister has said, in a marked policy shift.
Vadym Guttsait threatened earlier this year to boycott the Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to compete as neutrals.
But in an interview with Japan’s Kyodo News he appeared to change his tone.
“Our athletes need to be at the Olympics. Our flag will be at the opening ceremony, at the competitions, our athletes will represent our state so that everyone in the world will see that Ukraine is, was and will be,” he told the news site.
He clarified that if Russian and Belarusian athletes competed under their own flags, Ukraine would not participate.
The former fencer said Ukraine’s athletes were struggling to prepare psychologically, with each of them knowing relatives, friends or members of their team who have been killed in the war.
For context: The International Olympic Committee has issued guidance that competitors from Russia and Belarus should be categorised as AIN, based on the French for “Individual Neutral Athlete”.
Last month, it excluded Russia and Belarus from its invitations sent to 203 National Olympic Committees.
Russia appears to be seeking to deepen defence cooperation with other countries, according to reports.
Vladimir Putin told an international military forum the country was “open” to cooperating with “all those who seek to protect their national interests and their independent path of development”, state news agency Tass reported.
The Army-2023 forum would include 250 events dedicated to diversifying the defence industry and developing AI, he said.
The president said Russia would “actively work” on existing ties and create relationships.
The US ambassador to Russia visited the detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in prison today.
It was Lynne Tracy’s third meeting with the journalist since his March detention on espionage charges he denies, the newspaper reported.
“Ambassador Tracy reported that Evan continues to appear in good health and remains strong, despite the circumstances,” the Wall Street Journal quoted the US embassy in Moscow as saying.
For context: Mr Gershkovich, 32, is the first reporter for a US news outlet to be arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War and could face up to 20 years in jail if found guilty.
He is accused by Russia’s FSB security service of collecting military secrets.
His newspaper vehemently denies the accusation against the reporter, who was accredited by the Russian foreign ministry.
If you’re just joining us, here are the key moments of the day so far.
While ground warfare rages on, most of today’s news has been focused on what’s happening in the skies…
Russia could launch a series of missiles strikes on Ukrainian Independence Day, a senior intelligence official has warned.
Air raid sirens rang a record 189 times on 24 August last year, the New Voice of Ukraine reported.
Waves of “missile terror” could mark the date this month, Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, told Obozrevatel.
“On the occasion of Ukraine’s Independence Day, Russia, of course, may launch another act of missile terror,” Mr Skibitskyi said.
“It may happen a day earlier or a day later. Or it may last for several days with several waves.”
But he warned Russia “should be worried on the eve of our Independence Day”.
Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
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