Ukraine-Russia war: Putin ally warns of nuclear war if Kyiv uses long-range missiles

More than 70,000 Russian military personnel have died in Ukraine, with volunteers making up the largest group of casualties since the 2022 invasion for the first time, accounting for about 20 per cent of deaths.

Among the casualties, 13,781 were volunteers — making up the largest chunk of casualties for the first time since the war began, according to data from BBC Russian and the independent website Mediazona.

For much of the first year of the conflict former prisoners made up the highest proportion of Russian casualties, but they now account for 19 per cent of all confirmed deaths. Citizens conscripted into joining the army – mobilised soldiers – account for 13 per cent.

Volunteers typically came from poorer parts of Russia and joined for better pay and benefits, often without realising their contracts were indefinite. The BBC noted that most of the volunteers seem to have signed up of their own free will, though there are reports from some in Chechnya who have described coercion and intimidation to join.

The Russian military is deploying these volunteers to the most challenging frontlines, contributing to high casualty rates, the outlet reported.

Russia’s military command had anticipated Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region and had been planning to prevent it for months, according to documents reportedly seized by the Ukrainian army from abandoned Russian positions, The Guardian reported.

These documents, the outlet reported, revealed concerns about troop morale, particularly after a soldier’s suicide who had been in a “prolonged state of depression due to his service in the Russian army”. Instructions were given to ensure soldiers consume state media to maintain morale.

The documents also reportedly outlined various warnings about potential Ukrainian attacks and the need for increased training and defensive preparations.

The documents came from units of Russia’s 488th Guards Motorised Rifle Regiment, specifically the second company of its 17th Battalion.

The United States has imposed sanctions on a network of five groups and one person for facilitating payments between Russia and North Korea, aimed at supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine and North Korea’s weapons programmes, the US Treasury department said.

“Today’s action holds accountable parties that have assisted the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea) and Russian sanctions evasion,” the Treasury said in a statement.

It added that the move also indicated the US’s commitment to disrupting networks “that facilitate the funding of the DPRK’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programmes and support Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine”.

“The growing financial cooperation between Russia and (North Korea) directly threatens international security and the global financial system,” US state department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“Russia has become increasingly dependent on the DPRK as it faces mounting battlefield losses and increasing international isolation.”

A charred transformer from a damaged Ukrainian power plant is now on display in Kyiv’s Kontraktova Square, symbolising the devastation caused by Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

The exhibit, organised by energy company Dtek, a nonprofit organisation, and Ukraine’s ministry of energy, contrasts the peacetime past with the harsh realities of war.

The exhibit is to stay in Kyiv for the next two months.

A senior Russian lawmaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, warned that if Ukraine were to strike deep into Russian territory using Western missiles, it could trigger a global conflict involving nuclear weapons.

He stated that Russia would respond forcefully with more powerful weapons. “Russia will give a tough response using more powerful weapons,” the speaker of Russia’s Duma, the lower house of parliament said.

His remarks followed a European Parliament vote supporting Ukraine’s ability to target Russian sites with Western weapons.

Mr Volodin emphasised the historical sacrifices of the Soviet Union in World War II, urging Europeans to recognise the speed at which Russia could retaliate with its RS-28 Sarmat missile, which could reach Strasbourg in just over three minutes.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky stated yesterday that Ukraine’s offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, launched on 6 August, successfully diverted around 40,000 Russian troops from the frontline.

This move is aimed to relieve pressure on eastern Ukraine, where Russia has recently captured several villages.

Just a few days ago, it was reported that Russia deployed “significant” reinforcements for a counterattack on the western flank of Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region. Initially, Russia’s response was limited, as Russian president Vladimir Putin focused on an offensive toward the eastern city of Pokrovsk, despite Ukraine’s hopes of drawing Russian troops away from that front.

Mr Zelensky added that Kyiv’s forces were “holding on heroically and doing everything necessary for our other military-political steps”.

But after a week of Russia’s initial counterattack, they appear to have retaken around 30 square miles of the Kursk region, according to DeepState, a Ukrainian war tracker with close ties to the defence ministry. The counterattack appears concentrated on the western flank of the Ukrainian attack, initially towards, but now past, the town of Snagost.

Oleksandr Kamyshin spent more than a year as minister of strategic industries, overseeing Ukraine’s defence industry. He tells Askold Krushelnycky about his latest challenge:

Despite earlier reports that Berlin would not approve more aid for Ukraine in 2023, a German finance ministry document revealed an additional €400m in support for Ukraine, according to AFP.

The funds are intended to provide military assistance, including drones and air defence systems, to bolster Ukraine’s defences for the rest of 2024. While Germany has already pledged around €8bn this year, aid is expected to drop to €4bn in 2025, as per a Reuters report in July.

According to the German finance ministry document — a letter to the parliamentary budget committee — additional funds are needed to “fulfil the German government’s support commitments to the Ukrainian armed forces”.

The Kyiv Independent reported that Germany’s political challenges, including gains by “anti-war” parties in regional elections, and budgetary concerns have complicated its ongoing support for Ukraine.

As of June 2024, Germany has allocated €14.7bn in aid to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of parliament and a member of Mr Putin’s Security Council, was responding to a vote in the European Parliament urging EU countries to give such approval to Kyiv.

“What the European Parliament is calling for leads to a world war using nuclear weapons,” Mr Volodin wrote on Telegram.