Ukraine war dwell updates: Putin-sympathizing prospect could win election in big Kyiv-allied country drone strikes strike Russian ability station

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with a former Wagner Group senior commander to explore placing up volunteer units for the war in Ukraine, Russian point out media outlet Tass described.

Putin was quoted as telling the previous commander Andrey Troshev, “At our past meeting, we reviewed a challenge for you to create units of navy volunteers who will be equipped to execute several combat responsibilities, principally in the specific armed forces operation zone.”

The Russian chief added that Troshev “fought in such a unit for much more than a calendar year” and would as a result be able to just take on the mission “in the best feasible way.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed Tass that Troshev is now performing for the Russian defense ministry.

The shift demonstrates the Russian government’s clear control over the non-public mercenary group, which carried out substantially of the brutal fighting in Ukraine. The mercenaries were led by former Putin confidant Yevgeniy Prigozhin until finally his demise in a plane crash in late August.

Prigozhin and Wagner fighters’ short and unsuccessful try to carry out a coup against the Russian authorities in late June resulted in the group’s forced exile.

— Natasha Turak

The governor of Russia’s western Kursk location claimed drone strikes on an electrical substation in Kursk, blaming the attack on Ukraine.

“A Ukrainian drone dropped two explosive devises on a substation in the … Belovsky district. A person electric transformer caught fire. 5 populated spots and one hospital are devoid of energy,” Governor Roman Starovoit wrote in a publish on his Telegram account, in accordance to a translation by Russian point out media outlet Tass.

He extra that crisis reaction crews ended up on their way to the spot.

“Repairs will commence as shortly as it is secure to do so,” he wrote.

Ukraine’s governing administration has not commented on the attack.

— Natasha Turak

Slovakia heads to the polls on Saturday for a common election that threatens to further fracture European Union assist for Ukraine.

Robert Fico, a entrance-runner in the race to be the country’s following primary minister, has fiercely criticized Ukraine and the EU’s anti-Russian stance and vowed not to deliver “any arms or ammunition” to its jap neighbor.

The central European country of 5.4 million men and women has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine considering that Russia’s entire-scale invasion in February 2022. Nevertheless, Fico — who served as primary minister 2 times right before, from 2006-2010 and 2012-2018 — has vowed to alter that.

So far, the race is neck and neck, with a lot less than a share place between Fico’s populist party and the rival progressive get together, in accordance to a modern neighborhood poll.

Go through the whole story in this article.

— Jenni Reid

French Protection Minister Sébastien Lecornu was a different high-profile customer to Kyiv on Thursday, together with  NATO Secretary Typical Jens Stoltenberg and British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps.

“In Kyiv to reaffirm France’s very long-expression aid,” Lecornu wrote on social media platform X, for every a Google translation. “By mobilizing our protection sector for bold partnerships with Ukrainian sector.”

France and the U.K. are key supporters of the Ukrainian military, with the U.K. established to spend £4.6 billion ($5.62 billion) across 2022 and 2023, and France providing a selection of weaponry and schooling together with contributing to EU help cash.

— Jenni Reid

Germany must not panic that Kazakhstan will try to help Russia circumvent Western sanctions imposed about its invasion of Ukraine, Kazakh President Tokayev said on Thursday following talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.

Tokayev reported Kazakhstan ongoing to simply call for talks involving Russia and Ukraine on ending the war, now in its 20th thirty day period, and that it experienced no worries about Moscow threatening its very own territorial integrity.

The big previous Soviet state in Central Asia shares a lengthy border with Russia and is household to a large ethnic Russian minority.

— Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported he discussed the have to have to bolster the country’s air defenses with NATO Secretary Normal Jens Stoltenberg all through his stop by to Kyiv Thursday.

“Considerable talks, as they should really be in between de facto allies. It is only a make any difference of time right before Ukraine results in being a de jure one particular as well,” Zelenskyy reported on social media system X.

NATO helps to coordinate requests for assistance from Ukraine and supports delivery of humanitarian and non-deadly support, even though NATO associates have provided billions in navy assist.

Kyiv used for quickly-track NATO membership in September 2022. The alliance in 2023 said it was dedicated to eventual Ukraine membership beneath specified disorders, like “democratic and protection sector reforms,” but has not developed any timeline.

— Jenni Reid