Russia Ukraine war live: Putin’s troops face ‘massive’ assault in Kyiv latest counter offensive push

Kyiv has launched a major push to dislodge Russian forces from southeastern Ukraine as part of its weeks-long counteroffensive, committing thousands of troops to the battle in the country’s southeast, according to Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts.

The surge in troops and firepower has been centered on the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, a Western official said late Wednesday.

The official was not authorised to comment publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The intense fighting is taking place in areas in the south and east of Ukraine, far from the capital Kyiv, and it was not possible to verify either side’s claims.

The Institute of Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported that Ukrainian forces launched “a significant mechanised counteroffensive operation in western Zaporizhzhia region” on Wednesday, adding that they “appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions.”

Ukraine‘s parliament voted on Thursday to accept the resignation of Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko, a lawmaker said, a week after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked for his dismissal.

Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app that the chamber had voted overwhelmingly to accept Tkachenko’s resignation and published a photograph showing the outcome of the vote.

Tkachenko quit last week after Zelenskiy called for his government to keep a tight lid on spending during Russia‘s war on his country, and asked his prime minister to consider replacing the culture minister.

Tkachenko had been a proponent of several high-profile and costly projects.

Zheleznyak said parliament would not consider the appointment of a replacement for Tkachenko on Thursday and was unlikely to do so this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Ukrainian attacks had intensified in recent days, primarily on the frontline running through Ukraine‘s Zaporizhzhia region.

Speaking to Russian TV on the margins of a Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg, Putin said that Ukraine had not enjoyed success on any part of the front.

Russia has arrested one of its own sailors over an alleged plot to carry out a “terrorist attack” against a warship in Russia‘s Black Sea Fleet, the FSB security service said on Thursday.

It said the alleged plot was directed against “a ship…armed with high-precision weapons”. The Black Sea Fleet is headquartered in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The suspect had been “recruited by a Ukrainian intelligence service” and was caught with two homemade bombs, the FSB said in a statement. He was also suspected of passing state secrets to Ukraine.

Russia has previously brought lesser charges, such as desertion, against some of its own servicemen. But the accusations against the sailor – which include possible charges of terrorism, treason, divulging state secrets and illegally possessing explosives, were of exceptional gravity.

The statement gave no further details and it was not possible to independently verify the incident.

Separately, state media quoted the FSB earlier on Thursday as saying two alleged agents for Ukrainian intelligence had been sentenced by a Russian court to 15 years each in a harsh-regime penal colony for espionage.

Russia‘s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces were continuing what it called “unsuccessful” attacks across several fronts, state media said.

It said Russian forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks around the village of Klishchiivka near Bakhmut, and north of Robotyne on the frontline in Zaporizhzhia region, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.

Ukrainian authorities are reportedly conducting an investigation to determine whether a member of parliament violated the law by taking a family holiday to the Maldives.

Earlier in January this year, the Ukrainian president banned officials from travelling abroad for non-governmental purposes.

The security service has initiated a criminal case to ascertain whether member of parliament, Yuriy Aristov provided false information to the authorities. He faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

During a video address in January, Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Ignoring the war is a luxury that no one can afford.”

Two alleged agents for Ukrainian intelligence have been sentenced by a Russian court to 15 years each in a harsh-regime penal colony for espionage, Russian state media on Thursday quoted the FSB security service as saying.

The FSB did not name the accused people or say which court had passed the verdict.

Russia has frequently announced the arrests of alleged spies since launching its war in Ukraine 17 months ago.

The FSB said the defendants had been detained last year on suspicion of espionage and involvement in the deaths of Russian troops and destruction of equipment in the area of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Russia‘s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday it had found traces of explosives on board a foreign vessel en route from Turkey to Russia that had previously entered a Ukrainian port.

In a statement on its website, the FSB said that the BMO River, which had been travelling between the Turkish port of Sinop and Russia‘s Rostov-on-Don, had been ordered to leave Russian waters. The FSB said the ship had twice in June and July entered the Ukrainian port of Reni.

It was the second such announcement this week involving a foreign ship heading to Russia to pick up grain. The FSB said on Monday that it had found traces of explosives on another ship travelling from Turkey to Rostov-on-Don.

Russia last week pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal, which had allowed Ukraine to ship food from its southern ports despite the war, and said it would consider all ships travelling to Ukraine to be potentially transporting military cargo

The Wagner Group is a private military company under the control of Yevgeny Prigozhin that cut its teeth in deployments to Crimea – illegally annexed by Russia – and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014 and has since dispatched troops to several conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, including the Syrian Civil War.

In Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wagner has been a key part of Moscow’s fighting force, but a power struggle between the Kremlin and the outspoken Mr Prigozhin threatened – for 24 hours at least – to drag Russia towards civil war.