It is in Russia’s interests to inflame war in the Middle East, says Zelensky

1696910400 A Swedish court on Monday released a Russia-born Swedish citizen charged with collecting information for Russia ‘s military intelligence service, the GRU, for almost a decade. Sergey Skvortsov, 60, is accused of ‘gross illegal intelligence activities against Sweden and against a foreign power,’ namely the United States. Ahead of a verdict in his trial, which ended Sept. 28, Skvortsov was released with the Stockholm District Court saying that ‘there is no longer reason to keep the defendant in custody.’ The verdict is due Oct. 26. A Swedish court has released a Russia-born Swedish citizen charged with collecting information for Russia’s military intelligence service for almost a decade Holly Evans 10 October 2023 05:00 1696906800 The attacks were repelled in five areas of the eastern front – Kupiansk, Bakhmut , Lyman, Avdiivka, and Marinka – along the 1,000km-long (600mile) front, the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its evening report. Putin scales up troop presence and deployes reserves north of Bakhmut to stop Ukraine’s advancing counteroffensive Holly Evans 10 October 2023 04:00 1696903200 Approximately 73 railcars were visible in the images from last week, whereas previous satellite pictures over the past five years showed about 20 railcars at this facility at the most. Approximately 73 railcars seen entering Russia last week, compared to just 20 in the past five years Holly Evans 10 October 2023 03:00 1696899600 The fall-out from Uefa ‘s plans to reinstate Russian underage teams to European competition is causing a huge split within the governing body, putting president Aleksander Ceferin under immense pressure to ‘revisit’ the issue at this week’s Executive Committee meeting. The controversy has already caused the confederation vice-president Karl-Erik Nilsson to resign as boss of the Swedish Sports Confederation and led Denmark to become the latest association to say they will not play Russian sides to go with England, Ireland and Ukraine . The Independent has been told that there is tension within some national associations that didn’t immediately reject the idea out of hand. President Aleksander Ceferin is under pressure to rethink Uefa’s reintigration plans due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine Holly Evans 10 October 2023 02:00 1696896000 Holly Evans 10 October 2023 01:00 1696892400 The UK’s new ambassador for Ukraine wore a kilt for his first meeting with President Vlodymyr Zelensky. Father-of-three Martin Harris, 54, previously served from 2003 to 2008 in Kyiv as deputy head of mission and consul general, and raised his children in Ukraine. Mr Harris, who grew up in Scotland , wore his family’s Ferguson tartan for his initiation into the role, which was admired by President Zelensky. Martin Harris, who grew up in Scotland, wore his family for his initiation into the role, which was admired by President Zelensky. Holly Evans 10 October 2023 00:00 1696888857 Whistleblowers who expose stolen assets and sanctions breaches would be rewarded under a future Labour government, according to David Lammy. The shadow foreign secretary said Labour wants to make the UK the ‘anti-corruption capital of the world’ as he criticised the Government’s approach. Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool , Mr Lammy said: ‘When I visited Kyiv , anti-corruption campaigners told me Britain must stop (Russian president Vladimir) Putin’s cronies laundering their dirty money in our capital. ‘Dictators’ stolen cash fuels crime on our streets and turns Londoners’ homes into the bitcoins of kleptocrats. Labour will turn up the fight against kleptocracy. The shadow foreign secretary laid out his vision at the Labour Party conference. Holly Evans 9 October 2023 23:00 1696885257 Watch as Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the Nato Parliamentary Assembly’s plenary session on Monday 9 October. Last month, Mr Zelensky said it was only a ‘matter of time’ before Ukraine becomes an official Nato member as he met the defence bloc’s chief in Kyiv . The Ukrainian president has pushed to join the alliance despite threats from Russia , and Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg reiterated in September that the bloc would stand with Kyiv as long as it takes. Watch as Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the Nato Parliamentary Assembly’s plenary session on Monday 9 October. Holly Evans 9 October 2023 22:00 1696883457 Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy will visit neighbouring Romania on Tuesday – his first visit to the country since Russia’s 2022 invasion, the Romanian presidency has said. The trip to Romania – a NATO member – comes as Ukraine and the West looks to find a solution to safely export Ukrainian grain. Russia quit a deal to offer a safe passage for the export of Ukrainian grain in mid-July. Holly Evans 9 October 2023 21:30 1696880631 A US army official says more funding will be needed to support the needs of both Israel and Ukraine simultaneously. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said Congress will need to approve additional funding to ensure the Pentagon’s munitions production and acquisition plans can potentially meet the demands of both countries. ‘One thing that is really important in terms of the munitions in particular and our ability to support both potentially the Israelis and the Ukrainians simultaneously is additional funding from Congress to be able to increase our capacity, in terms of our capacity to expand production and then to also pay for the munitions themselves,’ she told reporters at an army event. ‘We need additional support from Congress. So I hope we’ll see that soon.’ Holly Evans 9 October 2023 20:43