Ukrainian investigators were on Sunday studying the debris of a new Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile that was fired at the city of Dnipro on Thursday, the first time such a powerful weapon has been used in the war.
Two Ukrainian missiles and 27 drones were destroyed over Russia’s Kursk region, said the governor of the region that borders Ukraine on Sunday.
Romanians started voting on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election that may give hard-right politician George Simion a chance of winning, with voters focused on high living costs and the country’s support for Ukraine.
Ukraine studies debris from new Russian ballistic missile
Ukrainian investigators were on Sunday studying the debris of a new Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile that was fired at the city of Dnipro on Thursday, the first time such a powerful weapon has been used in the war.
Reuters was among a small group of reporters given access to the wreckage of the missile on Sunday. Reporters were asked not to disclose the exact location of the site for security reasons.
The scorched and crumbled pieces of debris were laid out in a hangar at a facility which conducts weapons forensics. Ukrainian experts study such debris to gain insight into Russian military supply chains, production and how to develop counter-measures.
Russia has dubbed the missile the Oreshnik (Hazel Tree) and said it was impossible to intercept with air defences. Ukraine has said the weapon reached a top speed of more than 13,000 km/h on its way towards Dnipro on Thursday.
Intermediate-range ballistic missiles have a range of up to 5,500km.
Two state experts provided cautious assessments, saying only that the weapon was ballistic, flew on a ballistic trajectory and that the strike resulted in civilian damage. They declined to take questions or give their surnames.
“These are preliminary conclusions and to say something more concrete requires time and careful study of the remains of the missile,” said Ivan, one of the experts.
“This is the first time that such remnants of such a missile have been discovered on the territory of Ukraine,” said Oleh, an investigator for the Security Service of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the use of the weapon a severe escalation and urged his allies to respond. Ukraine originally said the weapon appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The Kremlin later said it fired a new intermediate-range missile at a Ukrainian military target in Dnipro in response to Kyiv striking Russia with US and British-made missiles for the first time after the US granted its approval.
The US military has said the missile’s design is based on the longer-range RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The new missile was experimental and Russia was likely to possess only a handful of them, it said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday Moscow would keep testing the missile in combat and had a stock ready to use.
Much remains unclear for now, including the extent of the damage caused by the missile. Ukraine seldom discloses damage to military targets, fearing such information would help Moscow.
Two missiles, 27 drones downed over Russia’s Kursk
Two Ukrainian missiles and 27 drones were destroyed over Russia’s Kursk region, said the governor of the region that borders Ukraine on Sunday.
It was not immediately clear what missiles were destroyed. Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov did not provide further details in a post on his Telegram channel.
The Ukrainian military later said on Telegram that its forces had destroyed a Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system in Kursk.
Reuters could not independently confirm the report.
Ukrainian troops stormed across Russia’s western border into Kursk on 6 August and seized a chunk of territory.
Moscow launched waves of counter-assaults and has retaken at least 40% of the captured territory since then, but Kyiv still controls about 800 square kilometres in the region, said a senior Ukrainian military source on Sunday.
Romanians vote in presidential election
Romanians started voting on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election that may give hard-right politician George Simion a chance of winning, with voters focused on high living costs and the country’s support for Ukraine.
Opinion surveys show leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu (56), the leader of Romania’s largest party, the Social Democrats, will make it into the run-off vote on 8 December, with Simion (38) of the Alliance for Uniting Romanians the likely runner-up.
Analysts expect Ciolacu to win the second round against Simion, appealing to moderates and touting his experience running Romania during a war next door.
But the prospect of a Ciolacu-Simion run-off vote could mobilise centre-right voters in favour of Elena Lasconi, leader of opposition Save Romania Union, ranked third in opinion surveys, analysts said.
Simion has cast the election as a choice between an entrenched political class beholden to foreign interests in Brussels and himself, an outsider who will defend Romania’s economy and sovereignty.
He opposes military aid to Ukraine and supports a peace plan as envisioned by US President-elect Donald Trump, whom he admires, and would support a government that emulates that of Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.
Ukraine ‘has lost over 40% of land it seized in Kursk region’
Ukraine had lost more than 40% of the territory in Russia’s Kursk region that it captured in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces had mounted waves of counter-assaults, said a senior Ukrainian military source.
The source, who is on Ukraine’s General Staff, said Russia had deployed 59,000 troops to the Kursk region since Kyiv’s forces swept in and advanced swiftly, catching Moscow unprepared.
“At most, we controlled about 1,376 square kilometres; now of course this territory is smaller. The enemy is increasing its counterattacks,” said the source.
“Now we control approximately 800 square kilometres. We will hold this territory for as long as is militarily appropriate.”
With the thrust into Kursk, Kyiv aimed to stem Russian attacks in eastern and northeastern Ukraine, force Russia to pull back forces gradually advancing in the east and give Kyiv extra leverage in any future peace negotiations.
But Russian forces are still advancing in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
Zelensky said he believed Putin’s main objectives were to occupy the entire Donbas, which consists of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and oust Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region.
“For Putin, the most important thing is to push us out of the Kursk region. I am sure that he wants to push us out by January 20,” Zelensky told media, referring to when Trump will be inaugurated as US president.
The source at the Ukrainian General Staff source reiterated that about 11,000 North Korean troops had arrived in the Kursk region in support of Russia, but that most of their forces were still finalising their training.
The General Staff source said the Kurakhove region was the most threatening for Kyiv now as Russian forces were advancing there at 200-300m a day and had managed to break through in some areas.
The town of Kurakhove is a stepping stone towards the logistical hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.
Russia had about 575,000 troops fighting in Ukraine now, said the source, and aimed to increase its forces to around 690,000.
Ukraine needs better air defences, says Zelensky
Zelensky said on Sunday Ukraine needed to strengthen its air defences to protect people after its air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight over many regions.
“An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week,” said Zelensky on Telegram messenger.
Over the past week Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles of various types, said Zelensky.
“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state. But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us,” he said.
The Ukrainian military said earlier on Sunday that air defence units had destroyed more than 10 Russian drones that were targeting Kyiv in an overnight attack.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attack, Kyiv’s military administration posted on Telegram.
Russia removes commander in Ukraine for misleading reports
Russia removed a senior general in Ukraine for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war as Defence Minister Andrei Belousov tries to clear out poor commanders, said pro-Russian war bloggers and Russian media.
Ahead of winter, Russian forces advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the 2022 invasion, though progress was much slower in some areas — particularly around Siversk in the eastern region of Donetsk.
Russian media cited unidentified sources as saying that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the Southern Grouping, had been removed from his command, though there was no official confirmation.
Russian war bloggers have long complained about the command of the operation around Siversk where they said poorly supported Russian units were thrown into deadly battles for little apparent tactical gain.
“Only the lazy did not write about the problems there: overall, it took the system about two months to react properly,” said Rybar, a respected pro-Russian blogger on Telegram.
“Anashkin was removed from office for false reports in the Seversk direction,” said Rybar, using the Russian version of the place name. One war correspondent for Russian state television also said Anashkin had been removed from his command.
Turkey’s Erdoğan to discuss Ukraine war with Nato chief
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan would discuss the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war with Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday during his visit to Ankara, said a Turkish official on Sunday.
Nato member Turkey, which has condemned the Russian invasion, says it supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and it has provided Kyiv with military support.
But Turkey, a Black Sea neighbour of both Russia and Ukraine, also opposes Western sanctions against Moscow, with which it shares important defence, energy and tourism ties.
On Wednesday, Erdoğan opposed a US decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to attack inside Russia, saying it would further inflame the conflict, according to a readout shared by his office.
During their talks on Monday, Erdoğan and Rutte would also discuss the removal of defence procurement obstacles between Nato allies and the military alliance’s joint fight against terrorism, said the Turkish official.
Russia says US using Taiwan to stir crisis in Asia
The US was using Taiwan to provoke a serious crisis in Asia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told Tass news agency in remarks published on Sunday, reiterating Moscow’s backing of China’s stance on Taiwan.
“We see that Washington, in violation of the ‘one China’ principle that it recognises, is strengthening military-political contacts with Taipei under the slogan of maintaining the ‘status quo’, and increasing arms supplies," Rudenko told the state news agency.
“The goal of such obvious US interference in the region’s affairs is to provoke the PRC [People’s Republic of China] and generate a crisis in Asia to suit its own selfish interests.”
The report did not cite any specific contacts that Rudenko was referring to.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory, a claim that Taiwan’s government rejects. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic recognition.
In September, President Joe Biden approved $567-million in military support for Taiwan. Russia responded that it was standing alongside China on Asian issues, including criticism of the US drive to extend its influence and “deliberate attempts” to inflame the situation around Taiwan.
In May this year, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged a “new era” of partnership between the two most powerful rivals of the United States, which they cast as an aggressive Cold War hegemon sowing chaos across the world. DM