Key events
Putin arrives at remote cosmodrome for expected meeting with Kim Jong-un
In other news, Vladimir Putin has reportedly arrived at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the remote region of Amur, the Russian news agency Tass has reported.
Putin had announced his trip to the cosmodrome while at an economic forum in Vladivostok, in Russia’s far east, where observers had initially expected him to meet Kim.
However, he refused to say what he would be doing in Vostochny, Tass reported.
“I have my own programme there, and when I get there, you’ll find out ,” it quoted Putin as saying.
Huge explosions as a result of a presumed Ukrainian attack in Sevastopol, the HQ of the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. Russian authorities say the Sevmorzavod shipyard has been targeted. Ships based in Sevastopol frequently fire missiles at Ukrainian cities. pic.twitter.com/dKgb0CEtLr
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) September 13, 2023
Huge blaze at Sevastopol shipyard after Ukraine air attack, Russia says
A fire has broken out and 24 people have been injured after a Ukrainian missile attack on the Sevastopol shipyard in occupied Crimea, the Russia-installed governor of the port has said.
Mikhail Razvozhayev said the blaze was “not at a civilian facility” and that there was “no danger” to civilians in a post on Telegram. He also posted a picture of himself in front of what appeared to be a vessel or port infrastructure on fire.
Russian Telegram channels also posted videos of explosions and huge flames.
The shipyard on the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, builds and repairs ships and submarines for the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which has launched drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.
Ukraine has increased its attacks on the peninsula in recent months. It also said earlier this week it had recaptured strategic Black Sea oil rigs that had been seized by Russia in 2015.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine with me, Helen Livingstone.
Twenty-four people have been injured after a Ukrainian missile attack on Sevastapol Shipyard that sparked a fire, the Russia-installed governor of the port has said.
Mikhail Razvozhayev posted a picture of himself in front of what appeared to be a huge blaze at the shipyard, which builds and repairs vessels for Russia’s Black Sea fleet. He said there was no danger to civilians.
There were also reports of huge explosions at the port. Earlier traffic on the Kerch bridge, which connects Crimea with mainland Russia was temporarily halted, Russia’s Ria news agency reported, without giving any further details.
In other developments:
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Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia on his armoured train for a rare summit with Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible deal to supply North Korean arms for the war in Ukraine. It had been thought the North Korean leader would meet the Russian president in Vladivostok but the exact date and location of the meeting remained unclear as of late Tuesday.
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The US could have the first Ukrainian pilots trained on F-16 fighter jets before the end of the year, though it will be longer than that before they are flying combat missions, the director of the US Air National Guard said. Ukrainian pilots are expected to arrive for training in Arizona by October and depending on their proficiency in English and previous flying experience could complete the training in three months.
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Nato member Romania said it had begun building air raid shelters for residents near the Ukraine border, after drone fragments were found there last week. Approximately 50 Romanian soldiers began building two shelters in the Plauru area on Tuesday, the defence ministry said in a statement.
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Poland said it would extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports unilaterally, even if the current EU restrictions expire on Friday. In June, the EU agreed to restrict imports of grain from Ukraine to five member states, including Poland, seeking to protect their farmers who blamed those imports for the slump in prices on local markets.
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Russian president Vladimir Putin directly addressed the war in Ukraine during a Q&A session at the eastern economic forum in Vladivostok. He said that the Ukrainian counter-offensive had not made any progress and accused British secret services of being involved in the training of Ukrainian saboteurs to launch attacks on Russian infrastructure.
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Putin also appeared to rule out any further conscription or mobilisation to help the war effort, claiming that 1,000-1,500 Russians were signing voluntary contracts to join the military every day. The UK’s Ministry of Defence said in its daily intelligence briefing on Monday that Russia would probably seek to avoid a forced mobilisation before next year’s presidential elections, due to be held in March.
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Foreign ministers from the G7 group of major industrialised countries condemned the staging of what they called “sham elections” by Russia in occupied Ukrainian territories. “These sham ‘elections’ will not alter our approach nor our support to Ukraine as it fights to reclaim its internationally-recognized territory,” they said.
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Denmark will give Ukraine a further 5.8 billion kroner ($833m), mainly to finance air defences, ammunition and tanks, the defence ministry said. “For Ukraine to be able to continue defending itself against Russia’s illegal invasion, it is essential that countries like Denmark maintain their military and economic support,” defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen said.
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A Russian warplane crashed during a training mission in southern Russia, the military said, without specifying what happened to its crew of two or what caused the crash. The defence ministry said that the Su-24 bomber went down in an unpopulated area in the Volgograd region.
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The Swedish government is considering donating Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine to help repel Russian forces, Swedish public radio (SR) reported. The government may formally ask the armed forces as early as Thursday to officially consider the issue, according to the report.