Ukraine war latest: 'Mass disruption' to messaging apps in Russia; Moscow comes under huge drone attack (2024)

Russians in the border region invaded by Ukraine have been told to avoid using dating apps to prevent Kyiv's forces from gathering intelligence.

Moscow's interior ministry told residents, military and police personnel in the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions to avoid "online dating services".

"The enemy actively uses such resources for information gathering," it said on Telegram.

Ukrainian forces are continuing to push into Russia's western Kursk region in an offensive that began two weeks ago.

Ukraine's parliament has voted to ratify the Rome Statute, allowing the country to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) - a key part of its drive to join the European Union.

The move would allow authorities "to more effectively punish" suspected Russian war criminals, according to Ukrainian politicianOleksiy Honcharenko.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for several Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin and former defence minister Sergei Shoigu for their roles in alleged crimes against Ukrainian civilians - Russia has denied targeting civilians.

"Ukraine has already worked effectively with the ICC toensure comprehensive accountability for all Russian atrocitiescommitted in the course of Russian aggression," Ukrainianforeign minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.

"This work will now be even more effective."

Ukraine's drone attack on Moscow and surrounding areas is "something to be remarked on", ourdefence and security analystProfessor Michael Clarkesays.

Kyiv is "launching drones in lots of places" and there is a fire at a refinery fire in Rostov targeted by Ukraine "which is still going on after four days", he says.

"The Ukrainians are trying to worry the Russians as much as they can across the whole border to make the most of what they're doing in Kursk," says Prof Clarke.

"From the Ukrainian point of view they had the effect in Moscow of closing the airports for a while. And that brings home to the Russian people that this is war and you can't insulate yourself from this.

"And that's the message that the Ukrainians are trying to send out. They know most of these drones won't get through but if one or two get through they score the point and they inconvenience ordinary Russians in Moscow who pretend this isn't really happening."

Asked how Russia is responding to Ukraine's invasion of its territory, Prof Clarke said Moscow's forces "are still at sixes and sevens over what is happening in the Kursk region in this incursion".

He explains: "They don't seem to have been able to sort out exactly who is in charge."

Prof Clarke says there are "three different forces" on the ground in Kursk, and adds this is "one of the reasons why they're not doing very well".

He says: "So it's apparent that 16 days after this incursion began the Russians are still struggling to create a coherent response... it's partly because Putin operates a sort of medieval court in the Kremlin and when it's struck with a crisis like this people just vie with each other to be closer to the king."

Russia's state telecommunications monitoring service is reporting mass disruption to the Telegram and WhatsApp messaging apps.

The service did not say what could have caused the disruptions.

Monitoring service DownDetector has reported a spike in reports of issues with Telegram this afternoon.

Moscow's forces have taken control of the Ukrainian settlement of Zhelanne, in the Pokrovsk district of the country's eastern Donetsk region, Russia's defence ministry has claimed.

Russian forces have been pushing towards the key strategic hub of Pokrovsk city for months.

Capturing the city would compromise Kyiv's defensive abilities and supply routes, bringing Russia closer to its stated aim of controlling the entire Donetsk region.

Moscow's troops have been driving forward slowly in eastern Ukraine, where they control around 18% of the territory.

It is pushing for total control of Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk, which together form the Donbas industrial region.

These pictures show service dogs training to search for landmines in the Kyiv region.

Members of the APOPO non-government organisation can be seen with Belgian shepherd dogs during the training session.

One person has been killed and two wounded after a Ukrainian drone dropped an explosive device on their car in Russia's Kursk region, acting regional governor Alexei Smirnov has said on Telegram.

At least 31 people have died since Ukraine's invasion into Russian territory began on 6 August, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing an unnamed source in the medical service.

It said around 143 people had suffered injuries, of whom nearly 100 were hospitalised - including four children.

Moscow's reported use of aerospace forces to defend against Ukraine's invasion into its western territory "likely demonstrates continuing personnel shortages", the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

In its latest intelligence update, the MoD said a report by Russian investigative outlet Vazhnyye Istorii found one of the units deployed by Moscow is a specialised motor rifle regiment "formed unusually" of aerospace forces personnel.

It said personnel in the regiment include "those previously in specialist roles such as early-warning radar operators and at long range aviation heavy bomber regiments".

"Diverting personnel from these previously high priority areas likely demonstrates continuing personnel shortages," the MoD said.

"By employing them in an infantry role, they are also being misused, which could reduce Russian capacity to re-take territory in Kursk oblast."

It said Russia is continuing to develop new units and recruit more personnel "to sustain its mass attritional warfare approach against Ukraine".

"The high casualty rates that result mean that Russia needs to continuously replenish front line infantry personnel, which will almost certainly continue to limit Russia's ability to generate higher capability units."

Ukraine's incursion inside Russia means there will be no talks between Moscow and Kyiv until Ukraine is completely defeated on the battlefield, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council has said.

"The casual chit-chat of self-proclaimed intermediaries onthe virtuous subject of peace has ceased," Dmitry Medvedev said.

"Even if they cannotsay it out loud, everyone recognises the reality of thesituation."

In a post on his official Telegram account, he added:"They understand that there will be NO NEGOTIATIONSUNTIL THE ENEMY IS COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY DESTROYED!"

Mr Medvedev said the "premature andunnecessary peace" talks previously suggested "hadvague prospects and no tangible outcomes".

Moscow's airports have returned to normal operations after temporary restrictions were put in place following a drone attack, the aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia has said.

Ukraine launched one of its largest-ever drone attacks on the Russian capital earlier today (see 9.51am post), with Russian air defence units destroying 11 drones flying towards the capital.

Temporary restrictions were in place at the Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports overnight, Rosaviatsia said on Telegram. There were no restrictions at the major Sheremetevo airport.