Physical Address

304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124

Putin has sent a clear message, Kremlin warns the West

Chosen by us to get you up to speed at a glance
Vladimir Putin has delivered a “clear message” to the West about the consequences of providing Ukraine with long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, the Kremlin said on Friday.
“The statement made by President Putin yesterday is very important. It is extremely clear, unambiguous and does not allow for double readings. We have no doubt that this statement reached those it was intended for,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, said.
The Russian president said on Thursday that providing Ukraine with long-range missiles would result in the West’s “direct participation” in the war.
“Of course, this substantially changes the very essence, the nature of the conflict. If that is the case, we will take corresponding decisions based on the threats that will be created to us,” Putin said.
His warning came as Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy travelled to Washington on Friday for a meeting with Joe Biden, in which they are expected to discuss lifting restrictions on British Storm Shadow missiles being used by Ukraine.
Kyiv has repeatedly called on Western nations to allow its forces to use the missile, which has a range of up to 250km, to strike defensive targets inside Russia.
Thank you for following today’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
We’ll be back soon with more updates and analysis from the conflict.
Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, has been pictured arriving at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) summit in Kyiv.
The YES summit is an annual conference which welcomes politicians and diplomats to discuss Ukraine’s future in Europe.
Russia has taken control of the village of Dolynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed on Friday.
Russia has had no serious success with its counteroffensive in Kursk, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.
The Ukrainian president also acknowledged that Kyiv’s forces are continuing to face difficulties in the eastern city of Pokrovsk, though said the Kursk invasion led to Russia redeploying 40,000 troops from the east to the border region.
Nato is already “waging war” on Russia by giving Kyiv orders on which targets to strike, Vladimir Putin’s close ally has said.
Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia’s lower parliament, made the comments after the Russian president warned the West against providing Ukraine with long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
Mr Volodin said discussions surrounding Kyiv’s use of the Western-made missiles are “nothing but an attempt to camouflage and conceal their direct participation in military action”.
“They (Nato personnel) determine which cities in our country will be attacked, coordinate military actions and give orders. Nato has become a participant in military actions in Ukraine. They are waging war on our country,” Mr Volodin said.
It comes after Putin warned Russia would take appropriate action should Ukraine be given long-range weapons, including Storm Shadow missiles. “This substantially changes the very essence, the nature of the conflict,” he said.
Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy are preparing to hold talks with Joe Biden in Washington on Friday over lifting restrictions on the weapons. Kyiv has repeatedly asked for the missiles so it can carry out defensive strikes on targets inside Russia. 
Russia has released pictures from its counteroffensive in Kursk, where it is trying to take back land from Kyiv, who invaded the border region on Aug 6. 
According to military analysts, Russia has only made marginal gains so far and have even been pushed back in some parts of the region (see 7.45am post).
Washington has held back on lifting restrictions on the use of long-range missiles in Ukraine over fears it could lead to American troops being attacked in the Middle East.
There is particular concern that it could lead to Russia providing Iran and its proxy forces with technological help to attack US forces.
Senior American intelligence officials have raised such concerns in classified briefings, the New York Times reported.
Russian forces have been focusing on the embattled town of Kurakhove as it continues its assault in the east of Ukraine.
Kurakhove is located around 33 km (20 miles) south of Pokrovsk, a key target for Russia as it seeks to take control of the Ukrainian logistics hub and the entire Donetsk region.
Kyiv said its forces repelled 64 assaults near Kurakhove on Thursday and 36 near Pokrovsk.
Some 49 Ukrainians have been returned from Russian captivity, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.
The Ukrainian president said those returned included soldiers, police officers and civilians. It also included fighters from the siege of Mariupol in 2022.
“Among them is Leniye Umerova, a young woman taken hostage by the Russians when she came to take care of her sick father,” Mr Zelensky said.
Another return of our people – something we always wait for and work tirelessly to achieve.Forty-nine Ukrainians are now home. These include warriors from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the National Police, the State Border Guard Service, and our civilians.… pic.twitter.com/mD5z7zyIvs
Russia has cut off water supplies to the city of Pokrovsk as Moscow continues its relentless assault on the east Ukrainian region of Donetsk.
Pokrovsk, a small city in the Donbas region, is a key hub for army logistics and has faced relentless shelling for several months.
“As a result of the hostilities, the work of the modular filter station, thanks to which Pokrovsk received water, was stopped,” Vadym Filashkin, Donetsk’s governor, said.
Locals have been urged to evacuate immediately.
“The situation is difficult and will not get better in the near future,” Mr Filashkin added.
We cannot claim to support Ukraine and fail to follow through. Putin isn’t the fool Westminster hope he is, writes Hamish De Bretton-Gordon.
President Zelensky has relied on Britain to lead the charge of the Allies, holding off the illegal Russian invasion and thence to preventing the destruction of schools and hospitals. It’s a dark portent of Labour’s leadership that he now has now indicated concerns over wavering support.  
To see our new foreign secretary in Kyiv speaking, but saying nothing of consequence, is hard for those of us who have been helping Ukraine from the start. It must be even more devastating for the rank and file in Ukraine who have lost so much and face a third freezing and dark winter.
Who is advising David Lammy? For the want of a Storm Shadow or two, the Ukrainian population are at a point of potential Russian subjugation. Missiles, glide bombs and long-range drones have been hammering into hospitals, schools and the power grid for months. This chaos could have been brought to an abrupt halt, if the UK unshackled Ukraine and allowed them to strike these threats from the Russian airfields from whence they came.
Presumably, the foreign secretary is concerned too much by escalation, and feels the need to appease the Left of his party by focusing on halting some arms licenses to Israel. 
Read the full story here.
Vladimir Putin has delivered a clear message to the West about the consequences of providing Ukraine with long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, the Kremlin said on Friday. 
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, said there was no doubt that his message had reached those it was intended for.
The Russian president said on Thursday providing Ukraine with long-range missiles would involve the West’s “direct participation”  in the war.
Putin said: “And, of course, this substantially changes the very essence, the nature of the conflict.”
He added: “If that is the case, we will take corresponding decisions based on the threats that will be created to us.”
Six diplomats were expelled by Russia after officers became “tired” of chasing them around Moscow as they engaged in “classic British espionage”, an FSB employee told Russian state-controlled news channel Rossiya-24.
This reportedly included making rapid changes of public transport and “sitting for several hours on benches in the freezing cold” as they waited to meet members from banned groups.
Their spouses were allegedly deployed as spies, while young children were used to ‘cover up’ their spying activity, the officer added. “Basically, one cannot speak of any diplomatic etiquette,” the officer told the news channel.
The Foreign Office has rejected Russia’s “baseless” claims that six British diplomats who were expelled from Moscow were spies.
“The accusations made today by the FSB against our staff are completely baseless,” an FCDO spokesman said.
“The Russian authorities revoked the diplomatic accreditation of 6 UK diplomats in Russia last month, following action taken by the UK government in response to Russian state directed activity across Europe and in the UK.  
“We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests.” 
Russian state media have named the diplomats expelled from Moscow as Jessica Davenport, Grace Elvin, Callum Duff, Catherine McDonnell, Thomas Stevenette and Blake Pattel.
Ms Davenport was previously a second secretary and assistant to Nigel Casey, the Russian ambassador. Mr Duff, Mr Pattel and Mr Stevenette are also second secretaries, according to the Russian foreign ministry website. Ms McDonnell is a first secretary.
Six British diplomats who were expelled from Moscow over accusations of spying and sabotage left the country in August, a Whitehall source told Sky News.
Their removal was part of a wave of tit-for-tat expulsions, the source added.
Russia said on Friday it had revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow whose actions it claimed showed signs of “spying and sabotage”.
The FSB said it had documents showing that a British Foreign Office department in London was coordinating what it called “the escalation of the political and military situation”.
The six diplomats were named on Russian state TV, which reportedly showed photographs of them leaving the country.
Keir Starmer and David Lammy arrived in Washington on Thursday ahead of scheduled talks with Joe Biden, which are expected to focus in part on lifting restrictions on the use of British Storm Shadow missiles being used inside Russia.
Poland’s prime minister said on Friday he was not worried by Vladimir Putin’s comments that the West would be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles.
“It is necessary to take all events in Ukraine and on the Ukrainian-Russian front very seriously, but I would not attach excessive importance to the latest statements from President Putin,” Donald Tusk said.
“They rather show the difficult situation the Russians have on the front.”
Russia’s decision to expel six British diplomats from Moscow is “punishment” for the UK’s role in providing weapons to Ukraine, a former national security adviser has said. 
Lord Peter Ricketts told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the statement which confirmed the expulsion of the diplomats from Moscow was “trumped up”.
“We’re told the Russian spy agency has documents from a department in the foreign office, which say that the task of the embassy is ensuring Russia’s strategic defeat against Ukraine,” Lord Rickets said.
“Well, surprise, surprise. That has been British declared politics for two-and-a-half years.”
He added that because the embassy is not a large one, it will inhibit what it is able to do.
Moscow’s counteroffensive against Ukrainian forces in Kursk is only “marginal” at this stage, the Pentagon has said.
“What we have seen is Russian units beginning to try to conduct some type of counteroffensive in the Kursk region. At this stage, I would say that it is marginal, but something obviously that we’re keeping an eye on,” Pat Ryder, Pentagon spokesperson, said.
Earlier we reported that Russia has only made advances in areas where Ukrainian forces were not yet fully in control of or attempting to control (see 7.45am post).
Britain’s Armed Forces have shadowed Russian warships and planes in the past week, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed.
The Royal Navy followed a Russian attack submarine and corvette through the Channel, and RAF jets were scrambled to monitor two Russian aircraft.
HMS Iron Duke, a type 23 frigate, monitored the progress of the Novorossiysk, a kilo-class submarine, and its supporting tug as they passed through the Dover Strait, before a similar operation to shadow the Stoiky, a corvette, and a tanker.
A patrol ship, HMS Tyne, was also involved in the operation to monitor the Stoiky.
On Wednesday, two Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth were scrambled to intercept a pair of Bear-F maritime reconnaissance aircraft, which operated near the UK without entering UK sovereign airspace.
Joe Biden must be ready to send “backup” if he allows Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia because Vladimir Putin will retaliate, America’s first and only Ukrainian-American congresswoman has said.
The US president is expected to allow Ukraine to use the British-made long-range missiles inside Russia for the first time in the coming days, despite concerns from the Pentagon the move will escalate the war.
The missiles are used alongside American targeting systems, which require US permission to be used outside of Ukrainian territory.
Victoria Spartz, a Ukrainian-American congresswoman from Indiana, told The Telegraph that the move could provoke a response from Russia and that the US should consider deploying “backup”.
Read the full story here and watch the interview below.
Russia is only making marginal gains in its counteroffensive in Kursk due to repeated Ukrainian attacks, military analysts have suggested.
Moscow’s forces made marginal advances in the west if Vishnevka and in northern Krasnooktyabrskoye (both southwest of Korenevo), according to the Institute for the Study of War.
In effect, Russia has only made advances in areas where Ukrainian forces were not yet fully in control of or attempting to control.
As a result, Russian forces will face more difficulty when it attempts to take back control of areas where Ukrainian forces are fully in control.
Kyiv said it has taken 1,300 sq km of land across more than 100 settlements since launching its daring invasion on Aug 6.
NEW: Russian forces continued counterattacking throughout the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on September 12 but made only marginal gains, likely due to continued Ukrainian offensive operations and defensive counterattacks in the area. 🧵(1/5) pic.twitter.com/yZbn5VcKrj
Britain and America must give Ukraine the weapons it needs “to win” against Russia before a pivotal winter of fighting, the Foreign Secretary has said.
Ahead of Washington talks on long-range missile use, David Lammy told The Telegraph the coming months were “crucial” in helping Kyiv get in a winning position.
Talks between Sir Keir Starmer and Joe Biden, the US President, at the White House on Friday are expected to include discussions on whether to let Ukraine fire Storm Shadow missiles into Russia.
It came as Vladimir Putin warned that Nato and Russia would be at war if Kyiv was allowed to use longer-range weapons.
Read the full story here.
Russia’s public Rossia-24 TV channel reportedly identified the six diplomats and showed them leaving the country.
It said the withdrawal of accreditation of a foreign diplomat automatically leads to expulsion.
There was no official confirmation of the identities of the six for the moment.
The activity of diplomats from the British embassy in Moscow had gone well beyond diplomatic convention, Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said.
The diplomats were also accused of carrying out activity ‘designed to harm the Russian people’.
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage.
We’re bringing you the latest after Russia’s FSB security service said it had revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow.

en_USEnglish