Ukraine-Russia war latest: UK warns of ‘hidden cyber war’ as Putin hails ‘unstoppable’ hypersonic missiles

Russia has 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, pro-Russian war bloggers and Russian media said.

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.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday Ukraine needs 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,” Zelenskiy said 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, Zelensky said.

“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.

UK cabinet minister Liz Kendall has said there is “a hidden cyber war” and that Russia poses a threat over the cybersecurity of Nato allies.

Speaking to Sky News, she said: “Pat McFadden is right to say that there is not only the open military war with Russia as the aggressor, but there is also a hidden cyber war and that Russia will do everything in its power to destabilise not only within Ukraine but amongst the Nato allies.

“So, we have to be absolutely vigilant in that as a government, but also in businesses and wider society to protect against those cyber hacktivists.

“We have for many months ... really focused on making sure we have all the protections we need including cyber protections because there is a threat from Russia, this hidden warfare, as well as the open military aggression.”

Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the Ukraine war with Nato chief Mark Rutte during his visit to Ankara on Monday, a Turkish official has said.

On Wednesday, Mr Erdogan opposed Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets on Russian territory, saying it would further inflame the conflict, according to a readout shared by his office.

Turkey, which has condemned the Russian invasion, says it supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and it has provided Kyiv with military support. But Turkey it also opposes Western sanctions against Russia, with which it shares important defence, energy and tourism ties.

During their talks on Monday, Mr Erdogan and Mr Rutte will also discuss the removal of defence procurement obstacles between Nato allies and the military alliance’s joint fight against terrorism, the Turkish official said.

New technological advancements in the battlefield will prevent frontline breakthroughs along the Ukraine-Russia border until around 2027, predicts Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the UK Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

“When robots began to appear massively on the battlefield, they made any movement of soldiers impossible. The inability to fight robots led to a standstill,” Mr Zaluzhnyi told Ukrainska Pravda.

“We couldn’t move forward towards the Russians, and the Russians, accordingly, couldn’t move forward either,” he said.

The former commander-in-chief predicts that any serious breakthroughs on the front line would resume by 2027 when the use of such technology could become commonplace.

Russia is prepared to launch a series of cyber attacks on Britain and other Nato members as it seeks to weaken support for Ukraine, a senior Cabinet minister will warn in a major speech next week.

Moscow will “not think twice” about exploiting defence gaps to target UK businesses, and allies must “not underestimate” the threat it poses, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden will say.

Mr McFadden will also warn that cyber interference enables Russia to “turn the lights off for millions of people” and represents the “hidden war” it is waging against Kyiv, as first reported by the Sunday Telegraph.

In a speech to the Nato cyber defence conference, he is expected to say: “Military hard-power is one thing. But cyber war can be destabilising and debilitating. With a cyber attack, Russia can turn the lights off for millions of people. It can shut down the power grids. This is the hidden war Russia is waging with Ukraine.”

Nina Lloyd has the full report:

Russia has removed a senior general in Ukraine for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war, Russian media has reported, as defence minister Andrei Belousov attempts to clear out poor commanders.

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, in eastern Donetsk, where they say that poorly supported Russian units are 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,” Rybar, a respected pro-Russian blogger said on Telegram.

“Anashkin, was removed from office for false reports in the Seversk direction,” Rybar said. One war correspondent for Russian state television also said Anashkin had been removed from his command.

In his reports on the change of command, prominent pro-Russian war blogger Yuri Podolyaka quoted Belousov as saying that “you can make mistakes but you cannot lie”.