Ukraine-Russia live: Putin’s forces hit by drone attack in Crimea as North Korea ‘sends more troops’ to Russia

Sir Keir Starmer has said that Russian president Vladimir Putin “shows no respect for human life” after a British intelligence update suggested his forces had bombed cargo ships destined for the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Prime minister Keir Starmer said: “Russia’s indiscriminate strikes on ports in the Black Sea underscore that Putin is willing to gamble on global food security in his attempts to force Ukraine into submission.

“In doing so, he is harming millions of vulnerable people across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, to try and gain the upper hand in his barbaric war.

“Now they are intensifying attacks on areas of Ukraine that support the global south with much-needed food.

“Russia has no respect for the norms and laws that govern our international system. Not only was their illegal invasion a blatant attack on the principles of the UN Charter, but the way they have executed their war in Ukraine shows no respect for human life, or the consequences of their invasion across the world.”

The first picture of United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres arriving in Kazan, Russia, has been published.

The UN chief has come under fire from Ukraine for attending the BRICS summit in Russia, where he is rumoured to be meeting Vladimir Putin.

Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the construction of new power plants and a gas hub in Turkey during their meeting in Kazan.

Russia’s RIA news agency cited a diplomatic source saying that the talks held on the sidelines of the Brics summit in Russia may also include some concrete further instructions on the plans.

“It is quite possible that the leaders will give their instructions to the relevant departments to develop these projects,” RIA cited the source as saying.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres arrived in the Russian city of Kazan on Wednesday to attend the meeting of the heads of states of BRICS group, the Tass news agency cited local authorities as saying.

Ukraine‘s foreign ministry criticised Guterres this week for his acceptance of an invitation from Russian president Vladimir Putin to the BRICS summit, while staying away from a “peace summit” on the war in Ukraine.

Guterres’ office has said he would discuss the Ukrainian conflict with Putin, as well as the crisis in the Middle East.

The European Union’s next foreign policy chief has told lawmakers that strengthening security must be a priority, warning that Europe must be prepared as Russia and “partly China” exploit the continent’s open societies.

“European security is deeply personal to me as a native of a country that has long told others that Russia’s imperialistic dream never died,” Kaja Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, said in written replies to members of the European Parliament published late on Tuesday.

“My short-term priority must be to address the pressing global concerns: Russia’s war against Ukraine and strengthening the EU’s security and defence,” she wrote.

Kallas, nominated by European leaders in June to serve as the bloc’s new high representative for foreign affairs, is set to succeed incumbent Josep Borrell.

The European Parliament will hold hearings in November for members of the next European Commission.

Ms Kallas added: “Actors such as Russia, Iran, North Korea, and partly China, aim at weaponising interdependencies and exploiting the openness of our societies against us. For this, we must be prepared.”

Ukraine‘s air defence shot down 57 Russian drones over 12 regions across the country, the air force said on Wednesday.

The air force said the Russian forces launched 81 drones and attacked the southern region of Odesa with a missile.

India’s Narendra Modi told Russian president Vladimir Putin on the eve of the Brics summit that he wanted peace in Ukraine and that New Delhi was ready to help achieve a truce to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.

Mr Putin, who ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, wants the Brics summit to showcase the rising clout of the non-Western world after the US and its European and Asian allies tried to isolate Russia over the war

.Mr Putin thanked the Indian prime minister for accepting the invitation to visit Kazan, a city on the banks of the Volga, and said Russia and India shared a “privileged strategic partnership”.

The Indian prime minister thanked Mr Putin for his “strong friendship”, praised growing cooperation and the evolution of Brics but also said that India felt the conflict in Ukraine should be ended peacefully.

“We have been in constant touch on the subject of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Modi said. “We believe that problems should be resolved only through peaceful means.”

North Korea and Russia have denied the North Korean troop deployment as well as the purported weapons transfer.

At a UN Security Council meeting, Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the South Korean assertion as well as Western allegations of Iran supplying Russia with missiles and China providing arms components.

He accused the West of “circulating scaremongering with Iranian, Chinese and Korean bogeymen, each one of which is more absurd than the one before”.

At a separate UN committee meeting, a North Korean diplomat said his delegation feels no need to comment on the troop dispatch, calling it “groundless, stereotype rumors aimed at smearing the image” of the North and undermining the legitimate cooperation between two sovereign states.

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called South Korean and Ukraine governments “lunatics” as she slammed them for making “reckless remarks against nuclear weapons states”.