Ukraine-Russia war latest: NATO foils Moscow's Arctic cable plot

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Nato foils Moscow’s plot to unleash secret weapon to destroy undersea cables in Arctic

The discovery comes months after Britain and Norway disclosed that they had uncovered a covert Russian operation in Arctic waters

NATO allies foiled a plot where Russian subs trained to unleash a secret weapon designed to disable critical undersea cables without leaving any fingerprints, it has been reported.

A joint operation involving Britain, Norway and the United States tracked and confronted the Russian vessels at sea, officials told Reuters after a clandestine Russian operation was carried out by Moscow's GUGI undersea warfare directorate.

Deep-sea submersibles were used to simulate the deployment of the sophisticated and destructive technology capable of disrupting deep sea cables vital for global internet connectivity and financial transactions. The vessels were prevented from completing their exercise and eventually left the area.

The discovery of the new weapon, location of the operation and US involvement come months after Britain and Norway disclosed that they had uncovered a covert Russian operation in Arctic waters.

The deep-sea face-off comes at a time when some Western intelligence officials fear the Kremlin is ramping up sabotage operations in Europe and preparing for a conflict with NATO.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's flight from Moldova to Norway was delayed after it was almost hit by a Russian drone, Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Store said.

Zelensky, arriving in Canada, says air defences and winter preparation in focus

President Volodymyr Zelensky said support for ⁠Ukraine's air defences and winter ⁠preparation ​would be ⁠the main ⁠focus of ​his ⁠visit in Canada, as he arrived ‌in the country.

Zelensky ‌added that "important meetings ⁠and agreements" were planned for the visit, during which he ‌would meet ​Canada's prime ‌minister ⁠Mark Carney.

Zelensky says Kyiv hitting Russia 'across its entire map' including Black Sea port attack

We’ve heard earlier from Volodymyr Zelensky, who has spoken out on Kyiv’s attack on the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk.

The Ukrainian president said targets in the Krasnodar region, including a naval base and a oil-loading terminal, were attacked.

Warships carrying missiles and military port facilities were also hit, he said.

“We are responding to Russia’s daily terrorist strikes – effectively and practically across its entire map,” Mr Zelensky wrote on X alongside footage of the attacks.

“I thank everyone developing our long-range sanctions capabilities, so that Russia’s war is increasingly felt where it came from.”

Ukraine drones spark fire at Russia's Caspian Sea port

Authorities have doused a fire ignited by Ukraine drone strikes on port infrastructure in Russia's Caspian Sea city of Makhachkala in Dagestan, the region's acting head Fyodor Shchukin said.

Both sides have exchanged major strikes on each other in the early hours today.

Four killed as Russia hits Ukraine's Black Sea port facilities

Russia's defence ministry claims it hit facilities “used for military purposes” in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Chornomorsk, two vessels near Odesa and a drone warehouse in Mykolaiv overnight.

The ministry made the comments on the Telegram messaging app.

The air strikes on Ukraine's port of Mykolaiv hit civilian and industrial infrastructure there on Wednesday and overnight, killing four and injuring 19, acting regional governor Heorhii Reshetilov said.

Trump says Putin wants to make a deal in Ukraine but says two sides 'hate each other'

Donald Trump said he had a "great" conversation with Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier in the week and that the Russian leader wanted to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

“He is wanting to make a deal, and if (Ukrainian president Volodymyr) Zelensky is wanting to make a deal, that'd be very nice," Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One en route to Dallas for the Republican National Convention.

Trump spoke over the phone with Putin on Tuesday, shortly after US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, returned from a diplomatic swing through Moscow and Kyiv.

“The holdup is two people who hate each other," Trump told reporters, referring to Putin and Zelensky.

“I think more than anything else, it's two people that hate each other."

North Korea's Kim celebrates troops involved in supporting Putin's invasion of Ukraine

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has issued a message of gratitude to his country's troops who supported Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, state media KCNA said.

Kim referred to the troops during a speech at Pyongyang's assembly hall on Wednesday, amid celebrations marking the 78th anniversary of the country's founding.

He thanks workers and soldiers for their contributions to the state, and extended what KCNA called special gratitude and respect to commanders and soldiers "participating in overseas military operations", likely referring to North Korean troops deployed for Russia's war in Ukraine.

In return for sending troops and munitions to join Russia's war effort, Pyongyang has received economic and military technology assistance from Moscow, according to South Korean intelligence assessments.

North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 troops to fight alongside Russian forces since late 2024, according to Western and South Korean officials.

Pyongyang was continuing preparations for an additional troop deployment to Russia, but there were no signs that such a deployment was imminent, according to South Korea's defence ministry in late August.

CIA chief Ratcliffe preparing for bigger role in Russia and Ukraine talks – report

CIA director John Ratcliffe is preparing to take a bigger role in Washington's negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, US officials told their European counterparts, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons denied the report, calling it "false" in a post on X.

The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said the White House is considering scaling back the involvement of US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Ukraine peace effort.

Five killed and 24 injured in Russian attack on Sumy

At least five people have been killed and 24 injured in a Russian air strike on Ukraine’s Sumy, police officials said this morning.

Regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said earlier that a Russian drone had struck a shopping centre in Sumy on Wednesday and put the toll at two killed and 20 injured.

Russian drones kill two at Ukraine-Moldova border crossing

Russian drones hit a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova in the southern region of Odesa, killing two people, Ukrainian and Moldovan officials said, as Moscow targets trade and logistics routes to cause economic damage.

Two civilians were killed and three wounded in the attack on the Starokozache border crossing in southwest Ukraine, Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

The checkpoint, about a kilometre (half a mile) from Moldovan territory, is used daily by thousands of people and hundreds of cars. Moldovan officials said passenger and vehicle traffic was halted by the attack.

Russia has struck five border crossings in recent weeks, the Ukrainian border guards said — four on the border with Moldova and one on its border with Romania, a Nato member.

Flight carrying Zelensky to Norway delayed in Moldova because of drone incursion

A flight scheduled to carry Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky from Moldova to Norway was delayed when authorities closed Moldova’s airspace because of a drone incursion, a government spokesperson said Wednesday.

The drone that entered Moldovan airspace on Tuesday crossed into neighbouring Romania, a Nato member, where it was tracked through several northeastern counties.

Moldovan police said a Russian drone crashed on Tuesday in a sunflower field on the outskirts of a village in Riscani district, which caused four fires to break out but no injuries.

Moldovan authorities confirmed the drone came down and exploded 160km (100 miles) from Chișinău International Airport. The airspace restrictions were lifted and Zelensky’s plane took off later than scheduled.