Romania and Latvia are investigating instances of Russian drones that crashed after breaching their airspace. Meanwhile, Iran has denied that it transferred missiles to Russia and called the reports "psychological warfare".
Monday 9 September 2024 16:32, UK
Thanks for following our live updates today.
We started the day with Russia's defence ministry saying its forces had captured the town of Novohrodivka, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which lies around seven miles from Pokrovsk - an important rail and road hub for Ukrainian forces in the area.
Later on, the ministry claimed in an unverified report that troops had taken control of the nearby village of Memryk, about 14 miles (22km) away.
In the city of Nikopol, in the south of Ukraine, officials said a 16-year-old girl had died and three other people had been left injured following artillery fire there at the weekend.
Romania and Latvia have also been investigating after Russian drones breached their airspace, with Latvian officials saying a drone that crashed there was carrying explosives likely intended for Ukraine.
And after Sky News was told by a Ukrainian source at the weekend that hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles had arrived in Russia from Iran - a story reported by the Wall Street Journal and other news outlets - Iran today denied the reports, describing them as "psychological warfare", according to state media.
That's all from our live coverage today. We'll be back tomorrow with more updates on the Ukraine war.
Ukraine calls for Western weapons to be used on targets in RussiaA senior Ukrainian official is calling on Western partner countries to allow weapons they have supplied to be used to strike military warehouses inside Russia, due to the suspicions over Iran providing ballistic missiles for the Kremlin's war effort.
Earlier today, Iran denied the reports that emerged over the weekend (see our 11.20am post).
On Saturday, a Ukrainian source told Sky News that a Russian ship had delivered short-range Fatah-360 missiles from Tehran to a port in the Caspian Sea. The US has also told allies it believes Iran has sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, two sources told the Associated Press news agency.
Western countries supporting Ukraine in the war have previously hesitated to let its military strike targets on Russian soil. However, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office has now said that "protection is not escalation".
Writing on Telegram, Andriy Yermak said: "In response to the supply of ballistic missiles to Russia, Ukraine must be allowed to destroy warehouses storing these missiles with Western weapons in order to avoid terror."
He did not specify which country was supplying the missiles.
Russia has been receiving Iranian-made Shahed drones since 2022, and the possible shipment of Iranian ballistic missiles as well has alarmed Western governments.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that "this kind of information is not true every time" - while in Iran, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani also denied the missile reports.
"We strongly reject allegations about Iran's role in sending weapons to one side of the war and we assess these allegations as politically motivated by some parties," Mr Kanaani said.
Mr Peskov described Iran as "our important partner", and said: "We are developing our trade and economic relations. We are developing our co-operation and dialogue in all possible areas, including the most sensitive ones, and will continue to do so in the interests of the peoples of our two countries."
For context: CIA director William Burns warned in London at the weekend of the growing and "troubling" defence relationship involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.
Those ties, he said, threaten both Ukraine and Western allies in the Middle East.
China's defence ministry has also announced joint naval and air drills with Russia, starting this month (see our 09.28am post).
Russian drone that crashed in Latvia 'was carrying explosives'Latvian officials have said a Russian military drone that crashed in the country at the weekend was carrying explosives likely to have been intended for Ukraine.
The drone fell in the region of the village of Gaigalava, some 90 km (56 miles) from the border with Belarus, which is where it entered the country, according to a Latvian defence ministry statement.
As we reported earlier (see our post at 06.53am), both Latvia and Romania have been investigating instances of Russian drones that crashed after breaching their airspace.
The countries are both NATO members and supporters of Ukraine.
Speaking at a news conference today, Latvia's armed forces commander Lieutenant General Leonids Kalnins said the drone that landed there was of the Iranian-designed Shahed type, according to Latvia's Delfi news website.
The drone's explosives, which were likely meant for Ukraine, were deactivated following its discovery, he said.
Previously, the Romanian defence ministry said of the drone that breached its airspace, that its "radar supervision system identified and tracked the path" of the unmanned aircraft, "which entered national airspace and then exited towards Ukraine".
Yesterday, NATO deputy secretary general Mircea Geoana denounced the incidents as "irresponsible and potentially dangerous", while saying there was no indication of a deliberate attack on alliance member-states.
Cyber sabotage operation in Poland 'neutralised'Polish security services have neutralised a cyber sabotage operation by Russia and Belarus, Poland's deputy prime minister has said.
Warsaw has repeatedly accused Moscow of attempting to destabilise Poland due to its role in supplying military aid to neighbour Ukraine - allegations Russia has dismissed.
Krzysztof Gawkowski, Poland's deputy prime minister and also minister for digital affairs, said today that saboteurs, operating from Belarus in co-operation with Russia, had attempted to gain information from government institutions.
"The Belarusian and Russian foreign services. had a specific goal - to extort information, to blackmail individuals and institutions and to wage a de facto cyberwar," he said.
The attempt was thwarted, he added.
Cyberattacks have doubled since 2023, Mr Gawkowski said. They have targeted Polish organisations and institutions, including logistics companies that run military deliveries to Ukraine, he added.
"In cyberspace, dangers come every hour, every minute. It often happens that there are over a thousand incidents in a day," he said.
Analysis: What does Russia gain with Iranian missiles? By Sean Bell, military analyst
Numerous reports suggest Russia has taken delivery of up to 200 short-range ballistic missiles from Iran, which the US has stated would mark a sharp escalation in the Ukraine war.
In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "Iran is our important partner, we are developing our trade and economic relations" and "dialogue in all possible areas, including the most sensitive ones".
The contract for the Iranian Ababil and Fatah-360 ballistic missiles was reported to have been signed in December last year, and is a clear indication of an increasingly close military relationship between Iran and Russia.
Tactically, Iranian missiles would enable Russia to increase the intensity of attacks across Ukraine, allowing it to focus its limited supplies of domestically produced long-range Iskander missiles at targets deep inside the country.
Under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, Iran was unable to export ballistic missiles - but when that sanction expired in October last year, Russia immediately started negotiations to address its wartime shortfall.
In September 2022, Iran started supplying Russia with Shahed 131 and 136 drones. Although these have not been difficult for Ukrainian air defence systems to intercept, the significant volumes being launched by Russia have enabled some to get through.
Russian cruise missiles were very effective at striking deep inside Ukraine at the start of the conflict, but the provision of advanced Western air defence systems - such as the Patriot - have limited their impact.
However, ballistic missiles present a more challenging target for air defence systems - largely due to their hypersonic speed.
Evidence suggests they can be intercepted, but probably only be high-end Western air defence missiles, and these are expensive and in relatively short supply.
More worrying in the long-term is what Iran is gaining from this flourishing military trade with Russia.
In addition to providing hard currency, reports suggest Russia has also been persuaded to supply Iran with technology and expert support for Iran's fledgling nuclear weapons programme in return for the vital supplies of weapons, all in violation of ongoing western sanctions.
Regardless of the outcome on the ground, Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine has profound implications for wider global security.
