Ukraine updates: Kyiv says 'Sea Babies' hit 2 Russian ships
Published October 13, 2023last updated October 13, 2023
What you need to know
A joint operation by Ukrainian intelligence and the country's navy has hit two Russian naval vessels, reports cite Kyiv as saying.
The attacks this week were said to have used experimental weaponry mounted on sea drones.
The extent of the damage to the two vessels, both missile carriers, was unclear.
Meanwhile, Russian forces have continued to pound the town of Avdiivka in their biggest offensive in months.
Here are the headlines concerning Russia's war in Ukraine on Wednesday October 13:
Putin denies Russian involvement in Baltic pipeline leak
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed suggestions that Moscow was responsible for damage caused to a sub-marine gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia last weekend as "nonsense."
After a leak was detected in the Balticconnector pipeline, as well as damage to a telecommunications cable, Helsinki blamed "external" activity and wouldn't rule out the role of "state actors," sparking suspicions of Russian interference.
"That's complete nonsense," Putin told journalists on a trip to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. "To be honest, I didn't even know this pipeline existed because it's small in volume," he added.
He also suggested that it might have somehow been snagged by an anchor, some sort of hook or an earthquake, and suggested that Finland investigate.
NATO members Finland and Estonia are investigating the incident and have cautioned against jumping to conclusions before the official results, which Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said should yield answers within a few weeks.
Russian attacks have destroyed 300,000 tons of grain, says Kyiv
Russia has destroyed almost 300,000 tons of grain supplies since July in its missile attacks on Ukrainian ports, according to the Ukrainian government.
"This is an attempt by Russia to exacerbate the food crisis in those countries which are reliant on Ukrainian products," said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov.
He added that Ukraine's grain exports had fallen by around 40% due to damaged ports, with Russia attacking facilities both on the Black Sea coast and on the Danube river.
Russia declined to extend the Black Sea grain deal negotiated by Turkey and the United Nations when it expired in July. The agreement had allowed for the safe passage of grain from Ukrainian ports. Since pulling out of the deal, Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukrainian ships and grain facilities.
Russian athletes can still be invited to Paris Olympics — Bach
Individual Russian athletes will be able to be invited to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris as neutral athletes, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, confirmed on Friday.
His comments came just one day after the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) over the latter's unilateral incorporation of sports organizations from the illegally annexed Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
But Bach said the suspension won't affect the process of evaluating individual Russian athletes for neutral status to help them qualify for and compete at the Paris Olympics.
"We do not punish or sanction athletes for the acts of their officials or government," Bach said at a press conference. "Russian athletes] are not the representatives of Russia in the IOC; they are the representatives of the IOC in Russia."
The IOC has still to issue a final ruling on whether athletes from Russia — and its ally Belarus will be permitted to compete next year.
"We will keep monitoring the developments. There is no time pressure," said Bach. "But we reserve the right to invite by ourselves individual, neutral athletes with Russian passports and this means the ROC will have no role to play."
North Korea supplied weapons to Moscow, says US
The United States says that North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia, including ammunition, artillery shells and rockets.
"We condemn [North Korea] for providing Russia with this military equipment, which will be used to attack Ukrainian cities, kill Ukrainian civilians, and further Russia's illegitimate war," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
Speculation about possible North Korean plans to restock Russia's munition stores flared last month, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to eastern Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin and visit key military sites.
UK to boost military presence in northern Europe
The UK says it plans to step up its military presence in northern Europe, including deploying 20,000 troops to the region next year.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met fellow leaders from the Nordic and Baltic countries as part of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) defense cooperation summit on the Swedish island of Gotland, in the Baltic Sea.
Sunak said in a statement the UK would send 20,000 soldiers, sailors, marines and air men and women plus eight Royal Navy ships and a group of fast jets and military helicopters to help police and deter threats from Russia.
The statement said they would take part in large-scale, multi-country exercises, and carry out air policing and cold weather training.
Dutch PM visits Odesa, vows to send more missiles
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, visiting the Black Sea port of Odesa, vowed to improve Ukraine's air defenses and increase the security of a humanitarian corridor for grain exports.
Zelenskyy described Russian airstrikes on the ports as "vile tactics" and thanked Rutte for a new air defense package that includes missiles for Patriot air defense systems.
"This winter, Russia will try to hurt Ukraine as much as possible. So the Netherlands will supply extra Patriot missiles so that Ukraine can defend itself against Russia's barbaric airstrikes," Rutte said at a joint news conference with Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy said Kyiv was working to strengthen its position in the Black Sea so that it can continue to export grain.
"We are working with partners to protect properly these corridors, and strengthen our positions in the Black Sea, and it also applies to the protection of Odesa's skies and in the region as a whole," Zelenskyy told reporters at the news conference.
Russian forces pounded the southern region of Odesa last weekend, injuring several and damaging port infastructure.
The ports have been frequently targeted by Russian forces to strangle Ukraine's grain exports to the rest of the world.
Russian airstrikes kill two in Ukraine
At least two people were killed and 15 wounded in Russian airstrikes in southern and eastern Ukraine on Friday, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine's emergency services said at least one person was killed and 13 wounded by a missile strike on the eastern city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk.
A woman was killed and her husband seriously injured in a drone strike on their vehicle in the southern town of Beryslav in the region of Kherson, the regional governor said on Telegram.
Donetsk and Kherson have come under frequent attack from Russian forces who invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
DW cannot independently verify the battlefield reports.
Ukraine hits two vessels with experimental weapons: reports
Ukraine struck a Russian missile carrier and a patrol ship in separate attacks this week involving sea-borne drones that were carrying experimental weapons, according to reports.
The "Buyan" missile carrier was attacked on Friday and the "Pavel Derzhavin" missile carrier was targeted on Wednesday, the reports said.
The operations were carried out jointly by the Ukrainian Security Service and naval forces, sources said.
"After the first detonation, Russian minesweepers and divers were unable to discover our know-how," a source told the Reuters news agency.
"The Buyan missile carrier... was struck today on the Sevastopol route by experimental weapons on 'Sea Babies' (naval drones)."
The Censor.NO website cited the SBU intelligence service warning Russia.
"It's not necessary to go into Ukrainian waters if you want to preserve at least some remnants of your fleet."
A submarine, the Alrosa, managed to escape a similar attack on Thursday, the website said.
Ukraine has carried out several successful missile and naval drone attacks on Russia's Black Sea fleet on and near the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Russia pummels eastern town of Avdiivka
Russian forces have kept up their assault on the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka from the ground and air.
Friday is the fourth day of intense fighting in the biggest offensive by Russian troops in months.
Ukraine said its forces have been holding their ground but Vitaliy Barabash, the head of Avdiivka's military administration, says the town is under continual attack from the air, artillery and large numbers of troops.
"The battles have been going on for four days now. Fierce and really non-stop ... They are firing from everything they have available," Barabash said in televised comments.
"It was a very hot night in Avdiivka. There were several air strikes on the city itself ... the attacks do not stop day or night."
The attack is one of the few big assaults Moscow has launched since Ukrainian forces began their counteroffensive in early June.
rc/nm (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)