Ukraine war: West calls for restrictions on long-range missiles to be lifted

The number of Russian soldiers captured during Ukraine’s cross-border assault into Kursk further shows that its military power is a “caricatured exaggeration”, an advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office has said.

Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the “low morale” of Russian forces was evident in the success of Ukraine’s attack.

He added that Ukraine had captured in less than four weeks around 200 more Russian soldiers than than the Soviet Union lost in a decade of war in Afghanistan.

Mr Podolyak told The Independent earlier this month that the Ukraine attack had exposed the disarray in Russia’s military. 

Russian forces have captured two villages in eastern Ukraine, Russian news agencies have claimed, citing the Kremlin defence ministry.

They cited Stelmakhivka in Luhansk region and Mykolaivka in Donetsk region as having fallen.

The Independent was not able to verify these claims and Moscow has a habit of prematurely reporting the takeover of a Ukrainian town.

Ukraine‘s General Staff in a morning update said that Ukrainian forces were repelling attacks in the area of Stelmakhivka, which sits right on the frontline.

DeepState, a Ukrainian open-source intelligence group that tracks developments on the frontline, and which is known to have close ties to the Ukrainian military, reports that both towns remain under Ukraine’s control.

European Union ministers have arrived in Brussels for a meeting to discuss support for Ukraine after refusing to hold the event in Hungary despite Budapest holding the bloc’s presidency.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, was pictured in Brussels this morning with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba.

The informal council usually takes place in the country chairing the rotating presidency of the EU. But following tensions between Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban and the EU, the EU’s informal foreign and defense ministerial meetings on 29-30 August, respectively, will take place in Brussels instead of Budapest.

After assuming the presidency on 1 July, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban went on a tour of Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing and later Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, urging Ukraine to the negotiating table.

EU states denounced the trip, saying Orban did not speak on behalf of the bloc, before reaffirming their support for Ukraine.