Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin launches counterattack in Kursk as US and UK pledge $1.5bn in funding for Kyiv

US secretary of state Antony Blinken will meet with senior Polish government officials today to discuss support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, as well as deepening US defence cooperation with Warsaw.

Mr Blinken’s trip to Nato ally Poland follows a visit to Kyiv yesterday where he heard Ukraine’s appeals to be allowed to fire Western-supplied missiles deep into Russian territory.

The top diplomat is scheduled to meet with Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, president Andrzej Duda and foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, according to their offices.

More than two and a half years since Russia’s invasion began, Ukrainian forces are being pressured on the battlefield by a better armed and bigger foe, as they try to fend off Russian gains in the east where Moscow is focusing its attacks.

Speaking at a joint US-UK press conference in Kyiv, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced over $700m in humanitarian support for the country.

Mr Blinken announced $323m in support for Ukraine’s energy grid, $290m in support for food, water and medicine, and $102m in support for de-mining.

UK foreign secretary David Lammy has slammed Russian “imperialism” and “fascism” as he warned the liberty of Ukraine, Europe and the West were at stake.

It comes after Britain pledged to provide a further £600 million of support for Ukraine as he visited Kyiv with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The British government said it would provide £242 million of funding, including for humanitarian needs, and £484 million in loan guarantees for World Bank lending to Ukraine before the end of the year.

Russian forces have started to counterattack along Kursk’s western edge and have reportedly taken back several settlements in the past 48 hours, a US-based think tank said.

“The size, scale, and potential prospects of the 11 September Russian counterattacks in Kursk Oblast are unclear and the situation remains fluid as of this report. It is premature to draw conclusions about Russia’s new counterattacks and ISW will continue following the situation,” the Institute for the Study of War said.

Several Russian military bloggers claimed that Russian forces launched the mechanised counterattack from the north near Korenevo and that Russian forces quickly advanced into Snagost, the ISW said.

It cited available visuals and said Russian forces are “operating in company-sized units and may be using elements of more combat-experienced units to conduct counterattacks”.

Kyiv’s forces, in response, are fighting back and have initiated new attacks in the west of Snagost, the Washington-based think-tank said in its latest assessment last night.

Top diplomats from the US and Britain visiting Kyiv could not clear the use of long-range Western missile strikes inside Russia.

“Among other things, we discussed long-range fires, but a number of other things as well. And as I said at the outset, I’m going to take that discussion back to Washington to brief the president on what I heard,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken told reporters.

Volodymyr Zelensky has been pleading with Kyiv’s allies for months to let Ukraine fire Western missiles including long-range US ATACMS and British Storm Shadows deep into Russian territory to limit Moscow’s ability to launch attacks.

“We are listening carefully and, of course, we are having discussions on a range of issues, including the military equipment that Ukraine needs to win,” Lammy told a news conference alongside Blinken and Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.

The British foreign minister suggested those discussions could continue for a few more weeks, a remark that will disappoint Ukrainians hoping the West would quickly discard fears of escalation.

Until now the Storm Shadow missiles have been limited to Russian targets operating inside Ukraine, as well as in occupied Crimea. The missiles were likely used in the largest Ukrainian attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet last year at Sevastopol.

Here’s more about the Storm Shadow cruise missile:

The bear and the dragon can never be friends. That is a lesson Xi Jinping heard at a young age. And it explains why the Chinese leader’s “no limits” partnership with Vladimir Putin may turn into a limitless liability – for the Kremlin.

While researching a new biography of Xi, I came across a startling declassified US document. It reveals that the man who was Xi’s mentor in his first job, at the heart of China’s military, was fiercely anti-Russian. Never trust Moscow, he told his staff.

Today, it all looks fine. The two autocrats have boasted of their alliance for more than two years now. It’s clear that Putin gave his “friend” a tip that he was about to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, Xi has stood alongside him, talking peace but sending Russia weapons technology in exchange for oil and gas.

Read the full article by Michael Sheridan, longtime foreign correspondent and diplomatic editor of The Independent: