Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Ukraine said on Monday Russian drones fell and detonated on the territory of NATO member Romania during an overnight attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube River, but Bucharest categorically denied the report.

Reuters could not independently verify either account of what could represent a dramatic turn in Russia’s 18-month-old war in Ukraine. Moscow has regularly conducted long-range air strikes on targets in Ukraine, which borders Romania.

“According to Ukraine’s state border guard service, last night, during a massive Russian attack near the port of Izmail, Russian ‘Shakheds’ fell and detonated on the territory of Romania,” Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.

“This is yet another confirmation that Russia’s missile terror poses a huge threat not only to Ukraine’s security, but also to the security of neighbouring countries, including NATO member states,” he said.

The Romanian Defence Ministry issued a statement in which it said it “categorically” denied the Ukrainian assertion.

NATO has a collective defence commitment under which the military alliance considers an attack on one ally to be an attack on all allies.

Nikolenko published a photo showing the flames of an explosion on the opposite bank of the Danube river, the dividing line between Ukraine’s Odesa region and Romanian territory.

A Ukrainian industry source told Reuters that two Russian drones had fallen on the Romanian side.

The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff said the incident showed the need to increase supplies of modern air defence and long-range weapons to deprive Russia of the ability to launch drones and missiles as Ukraine.

— Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, amid hopes that Ankara can persuade Moscow to revive an important grain export deal with Ukraine.

Russia left the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July, saying its own grain and fertilizer exports were facing unfair export restrictions. The deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey, enabled millions of tons of vital foodstuffs to leave via three Ukrainian ports.

The Russian and Turkish presidents will meet in the Russian coastal resort of Sochi, where they will discuss possible new terms to a fresh agreement. There have been reports that Russian grain exports could be exported via Turkey with financial assistance from Qatar.

UN policymakers are keen to see a revival of the deal, given that it helped to alleviate global food shortages last year. Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, and the war has greatly disrupted the sowing, harvesting and export of crops.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia has been looking to recruit the citizens of neighbouring countries to fight in Ukraine, the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence said Sunday.

“Russia likely wishes to avoid further unpopular domestic mobilisation measures in the run up to the 2024 Presidential elections. Exploiting foreign nationals allows the Kremlin to acquire additional personnel for its war effort in the face of mounting casualties,” the ministry said on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.

Online adverts have been observed in Armenia and Kazakhstan offering 495,000 roubles ($5,140) in initial payments and salaries from 190,000 roubles (or $1,973), the ministry added.

There have been recruitment efforts in Kazakhstan’s northern Qostanai region, appealing to the ethnic Russian population. Since at least May 2023, Russia “has approached central Asian migrants to fight in Ukraine with promises of fast-track citizenship and salaries of up to $4,160.”

“Uzbek migrant builders in Mariupol have reportedly had their passports confiscated upon arrival and been coerced to join the Russian military. There are at least six million migrants from Central Asia in Russia, which the Kremlin likely sees as potential recruits,” the ministry said.

CNBC has requested a comment from the Russian defense ministry on the U.K.’s defense intelligence analysis and is awaiting a response.

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine appears to be making headway in its counteroffensive in southern Ukraine with reports emerging that the country’s forces have broken through a first line of Russian defenses in the Zaporizhzhia region.

A commander of southern forces in Ukraine, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, told the British Observer newspaper in an interview published on Saturday that his forces were “now between the first and second defensive lines” of heavy and layered Russian fortifications in the south.

“In the centre of the offensive, we are now completing the destruction of enemy units that provide cover for the retreat of Russian troops behind their second defensive line,” he told the paper.

The general said he expected faster Ukrainian gains, as his forces face a weaker second line of defense, and added that Russia is already deploying its reserves to the area.

“The enemy is pulling up reserves, not only from Ukraine but also from Russia. But sooner or later, the Russians will run out of all the best soldiers. This will give us an impetus to attack more and faster,” Tarnavskiy reportedly said.

Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office Andriy Yermak said on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, that he had on Saturday informed U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan “about the situation on the battlefield, the successful advance of defense forces in certain areas of the front.”

Kyiv’s main aim is for its troops to break Russia’s so-called “land bridge” across occupied southern Ukraine to Crimea, and Ukrainian forces are aiming to advance southwards towards the port cities of Melitopol and Berdiansk. Tarnavskiy would not comment on any expected timeline to reach the coast.

CNBC has asked Ukraine’s defense ministry for further comment.

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine’s defense minister was dismissed over the weekend, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday, saying that the defense ministry needs “needs new approaches.”

“I have decided to replace the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Oleksiy Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale war. I believe that the Ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address of Sunday.

Rustem Umerov, who previously led Ukraine’s State Property Fund, was named as the new defense minister.

Zelenskyy said that he expected the Ukrainian parliament to approve the move, adding that “autumn is a time for strengthening.”

Reznikov’s departure is not entirely unexpected and follows rumors that the defense ministry’s leadership could be overhauled from months ago. Reznikov’s deputy resigned after a scandal over the procurement of food for the military, although there is no suggestion that Reznikov was involved in the controversy.

Ukrainian media has reported that Reznikov could now become Ukraine’s new ambassador to the U.K., but this has not been confirmed.

— Holly Ellyatt