Kremlin accuses Burnham of wanting Ukraine war to continue
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has accused Andy Burnham of wanting the conflict in Ukraine to continue, saying the UK prime minister and Finnish president Alexander Stubb belonged to the “party of war”, Russian media reported.
During a visit to Kyiv yesterday, Stubb said he supported Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russian territory, arguing that they could raise the cost of war for Russia and help force Moscow to the negotiating table.
When asked to respond, Peskov said: “We now see that such escalatory statements have prevailed. Mr Stubb is also a prominent representative of the ‘war party’, along with the British prime minister. They have distinguished themselves over the past few days with such bellicose statements. They want the war to continue.”
Key events
Spain’s government took steps on Tuesday to speed up the return of thousands of people still in the Spanish territory of Ceuta following a mass influx from Morocco in July, AFP reports.
Spain’s cabinet on Tuesday approved the creation of a “single command” for Ceuta, to be led by Territorial Policy Minister Angel Víctor Torres.
The priority is “the return and repatriation of the greatest possible number of people, adults and minors”, while respecting Spanish law and human rights, Torres told reporters after the cabinet approved the measure.
More than 70,000 people entered the small enclave in North Africa in late July. Most have since returned to Morocco, but between 5-10% of those who entered – between 3,500 and 7,000 people – remain in Ceuta, including unaccompanied children.
CIA director Ratcliffe visiting Moscow: US media
US Central Intelligence Agency director John Ratcliffe is visiting Moscow for meetings, US media said, after flight data showed an American military aircraft flew to the Russian capital (see post from 11.23).
CBS News quoted sources familiar with the situation as confirming Ratcliffe’s trip, saying it was his first known visit to Russia as CIA chief. Axios separately confirmed it quoting a US official.
There was no immediate comment from the CIA or the White House. Data from Flightradar earlier showed a US military C-17 traveling from the United States to Latvia and then Moscow.
There’s video footage of the large tornado that ripped through southwest France, injuring 39 and damaging homes.
Heavy thunderstorms and strong winds have struck the country following months of extreme heat, leading to record-breaking wildfires.
Slovak police thwart planned arson attack on drone factory
Slovak police said it foiled a planned arson attack on a manufacturing plant in the east of the country, detaining three foreign nationals.
In a statement on Facebook, police said the target of the attack was a factory producing unmanned aerial systems. It did not name the factory or give its precise location.
Two suspects were detained in Slovakia and one in Germany, police added.
The statement said:
If the attack had occurred, there was a risk of a large-scale fire, endangering the lives and health of people and causing extensive damage. It is estimated that approximately 70 employees were in the building at the time of the attack, while the value of the property in the production hall, according to current findings, reaches tens of millions of euros.”
It continued:
Police seized a large amount of incendiary mixture, tools, mobile phones, an action camera and a hand-drawn plan. According to a preliminary expert opinion from the police force’s criminalistics and expertise institute, it was a mixture of gasoline and polystyrene, commonly referred to as napalm.”
‘Wartime situation’: France tornado leaves dozens injured and thousands without power
In France, dozens of people were injured and thousands of homes were without power after a tornado wreaked havoc south of the country.
A tornado tore through the village of Pomas in the Aude region, damaging about 300 homes and injuring 39 people, including two who were in critical condition, AFP reports.
Enedis, a utility company that manages France’s electricity distribution, said 7,250 household across the Languedoc-Roussillon region were without power including 1,600 in Aude.
“A tornado of rare intensity struck the Aude region late yesterday afternoon, causing severe damage to the village of Pomas,” French interior minister Laurent Nunez said on X.
Herve Gine, the mayor of Pomas, likened the disaster left behind to “a wartime situation”.
“We were bombed by nature, people are in shock,” he said, adding that some “have lost everything”.
Third drone and suspected military explosives found near German airport
Kate Connolly
German investigators uncovered a third drone and suspected military explosives thought to be connected to an attempted attack on Leipzig airport, local media have reported.
The drone was discovered in Kabelsketal, just to the west of the airport, along with about 50g (1.8oz) of a suspected military explosive on 14 August, 10 days after the unsuccessful sabotage. Leipzig airport is a cargo and military logistics hub used by Nato and Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines for transporting military supplies.
The office of the prosecutor general, which is leading the investigation, declined to comment on Tuesday. But the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said the government would soon provide information about who it believed was behind the drone attacks.
“They will pay for this,” Merz said, stopping short of naming a suspect, before a cabinet meeting in Brandenburg. He added that the government was “working intensively on this together with the security authorities and we will present our findings and comment on them shortly”.
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We have a statement from the European council president, António Costa, who is in Slovakia today as he kicked off his ‘tour des capitales’ (or tour of the capitals). He met Slovak prime minister Robert Fico in Bratislava, a political leader who has been averse to military aid to Ukraine.
In a statement during a joint press conference, Costa said the €2tn (£1.7tn) EU budget for 2028 to 2034 will be a decisive issue this autumn.
He added:
One thing is certain: we must reach an agreement before the end of this year. We cannot risk interruptions in EU funding in 2028.
They would affect our farmers, our businesses, our students, researchers and innovators – in a nutshell, our citizens. I know it won’t be easy. But I am encouraged by the constructive spirit among leaders, and I am confident we can reach an agreement.
“In that context, I want to thank Robert for Slovakia’s constructive approach to this debate. I also want to thank Robert for Slovakia’s coherent and steadfast support for the European Union enlargement. Supporting the western Balkans, Moldova and Ukraine, on their paths towards membership of the European Union, is an investment in Europe’s – including Slovakia’s – security and prosperity. We need to continue working with the candidates through a merit-based process, and respect all of them equally.”
While Fico has voiced support for Ukraine’s EU membership, he has previously spoken against a proposal by Germany to make Kyiv an associate member while its full accession process continues. He argued that other longstanding candidate countries, including Montenegro, Albania and Serbia, also have the right to join the bloc, and that fast-tracking Ukraine would effectively mean giving the western Balkans the “middle finger”.
Raphael Boyd
A man from Yorkshire is believed to be the first British citizen to die fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Bradley Townsend, a 33-year-old fisher from Barnsley, left Britain in April to join up with Russian separatists in eastern Donbas to aid in their invasion of Ukraine, despite having no previous combat experience or familiar ties to eastern Europe. Alongside 49-year-old Ben Stimson and 39-year-old Aiden Minnis, Townsend was granted Russian citizenship for joining the country’s military campaign.
He is believed to have been killed by a remote-controlled first-person-view drone near Lyman, a city in Donetsk, on 10 June. He appeared in videos posted to social media by pro-Russian accounts, including one seemingly owned by Stimson, who was jailed in the UK in 2015 prior to Russia’s full scale invasion for travelling to join pro-Russian troops to fight in the region.
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Zelenskyy: Ukraine has received a small number of US-made Patriot interceptors
Ukraine has recently received a small number of US-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.
Reuters reports the country also got confirmation of future supplies of the French Crotale surface-to-air missile system. He did not say how many had arrived, or who had supplied them. Zelenskyy was speaking to Ukrainian state broadcaster Suspilne.
Russia rejects French accusations of Moscow carrying out cyberattack campaign
A lot of diplomatic news out of Moscow today, where the Russian foreign ministry has rejected accusations by France that Moscow allegedly conducted a cyberattack campaign against European countries including France, saying Paris was trying to revive the “myth of a ‘Russian threat.’”
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