Russia-Ukraine war live news: UK says many Russian reservists likely to buy body armor | Ukraine

Many Russian reservists were drafted into battle Ukraine They are likely to have to buy their own body armor – and prices have soared, according to the latest British intelligence briefing.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense also said in its daily update that “endemic corruption and poor logistics” remain the main reason for Russia’s “poor performance” in Ukraine.

The ministry said the average amount of personal equipment Russia provides to its mobilized reservists is “almost certainly lower than the already poor supply of previously deployed troops.”

He tweeted:

Many reservists probably need to purchase their own body armor, especially the modern 6B45 body armor, which is intended for general issue to combat units as part of the Warrior personal equipment program.

The ministry said the vest was being sold on Russian online stores for 40,000 rubles (about US$640 or £570), down from about 12,000 rubles in April.

It said that in 2020, Russian authorities announced that 300,000 sets of Ratnik armor had been delivered to its armed forces – “enough to equip the forces currently deployed in Ukraine”.

Welcome to our continued daily coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Here is a summary of the main recent developments:

• Vladimir Putin said that he believes in it “partial mobilization” of army reservists will be completed in two weeks. Russia’s president said after attending a summit in Kazakhstan on Friday that a total of 222,000 reservists would be called up, down from a figure of 300,000 initially circulated following last month’s order.

• The Ministry of Defense of Belarus said that Russian troops will start arriving in the country “in the coming days” as part of their combined forces.

• The US and Germany must deliver sophisticated anti-aircraft systems to Kyiv this month to counter strikes using Russian missiles and kamikaze drones, said the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Alyaksei Reznikov reported that Ukraine will receive the Iris-II air defense system from Germany this month.

• It was reported that there was a Russian submarine spotted off the French coast and accompanied by the French fleet. The submarine was spotted surfacing off the coast of Brittany in late September, the French Navy said on Twitter. It said British and Spanish warships were also involved in monitoring the submarine’s movements.

• Putin called humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian grain will be closed if they are used for “acts of terrorism”. At a press conference in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, he also said that there was “no need” for talks with US President Joe Biden.

• Ukrainian deputy of the Kherson regional council condemned the Russian “evacuation” of the occupied city, saying that it was actually a “deportation”. The member of the council also stated that it was an evacuation of collaborators, and urged residents to go to the territory controlled by Ukraine if possible.

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has responded to criticism from the Ukrainian government calling for immediate access to all POWs, saying: “We share the frustration at the lack of access to all POWs.” Her comments came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the ICRC of inaction in protecting the rights of Ukrainian prisoners and called on it to visit the Alenivka camp in eastern Ukraine, where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war died in an explosion and fire in July.

• Elon Musk’s SpaceX says it can no longer pay for important satellite services in Ukraine, reports CNN. SpaceX is reportedly asking the US government to start paying instead.

• US to send ammunition and military vehicles to Ukraine as part of new $725m security aid package, the Ministry of Defense reported on Friday. The package is the first since Russia shelled civilian areas in Ukraine this week, Reuters reported, and will bring total U.S. security assistance since Russia’s invasion to $17.5 billion.

• Democrats on Capitol Hill suggested transfer of American weapons systems to Ukraine in Saudi Arabia and suspending a planned transfer of Patriot missiles to Riyadh in what they call a “turning point” in Washington’s relationship with the kingdom.

• Saudi Arabia will provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid in the amount of 400 million dollarsThis was reported by the Saudi state news agency SPA. On Friday, Zelensky received a call from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Reuters reports.

• A newly discovered hacker group attacked transport and logistics companies in Ukraine and Poland with a new type of ransomware, Microsoft said on Friday. The attackers targeted a wide range of systems within an hour on Tuesday, Microsoft said in a blog post, adding that it had not yet been able to link the attacks to any known group. Notably, however, the researchers found that the hacks closely mirrored earlier attacks by a cyber group linked to the Russian government.

• Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleg Sinegubav said that two 16-year-old boys were among the victims. Russian shelling in the region over the past 24 hours.

• Britain’s Ministry of Defense said that “Russia continues to pursue offensive operations in central Donbass and, very slowly, is making progress.” The ministry said that “over the past three days, pro-Russian forces have made a tactical advance toward the center of the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region” and “probably advanced to the settlements of Opytsina and Ivangrad south of the city.”