Ukraine’s Kursk incursion has Moscow elites questioning conflict, CIA chief says

Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk has caused Russian elites to question Vladimir Putin’s war, CIA director William Burns has said.

Speaking in London alongside MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore, who praised the “audacious” incursion, Mr Burns said he did not see any evidence that Mr Putin’s grip on power was weakening as a result, but that “it did raise questions on the part of people we could see across the Russian elite about where is this all headed”.

You can read more on the spymasters’ remarks here:

The international world order is under threat in a way not seen since the Cold War, the heads of MI6 and the CIA have warned.

In the first joint op-ed penned by the leaders of the British and American intelligence services in their shared 77-year history, the MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore and CIA director William Burns warned that both countries now “face an unprecedented array of threats”.

Writing in the Financial Times, the intelligence leaders warned that staying the course in resisting Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine “is more vital than ever”, saying that Russia “will not succeed in extinguishing Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence”.

The spymasters criticised the “reckless campaign of sabotage across Europe being waged by Russian intelligence, and its cynical use of technology to spread lies and disinformation designed to drive wedges between us”.

The United States has informed allies that it believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, the Associated Press reports, citing sources.

It is the latest such report in recent days to suggest Tehran has sent missiles to Moscow.

The White House has not confirmed the claims, but spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement: “Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and lead to the killing of more Ukrainian civilians.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to travel to the UK on Monday to open the US-UK Strategic Dialogue, “reaffirming our special relationship,, his department has said.

Mr Blinken will discuss collective efforts to support Ukraine in Russia’s war, as well as the Indo-Pacific and the Aukus defence pact, the US State Department said.

Two people died and four were injured as a result of an overnight Russian air strike on Sumy, local officials in the Ukrainian border region have said.

Two children were among the injured, and several residential houses and cars were damaged in the strike, Sumy’s military administration said.

Sumy has been subject to frequent attacks by Russian forces, and has been cited as a reason for Ukraine’s incursion into the neighbouring Russian Kursk region in order to hamper the Russians’ ability to launch such attacks on Sumy.

Ukraine’s air defence units destroyed 15 of 23 attack drones and one guided air missile launched by Russia overnight, Kyiv’s air force has said.

Two of the drones and three other missiles did not reach their targets, the air force said. Those drones likely were intercepted by Ukraine’s electronic warfare systems, it added

Italian premier Giorgia Meloni has pledged unwavering support for Ukraine after a meeting with president Volodymyr Zelensky, warning that the conflict cannot be resolved by abandoning Kyiv.

The hard-right prime minister met the Ukrainian leader on the sidelines of the annual TEHA business forum on Lake Como, as Italy prepares to host next year’s conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction.

Ms Meloni told the forum Italy would never backtrack on its support for Ukraine. “It’s a choice that won’t change,” she said, adding that China and India also had a “role to play” in resolving the conflict. “The only thing that cannot happen is to think that the conflict can be solved by abandoning Ukraine.”

The Dossier Centre reported that Ivan, nine, and Vladimir Jr, five, spend most of the year at their father’s vast mansion near Lake Valdai, northwest of Moscow.

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Kyiv has continued to launch its own strikes against Russia. In the Russian border region of Voronezh Saturday, Gov. Aleksandr Gusev said that a drone strike had sparked a fire and the detonation of “explosive objects.”

Writing on social media, he said that a state of emergency had been declared for the region’s Ostrogozhsky district and that several villages had been evacuated.

He did not provide the names of the villages affected and urged followers not to share photos or videos of the fire that could be geolocated.

The heads of the British and American foreign intelligence agencies said on Saturday that Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia is a significant achievement that could change the narrative of the grinding war, as they urged Kyiv’s allies not to be held back by Russian threats of escalation.

Richard Moore, the head of MI6, said Kyiv’s surprise August offensive to seize territory in Russia’s Kursk region was “typically audacious and bold on the part of the Ukrainians, to try and change the game”.

He said the offensive — which Ukraine said has captured about 1,300sq km of Russian territory — had “brought the war home to ordinary Russians”.

Speaking alongside Mr Moore at an unprecedented joint public event in London, CIA Director William Burns said the offensive was a “significant tactical achievement” that had exposed vulnerabilities in the Russian military.

It has yet to be seen whether Ukraine can turn the gains into a long-term advantage.