Ukraine hailed the recapture of a village near the key battlefield of Bakhmut as it paid tribute to soldiers killed in the fighting.

In a Telegram post, the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said the win was the result of a “lightning operation” and paid tribute to those who died in the fighting.

“The capture and holding of Andriivka is our way to a breakthrough on the right flank from Bakhmut, and the key to the success of all further offensives,” the statement said.

“We pay a high price for the results of these battles. And the blood of each of our fighters will be repaid only with blood.”

The president of Poland Andrzej Duda is scheduled to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky next week, he has said.

The two leaders will hold talks in New York, where the United Nations General Assembly is taking place, Duda’s office said in a tweet.

“In a few days, in New York, I have an appointment with the President of Ukraine @ZelenskyyUa,” he said.

“We will, among others: talk about grain. Ukraine must understand our position – my task is to take care of our Polish interests.”

Earlier this week Ukraine warned it could seek international arbitration over restrictions on its grain exports after Poland said it would continue to block domestic imports of Ukrainian grain even if Brussels lifts a ban.

Restrictions imposed by the European Union in May allowed Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds, while permitting transit of such cargoes for export elsewhere.

The European Union has reacted to the war in Ukraine with a rare unity – but splits are already emerging between countries offering support for as long as it takes and those agitating for Kyiv to cut its losses, writes Mary Dejevsky.

Read Mary’s full piece here:

The US has expressed its regret at the expulsion of two of its diplomats from Russia and vowed to respond “appropriately.”

Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday declared two US diplomats “persona non grata” and ordered them to leave the country within seven days as they were allegedly involved in “illegal activity.”

The ministry charged in a statement that the first secretary at the U.S. Embassy in Russia, Jeffrey Sillin, and the second secretary, David Bernstein, “kept in touch” with a former employee of the US Consulate in Vladivostok who was arrested earlier this year. The ex-employee was accused of collecting information for U.S. diplomats about Russia’s military action in Ukraine and related issues.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: “Once again, Russia has chosen confrontation and escalation instead of constructive diplomatic engagement. It continues to harass our embassy staff, just as it continues to intimidate its own citizens.”

Russia rolled out the red carpet for Kim Jong-Un ahead of the North Korean leader’s visit to an aircraft plant.

Kim was welcomed as a “top-ranking guest” upon his arrival at Russia’s eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Friday, according to state media.

“A red carpet was unfurled for the top-ranking guest”, Russian state media TASS said, adding that Kim was welcomed with bread and salt in keeping with the Russian tradition for “special guests”.

Kim has been visiting Russia this week and held talks with the Russian president about “economic cooperation” between the two countries.

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu checked on the repair and modernisation of the Pacific Fleet’s nuclear submarines at a top military shipyard on Friday, his ministry said.

Shoigu earlier this week took part in talks between president Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un who visited two aviation plants in the town of Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Friday.

Shoigu checked construction of a floating docking complex and on how nuclear submarines are being repaired and modernized at Zvezda plant in the town of Bolshoi Kamen, the defence ministry said in statement.

It added that Zvezda is the leading submarine repair facility of Russia’s Pacific Fleet and the only one in the Far East specialising in repair and modernization of nuclear-powered submarine missile carriers.

“Sergei Shoigu demanded the maximum use of Zvezda’s production facilities in order to complete the repair and modernisation of submarines,” the defence ministry said.

Ukraine says it shot down 17 drones launched by Russia overnight.

“On the night of September 15, 2023, the enemy attacked Ukraine with ‘Shahed-136/131’ type UAVs from the southeast (Prymorsko-Akhtarsk — Russian Federation),”Ukraine’s air forces said in a statement.

“A total of 17 UAVs were launched, which were moving along different routes in the direction of Khmelnytskyi. All 17 ‘Shakhediv’ was destroyed by anti-aircraft defense along the tracking route.”

Ukrainian forces have recaptured a village in the country’s east after intense battles with Russian troops, the country’s military said Friday.

The village of Andriivka — about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the Russia-occupied town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region — is the latest gain for Kyiv in a counteroffensive that has seen slow but steady gains by Ukrainian forces.

The announcement of reclaiming Andriivka came early Friday from the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces.

The 3rd Assault Brigade said it captured the village after surrounding the Russian garrison in Andriivka in what it described as a “lightning operation” and destroying it over two days.

It described the capture of Andriivka as a breakthrough on the southern flank of Bakhmut and “key to success in all further directions.”

Arpan Rai has the full report:

Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the US next week for talks with Joe Biden about getting more military aid for Ukraine.

The two presidents are expected to meet either at the White House or at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US media report.

Both Zelensky and Biden are scheduled to address the UN assembly on Tuesday. Full report here.

Blinded by a Russian mortar shell, Ukrainian veteran Ivan Soroka couldn’t see his bride when she walked into his family home in a shoulderless white dress, a bouquet of white flowers in her right hand.

But when Vladislava Ryabets, 25, stepped toward him, Soroka wept with joy at the new chapter of life starting months after enemy artillery stole his sight.