Russia-Ukraine war updates: US says Iran sent ballistic missiles to Russia

You can find all of our in-depth coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine here.

Our story about the US formally accusing Iran of supplying short-range ballistic missiles to Russia is here.

You can read here about Ukraine’s recent government reshuffle.

We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a recap of some of the day’s most important developments:

• The US and the UK formally accused Iran of supplying short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use in the war on Ukraine and will take measures to punish those involved. Iran denied such allegations.
• The governments of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom strongly condemned alleged Iranian transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia and will work towards imposing sanctions on Iran Air as a result.
• Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff said sanctions against Iran are “a positive step” but not enough for the struggle against Russia.
• Ukraine reports 76 combat clashes since dawn with the heaviest fighting near the cities of Kurakhove and Pokrovsk.
• Russia’s defence ministry says its forces captured the town of Krasnohorivka, in eastern Ukraine, as well as three villages in different parts of the Donetsk region.

Ukraine says it will review its options and could even cut relations with Iran if Russia has used ballistic missiles supplied by Tehran to attack targets in Ukraine.

“I will not say now exactly what is meant by ‘devastating consequences’ so as not to weaken our diplomatic position, but I can say that all options, including the one you mentioned, are on the table,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi said when asked if Kyiv could end relations with Tehran.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a post on X that reports of Iranian weapons transfers to Russia are “ugly propaganda” to conceal Western military support to Israel.

“The publication of false and misleading reports about the transfer of Iranian weapons to some countries is simply an ugly propaganda to conceal the large illegal arms support of the United States and some Western countries for the genocide in Gaza,” he said.

As the war drags on, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been expanding his alliances. A security official earlier noted a bilateral deal with Iran is imminent.

The Russian military began massive naval and air drills – involving more than 90,000 troops and about 400 warships – that China will also take part in, the defence ministry said.

Announcing the drills, China said they were designed to improve strategic cooperation between the two countries and “strengthen their ability to jointly deal with security threats”.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha to his staff saying, “Everyone must understand that peace for Ukraine and a fair end to this war are not just a historical mission, but daily and very painstaking work.”

He said the war-torn country needs a second peace summit this year.

“This means maximum involvement of the world in the implementation of the peace formula and maximum strengthening of our positions in order to make a fair process of restoring peace realm,” Zelenskyy said.

The president also announced Panama joined the communique of the first peace summit, becoming the 94th signatory of the document.

Pavel Alimenko, acting deputy health minister of Russia’s Kursk region, says 243 civilians, including 11 children, have been wounded since the invasion of the border region by Ukrainian forces on August 6.

He was cited by the state-owned TASS news agency as saying 6,908 people, including 1,363 children, were in 94 temporary accommodation centres in Kursk.

By the end of August, 133,000 people had left the border areas, it added.

Russia has nearly completed the required procedures to sign a new treaty with Iran soon, the state news agency TASS quoted top security official Sergei Shoigu as saying.

“We look forward to the imminent conclusion of a new basic interstate treaty. We are completing the internal procedures necessary for the preparation of documents for signing by the presidents,” Shoigu said.

Russia has cultivated closer ties with Iran and other states hostile towards the United States, such as North Korea, in the two and a half years since the start of the Ukraine war.

US Secretary of State Blinken said earlier that Russia received ballistic missiles from Iran and was likely to use them within weeks. An Iranian official on Monday denied that.

Speaking to reporters, John Kirby – the White House national security spokesperson – echoed comments early in London by US Secretary of State Blinken who said Russia has received ballistic missiles from Iran and will likely use them in Ukraine within weeks.

“The supply of these Iranian missiles, which have a maximum range of about 75 miles [120km], could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets beyond the front line while employing Iranian warheads for closer-range targets,” Kirby said.

Kirby said it would also be dangerous for the Middle East that Iran would now be able to avail itself of Russian technology, including on nuclear issues. He said new sanctions would show Iran it will face economic costs and warned the US would impose further measures if warranted.

The most difficult situation is near the cities of Kurakhove and Pokrovsk, according to the general staff of Ukraine’s army.

Artillery fire was reported from Russia in the Ukrainian areas of Mykolaivka, Malushyne, Halahanivka, Popivka, Tolstodubov and Oleksandrivka, the military report said.

A total of 20 aerial bombs were dropped in the settlements of Gremyach, Pustohorod, Glukhiv, Richki, Pavlivka and Mykolaivka.

Continuing ground battles were reported near Kharkiv, Kramatorsk, Toretsk, as well as Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has called on his country’s European partners to be more forceful in expressing their disquiet about China’s growing defence collaboration with Russia.

Campbell, who has met Belgian, NATO and EU officials since Monday, said today that he had provided allies with details of China’s “substantial support” to Russia’s military-industrial base and the consequences on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Much of the support, he said, was provided covertly.

Michael Paul Maldonado, also known as Zafer Ronin, has been found guilty by Russia of being a mercenary and sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison, according to the country’s Investigative Committee cited by the state-owned TASS news agency.

Maldonado, who arrived in Ukraine in July 2022 and served as a volunteer reconnaisance officer in the Ukrainian army until February this year, was placed on the international wanted list, the report said.

The governments of France, Germany and the United Kingdom have strongly condemned alleged Iranian transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia and will work towards imposing sanctions on Iran Air as a result, according to the German Foreign Ministry.

“This act is an escalation by both Iran and Russia, and is a direct threat to European security,” said a joint statement from the three countries shared by the ministry.

The three countries will take immediate steps to cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran, it added, calling on Iran to immediately halt all support for Russia in its war with Ukraine.

Here are the latest developments:

• The US and the UK have formally accused Iran of supplying short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use in the war in Ukraine and will take measures to punish those involved. Iran denies such accusations.
• Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff has said sanctions against Iran is “a positive step” but it was not enough for Ukraine’s struggle against Russia.
• Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu says the Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is an attempt by Kyiv “to force [Moscow] into a negotiation process, negotiations on their terms”.
• Russia’s Defence Ministry says its forces have captured the town of Krasnohorivka in eastern Ukraine, as well as three villages in different parts of the Donetsk region.
• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says a large-scale drone attack on the Moscow region shows that Russia needs to keep fighting Ukraine.

The internally displaced people (IDP) include 34 children, according to the website of Ukraine’s state emergency service that announced the arrival of an evacuation train from Donetsk to Zakarpattia region.

The announcement said the IDPs had travelled 1,500km (932 miles) “in search of safety” before being met at the station by rescuers, psychologists and volunteers, as well as representatives of the regional administration.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says Ukraine’s accession to the European Union should be an integral part of a “just peace”.

“We want to be ready no later than the end of 2025 for joining the EU. But in general, strategically, we understand that our joining the EU should be an integral part of a just peace. This is our strategic goal,” he said at a news conference in Kyiv.

Shmyhal emphasised that this should be preceded by the titanic work of bringing the legislation of Ukraine to the standards of the EU.

He also that all political decisions necessary for today have been made, and currently Ukraine does not need any other political decisions that could be blocked by any of the partners.

Iran has previously denied providing Russia with weapons to be used in the war in Ukraine.

“Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict – which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiations – to be inhumane,” a recent statement from Iran’s mission to the United Nations said.

“Thus, not only does Iran abstain from engaging in such actions itself, but it also calls upon other countries to cease the supply of weapons to the sides involved in the conflict.”

Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff, has reacted to Blinken’s statement that the US will announce sanctions later today on Iran for allegedly supplying ballistic missiles to Russia.

He said on X that the development was “a positive step” but it was not enough for Ukraine’s struggle against Russia.

“We also need authorisation to use Western weapons against military targets on Russian territory, the provision of longer-range missiles, and the enhancement of our air defence systems,” he added.

Sanctions against Iran for supplying ballistic missiles to Russia are a positive step.

We also need authorization to use Western weapons against military targets on Russian territory, the provision of longer-range missiles, and the enhancement of our air defense systems.

— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) September 10, 2024

Ukraine’s prosecutor general has said that Kyiv suspected a senior Russian air force commander of ordering a missile strike on a children’s hospital in central Kyiv in July that killed two people and caused extensive damage.

Andriy Kostin did not name the individual but said the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague had already issued an arrest warrant against him.

In March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, saying he was the commander of Russia’s long-range aviation forces. The ICC said at the time he was suspected of war crimes including ordering strikes on Ukraine’s energy system.

Russia denies carrying out war crimes in Ukraine and says it does not target civilians.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin says his country is working together with international partners to ensure Mongolia, as a signatory country of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), feels the consequences of refusing to arrest Putin, against whom there is an arrest warrant by The Hague-based court.

“There is no need to turn this into a tragedy. [There are] 125 ICC member countries, and if one of them does not fulfill its obligations, it does not mean that all the others too will not fulfill these obligations,” he told reporters in Kyiv.

“That’s why we work together with our partners so that the country that resorted to such a thing feels the consequences,” Kostin added.

Lammy has also spoken about the alleged supply of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia, calling it a “significant escalation”.

“This is a troubling action that we’re seeing from Iran. It is definitely a significant escalation and we are coordinating,” he told the London news conference.

Lammy said he would not comment on “operational issues” when asked whether Britain would give the green light to Ukraine to use the Storm Shadow long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

But he said the UK and the US are “completely aligned on the need to tackle Iran’s malign activity”.

“We’re seeing a disturbing pattern of greater Iranian support for the Kremlin’s illegal group, and we discussed today our shared commitment to holding Tehran to account for their undermining of global stability,” Lammy said.