Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has given a two-day nationwide strike notice for the 5th and 6th of September to protest the failure of the federal government to proffer lasting solutions to the challenges caused by fuel subsidy removal.

NLC President, Joe Ajaero, disclosed this on Friday during a press conference at the Labour House in Abuja.

Ajaero explained that the decision to go on the warning strike was part of the resolutions reached at the NLC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Thursday.

The union accused the government of failure to implement some of its resolutions from their previous meetings.

“NEC in session of NLC resolved to embark on a total and indefinite shutdown of the nation within 14 working days or 21 days from today until steps are taken by the government to address the excruciating mass suffering and the impoverishment experienced around the country.

“To commence a two-day warning strike on Tuesday and Wednesday, 5th and 6th September 2023 to demonstrate our readiness for the indefinite strike later in the month and to also demand that the state vacates the illegally occupied national headquarters of the National Union of Road Transport Workers,” Ajaero was quoted by Vanguard as saying.

Protests

On 29 May, during his inauguration, President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on petrol. The development has caused hardship for many Nigerians with its attendant increase in the prices of goods and services.

On 2 August last month, the NLC and TUC led Nigerian workers in protests across the country over the increasing cost of living due to government policies, especially the removal of subsidies on petrol.

PT

Hundreds of social workers from different parts of the world are expected to be at the 2023 International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) Africa Region Conference scheduled for Lagos.

National President, Nigeria Association of Social Workers (NASoW), Mashood Mustapha, made the disclosure in a statement made available by the National Public Relations Officer of the association and Chairman of Media and Protocol committee of the conference, Musliudeen Adebayo. 

Mustapha, in the statement issued on Friday, 

noted that the conference which will take place at the University of Lagos in November will have notable social workers across Africa and beyond in attendance, stating that registration for the conference is still ongoing and implored social workers to register through the link: http://www.ifswafricaconference2023.org

According to him, "The conference shall be hosted by Nigeria Association of Social Workers (NASoW) between 22nd and 24th November 2023 in Lagos state, Nigeria. This is the first time that it will be hosted in our country and West Africa.

"The conference will provide opportunities for social workers  to meet, interact and share experiences. 

"The theme of the conference is "Emerging Social Problems in Africa: The Response of Social Work Practice". The theme was carefully chosen in line with the socio-economic challenges facing the African continent. It is therefore an opportunity for all Social Workers across the globe to respond through researches and various contributions.

"It is no longer news that the Africa is going through series of developmental crises - human rights abuse, systemic corruption, gender-based violence, youth restiveness, high rate of unemployment, poverty, banditry, illegal mining, weak social protection, to mention a few.

"I see the conference as an important platform to address these problems as we collectively seek for a new social order that will usher in a better future for Africa and Africans, a future that will bring peace, opportunity and prosperity to the continent.

"The conference is expected to evolve new policies of actions as well as practices that will lead to a fair,  just, and brighter Africa. It is an opportunity to share experiences with members across the globe."

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian naval drones target Crimean Bridge – MOD

Multiple attempted attacks by Ukrainian maritime drones on the strategic bridge which links the Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland were foiled on Friday evening and early Saturday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry has claimed.

“On September 1, at about 11:15pm Moscow time, the Kiev regime attempted to launch a terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge using a semi-submersible unmanned boat,” the ministry said in a brief statement, adding that the hostile craft was “promptly detected and destroyed” in the Black Sea.

Three hours later, around 2:10am Saturday, another drone was destroyed in the area as it also attempted to strike the bridge, the Russian military said. A third incoming unmanned boat was reportedly neutralized at 2:20am.

All traffic on the Crimean Bridge was briefly stopped as a precaution on Friday evening, and restored after 3am.

The Crimean Peninsula, which is home to a key Russian naval base, has been a frequent target of Ukrainian drone and missile attacks. With its fleet reduced to a handful of patrol boats, Kiev has also resorted to attacks on Russian infrastructure and ships by remotely operated vessels.

In mid-July, a drone damaged a span of the Crimean Bridge, killing two civilians and injuring their 14-year-old daughter. In August, Kiev officially admitted to the attack and even provided CNN with never-before-seen footage showing a first-person view from the drone.

The Security Service of Ukraine also claimed responsibility for the truck bomb attack on the Crimean Bridge in October of last year, which killed three civilians and significantly damaged the structure.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the attacks on the Crimean Bridge as “brutal” and pointless from a military perspective, explaining that it is no longer used to transport combat equipment. Nevertheless, Ukraine’s defense chief, Aleksey Reznikov, has vowed to continue attacking the bridge and other targets on the peninsula.

** Battlegroup East strikes Ukrainian drone control center — Russian Defense Ministry

Artillery of the battlegroup East has struck a Ukrainian drone control center in the south of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Oleg Chekhov, a spokesman for the battlegroup, told TASS.

"Rocket and cannon artillery hit the command center of Ukrainian territorial defense units in the area to the west of Vremevka <...>, a strongpoint with a satellite communication station near Novodarovka and a control point of Ukrainian unmanned aviation north of Vladimirovka," he said.

The battlegroup's forward units also struck the enemy in order to prevent its offensive operations, and aircraft struck enemy personnel clusters in the areas of Staromayorskoye, Urozhaynoye, Novomikhailovka and north of Vladimirovka in the Donetsk People's Republic.

"In the course of counterbattery combat, a towed D-30 howitzer was destroyed in the area north of Novodonetskoye, and a mortar unit east of Urozhainoye, a Valkiria fixed-wing UAV was shot down by a Tor anti-aircraft missile system," Chekhov said.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says troops breach Russian lines, heavier defences lie ahead

Ukraine said on Friday its troops had broken through Russia's first line of defences in several places, though they then encountered even more heavily fortified Russian positions.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv's troops, in a much-vaunted counteroffensive against Russian forces, were advancing in the Zaporizhzhia region. Washington also said on Friday that Kyiv had made notable progress on the southern front in the last 72 hours.

"There is an offensive in several directions and in certain areas. And in some places, in certain areas, this first line was broken through," Maliar told Ukrainian television.

She added, however, that Kyiv's troops who have been battling to advance through heavily mined areas for almost three months had now run into major defensive Russian fortifications.

"Our armed forces have to overcome a lot of obstacles in order to move forward," she said.

Heavy fighting swept the villages around Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, captured in May by Russian forces after months of battles, Maliar said but added it was difficult to determine whether any advances had been made.

"In the course of a single day, positions between the two sides can change several times."

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces in its evening report on Facebook said that Russian forces had made no headway in attempts to advance in five different sectors of the front -- from Kupiansk in the northeast to different parts of Donetsk region.

In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States had "noted over the last 72 hours or so some notable progress by Ukrainian armed forces ...in that southern line of advance coming out of the Zaporizhzhia area".

"They have achieved some success against that second line of Russian defences", Kirby said, adding it was up to Ukraine how to capitalize on that success.

Ukraine's counteroffensive has not yet recaptured any major settlements, though it has retaken more than a dozen small villages. Last week it captured the village of Robotyne, beyond which lies Russian-occupied high ground, huge anti-tank ditches and lines of concrete fortifications visible from space.

Russia already calls the Ukrainian push a failure; Kyiv says it has been advancing slowly on purpose to minimise losses, and that its task is more difficult because it lacks the air power that its Western allies take for granted.

Kyiv bristled this week over news reports quoting unidentified U.S. officials complaining about its slow progress. Some fear the West's staunch support could begin to falter as colder and wetter weather further hampers progress on the battlefield later this year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to attend the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York this month and take part in a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine, Albania's U.N. Ambassador Ferit Hoxha told reporters on Friday.

In an interview in Kyiv on Friday, senior presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters that for now any negotiations with Russia would amount to a "capitulation" for both Ukraine and the democracies that support it.

He said Ukraine's Western allies, who have poured in billions of dollars of weaponry to help the counteroffensive, understood there could be no kind of "compromise" with Moscow in the war.

"At the moment, the partners understand that this war will no longer end in a compromise solution - that is, either we destroy Russia's capabilities by military means, and to do this we need the appropriate tools, or this war with such level of aggression will continue for some time."

** Drone strikes on Russian soil will increase, senior Ukraine official says

A senior Ukrainian official said on Friday that drone strikes on Russian soil were set to increase and that recent such attacks showed that the war in Ukraine was gradually shifting to Russia.

In an interview, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak also ruled out peace talks for now, saying any negotiations would amount to "capitulation" on the part of Ukraine and the democracies that support it.

Ukraine had ramped up its strikes on occupied areas, and attacks inside Russia itself would also increase, carried out by "agents" or "partisans", Podolyak said.

"As for Russia ... there is an increasing number of attacks by unidentified drones launched from the territory of the Russian Federation, and the number of these attacks will increase," Podolyak told Reuters.

"Because this is the stage of the war… when hostilities are gradually being transferred to the territory of the Russian Federation," he said in the interview in his office in the heavily-defended government district in Kyiv.

Drone attacks on Russia have sharply increased in scale and frequency in recent weeks, culminating this week with strikes that hit six Russian regions in one night and destroyed transport planes in a blaze at a military airfield.

Ukraine generally cheers such attacks while stopping short of openly claiming direct responsibility for them. Its Western allies forbid it from using weapons they donate to strike Russia, although they say Kyiv has the right to carry out such attacks on military targets with its own weapons.

As the attacks have increased in frequency, Kyiv has touted its progress in developing long-range strike weapons to give it an answer to Russia's longrunning campaign of air strikes on Ukrainian cities.

RT/Tass/Reuters

Taking vitamins or dietary supplements could be feeding tumors and promote their growth, scientists warn. Common antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C, selenium, and zinc, can stimulate the growth of blood vessels in cancer when taken in excess. This discovery surprised researchers, as prior studies have shown antioxidants to be protective. While Swedish scientists state that natural levels of antioxidants in food are safe, taking supplements containing additional antioxidants could fuel tumor growth and allow the disease to spread faster.

The study, conducted by a team at the Karolinska Institutet, concludes that vitamin C and other antioxidants promote the formation of new blood vessels within lung cancer tumors. Study authors suggest that this finding could be applicable to all cancers and their spread.

“We’ve found that antioxidants activate a mechanism that causes cancer tumors to form new blood vessels, which is surprising, since it was previously thought that antioxidants have a protective effect,” says study leader Martin Bergö, professor at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition and vice president of the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. “The new blood vessels nourish the tumors and can help them grow and spread.”

Antioxidants neutralize free oxygen radicals, which can damage the body and are commonly found in dietary supplements. However, excessively high doses can be harmful.

“There’s no need to fear antioxidants in normal food but most people don’t need additional amounts of them,” Prof. Bergö adds in a statement. “In fact, it can be harmful for cancer patients and people with an elevated cancer risk.”

The research team found that antioxidants reduce the levels of free oxygen radicals, but when extra amounts are introduced, the drop in free radicals activates a protein called BACH1. This, in turn, induces the formation of new blood vessels, a process known as angiogenesis.

“Many clinical trials have evaluated the efficacy of angiogenesis inhibitors, but the results have not been as successful as anticipated,” says Ting Wang, doctoral student in Professor Bergö’s group at Karolinska Institutet. “Our study opens the door to more effective ways of preventing angiogenesis in tumors; for example, patients whose tumors exhibit high levels of BACH1 might benefit more from anti-angiogenesis therapy than patients with low BACH1 levels.”

Using lung, breast, and kidney tumors, they found that when BACH1 was activated through ingested antioxidants or by overexpression of the BACH1 gene, more new blood vessels were produced. However, these blood vessels were highly sensitive to angiogenesis inhibitors.

“The next step is to examine in detail how levels of oxygen and free radicals can regulate the BACH1 protein, and we will continue to determine the clinical relevance of our results,” Wang concludes. “We’ll also be doing similar studies in other cancer forms such as breast, kidney and skin cancer.”

Study Finds

There's a reason why older people tend to wake up earlier in the mornings — it's a part of the natural aging process.

There are many jokes that center around older adults waking up before the sun, and even more about teenagers’ late-sleeping habits. Turns out there’s truth to them: The time our body naturally goes to sleep and wakes up is not only part of our genetics, but part of the natural aging process, too.

As we age, our bodies change both internally and externally, which is a major factor behind the sleep changes that come later in life. “Like most of the things that change with age, there’s not just one reason, and they are all interconnected,” said Cindy Lustig, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.

We asked Lustig and other experts to break down the main reasons why this occurs, and what you can do to push back if you just want those few extra hours of Zzzs.

Earlier wake times are part of the natural aging process.

Like other aspects of our physical and mental health, the brain becomes less responsive as we age. 

“The wiring of the brain is likely not sensing ... and responding to the inputs as well as it should because it’s an aging brain,” said Sairam Parthasarathy, the director of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. These inputs include sunset, sunlight, meals, social cues and physical activity that help mark where we are in a day.

“These are all what we call time givers, or they give time to the brain,” he said. In other words, they help the brain sense where it is in the 24-hour circadian cycle. 

So, for a younger person, dinner time may help the brain understand that bedtime is in a few hours; for someone older, this connection may not happen.

The nerves that are supposed to give the brain time cues have undergone the same amount of degeneration as the brain, Parthasarathy said. This inability to sense time cues is part of the reason why older people tend to get tired before their children or grandchildren. And, as a result, wake up fully rested and earlier than the rest of the world.

The light our eyes take in is part of it, too.

“Interestingly, one of [the reasons] seems to be that the vision changes that come with age reduce the intensity of the degree of light stimulation that our brain receives, which plays an important role in ‘setting’ our circadian clock and keeping it on track,” Lustig said.

Parthasarathy explained that this is especially true for people with cataracts, a common eye condition that impacts more than 50% of Americans ages 80 and up, according to the National Institutes of Health. Cataracts cause blurred vision, double vision and general trouble seeing.

“If there’s cataracts, the evening light doesn’t go into the eyes as much, so, according to the brain, sunset is earlier than when it actually set,” Parthasarathy said. 

Why does this matter? Since there is less light getting into the eyes because of the vision issues cataracts cause, the body starts to release melatonin (the sleep hormone) earlier than it should. For younger people, melatonin “starts rising after sunset,” Parthasarathy said, which is why you generally feel tired a few hours after. For people with cataracts whose brain thinks sunset was earlier, their perceived sunset is earlier, which makes them tired sooner in the evening. And going to bed sooner means waking up earlier.

“There is some evidence that cataract removal surgery can help improve sleep quality and duration by helping those light cues get through,” Lustig said.

The amount of light your eyes take in each evening impacts when you're ready to go to sleep.

If this is you, there are a few steps you can take to sleep better.

According to Parthasarathy, if you struggle with this issue, you should ignore the advice to put away the screens and instead expose yourself to bright light in the late evening. This can mean going for a walk outside before the sun sets, reading a book on a bright iPad, getting artificial lights for your home or watching TV on a bright screen.

These bright lights will tell the brain that the sun hasn’t set yet, which will hold the melatonin production, he said. To help yourself stay up a little later (and sleep a little later as a result), Parthasarathy said you should try these things 30 to 60 minutes before sunset, which will vary depending on the time of year and where you live in the U.S.

The exact amount of time you should expose yourself to bright light varies, and might take a bit of trial and error, but he said you should aim for about two hours of exposure — and should certainly keep the light on after sunset.

Lustig added you should avoid alcohol before bed — “while that nightcap might make you sleepy, it actually disrupts the quality of your sleep.” Additionally, she said exercise can help you get better sleep and the morning sun can help your circadian clock follow the sun’s rise and set cues. 

All in all, changes in sleep patterns are a part of life. While some of these factors are out of your control, you can also counteract them with healthy habits so you can get your best rest.

BuzzFeed

The real sector’s contribution to the Nigerian economy dipped to 2.20% (year-on-year) in the second quarter of 2023, according to the Gross Domestic Product report of the National Bureau of Statistics.

According to the report, the growth rate of the sector on a quarter-on-quarter basis was 14.98 per cent.

The real contribution to GDP in the second quarter of 2023 was 8.62 per cent, lower than the 8.65 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2022 and lower than the 10.13 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2023.

The manufacturing sector comprises 13 activities: oil refining; cement; food, beverages and tobacco; textile, apparel, and footwear; wood and wood products; pulp paper and paper products; chemical and pharmaceutical products.

Others include non-metallic products, plastic and rubber products; electrical and electronic; basic metal and iron and steel; motor vehicles and assembly; and other manufacturing.

The drop in the sector’s contribution to the economy has been linked to an array of bottlenecks, which bedevilled the real sector of the economy in the second quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, in its Manufacturers CEOs Confidence Index report, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria said that the Aggregate Index Score of MCCI declined to 52.7 points in the second quarter of 2023 from 54.1 points recorded in the first quarter of 2023.

According to the report, manufacturing activities in the second quarter of the year suffered due to factors such as multiple taxation, high energy costs, forex illiquidity, high cost of borrowing, among others.

Those factors, the manufacturers said, had led to low capacity utilisation, job cuts and adoption of other survival tactics to keep production activities afloat.

Punch

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, has directed all airlines to vacate the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, from October 1, 2023.

Keyamo gave the directive on Thursday during a tour of the airport, accompanied by Kabir Mohammed, managing director of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

Speaking to journalists, Keyamo said the relocation was necessary to give room for total maintenance work at the airport.

Keyamo directed the airlines and companies operating in the airport to move to the new terminal — MMIA terminal two.

“All airlines should vacate the MMIA before October 1 and relocate to MMIA Terminal 2,” he said.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari, in March 2022, inaugurated the new terminal — a facility that sits on a landmass of approximately 56,000 square metres.

FG SUSPENDS NIGERIA AIR PROJECT, AIRPORTS CONCESSIONING

Keyamo also announced the suspension of airports concessions and the Nigeria Air project.

The concessioning of airports and the national carrier were two major projects under the aviation roadmap implemented by the immediate past administration of Buhari.

The minister said the projects would be put on hold until further notice.

Two weeks before Buhari handed over to the new administration of President Bola Tinubu, the federal executive council (FEC) approved the concessioning of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano.

Likewise, the ministry of aviation, under Hadi Sirika, ex-minister, unveiled Nigeria Air — three days to the end of the administration.

The development elicited angst among stakeholders nationwide and was labelled ‘a fraud’ by the house of representatives.

TheCable understands that the suspension does not mean the cancellation of the Nigeria Air project.

The Cable

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has called on African leaders to focus on the causative factors of the recent spike in coups across the continent, and not the symptoms.

Atiku stated this in a post via the social media platform, X (xormerly known as Twitter) on Thursday while reacting to the recent coup in Gabon — the eighth in Africa since 2020.

He said the coup in the Central African country is condemnable, adding that everything should be done to sustain democracy on the continent.

“The coup in Gabon stands condemned. Democracy and democratic governance have come to stay as a preferred form of governance, and everything should be done to enthrone, nurture, and sustain it.

“As I suggested in the case of the Niger Republic, the ECOWAS and African Union authorities should open a window of diplomatic engagement that will pave the way for the soldiers to return to the barracks.

“The latest coup brings the number of military takeovers in Central and West Africa to 8 since 2020. This is worrisome and calls for introspection.

“We may have to focus on dealing with the disease and not the symptoms that birth coups,” he wrote.

A military coup had thrust the Central African nation of Gabon into turmoil Wednesday, unseating the president – whose family had held power for more than half a century – just after he was named the winner of a contested election.

The ousted President, Ali Bongo Ondimba, also known as Ali Bongo, has faced accusations of election fraud and corruption since he began ruling the oil-rich nation nearly 14 years ago.

Following the coup, residents in the country’s capital were seen celebrating and embracing soldiers on the street.

But much remains uncertain, with Bongo reportedly under house arrest, his son arrested, all borders closed and the government ostensibly shut down.

Daily Trust

Niger’s new military government said it has revoked the diplomatic immunity of France’s ambassador Sylvain Itte and has ordered police to deport him, after a 48-hour deadline for him to leave expired on Monday.

In a statement addressed to Paris on Thursday, Niamey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Itte “no longer enjoys the privileges and immunities attached to his status as a member of the diplomatic staff of the French Embassy.”

Last week, the military leaders who seized power from President Mohamed Bazoum in a coup on July 26, gave the French ambassador two days to depart the country.

The envoy had declined an invitation to meet with the new rulers, the Nigerien Foreign Ministry said on Friday. It also cited “other actions” of the French government, described as “contrary” to Niger’s interests, as reasons for the envoy’s expulsion.

France has refused to recall the diplomat from its former colony, instead stating that, despite pressure from “illegitimate authorities,” the ambassador will remain in Niamey.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated that Paris recognizes only ousted President Bazoum as the legitimate authority in the West African country.

Macron commended Itte and other French ambassadors for their commitments despite the “difficult situations” that Paris has faced in some of its former colonies in recent months.

However, the Nigerien foreign ministry in its latest statement said the envoy’s “diplomatic cards and visas” as well as those of his family members “are cancelled” as the ultimatum expired on August 28.

“The police have been instructed to carry out his expulsion,” the ministry added.

France’s foreign ministry insisted on Thursday that the coup leaders do not have the authority to ask the ambassador to leave. Colonel Pierre Gaudilliere, a spokesperson for the French general staff, also warned that Paris’ forces “are ready to respond to any increase in tension [that] would undermine French military and diplomatic influence in Niger.”

Russia Today

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine tells critics of slow counteroffensive to 'shut up'

Ukraine told critics of the pace of its three-month-old counteroffensive to "shut up" on Thursday, the sharpest signal yet of Kyiv's frustration at leaks from Western officials who say its forces are advancing too slowly.

Since launching a much vaunted counteroffensive using many billions of dollars of Western military equipment, Ukraine has recaptured more than a dozen villages but has yet to penetrate Russia's main defences.

Stories in the New York Times, Washington Post and other news organisations last week quoted U.S. and other Western officials as suggesting the offensive was falling short of expectations. Some faulted Ukraine's strategy, including accusing it of concentrating its forces in the wrong places.

Moscow says the Ukrainian campaign has already failed. Ukrainian commanders say they are moving slowly on purpose, degrading Russia's defences and logistics to reduce losses when they finally attack at full strength.

"Criticising the slow pace of (the) counteroffensive equals ... spitting into the face of (the) Ukrainian soldier who sacrifices his life every day, moving forward and liberating one kilometre of Ukrainian soil after another," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters on Thursday.

"I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine and try to liberate one square centimetre by themselves," he said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Spain.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN that Ukrainian commanders deserved the benefit of the doubt.

"Ukrainians have exceeded expectations again and again," he said. "We need to trust them. We advise, we help, we support. But... it is the Ukrainians that have to make those decisions."

DEFENSIVE LINES

After months of fighting their way through heavy minefields, Ukraine's forces have finally reached the main Russian defensive lines in recent days, south of the village of Robotyne which they captured last week in Western Zaporizhzhia region.

They are now advancing between the nearby villages of Novopokropivka and Verbove, looking for a way around the anti-tank ditches and rows of concrete pyramids known as dragon's teeth that form Russia's main fortifications visible from space.

A breakthrough would provide the first test of Russia's deeper defences, which Ukraine hopes will be more vulnerable and less heavily mined than areas its troops have traversed so far.

A Ukrainian commander in the area told Reuters last week that his men had breached the most difficult line, reaching less heavily defended areas, and now expected to advance more quickly. Reuters could not independently verify this.

Kyiv rarely gives details of its offensive operations.

In a statement on Thursday, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar reported unspecified successes near Novopokropivka, without giving details.

She also said Ukrainian forces were advancing near Bakhmut, in the east, the only city Russia captured in its own offensive earlier this year. Heavy battles were engulfing villages south of the city, she said.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, reported a "positive dynamic" near Bakhmut.

DRONE ATTACKS WITHIN RUSSIA

Ukraine has also stepped up drone attacks on targets deep within Russia and in Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

Russia's Defence Ministry said it had destroyed a new Ukrainian drone over the Bryansk region in southern Russia.

It had earlier reported overnight drone attacks in Bryansk and said it had shot down a missile fired on Crimea, occupied and annexed by Russia in 2014.

The previous night, Moscow reported attempted Ukrainian drone strikes in six Russian regions, including one that caused a huge fire at a military air base in Pskov in northern Russia, damaging several giant military transport planes on the tarmac.

While Ukraine rarely comments directly on specific attacks inside Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared to boast of the Pskov attack twice on Thursday.

"The results of our weaponry -- new Ukrainian weaponry -- 700 km away," he said in his nightly video address. "And the task is to do more."

Ukraine's Western allies generally forbid Kyiv from using weapons they supply to attack Russian territory, but say Ukraine has a right to attacks military targets with its own weapons.

The assaults in recent weeks, including several on central Moscow over the past month, have brought the war home to many Russians for the first time after 18 months during which Russia has subjected Ukraine to countrywide air strikes.

Russia is also facing the aftermath of a mutiny two months ago by Wagner, a private army that had formed the main attack force of its own winter offensive earlier this year. Wagner's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his main lieutenants were killed in an air crash last week.

The Kremlin has denied that it was behind the crash. President Vladimir Putin had called Prigozhin's mutiny treason but had promised not to punish him for it.

On Thursday, Prigozhin's right-hand man, Dmitry Utkin, a neo-Nazi former military intelligence officer whose call-sign Wagner gave the mercenary force its name, was buried at a cemetery near Moscow under guard of Russian military police. Prigozhin was buried near St Petersburg on Tuesday.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine to get US Abrams tanks within weeks – Politico

The first shipment of US-made M1 Abrams battle tanks is set to arrive in Ukraine in a matter of weeks, a Pentagon official told Politico, noting that 10 of the 31 tanks promised to Kiev are currently in Germany to complete refurbishments.

With dozens of Ukrainian troops wrapping up training on the US tank, the first delivery is expected sometime in mid-September, according to an unnamed defense official and another source familiar with the discussions cited by the outlet on Thursday.

The official added that the ten M1 Abrams tanks are now in Germany for final repairs and renovations. The Ukrainian soldiers instructed on the weapon have also trained at multiple bases in Germany, where they will remain until the tanks are ready.

“The US is committed to expedite delivery of the 31 tanks to Ukraine by the fall,” US Army spokesman Col. Martin O’Donnell told Politico, adding that the Ukrainian troops would continue training at the US Army base in Grafenwoehr, Germany.

Though the Pentagon initially predicted a longer timetable of more than one year for the Abrams shipments, officials vowed to speed up the process last March, instead opting to send the tank’s older M1A1 variant in hopes of completing the first transfer by the fall of 2023. The M1A1 models required major refurbishments, however, with the Pentagon saying the procedure would cost over $400 million.

President Joe Biden initially said he would not authorize the Abrams for Ukraine, but his administration later reversed course, ultimately pledging to transfer 31 M1A1 models in order to convince Berlin to send its own Leopard battle tanks. Western states have since promised to provide around 300 battle tanks in total.

News of the mid-September deadline came soon after the White House approved its latest weapons package for Ukraine, valued at some $250 million. The new aid includes additional munitions for the HIMARS rocket system, AIM-9M air defense missiles, Javelin and other anti-tank weapons, as well as 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition. Officials have voiced hopes the arms will assist Ukraine’s lagging summer counteroffensive, which has struggled to reclaim land from Russian forces.

Moscow has repeatedly condemned US arms shipments to Kiev, insisting they will only prolong fighting and do little to deter its objectives. The Russian Embassy in the United States blasted this week’s transfer as “the height of hypocrisy,” declaring that  US officials “will not give up the concept of fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian.”

** Ukrainian drones downed in Russia – governor

Three Ukrainian drones were downed on Thursday morning in Russia’s Bryansk Region, Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz has said. The Defense Ministry previously reported the interception of a single UAV in the region.

Bogomaz credited a member of the public with providing information about suspicious aircraft, which alerted the authorities and prompted a swift response by the National Guard and police.

Troops used “an anti-drone gun and a specialized carbine” to take down the UAVs, Bogomaz said. No casualties were reported.

According to Russian media, the aircraft were likely kamikaze versions of the UJ-22 Airborne model, which is produced by Ukrainian firm Ukrjet for the nation’s military.

One of the robotic planes reportedly crashed at the location of a hotel owned by the regional government.

Footage circulating online and purportedly filmed on Thursday morning shows a small aircraft flying at low altitude, as the cameraman comments that it is the third one to pass by.

Bryansk, which borders northern Ukraine, was among the Russian regions to be targeted in a large-scale Ukrainian drone raid on Wednesday.

On the same day, Russian troops engaged a Ukrainian saboteur squad in the region, killing two military service members and capturing five alive, the Federal Security Service (FSB) revealed on Thursday.

Reuters/RT