Russian president Vladimir Putin is visiting Kyrgyzstan for his first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him over war crimes in Ukraine. Mr Putin arrived in the central Asian nation on Thursday for a two-day state visit for bilateral meetings and a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the founding of Russia’s Kant military airbase outside Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital. The Kremlin chief has rarely taken trips abroad since he launched what he called a “special military operation” in Ukraine in early 2022 and is not known to have stepped out of Russia since the ICC warrant was issued. The ICC issued a warrant in March on charges of overseeing the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. Russia, which does not recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction, has rejected the warrant as “illegal” and politically motivated. But its issuing has complicated Mr Putin’s plans for international travel, seeing him miss a key summit of the Brics group of developing nations in South Africa – which is an ICC member. Mr Putin is due to travel to China next week for the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. Neither Kyrgyzstan nor China are members of the ICC, which was established to prosecute war crimes. During his visit to Bishkek, Mr Putin promised to continue to deliver modern weapons to its military base in Kyrgyzstan. “For my part, I would like to offer assurances that the Russian leadership will continue to pay close attention to the issues of providing the air base with advanced types of weapons, modern technology and equipment,” said Mr Putin. "This military outpost significantly contributes to boosting Kyrgyzstan’s defensive power and ensuring security and stability in the whole region of Central Asia," he added. The leader highlighted double-digit growth in Russia and Kyrgyz trade, which analysts suggest is due to violation of Western sanctions by Russian businesses. He reiterated Russia’s importance as a strong trade partner for Kyrgyzstan. “Our country is the main supplier of oil products to Kyrgyzstan, we fully supply Kyrgyz consumers with gasoline (petrol) and diesel,” Mr Putin told a briefing. “Russia is one of the leading trade partners of Kyrgyzstan. Our trade turnover grew 37 per cent last year to a record of nearly $3.5bn. In the first half of this year it grew a further 17.9 per cent,” he added. The Russian president is expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings including with Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, and conclude with his attendance at a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a grouping of former Soviet nations. Moscow’s relationships with other nations in a region it has historically considered its sphere of influence have faced challenges due to Western sanctions imposed on Russia in response to the situation in Ukraine. Last week, the central bank of Kyrgyzstan called upon domestic banks to enhance their monitoring and enforcement measures to ensure better adherence to Western sanctions targeting Moscow. It comes after the US imposed sanctions on four Kyrgyz companies in July for re-exporting electronics components and other technology to Russia. Additional reporting by agencies Read More IOC bans Russian Olympic Committee for including annexed Ukraine territories Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s ‘exhausted’ troops ‘suffer significant losses in key town Avdiivka’ French police probe ‘poisoning’ of TV journalist who denounced Putin’s war live on air The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

The Ukrainian military continues to hold its ground in the face of Russia’s relentless assault on the eastern city of Avdiivka, Volodymyr Zelensky, as the battle intensified for a third day. Russia has moved a large armoured column of three battalions, including some 2,000 troops, dozens of armoured vehicles and jets into the northern flank of the Avdiivka front for what has been described as the biggest military offensive in months. The Ukrainian forces said they repelled more than 20 attacks by the Russian army in Avdiivka and the surrounding regions in the past 24 hours, in what was described as a blow to Moscow’s attempts to use the offensive to show the tide of the war turning in its favour. Mr Zelensky said: “Avdiivka. We are holding our ground. It is Ukrainian courage and unity that will determine how this war will end. We must all remember this.” Municipal officials said the Russian attacks were relentless and the enemy was attacking from all sides. Vitaliy Barabash, head of the city military administration, told Ukrainian television: "The enemy does not stop storming, they come from all directions." Ukrainian Special Operations Forces said Kyiv’s troops had "foiled the plans of the crazed enemy, repelled all attacks and held their positions". Avdiivka holds significant strategic importance for Russia, serving as the crucial gateway to Donetsk, the primary communication hub within the occupied territories. To gain a foothold in occupied Donbas, the Kremlin aims to shift the front line away from Donetsk. In 2022, Russian forces initiated an offensive against Avdiivka, attempting to encircle the city deeply from both sides. This offensive was halted and the region has become a symbol of resistance, holding out against Russian troops ever since. "On average, there are 50-60 instances of intense shelling with artillery and rockets targeting the town," said Mr Barabash. "As for military positions, they get hit at least 500-600 times a day." Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern group of forces, said Russia saw Avdiivka as an opportunity to win a significant victory and "turn the tide of fighting". "Today the capture or encirclement of Avdiivka is probably the most it can achieve at this stage," he said. Geolocated footage of the area showed Russia had advanced in some villages southwest and northwest of Avdiivka this week, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), an American non-profit research group and think-tank. Around 64 clashes have been reported in the last 24 hours involving 4 missile attacks, 65 airstrikes and around 54 attacks using multiple launch rocket systems on Ukrainian troops and various settlements, the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an update on Facebook. In the latest overnight attacks, Russia intensified strikes on Danube River ports in the southern Odesa region that have become Kyiv’s main route for food exports since Moscow quit a deal allowing shipments via the Black Sea in July. A military spokesperson said Russia had hit a grain storage facility in the Odesa region and some grain had been damaged but did not say how much. It comes amid fears that Moscow will intensify attacks on power infrastructure to freeze Ukrainians as winter sets in in the repeat of events from last winter. Read More IOC bans Russian Olympic Committee for including annexed Ukraine territories French police probe ‘poisoning’ of TV journalist who denounced Putin’s war live on air Ukraine-Russia war – live: IOC bans Russian Olympic Committee for including annexed territories The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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French police are investigating the suspected poisoning of a Russian state TV journalist who denounced Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine live on air and later fell suddenly ill. Marina Ovsyannikova, who escaped Russia after her on-air protest and settled in France, reported feeling suddenly ill as she left her Paris apartment and was hospitalised after she called emergency services. She said she suspected she was poisoned, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, adding that they were examining her apartment and an investigation was underway. Ovsyannikova, who worked for Russian state television’s Channel One before the war began, drew international headlines in March 2022 when she appeared on screen in the background of a live broadcast by another news anchor and flashed a sign that said: "Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here." She was fined 30,000 roubles (£460) for her protest but continued her opposition to the war. During a subsequent solo protest in Moscow, she held up a poster which read: “Putin is a murderer, his soldiers are fascists.” She was then arrested and put under house arrest in August before she fled along with her daughter in the dark of the night. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which assisted Ovsyannikova in her efforts to escape a lengthy trial in Moscow and potentially a prison sentence, helped her settle in Paris. Christophe Deloire, director general of RSF, said he met Ovsyannikova after her malaise outside her Paris apartment. Deloire, writing on X, said the possibility Ovsyannikova had been poisoned had not been ruled out, though she was feeling better since the incident. “We have opened an investigation,” a spokesperson for the Paris tribunal prosecutor’s office said by telephone,” he said. “She said she had a malaise.” “All we have for the moment is what she said.” RSF said its team has been ‘’at her side" since she sought medical attention, though they have not disclosed any further details regarding the incident. Earlier this month, a Moscow court sentenced Ovsyannikova in absentia to eight and a half years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian military. Her sentencing was the latest example of Russia’s crackdown on dissenting voices in the country, which has intensified since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine around 20 months ago. Russia has called its attack on Ukraine a “special military operation” and banned organisations or the media from referring to it as a war or invasion. Read More FA slammed over decision not to light up Wembley in Israel flag colours Russian state TV journalist who spoke out against war live on air recounts daring escape from country Could Putin be arrested? President to leave Russia for first time since international arrest warrant issued

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) was banned with immediate effect on Thursday for recognising regional organisations from four territories annexed from Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee said. The IOC added the ROC would not be eligible for any funding after it recognised earlier this month Olympic Councils from the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia but that it would not affect any Russian athletes competing as neutrals. “The unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional sports organisations which are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine (namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia) constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter,” the IOC said in a statement. It comes after Russian and Ukrainian forces have been fighting fierce battles around the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka after Moscow launched one of its biggest military offensives in months. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were holding their ground on the third day of battle, but municipal officials said the Russian attacks were relentless. Avdiivka, in Donetsk, has become a symbol of resistance since Russia’s invasion. Read More French police are probing possible poisoning of Russian journalist who denounced Ukraine war on TV IOC suspends Russian Olympic Committee for incorporating Ukrainian sports regions French police probe ‘poisoning’ of TV journalist who denounced Putin’s war live on air

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Russia has pounded port and grain facilities in southern Ukraine, and launched new attacks on the eastern town of Avdiivka in one of its biggest offensive operations in months. Ukraine’s military said it had repelled more than 10 Russian attacks near the town where Moscow has redirected large numbers of troops, more than four months into a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the east and south. Avdiivka, in Donetsk, has become a symbol of resistance since Russia’s invasion. Earlier, Vladimir Putin arrived in Kyrgyzstan and is meeting Kyrgyz president Sadyr Zhaparov – his first time abroad since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March over the deportation of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin has denied these accusations. Ukraine overnight prevented a Russian saboteur group from crossing its northeastern border in the Sumy region, the commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said. “The saboteurs tried to cross the state border of Ukraine and intended to move further towards one of the civilian critical infrastructure facilities,” Lieutenant General Serhiy Naev wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Read More Could Putin be arrested? President to leave Russia for first time since international arrest warrant issued Russia loses vote to rejoin UN’s top human rights body despite Putin’s charm offensive with stolen grain Russian authorities seek to fine a human rights advocate for criticizing the war in Ukraine

The White House said it was “running out of runway” on supporting both Ukraine and Israel as US Republican lawmakers warned they would protest any funding request for military aid from the Biden administration for the two crisis-hit nations. “I think in the immediate term, right now, we can continue to support – with the authorities in the appropriations we have – Israel and Ukraine. But, you know, we’re ... certainly running out of runway,” said John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council. Mr Kirby was answering a question at a daily briefing on the administration meeting the immediate needs of Ukraine and Israel along with the continuing fight to elect a House Speaker. Mr Kirby said the US administration had the means to support both Israel and Ukraine in the near term. “But you don’t want to be trying to bake in long-term support when you’re at the end of the rope,” he said on Wednesday. “And on the Ukraine funding, we’re coming near to the end of the rope. I mean, today we announced $200mn, and we’ll keep that aid going as long as we can, but it’s not going to be indefinite,” he said, adding that the US is moving with “a sense of alacrity”. He added a certain date could not be put on “near term” because it hinged on Ukraine’s expenditure rate and replenishment ability. The National Security Council coordinator also said the House Speaker position was critical in terms of bringing legislation to the floor and moving things forward. “So the sooner that there’s a Speaker of the House, obviously, the more comfortable we’ll all be in terms of being able to support Israel and Ukraine,” he said. The White House has been considering a budget request tying money for these two conflicts together to increase the chances that the heavily-debated assistance for Ukraine will be approved. President Joe Biden on Tuesday called the attack in Israel “an act of sheer evil” and said that the US military assistance was being sent to help Israel in its fight. Saturday’s Hamas attack was “the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust”, he said. He told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US will send more military assistance to help Israel fight Hamas. On Tuesday, he warned other countries and armed groups against entering the war. The US is already rushing munitions and military equipment to Israel and has deployed a carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean as deterrence. Read More Israel-Hamas war – live: IDF tanks and troops mass at Gaza border as soldiers prepare for attack order What is Hamas, and why did it attack Israel? All you need to know about militant group in Gaza A brief history of the Israel-Palestine conflict - explained How big is the Israeli military and what is the Iron Dome? White House walks back Biden comments that he had seen pictures of beheaded Israeli children

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been hit by staff shortages, according to a US war think tank, as Ukraine is making gains on the frontline. Russian occupation authorities are “suffering staff shortages” at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), said the Institute for the Study of War on Wednesday. In its assessment on Wednesday of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it reported Ukrainian Enerhodar Mayor Dmytro Orlov said only about 2,000 of the 11,000 total staff who worked at the ZNPP prior to Russia’s occupation of Enerhodar continue to work there. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have had successes as they continue with their counteroffensive near Bakhmut, in western Zaporizhia Oblast, east of Klishchiivka, Andriivka near Bakhmut, and west of Robotyne. It comes as a Russian missile struck a school in the town of Nikopol in the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk on Wednesday, killing at least four people, Ukrainian officials said. Vladimir Putin is set to visit Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, the presidential office of the Central Asian country said, in what would be the Russian leader's first known trip abroad since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest. Read More Could Putin be arrested? President to leave Russia for first time since international arrest warrant issued Russia loses vote to rejoin UN’s top human rights body despite Putin’s charm offensive with stolen grain Russian authorities seek to fine a human rights advocate for criticizing the war in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin’s forces have launched the “largest-scale offensive action” in eastern Ukraine’s Avdiivka town since the start of Russia’s invasion. The major push on the battlefield comes after Avdiivka witnessed two days of intense fighting as Russian tanks and equipment were seen moving towards Ukrainian lines. Major attacks, including hundreds of rocket and artillery strikes on the town, have been underway since Tuesday. “This is the largest-scale offensive action in our sector since the full-fledged war began,” said Vitaliy Barabash, the head of Avdiivka administration. Russia is pouring in a large number of troops and equipment in the region as they look to wrest the town from Kyiv, Ukrainian military officials said. The flare-up comes as drone attacks killed three people, including a child, in Russia’s Belgorod region and injured another two, regional officials said. The Russian defence ministry blamed Ukraine for carrying out the attack. Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said debris from a drone downed by Russia’s anti-aircraft units damaged several houses and cars in the region. Mr Barabash said while the situation in Avdiivka on Wednesday was not quite as heated as the day before, battles have continued. Nearly two dozen attacks were made on the town’s old district and others in the city centre. A group of up to three Russian battalions with tanks and armoured vehicles support intensified operations near Avdiivka, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said. It said 10 enemy attacks on the town had been repelled. Russian accounts of the situation in Avdiivka also suggested fighting had intensified, but claimed its forces had “improved their position in the immediate outskirts around Avdiivka”. Avdiivka was retaken by Ukraine last month in a successful counteroffensive push in the east, but is facing the same fate as Bakhmut as it remains under siege for months now. Most of the town has been reduced to rubble. Russia’s gains around Avdiivka have been limited to the southwest of the town and its troops have not managed to complete an operational encirclement of the settlement, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said. Mr Putin’s forces will likely struggle to encircle the town if that is their intent, said the US-based think-tank monitoring the war. It said Avdiivka is “notoriously well-fortified and defended Ukrainian stronghold, which will likely complicate Russian forces’ ability to closely approach or fully capture the settlement”. Any hypothetical capture of the town will not offer Russia new routes to the rest of the Donetsk oblast as Russian forces already control critical segments of the nearby highway and routes, it said. The territorial control of the region, however, could be a bonus for Ukraine. “Russian forces likely intend attacks in the Avdiivka area to fix Ukrainian forces and prevent them from redeploying to other areas of the front. However, Ukrainian officials have already identified the Avdiivka push as a Russian fixing operation, and they are unlikely to unduly commit Ukrainian manpower to this axis,” the ISW said in its latest assessment. Ukrainian gains elsewhere along the frontline and on the battlefield continued on Wednesday as the General Staff said its forces were successful in the east of Klishchiivka and Andriivka near Bakhmut. The tactical positions held by Ukrainian forces were improved in the west of Robotyne, another critical battlefield zone in Zaporizhzhia oblast, the Ukrainian general staff and Tavriisk group commander Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said. In southern Ukraine, Russian forces were pushing their attacks “sometimes using infantry and in some areas deploying quite a lot of vehicles into battle”, said Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern group of forces. Now in its fifth month, Ukraine’s counteroffensive has two major battle zones as Kyiv’s troops look to secure areas around Bakhmut. They aim to retake the town and recapture villages in the south in a drive towards the Sea of Azov to sever a Russian land bridge between positions Moscow holds in the south and east. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Missile strike kills four in Ukrainian school, say Kyiv officials Could Putin be arrested? President to leave Russia for first time since international arrest warrant issued Russia loses vote to rejoin UN’s top human rights body despite Putin’s charm offensive with stolen grain Russia claims it could play unlikely role of peacemaker in Israel and is ‘speaking to both sides’