Ukraine's parliament and its speaker have taunted billionaire Elon Musk after he posted a meme on his social media platform mocking President Volodymyr Zelensky's pleas for assistance against Vladimir Putin's forces from the West. Musk owns SpaceX, which provides Starlink satellite communication services that are vital for Ukraine's defence effort, but his statements have sometimes angered Kyiv since the full-scale invasion launched by Russia in February last year. Follow the latest in our live blog here Early on Monday, Musk posted a meme on his platform X, formerly known as Twitter, showing Zelensky and the caption: "When it's been 5 minutes and you haven't asked for a billion dollars in aid." The Ukrainian leader and his top lieutenants have appealed to their allies throughout the war to secure billions of pounds of military aid to weather and push back Russia's invasion. The speaker of Ukraine's parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, hit out at Musk's jibe with his own post on X. "The case when [Elon Musk] tried to conquer space, but something went wrong and in 5 minutes he was up to his eyeballs in s***," an apparent reference to SpaceX's failed rocket launch in April. Ukraine's parliament, on its official page on X, accused Musk of spreading Russian propaganda, posting its own version of the meme with a picture of Musk and the caption: "When it's been 5 minutes and you haven't spread Russian propaganda". A Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, who has criticised some of Musk's statements in the past, said in a post on X that being silent or ironic about Ukraine played into the hands of Russian propaganda. "Unfortunately, not everyone and not always, while being significant media figures, but being thousands of kilometres away from the war's epicentre, is able to realize what the daily bombardments and cries of children losing their parents are." Ukrainian officials criticised Musk earlier in the war for suggesting that they should consider giving up land for peace, a position that Kyiv has staunchly rejected. Zelensky visited the United States in September and met top officials in a bid to secure further aid. Over the weekend, aid for Ukraine was omitted from a stopgap funding measure passed by Congress in Washington to avert a US government shutdown. Washington has been the largest single donor to Ukraine since Russia's full invasion last year, giving tens of billions of dollars in military and financial aid. Although right-wing Republican supporters of former President Donald Trump have increasingly called for funding of Ukraine to be halted, President Joe Biden's administration says it expects the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to pass a measure to keep the aid flowing. On Sunday, Biden pressed congressional Republicans to back the aid, saying he was "sick and tired" of the political brinkmanship that had nearly closed the government down. Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said on Monday that Kyiv was still confident of US backing. "We don't feel that the US support has been shattered... because the United States understands that what is at stake in Ukraine is much bigger than just Ukraine," he said. He added that what happened in the US Congress at the weekend was just "an incident". "We have a very in-depth discussion with both parts of the Congress – Republicans and Democrats," he said. Reuters Read More Germany's government and Elon Musk spar on X over migrant rescue ships Elon Musk visits Texas border on X livestream ‘to see what is really going on’ Elon Musk’s visit to US border blighted by tech issues on his own platform X

The 25-year-old son of Yevgeny Prigozhin is set to take over from his father and become the next boss of the Wagner group. Pavel Prigozhin appears to be inheriting the vast majority of his father’s riches – including the mercenary group, properties, and about £100 million – according to a photograph posted on social media of what seems to be Prigozhin’s will. He is now negotiating with the Russian national guard, Rosgvardia, over having the mercenary organisation rejoin combat in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said. It wrote in a report on Russia on Sunday: “A prominent Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel announced on October 1 that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s 25-year-old son Pavel Prigozhin has taken over ‘command’ of the Wagner Group, and that Pavel Prigozhin is negotiating with Rosgvardia about having the Wagner Group rejoin combat operations in Ukraine.” Once a businessman with a catering empire friendly with Vladimir Putin – Yevgeny Prigozhin was even given the nickname “Putin’s chef” – Prigozhin accumulated vast wealth before going on to found the Kremlin-allied Wagner Group, which backed up Russia’s war in Ukraine. However, in August, two months after the 62-year-old led his private militia in a failed rebellion against his country’s military leadership, he died in a plane crash just outside Moscow. The cause of the incident is still yet to be established. Now, a document shared on a Telegram channel, which has not been independently verified, suggests Prigozhin had a will that was notarised on 2 March and bequeathed most of his inheritance to his son. According to The Times, it reads: “All my property . . . as well as property that may be acquired by me in the future I bequeath to Pavel Evgenyevich Prigozhin.” Alongside the Wagner Group, Pavel is set to inherit around £100 million, a three-storey house in St Petersburg, nine joint stock companies and shares in Concord, and the catering empire, according to the document. The 25-year-old already “plays various roles in Prigozhin’s business enterprises” that benefit from “his favoured status within Russia’s elite”, the Financial Times reported the US said last year. Among these is a Russian company called Lakhta Plaza, which, according to corporate filings, Pavel has controlled. Lakhta Plaza was sanctioned by the US in March 2022 and has shared an auditor and telephone number with other Russian companies that the US and EU for being fronts for Wagner. Pavel has also fought with Wagner in Syria, according to his father’s social media posts, and was awarded the group’s “black cross”, which is its own recognition for military service. There are hopes among loyalists that Pavel will continue the legacy of his father if he takes command of the mercenary group, according to a New York Times investigation this month. The 25-year-old already controls multiple companies and luxury real estate complexes in St Petersburg, according to the US Treasury in March. He has also been sanctioned by a number of countries, including Canada, the US and the UK. If Pavel dies, the inheritance is due to go to Prigozhin’s widow, Lyubov, Pavel’s two sisters and the Wagner chief’s grandson, according to the document – with the paper indicating that the grandson is Pavel’s child, although this has not been independently verified. In the meantime, Pavel is said to have to provide for the family, including his grandmother Violetta, under the terms of the will. Pavel reportedly said last month that he accepted the will and its “parameters” – although the Russian security services-linked Telegram channel VChK-OGPU has suggested it is already being contested amid a conflict that has erupted within the family. On Sunday, Pavel and Violetta laid flowers at Prigozhin’s grave in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg together. The pair were among dozens of mourners hailing the mutinous mercenary chief as a patriotic hero of Russia who had spoken truth to power. Supporters waved the black flags of Wagner which sport a skull and the motto "Blood, Honour, Motherland, Courage". The Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation has suggested Prigozhin’s wealth could come to as much as two trillion roubles, although his official wealth has been estimated at 14.6 billion. Despite years of Western sanctions, a Financial Times investigation found Prigozhin generated revenues of more than a quarter of a billion dollars from his global natural resources empire in the four years before Russia invaded Ukraine. Since its formation, Wagner has been accused of committing human rights abuses in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Mali, Mozambique and most recently Ukraine. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Children injured in Kherson shelling as Prigozhin son tipped to be next Wagner boss Putin orders former Wagner commander to take charge of 'volunteer units' in Ukraine Putin recruits former Wagner commander ‘Grey Hair’ Troshev to oversee Ukraine mercenaries The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

The Ministry of Defence has warned that Russia’s prized Black Sea Fleet is struggling to contend with threats to Ukraine’s southern flank. In their morning briefing the UK ministry said: “In recent weeks, the Naval Aviation component of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has assumed a particularly important role in the Fleet’s operations as it struggles to deal with concurrent threats on the southern flank of the Ukraine war. “Naval Aviation is emphasising maritime air patrol operations, highly likely with a primary mission of the early identification of uncrewed surface vessels.” It came as one person is dead and six injured including two children as Russian shelling continues to hammer Ukraine‘s southern region of Kherson overnight. On the Telegram messaging app the governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said Russian forces had launched 71 attacks in the past 24 hours, “aimed at the residential districts”, as well as shops and medical infrastructure, among other establishments. Twenty of the air and land attacks targeted the city of Kherson, the region’s administrative district, the governor added, while authorities promptly doused a fire sparked by shelling early on Monday. Read More Ukraine ‘hits power substation’ in drone attacks on Russian border regions Putin’s shameless UN charm offensive - with stolen grain from Ukraine Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva's Olympic doping case will resume for two more days in November Ukraine's Zelenskyy taps celebrities for roles as special adviser and charity ambassador

Vladimir Putin’s aide and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev threatened military force against British soldiers training in Ukraine, calling them “legal targets” for Russia’s forces. The deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council was reacting to remarks by British defence secretary Grant Shapps who on Saturday said London wants to send military instructors to Ukraine – a claim later clarified by prime minister Rishi Sunak who said that the plans are not for “here and now”. "(This will) turn their instructors into a legal target for our armed forces... understanding perfectly well that they will be ruthlessly destroyed. And not as mercenaries, but namely as British Nato specialists," Mr Medvedev wrote on his official Telegram channel. Mr Shapps spoke about the training in Ukraine in addition to training Ukrainian armed forces in Britain or other Western countries as at present. The Russian official is considered to be a close aide of Vladimir Putin who has earlier issued nuclear sabre-rattling threats after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Apart from threatening British forces in his Telegram post, Mr Medvedev also said German factories producing Taurus missiles were “pushing us towards World War Three”. "They say this is in accordance with international law. Well, in that case, strikes on German factories where these missiles are made would also be in full compliance with international law," Mr Medvedev said. "These morons are actively pushing us towards World War Three," he added, repeating similar warnings he has made before. In July, Mr Medvedev said actions by the "completely crazy" West meant World War Three "is getting closer." On Sunday, Mr Sunak rowed back from his defence secretary Mr Shapps’s comments and said there were no immediate plans to deploy military instructors to Ukraine. "What the defence secretary was saying was that it might well be possible one day in the future for us to do some of that training in Ukraine," he told reporters at the start of the governing Conservative Party’s annual conference in Manchester. "But that’s something for the long term, not the here and now. There are no British soldiers that will be sent to fight in the current conflict." Read More

At least one person is dead and six injured including two children as Russian shelling continue to hammer Ukraine‘s southern region of Kherson overnight. On the Telegram messaging app the governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said Russian forces had launched 71 attacks in the past 24 hours, “aimed at the residential districts”, as well as shops and medical infrastructure, among other establishments. Twenty of the air and land attacks targeted the city of Kherson, the region’s administrative district, the governor added, while authorities promptly doused a fire sparked by shelling early on Monday. It came as Yevgeny Prigozhin’s 25-year-old son, Pavel Prigozhin, has been making moves to take over command of the Wagner Group, according to a US thinktank. He is negotiating with the Russian national guard, Rosgvardia, over having the mercenary organisation rejoin combat in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said, citing a prominent Telegram channel affiliated with the group. At a ceremony at his father’s grave in St Petersburg, Pavel laid flowers alongside Prigozhin’s mother. Supporters waved the black flags of Wagner which sport a skull and the motto “Blood, Honour, Motherland, Courage”. Read More Ukraine ‘hits power substation’ in drone attacks on Russian border regions Putin’s shameless UN charm offensive - with stolen grain from Ukraine Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva's Olympic doping case will resume for two more days in November Ukraine's Zelenskyy taps celebrities for roles as special adviser and charity ambassador

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Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Ukrainian soldiers for their efforts in the war against Russia and said “ahead is our victory” in an event celebrating the country’s military. The Ukrainian president made the comments on Sunday while marking the Day of the Defenders, a national event honouring the country’s veterans and those killed in battle. In an address published by the Kyiv Post, he said: “Today we thank everyone who stood, stands and will stand strong. All those who were the first to take on a difficult battle. “Our border guards, our infantry, tank crewmen, pilots, sailors, artillerymen, anti-aircraft gunners, our paratroopers, special forces, intelligence, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Guard, police, territorial defence. “All those who defend the Ukrainian land, sea and sky. Whose protection we feel and whose courage we see every day.” He added: “Behind us is our history. Ahead is our victory. And a free country. Which we defended, defend and will defend.” It comes after prime minister Rishi Sunak rowed back on claims made by defence secretary Grant Shapps on Saturday that UK troops could carry out training in the country. Mr Shapps said in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph newspaper that he wanted to deploy military instructors to Ukraine, in addition to training Ukrainian armed forces in Britain or other Western countries. Hours after that interview was published, Mr Sunak said there were no immediate plans to send British troops to Ukraine. “What the defence secretary was saying was that it might well be possible one day in the future for us to do some of that training in Ukraine,” Sunak told reporters at the start of the governing Conservative Party’s annual conference in Manchester. “But that’s something for the long term, not the here and now. There are no British soldiers that will be sent to fight in the current conflict.” Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday said any British soldiers training Ukrainian troops in Ukraine would be legitimate targets for Russian forces. In other developments, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has called on US lawmakers to reconsider their decision to omit financial support for Ukraine from a stop-gap budget bill Congress passed to halt a federal government shutdown. The legislation approved on Saturday to keep the federal government running until 17 November dropped provisions on providing additional aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of Republicans. Speaking in Kyiv after meeting with Mr Zelensky, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said European officials were surprised by the last-minute agreement in Washington and pledged the 27-nation bloc would carry on helping the invaded country defeat Russia. “I have hope that this will not be a definitive decision and Ukraine will continue having the support of the US,” Mr Borrell said. “We are facing an existential threat. Ukrainians are fighting with all their courage and capacities, and if we want them to be successful, then you have to provide them with better arms, and quicker,” the Spanish diplomat added. Ukrainian officials stressed that US backing for Ukraine would continue despite the stop-gap legislation. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine‘s presidential office, said America’s relationship with Ukraine had not changed and that Ukrainian officials met regularly with representatives from both the Democratic and Republican parties. “All of Ukraine’s key partners are determined to support our country until its victory in this war,” he wrote on Telegram. But the omission of additional Ukrainian aid from the package has raised concerns in Kyiv, which relies heavily on western financial aid and military equipment in its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion. A little more than a week ago, lawmakers met in the Capitol with Mr Zelensky, who sought to assure them his military was winning the war but stressed that additional aid would be crucial for continuing the fight. Yet recent voting in the House has pointed to increased US isolationism and a growing resistance to providing further aid as the war, now in its 20th month, grinds on. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Mourners visit dead Wagner chief Prigozhin’s grave as Moscow threatens further annex PM insists no plan to send British troops for training in Ukraine ‘here and now’ Putin’s casualties near 250 in a day as Russian ammunition depots blown up in southern Ukraine The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

The last time Erna heard from her brother was a week ago, in the frantic rush to escape Nagorno-Karabakh as it dissolved around them. In just a few days over 100,000 people - nearly the entire local ethnic Armenian population - fled the separatist enclave, fearing persecution as Azerbaijani forces closed in. Mobile phone networks were down, the only road out was at a standstill and people found themselves separated by the shelling. And so in that chaos people went missing and families lost each other. The United Nations said children were arriving in neighbouring Armenia unaccompanied. There were reports of people being detained by the Azerbaijani authorities and the Armenian healthy ministry said some people, particularly the elderly, died while on the 40-hour journey due to malnutrition and a lack of medicine . “We still don’t know if my brother made it to Armenia, if he is alive,” the school administrator tells the Independent in tears from Goris, a border town which has quickly morphed into a massive refugee camp. Behind her is a flurry of activity: shellshocked families pick through piles of donated clothes, food and supplies as they try to work out how to piece together their lives. “We last heard from him as he was going to get fuel,” Erna’s son David, 18 continues as his mother appears too overwhelmed to continue the story. The family fear he may be among the 170 killed in a massive explosion last week at one of the few petrol stations still operating in the enclave. On Monday desperate refugees had flocked there to secure fuel to get out when the blast occurred. No one knows what exactly happened but it added another layer to the tragedy. They are not alone, says Lusine Barkhudaryan 30, who until last week was deputy minister of infrastructure for Nagorno Karabakh’s self-declared government. Now the former lawyer is camping at a hotel in Goris, having like tens of thousands of others, left everything behind. “One of my colleague’s husband is missing, and two neighbours are also unaccounted for they were separated during the rush to get out,” she tells The Independent, dissolving into tears. “I know of another woman who is looking for her husband, brother and father. They may have died in the petrol station but they don’t know. They are still trying to find them.” With so many unaccounted for in the confusion, The International Committee of the Red Cross together with the Armenian Red Cross have just set up a hotline which people can call to register their missing. “So far we are getting 100 calls a day,” Zara Amatuni, an ICRC spokesperson tells the Independent. “It is difficult to provide credible information for the time being because the situation is evolving so rapidly,” Finding the missing is just one of the nightmares facing Karabakh Armenian families and Armenia itself as it reels from the biggest movement of people in the South Caucasus since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Tens of thousands of now-homeless people are on the move camping in hotels, schools, private homes, in their cars and even the streets after they left their homes and homeland that no longer exists. The Armenian government said they have so far managed to temporarily house some 32,000 people in state facilities but the question of what to do in the long term remains unanswered. No one was prepared because the situation unfurled with such alarming speed after Azerbaijan launched a lightning military campaign against the breakaway forces last week. Baku wanted to take back the majority ethnic Armenian enclave that is internationally recognised as being part of Azerbaijani but has enjoyed de facto statehood for three decades. In the 10 months leading up to the 24-hour blitz, the Azerbaijanis had imposed a blockade strangling food, fuel, gas and water supplies to the area. Weakened by the siege, outnumbered and outgunned by a military bolstered by Turkey, the Armenian separatist forces capitulated almost immediately. Their political leaders said they would dissolve their government by the end of the year, triggering the exodus. Reports of the arrest of senior Karabakh officials - including former ministers and security officials - added to the panic. On Sunday Azerbaijan said it issued an arrest warrant for the head of the enclave Arayik Harutyunyan. Now 80 percent of the 120,000 residents have packed up their lives in a few minutes and crossed into Armenia. There, Armenian officials told The Independent they were struggling to accommodate them. Yerevan has accused Azerbaijan of “ethnic cleansing”. Baku has vehemently denied the accusations saying the families chose to leave of their own accord. “In the 2020 conflict, we had a similar issue but people knew they would return after a ceasefire. That is not the case now,“ Gnel Sanosyan, Armenia’s minister of infrastructure tells The Independent with exhaustion. He is standing by a packed registration centre in Goris, where hundreds of people are being registered by Armenian officials manning dozens of computers. “We are trying to pool all the state institutions together to handle the situation. The Armenian government is trying its best but the international community needs to step up and help”. Pressure is mounting on Armenia. Armenian citizens have taken to the streets demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resign as they blame him for failing to defend Nagorno Karabakh. The government was already struggling financially and now needs to provide housing, medical care and jobs for tens of thousands of new people that are increasingly scattered across the country. In Vayk, a tiny mountain town dealing with the overflow from Goris, local administrative leader Hayk Avagyan said they quickly passed the capacity of the local hotels and public shelters. “We started sending to private houses,” he says with desperation. “There are many things to think about in the future like jobs and education.” In Goris, families are struggling to work out their future. Luisine Barkhudaryan, the former Karabakh official, says legally Karabakh Armenians do not have the right to social benefits or welfare Armenians do despite being Armenian passport holders. Finding work will be tricky, she adds. “And I didn’t bring anything with me not even a glass from my kitchen to drink water with,” she said. Erna’s family, meanwhile, are still trying to locate family members before they can even get make solid plans for the future. “We are going to the capital Yerevan to hopefully rent a flat,” “What can we do? What should the world do? It’s too late.” Read More Nagorno-Karabakh: Tearful 16-year-old describes ‘bombing’ while she was in school A People lost: The end of Nagorno Karabakh’s fight for independence Azerbaijan issues arrest warrant for former separatist Nagorno-Karabakh leader Almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh's people have left, Armenia's government says Azerbaijan issues arrest warrant for former separatist Nagorno-Karabakh leader Armenia grapples with multiple challenges after the fall of Nagorno-Karabakh Almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh's people have left, Armenia's government says