Putin awards sanctioned Russian General Gerasimov medal for ‘courage’
Russian president Vladimir Putin has awarded the Order of Courage to General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces and the overall commander of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Gerasimov, one of the most powerful men in the Russian military and against whom the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for alleged crimes in Ukraine, is credited as the chief architect of Russia’s modern warfare strategy. He turned 70 yesterday.
The Order of Courage, a prestigious state decoration, was given to Gerasimov “for courage, bravery, and dedication displayed in the fulfilment of military duty,” according to a decree published on Russia’s official legal acts website late last night.
Gerasimov is thought to hold one of the three nuclear briefcases that can transmit orders for a nuclear strike. He played key roles in Russia’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and in Russia’s game-changing military support for president Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war.
The United States sanctioned him the day after the Russian February 2022, invasion of Ukraine, saying he was among those directly responsible. Putin appointed Gerasimov to lead the Ukraine campaign in January 2023.
Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov as he visits military headquarters in the Kursk region of Russia (Russian Presidential Press Service)
Arpan Rai9 September 2025 03:56
Why Russia launched the largest aerial strike of the war so far
Russia launched the biggest aerial strikes of the war so far Ukraine over the weekend, killing four people including a mother and her three-month-old baby.
More than 800 drones and 13 missiles were fired at cities across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, in the early hours of Sunday 7 September. The strike marked the first attack of the war on the main Ukrainian government building, and is the second major assault on the capital within two weeks.
In response, president Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack “a deliberate crime and prolongation of the war” and called on the US to provide a “strong response” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow’s aerial attack on Ukraine is the latest in a streak of record-breaking aerial strikes over the past three months.
Below, The Independent looks at how, and why, Russia has decided to target Ukraine’s cities with such devastating force.
Bryony Gooch9 September 2025 03:00
Watch: Smoke rises from government building after Russian attack on KyivSmoke rises from government building after Russian attack on Kyiv
Bryony Gooch9 September 2025 02:00
What could Trump’s ‘second phase’ of sanctions against Russia involve?
On Sunday, Mr Trump signalled he may finally escalate sanctions on Moscow or its oil buyers, which he has so far delayed to pursue peace talks.
The European Union followed on Monday with confirmation it is coordinating new sanctions with the US, echoing US treasury secretary Scott Bessent’s comments that Washington would need “European partners to follow us” if they were to exert further economic pressure.
After repeatedly vowing to end the war within 24 hours, the US leader has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin as fighting continues to intensify.
Steffie Banatvala reports:
Bryony Gooch9 September 2025 01:00
Zelensky’s chief of staff discusses Russian strikes on Ukrainian targets with Rubio
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff discussed Russian strikes on Ukrainian targets with US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Monday and told him a government building that came under attack on Sunday was hit by a Russian ballistic missile.
Chief of staff Andriy Yermak, writing on Telegram, also said he and Rubio discussed US military aid for Ukraine, security guarantees for Ukraine that have been under discussion with Kyiv’s allies, and increased pressure on Russia.
“I informed him of the constant Russian strikes that attack our cities, our residential buildings with drones and missiles,” Yermak wrote.
“They kill civilians and children, destroy our infrastructure. For the first time, the enemy attacked the Ukrainian Government building – the strike was carried out by an Iskander ballistic missile.”
In a separate post, Yermak said he had held a video conference with the national security advisers of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy.
He said the discussion was a continuation of a meeting in Paris last week with Ukrainian allies within the Coalition of the Willing and said “a further strengthening of Ukraine’s positions in confronting Russian aggression is necessary.”
The European Union’s top sanctions official was in Washington with a team of experts to discuss what would be the first coordinated transatlantic measures against Russia since President Donald Trump returned to office.
On Sunday, after the war’s biggest air attack set fire to a government building in Kyiv, Trump said he was ready to move to a second phase of restrictions.
Bryony Gooch9 September 2025 00:00
Russian-installed official reports Ukrainian attacks on Russian-held parts of Donetsk region
The Russia-installed head of occupied parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region said late on Monday that Ukrainian forces had launched heavy drone and missile attacks on two cities in the area, killing two people and injuring 16.
Denis Pushilin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said Ukrainian forces had struck targets in the region’s main city, also called Donetsk, and in Makiivka, an industrial town further north.
There was no comment from Ukrainian officials on the attacks.
Russian news agencies quoted security officials in the occupied areas as saying that at least 20 drones had been deployed in the two assaults and that air defence units were in action. They said explosions had resounded throughout the city of Donetsk and the air was hanging heavy with smoke.
The popular Russian war blog Rybar said there had also been explosions in Yenakiievo, another Russian-held industrial town, where it said at least one apartment block had been hit.
Russian forces, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, control a little less than 20 per cent of all of Ukraine’s territory and about 75 per cent of Donetsk region.
Russia has formally annexed four regions, including Donetsk, and is engaged in a slow drive westward to capture the rest of the area.
Bryony Gooch8 September 2025 23:00
ICYMI: The agonising task of repatriating Ukraine’s war dead
Cooperation between Russia and Ukraine is almost unheard of these days.
But one rare instance where the two warring nations do work together is in repatriating fallen soldiers from both sides of the front line.
The Independent’s Bryony Gooch has spoken to a forensic specialist about the agonising ongoing work to put names to bodies in Ukraine, and how Moscow and Kyiv briefly come together.
Nicole Wootton-Cane8 September 2025 22:00
UN Refugee Agency reports increase in Ukrainian’s displaced from frontline
The UN Refugee Agency has recorded an increase in the number of people evacuated or displaced from frontline areas in Ukraine since mid-2024.
UNHCR Representative Karolina Lindholm Billing said there are currently 3.7 million refugees internally displaced inside Ukraine and around 5.6 million refugees abroad in an interview with news agency Ukrinform.
She added 190,000 Ukrainians have become displaced persons from the frontline areas of Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions since the beginning of 2025.
Nicole Wootton-Cane8 September 2025 21:30
Chinese agency assigns AAA rating to Russian oil major Gazprom
Chinese rating agency CSCI Pengyuan assigned a domestic triple A rating to US -blacklisted Russian oil giant Gazprom on Friday, as media reported Beijing was preparing to reopen its domestic bond market to major Russian energy firms.
“Gazprom’s rating reflects its strategic importance and legal ties to the Russian government,” CSCI Pengyuan said.
The firm’s credit profile “is underpinned by its strong business profile as one of the market leaders in the global oil and gas industry and its important position in Russia’s energy market”, it added.
The “AAA” rating with a stable outlook came just days after Russia and China gave their blessings to the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline.
Gazprom made the announcement during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China last week.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Nicole Wootton-Cane8 September 2025 21:00
RECAP: Ukraine struck 60 targets on Russian territory in August, top commander says
Ukraine struck 60 targets on Russian territory in August, Kyiv’s top military commander said on Monday.
“The Russian Federation’s capabilities to produce fuel and lubricants for the army, their aviation weapons, missiles and UAVs, and air defence systems have been weakened, and the functioning of the transport system has been disrupted,” Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on social media.
Nicole Wootton-Cane8 September 2025 20:30