Ukraine war updates: Kyiv says it killed Russian fleet commander

A statement from Ukraine's specials forces says Russian Black Sea Fleet commander Viktor Sokolov was killed in an attack on Russia's naval headquarters in the port city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea last Friday. 

Sokolov is said to have been among 34 officers who died in the attack on Friday. Scores more were injured.

The historic headquarters building is reported to have been damaged beyond repair. 

In other news, Russia-installed authorities on Crimea said Monday night that air defense forces were repelling a missile attack. 

Overnight Sunday into Monday, the Ukrainian port city of Odesa came under fire from Russian missiles and drones. 

Here are the main headlines concerning Russia's war in Ukraine on Monday, September 25:

Russia reports new missile attack on Sevastopol

Russian authorities in Sevastopol on announced an air raid alert for the port city on Monday evening, and said they were repelling a missile attack. 

"According to preliminary data, the air defense forces shot down one missile near the Belbek airfield," the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said in his Telegram channel.

Traffic on the Kerch bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula to the Russian mainland was also temporarily halted, the bridge operator said. 

Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014,  has recently been the frequent target of attacks from Ukrainian forces. The latest came on September 22, with a missile strike hitting the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea naval fleet in Sevastopol. 

Hungary criticizes Ukraine, could delay vote on Sweden NATO bid

Hungary will not support Ukraine "in any issue" unless the Ukrainian government restores the rights of ethnic Hungarians on its territory, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Monday. 

Ukraine restricted the use of minority languages, such as Hungarian, in schools in 2017, which Hungary has repeatedly denounced. 

Some 130,000 ethnic Hungarians lived in Ukraine before the war, mostly in the western region of Zakarpattia. Hundreds of them have joined the Ukrainian military since the beginning of Russia's invasion last year.

In his speech, Orban also floated the possibility of Hungary further delaying parliamentary ratification of Sweden's NATO bid. His government expressed disapproval of what it called "undue allegations" by Sweden over rule of law issues in Hungary.

Hungary and Turkey are the only two NATO members who have not yet ratified the accession yet.

Russia puts more ICC officials on wanted list

Russia placed more judges and high-ranking officials at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on its wanted list on Monday. 

This comes as Moscow reacts to an ICC arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin. 

The Kremlin had already blacklisted the court's top judge, Karim Khan, and several other judges. 

Russia media reported that Polish ICC President Piotr Hofmanski, Pervian ICC Vice President Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza and German judge Bertram Schmitt were among those for whom the Interior Ministry issued arrest warrants. 

The ICC had described the previous Russian warrants against its personnel as "insignificant." 

Russia, meanwhile, argues that the ICC charges against Putin — tied to his alleged involvement in the abduction and relocation of Ukrainian children to Russia — are similarly worthless. 

Russia is not a signatory to the ICC and the chances of the current regime extraditing Putin or his allies seem vanishingly slim. Putin, in turn, is deemed unlikely to travel to a country that would arrest him. And it's not entirely clear which countries would, although in theory ICC signatories are bound to do so. 

Zelenskyy confirms Abrams tanks have arrived in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed the arrival of the first US Abrams tanks in Ukraine.

In a post on the social media platform Telegram, Zelenskyy said the hardware was already being prepared for deployment. 

Zelenskyy provided no details on the number of US tanks already in the country. Washington has announced that 31 of the battle tanks are to be handed over to Ukraine.

The tank was created for ground warfare during the Cold War and has been used by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is bulky and has high fuel consumption, but has formidable firepower and is well-protected against anti-tank weapons.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, US military aid to Ukraine has amounted to $43.9 billion (€41.3 billion). 

Most recently, weapons and equipment worth $128 million were authorized from US military stocks. 

(Photo: Social media)