Saturday, August 31

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Graphic content: Firefighters carry a elderly woman out of the site of a a Russian guided bomb attack on Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv. The attack hit a residential building and a playground, killing at least seven people, including a child, and injuring at least 97 more, local authorities said. (George Ivanchenko/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Russian attack on Kharkiv kills at least 7, including child, injures 97. Russian forces attacked the city of Kharkiv on Aug. 30 with guided aerial bombs, killing at least seven people, including a child, and injuring 97 others, local authorities reported.

Ukrainian forces advance 2 kilometers into Kursk Oblast, Syrskyi says. Ukrainian troops have pushed 2 kilometers (1.4 miles) deeper into Russia’s Kursk Oblast, capturing 5 square kilometers (2 square miles) of territory, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi announced on Aug. 30.

EU to train additional 15,000 Ukrainian troops by end of 2024, Borrell says. Defense ministers of European Union states agreed to increase the number of Ukrainian military personnel trained under the EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine (EUMAM) program, the EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Aug. 30.

Belgium pledges $165 million to restore infrastructure in Kyiv, Chernihiv oblasts. Belgium will allocate 150 million euros ($165 million) to restore civilian and energy infrastructure in Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts, the Ukrainian government announced on August 30.

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Zelensky dismisses Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk. President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Ukraine’s Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk on Aug. 30. The decision was announced on the Presidential Office’s official website.

ICC urges Mongolia to arrest Putin during upcoming visit, citing obligation to comply with warrant. A spokesperson for the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fadi el-Abdallah, told the BBC on Aug. 30 that Mongolia, as an ICC member state, is obligated to comply with the arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin during his upcoming visit.

Ukraine’s Air Force says US has joined investigation into deadly F-16 crash. Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said that Ukraine had “received a preliminary report” from the U.S., which he said “has already joined the investigation into the causes (of the crash).”

Ukraine wants to develop AI for drone swarms, ‘cheap’ missiles, Fedorov says. Ukraine seeks to involve weapons manufacturers in developing AI for drone swarms and “cheap missiles” to counter Russian kamikaze drones, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said at the Globsec Forum in Prague on Aug. 30, as reported by a Kyiv Independent reporter.

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Ukraine war latest: Russian attack on Kharkiv kills 7 people, injures over 90

Russian forces attacked the city of Kharkiv on Aug. 30 with UMPB D-30 munitions, killing at least seven people, including a child, and injuring 97 others, local authorities reported.

Photo: Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov/Telegram

‘Silent killer’: Russia boosts grinding Donbas advance with chemical warfare

Ukrainian soldiers are often unprepared and unequipped to counter Russia’s surging use of chemical agents.

Photo: Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images

Russian POWs on their capture in Kursk Oblast: ‘Commanders just disappeared’

Surrendering mostly without a fight after Ukraine’s surprise incursion, most of the POWs taken were conscript soldiers never meant to fight.

Photo: Francis Farrell / The Kyiv Independent

Belarus Weekly: Kyiv, Minsk trade claims over intensified border tensions

Kyiv has not officially requested Belarus to withdraw its troops from the border, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry has said amid more tensions between the two states.

Photo: Genya Savilov / AFP via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Over 66,000 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, media report suggests. More than 66,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine amid the full-scale war, according to a report by independent Russian media outlet Mediazona on Aug. 30.

Russian POWs speak about their capture in Kursk Oblast

International response

Chinese banks stopping transactions with Russia ‘en masse,’ Reuters reports. Transactions worth tens of billions of yuan are currently stuck in limbo, a source told Reuters.

‘Would you blame Hungarians for Soviet invasion?’ - Von der Leyen criticizes those who ‘muddy the waters’ on Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Aug. 30 criticized certain EU politicians for “muddying the waters” and shifting the blame for Russia’s war on Ukraine, drawing historical comparisons to Soviet aggression in Central Europe.

Ukraine, Montenegro in talks for new bilateral security agreement. The delegations of Ukraine and Montenegro met on Aug. 30 to discuss the potential signing of a bilateral security agreement, Ukraine’s presidential office reported.

In other news

Ukraine secures gold, 3 silver medals on day 2 of Paralympics. Ukrainian athletes won four more medals – three silver and one gold – on the second day of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris on Aug. 30.

Russian journalist sentenced to 8 years in prison for publishing stories about Bucha massacre. The charges relate to stories that the Listok media outlet published about the Bucha massacre, where Russian soldiers murdered hundreds of Ukrainian civilians, as well as other Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine.

Russian authorities launch manhunt after former inmate turned soldier accused of killing 2 women. Artyom Buchin had previously been sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023 for the rape and murder of a nurse but was reportedly released to fight in Ukraine.

Ukrenergo chief may face dismissal amid energy security concerns and corruption probe, media claims. The head of Ukraine’s state grid operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, may face dismissal “in the near future,” Economic Pravda reported on Aug. 30, citing unnamed government sources and energy company contacts.

Controversial captain named chief of staff for Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, media says. Captain Roman Hladkyi, who was previously dismissed from the Navy amid controversy, has been appointed Chief of Staff of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske reported on Aug. 30, citing USF communication specialist Vitalii Medvediev.

‘Maximum’ number Ukrainian schools should begin school year offline, Zelensky says. Ahead of the planned start of the school year on Sept. 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged on Aug. 30 that “the maximum number of school should be opened offline,” referring to in-person learning.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Nate Ostiller, Kateryna Denisova, Kateryna Hodunova, Teah Pelechaty, Asami Terajima, Martin Fornusek, Chris York, Dmytro Basmat, and Viktoryna Iunovych.

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