Tuesday, September 10

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Relatives and friend attend the funeral ceremony of Oleksandr Bezsmertny in Bucha, on Sept. 9, 2024. Oleksandr Bezsmetny was seriously wounded during a strike on the Ukrainian military academy in Poltava on September 3, 2024 and died of his wounds. (Anatolii Stepanov / AFP / via Getty Images)

August saw second-highest number of civilian casualties dealt by Russia to Ukraine this year, UN says. This August is the month with the second highest number of civilian casualties in 2024. July was “the deadliest month for civilians” since October 2022, according to a previous report.

Ukraine fires 2 times fewer shells than Russia, reducing gap, Syrskyi says. “In addition, of course, we use maneuvers with force, reserves, and fire. Thanks to the actions of our government, the president of Ukraine, the minister of defense, we managed to reduce the difference between the ammunition used by us and the enemy,” Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

Latvia confirms Russian Shahed drone armed with explosive crashed on its territory. A Russian Shahed-type drone equipped with an explosive crashed in Latvia on Sept. 7, Latvia’s Defense Ministry confirmed during a press conference on Sept. 9.

Sweden includes Gripen jet spare parts in new $443 million military aid package for Ukraine. Sweden has included combat boats, anti-tank weapons, ammunition, and Gripen jet spare parts in its latest military aid package for Ukraine, valued at 4.6 billion Swedish krona ($443 million), the Swedish Defense Ministry announced on Sept. 9.

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Russia claims capture of town near Pokrovsk, Kyiv says fighting ongoing in the area. Serhii Tsehotskyi, an officer with Ukraine’s 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Sept. 2 that the military command decided to withdraw from Novohrodivka because the town had “an unfavorable geographical location.”

Ukraine downs Russian Orlan drone at ‘record height’ of 3.6 km. Soldiers of Ukraine’s 3rd Tank Brigade shot down a Russian Orlan reconnaissance drone at a record altitude of 3,620 meters, the Ukrainian military said on Sept. 9.

Russian drone debris found in Romanian border town, Defense Ministry confirms. Romania’s Defense Ministry confirmed on Sept. 9 that it had found Russian drone fragments near the village of Periprava, situated directly across the Danube River from the Ukrainian border.

Trump ‘offended’ by Putin’s ‘endorsement’ of Harris. Vladimir Putin said on Sept. 5 that U.S. President Joe Biden was his “favorite” for the upcoming presidential run, but since Biden dropped out, Russia would “support” Harris.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Russia claims capture of town near Pokrovsk, Kyiv says fighting ongoing in the area

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Sept. 8 that its forces had captured the town of Novohrodivka in Donetsk Oblast, while Ukraine’s military said that battles are ongoing in the area.

Photo: Patryk Jaracz/Anadolu via Getty Images

Russia ramps up offensive on Vuhledar, Ukrainian stronghold in the east

While the Russian advance on Pokrovsk had slightly slowed down in recent days, Vuhledar, in the southern part of Donetsk Oblast, became a new focal point of the ongoing Russian offensive.

Photo: Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu via Getty Images

At Chornobyl’s edge, Ukrainian soldiers brace for a potential threat from Belarus (Photos)

Since June 2024, the 78th Air Assault Regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, together with other units, has been stationed in the Chornobyl exclusion zone, north of Kyiv.

Photo: Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent

Despite hype around Ukrainian weapons tech, foreign investors remain gun-shy

Ukraine’s weapons startups’ fight against the Russian military machine has drawn the eyes of the world, but key financing barriers are blocking them from going worldwide.

Photo: Ignacio Marin / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attack on Nikopol kills 16-year-old girl, injures 3. Russian forces shelled the town of Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Sept. 9, killing a 16-year-old girl and injuring three other people, Governor Serhii Lysak said.

International response

Ukraine’s foreign minister recalls diplomatic representative from Georgia. Ukraine’s new Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said on Sept. 8 that he had recalled the Ukrainian charge d’affaires from Georgia, saying that “ambassadors of a country at war cannot be detached from the war’s realities.”

Russia to participate in Chinese military drills in September. The North-Joint 2024 will take place in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, with the aim of “enhancing strategic cooperation between the Chinese and Russian militaries and their ability to jointly respond to security threats,” the Chinese Defense Ministry said.

‘De facto cyberwar’ — Poland says it uncovered ‘saboteurs’ working for Russia, Belarus. Speaking at a press conference, Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said the perpetrators’ goals were to “extort information, to blackmail individuals and institutions, and to wage de facto cyberwar.”

EU to remove ex-Formula 1 racer, Prigozhin’s mother from Russia sanctions list, RFE/RL reports. Hungary, which has repeatedly opposed sanctions on Russia and undermined Western aid efforts for Ukraine, once again reportedly demanded that several people be removed from the sanctions list in exchange for their support.

Iran denies sending ballistic missiles to Russia, Kremlin remains evasive. The British news outlet The Times wrote that according to an undisclosed Ukrainian military source, a shipment of 200 Iranian ballistic missiles already arrived at an unspecified port in the Caspian Sea on Sept. 4.

EU condemns sham elections in Russian-occupied Crimea. Russia’s sham elections held in occupied Crimea over the weekend represent “another act of violation of international law,” the European External Action Service said in a statement on Sept. 9.

Latvia summons Russian charge d’affaires over drone crash. The charge d’affaires “was requested to provide a comprehensive explanation of the incident, in which an unmanned aerial vehicle illegally violated Latvia’s airspace while also carrying explosives,” the Latvian Foreign Ministry said.

Opinions and insights

Explainer: Ukraine’s $15 billion IMF loan program

Russia’s invasion has caused untold devastation across Ukraine, morphing the country into a test case for democratic survival. In the first year of the full-scale war, Ukraine’s GDP shrank by almost a third, inflation jumped 20%, and the government deficit ran at more than 15%.

Photo: Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images

In other news

Advisor to strategic industries minister, soldier Yaroslav Oliinyk killed in car crash. Advisor to Ukraine’s strategic industries minister and soldier Yaroslav Oliinyk with the call-sign “Loki,” was killed in a car accident, presidential advisor Alexander Kamyshin said on Sept. 8.

Over 50% of Ukrainians oppose Telegram ban but support restrictions, poll shows. A poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology also showed that 71% of Ukrainians consider the spread of Russian disinformation and propaganda on social media, including Telegram, a “fairly serious” or “very serious” threat.

Founder and co-host of Telegraph Ukraine podcast dies aged 32. “David was a crucial part of keeping the world informed about Ukraine,” Liliane Bivings, the Kyiv Independent’s business editor, said.

French billionaire Xavier Niel closes deal on historic merger of Ukrainian telecom companies. French billionaire Xavier Niel’s investment company NJJ Capital has closed the deal on acquiring Lifecell, one of Ukraine’s largest mobile operators, and Datagroup-Volia, one of Ukraine’s largest fixed telecom and pay-TV providers.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dmytro Basmat, Liliane Bivings, Elsa Court, Toma Istomina, Oleksiy Sorokin, Kateryna Denisova, Chris York, Martin Fornusek, and Olena Goncharova.

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