Tuesday, September 3

Russia’s war against Ukraine

The collapsed ceiling in the male prayer hall of the Islamic Cultural Center, damaged by a Russian missile attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine on Sep. 2, 2024. (Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Dutch PM makes surprise visit to Ukraine, announces new aid package. New Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof arrived in Ukraine’s southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Sept. 2 to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and announce a new aid package for Ukraine worth more than 200 million euros ($221 million).

Russia has no advance near Pokrovsk over past 2 days, Zelensky claims. “We believe that the Kursk operation can also affect the (Pokrovsk) direction, where the pressure may be reduced due to a decrease in the number of Russian troops,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Ukraine approves homemade Khorunzhyi armored personnel carrier for military use. The Khorunzhy is a modernization of the Soviet BTR-60 armored personnel carrier. Its hull is made of Finnish steel, which has improved the vehicle’s ballistic protection, and the frontal armor can withstand shots from a large-caliber machine gun.

Ukraine has not received necessary weapons to conduct required long-range strikes deep inside Russia, Zelensky says. Ukraine has not received all the weapons promised by the West, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 2. “We have not received everything we want to use,” Zelensky added.

Moscow oil refinery suspends unit’s operations following large-scale Ukrainian drone attack, Reuters reports. Gazprom Neft Moscow refinery suspended operations at the plant’s Euro+ refining unit following a fire on Sept. 1 caused by a purported large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on the region, Reuters reported, citing its sources.

Your contribution helps keep the Kyiv Independent going. Become a member today.

Poland has right to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine for national security, Polish FM says. Poland and neighboring countries to Ukraine are “responsible for protecting their own airspace,” despite NATO’s opposition, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sept. 2.

Putin arrives in Mongolia, Ukrainian lawmakers call for his arrest. Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia on Sept. 2, amid calls from Ukrainian lawmakers for the country to execute an international arrest warrant and detain the Russian president.

Petition urging Zelensky to lower mobilization age limit to 50 reaches 25,000 signatures. A petition asking President Volodymyr Zelensky to lower the upper age limit for mobilization from 60 to 50 to “improve the economic situation” in Ukraine has garnered over 25,000 signatures since it was posted on July 5.

Ukrenergo chief dismissed amid energy security concerns, media reports. The head of Ukraine’s state grid operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, was dismissed from his role on Sept. 2 on grounds of failing to safeguard energy facilities amid intensified Russian attacks, public broadcaster Suspilne reported, citing sources within the company.

Another Russian defense ministry official arrested on suspicion of corruption. According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, Major General Valery Mumindzhanov is accused of receiving a bribe of over 20 million rubles ($224,000) while helping facilitate defense ministry contracts for military uniforms.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Poland has right to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine, Polish FM says

Poland and neighboring countries are “responsible for protecting their own airspace,” despite NATO’s opposition, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sept. 2.

Photo: Tetiana Pavliuk / The Kyiv Independent

‘We will clean, restore, then beat them’ – Kyiv’s Muslims defiant after Russian attack damages mosque

“They are barbarians,” 80-year-old Mustafa Dzhemilev tells the Kyiv Independent on Sept. 2, as he assesses the damage caused to the Islamic Cultural Center in Kyiv by a Russian missile attack in the early hours of the morning.

Photo: Kirill Chubotin / Ukrinform / Future Publishing via Getty Images

Undistracted by Kursk offensive, Russia cuts deeper toward Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast

All the embarrassment of having Russian territories invaded and occupied wasn’t enough to keep Moscow’s eyes off the prize of taking all of Ukrainian Donbas.

Photo: Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine launched Kursk incursion without West’s guidance, and ‘look how well it worked,’ says ex-NATO commander in Europe

Even as Ukraine’s daring incursion into Russian territory brought the full-scale war back to the headlines around the world, Moscow’s forces keep grinding on the eastern front, with dire implications for the entire Donbas region.

Photo: Ray Baseley / The Kyiv Independent

Human cost of war

Russian guided bomb attack on Kharkiv injures at least 13. The residential area in the city’s Kyivskyi district came under the attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. According to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov, the territory of one of Kharkiv’s higher education institutions was hit in another strike.

1 person killed, at least 3 injured in Russian attack on Dnipro. One person was killed and at least three people were injured in Dnipro on Sept. 2, in Russia’s attack on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak said.

Dare to Ukraine | Lviv, the ultimate first stop to experience Ukraine

International response

Finland proposes banning most Russian citizens from buying real estate. The Finnish government has proposed banning most Russian citizens from buying real estate in the country to ensure national security, Reuters reported Sept. 2, citing Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen.

Iran may send ballistic missiles to Russia ‘within a matter of days,’ Bloomberg reports. Bloomberg’s sources believe that the potential transfer of ballistic missiles would mark a worrying development in the conflict.“

Opinions and insights

Ukraine-skeptic parties win big in German state elections, tilting political landscape in Russia’s favor

The continued rise of Alternative for Germany (AfD) entered a new chapter on Sept. 1, when the controversial far-right party came first in Thuringia’s state election.

Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Ukraine’s steel industry is maxed out as Russia’s war grinds on

The noise is deafening inside global steel giant ArcelorMittal’s plant in Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast — Ukraine’s largest steel plant — but quiet compared to pre-war.

Photo: Genya Savilov /AFP via Getty Images

In other news

Beluga whale suspected of spying for Russia dies off Norwegian coast. Russia has never acknowledged that Hvaldimir, who became a local celebrity, may have been used to spy on Norway or other countries in the area.

Oil depot fire in Russia’s Rostov Oblast extinguished after more than 2 weeks, authorities say. The fire began on Aug. 18 following a Ukrainian strike on the oil depot, one of many attacks on Russian oil and energy infrastructure. There were unconfirmed reports that a second strike on the facility occurred on Aug. 23 after the initial fire began.

Ukrainian athletes win 8 medals on day 5 of Paralympics. On the fifth day of the 2024 Paralympic Games, Ukrainian athletes secured 8 medals.

Want to get the news faster? Follow our website: kyivindependent.com.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Teah Pelechaty, Dominic Culverwell, Francis Farrell, Natalia Yermak, Martin Fornusek, Kateryna Denisova, Kateryna Hodunova, Nate Ostiller, Chris York, Oleksiy Sorokin, Elsa Court, Sonya Bandouil, and Dmytro Basmat.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program. Start supporting independent journalism today.