Closing summary
This blog will be closing shortly. You can keep up to date with the Guardian’s Ukraine-Russia coverage here.
Here is a summary of the key events from today’s live blog:
Andriy Parubiy, a Ukrainian politician who previously served as the parliament speaker, was shot dead in western city of Lviv on Saturday. Prosecutors have opened a murder investigation and said police were still searching for the shooter but have not mentioned possible motives at this stage.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned it as a “horrific murder” and said “all necessary forces and means” would be used in the investigation. By Saturday afternoon, tributes had come in from colleagues in Ukraine’s parliament and the government, praising Parubiy’s contribution to Ukraine’s fight for sovereignty and independence.
Former president Petro Poroshenko said on Telegram that the killing of Parubiy, who was a member of the parliamentary committee on national security, defence and intelligence, was “a shot fired at the heart of Ukraine”. Iryna Herashchenko, a lawmaker from the European Solidarity party, described Parubiy as “one of the founders of the modern Ukraine … principled and decent, patriotic, intelligent”.
In a statement on Telegram, foreign minister Andrii Sybiha described Parubiy as “a patriot and statesman” who “rightfully belongs in the history books”. Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko called for a prompt investigation of the murder, calling it “a profound loss” for the country.
One person was killed and 24 were injured, including three children, in Zaporizhzhia after a Russian strike on a five-story residential building. Regional governor Ivan Fedorov said the attack on Zaporizhzhia cut power to 25,000 residents.
The Ukrainian air force recorded five missile and 24 drone hits at seven locations with debris falling on 21 sites, according to a statement on the Telegram messaging app on Saturday.
Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region came under a “massive attack” early on Saturday, the region’s governor said, reporting strikes in Dnipro and Pavlograd. “The region is under a massive attack. Explosions are being heard,” Sergiy Lysak wrote on Telegram, warning residents to take cover. He said overnight Russian strikes killed two people in Dnipropetrovsk.
On Saturday, in a post on X, Zelenskyy accused Moscow of using “the time meant for preparing a leaders-level meeting to organise new massive attacks” and called for “tougher” banking and energy sanctions on Russia. He said Russia’s latest attack had shown its “utter disregard”.
Speaking after a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in the Danish capital Copenhagen, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she had asked EU governments to submit proposals next week for another package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
The chief of Russia’s general staff, Valery Gerasimov, said on Saturday that Russian forces were conducting non-stop offensives along the entire frontline in Ukraine. Since March, Russia has captured more than 3,500 square km (1,351 square miles) of territory in Ukraine and taken control of 149 villages, Gerasimov added.
Ukrainian military said on Saturday that it had struck Russian oil refineries in Krasnodar and Syzran overnight. Kyiv’s military recorded multiple explosions and a fire at the Krasnodar oil refinery in Russia’s south and said there was also a fire in the Syzran oil refinery area in Samara region.
Russian authorities in Krasnodar said falling drone debris damaged one of the refinery’s units and a fire had broken out over an area measuring 300 square metres (3,230 square feet). That fire was later extinguished, authorities said. There were no casualties, and employees were evacuated, authorities wrote on Telegram. Russia’s defence ministry said it had downed 11 Ukrainian drones over the Krasnodar region overnight.
The Russian defence ministry said on Saturday its troops had taken control of the village of Komyshuvakha in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. The ministry said its forces had successfully carried out strikes with high-precision weapons on Ukrainian missile and aviation enterprises, as well as military airfields in Ukraine. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un are among the world leaders who will attend a military parade with President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week, in a show of collective defiance amid western pressure. Against the backdrop of China’s growing military might during the Victory Day parade on 3 September, the three leaders will project a major show of solidarity.
The Russian defence ministry said it had shot down 20 Ukrainian drones, including 18 over Moscow-annexed Crimea, between 4am and 8am GMT on Saturday. The other two drones were shot down over Russia’s western Smolensk region. In an earlier statement, Russia’s defence ministry said it had destroyed 86 Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday. Reuters could not independently confirm the reports.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met the families of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine and offered condolences for their “unbearable pain”, state media said on Saturday. Pyongyang has not confirmed the number of its soldiers that died fighting for Russia, though Seoul estimates it is about 600, with thousands more wounded.
Updated
Speaking after a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in the Danish capital Copenhagen, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she had asked EU governments to submit proposals next week for another package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
