Closing summary
Here’s a recap of the main developments:
Five people were killed, including a 14-year-old girl, in a Russian strike on Kharkiv, according to its regional governor. At least 40 were wounded in the attack, Oleh Syniehubov said.
At least three were killed by a strike on a high-rise building in a separate attack on another area of the city, Syniehubov said. Posting on Telegram, he said there were a total of five strikes on the city.
Ukraine called on Mongolia to arrest Vladimir Putin when he visits the country next. The Russian leader is due to travel to Mongolia, a member of the international criminal court (ICC), on Tuesday – his first trip to an ICC member state since the court issued a warrant for his arrest over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
Russia’s military has said its forces had captured three villages in eastern Ukraine, where it is advancing even as Kyiv mounts its own assault on Russian territory. In a briefing published on its Telegram page, Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized settlements in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions.
Ukraine’s top commander said Kyiv’s forces had advanced about a mile in its incursion of Russia’s western Kursk region in the past 24 hours. Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces took control of 2 sq miles of Russian territory.
A group of Russian armed volunteers is being set up in Kursk to “ensure security”. Kursk’s governor, Alexy Smirnov, said on Telegram that the new detachments would be tasked with “not only ensuring security, but also participating in life support in resettled areas in order to support the remaining people in this difficult time”.
The commander of Ukraine’s air force said that it had shared with US partners a preliminary report about an F-16 jet crash that took place earlier this week. Mykola Oleshchuk said that the US, where the F-16 is manufactured, was assisting the investigation.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that ongoing corruption investigations into Russian defence officials involve “serious charges” that will lead to court trials, Reuters reports. A military court in Moscow placed Pavel Popov, a former deputy defence minister, in detention yesterday on suspicion of fraud in the latest of a string of corruption probes of officials tied to former defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Updated
The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget A Brink, has called for Russia to be held accountable for “war crimes” after a guided bomb attack on Kharkiv.
“Our thoughts are with the people of Kharkiv as rescue operations are underway,” she added.
This afternoon, Russia struck an apartment building in Kharkiv with a guided aerial bomb, killing several and injuring many, including children. Our thoughts are with the people of Kharkiv as rescue operations are underway.
— Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) August 30, 2024
Russia must be held accountable for these war crimes. pic.twitter.com/Osn7HNr3fc
Updated
Ukraine says it has gained more Russian territory
Ukraine’s armed forces commander said his troops had advanced up to 2km (1.2 miles) in Russia’s Kursk region in the past day, gaining 5 sq km of Russian territory in the past 24 hours.
Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, briefing Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Russian troops had also failed in their latest bid to pierce Ukrainian defences in the Pokrovsk area of eastern Ukraine, Reuters reported. Ukraine’s general staff put the number of assaults in the Pokrovsk direction on Thursday at 58, and at 36 as of Friday.
Ukraine has said that its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is designed to protect its border settlements from constant Russian strikes. Russia has called the incursion a “major provocation” and warned that it will retaliate.
Russia’s defence ministry said earlier today that its troops had captured three settlements in eastern Ukraine.
Updated
The Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has accused Russian forces of carrying out a “deliberately, carefully thought out” attack on Kharkiv.
The Russian guided bomb strike had a “specific intent” – “to test the world to see how long it is prepared to look blankly at unconditional and premeditated war crimes against civilians”, Podolyak posted to X accompanied by a video purporting to show the aftermath of the attack.
Once again and again. #Russia never tires of demonstrating as openly as possible the genocidal type of war it is waging in #Ukraine... This time a deliberate strike on the center of #Kharkiv, on a multi-story building, with a guided aerial bomb. Deliberately, carefully thought… pic.twitter.com/z6hOzR2oua
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) August 30, 2024
As we reported earlier, the death toll of Friday’s bomb attack has risen to five, with 40 people injured, according to the regional governor.
Updated
Afternoon summary
It’s nearly 6pm in Moscow and Kyiv. Here’s a round-up of what has happened today:
Five people were killed, including a 14-year-old girl, in a Russian strike on Kharkiv. At least 40 were wounded in the attack, Kharkiv’s regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov said.
In a separate attack on another area of the city, at least three were killed by a strike on a high-rise building. Syniehubov said on Telegram that there were a total of five strikes on the city – this is a developing story and we will bring you further updates this evening as we get them.
Ukraine called on Mongolia to arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin when he visits the country next, which is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that has issued a warrant for the Russian leader, next week. “The Ukrainian side hopes that the government of Mongolia is aware of the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal,” the foreign ministry said, adding “we call on the Mongolian authorities to execute the binding international arrest warrant.”
Russia’s military has said its forces had captured three villages in eastern Ukraine, where it is advancing even as Kyiv mounts its own assault on Russian territory. In a briefing published on its Telegram page, Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized settlements in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions.
Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi said Kyiv’s forces had advanced about a mile in its incursion of Russia’s western Kursk region in the past 24 hours. Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces took control of 2 sq miles of Russian territory.
A group of Russian armed volunteers is being set up in Kursk to “ensure security”. Kursk governor, Alexy Smirnov said on Telegram that the new detachments would be tasked with “not only ensuring security, but also participating in life support in resettled areas in order to support the remaining people in this difficult time.”
The commander of Ukraine’s air force said that it had shared with US partners a preliminary report about an F-16 jet crash that took place earlier this week. Mykola Oleshchuk said that the US, where the F-16 is manufactured, was assisting the investigation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that ongoing corruption investigations into Russian defence officials involve “serious charges” that will lead to court trials, Reuters reports. A military court in Moscow placed Pavel Popov, a former deputy defence minister, in detention yesterday on suspicion of fraud in the latest of a string of corruption probes of officials tied to former defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Updated
Kharkiv death toll rises to five
Kharkiv’s regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov has said the death toll from the Russian strike on the Nemyshlyansky district of the city has risen to five, with at least 40 wounded.
In a post on Telegram, he said five locations in the city were hit in a Russian strike originating from the Belgorod region.
Updated
There was some confusion earlier over the attacks on Kharkiv as there were two attacks in quick succession on different areas of the city, each resulting in fatalities.
Kharkiv mayor, Igor Terekhov said an attack on the Nemyshlyansky district killed four, including a girl at a playground, AFP reports.
He also said at least another three people were killed by a hit on a high-rise building in the city’s Industrialny district.
The Ukraine president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak has shared a video on X purporting to show the aftermath of the Kharkiv attack. The video shows a tower block with flames and smoke pouring out of the upper floors, along with a car on fire in the car park underneath.
The video matches photos taken by a Reuters photojournalist of the scene of the attack.
Харків. росіяни знову вдарили по цивільних. pic.twitter.com/SkLh3LtiT9
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) August 30, 2024
Some further quotes from president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the wake of the Russian attack that killed four, including a 14-year-old girl, and injured at least 28 others in Kharkiv earlier today.
The Russian strike on Kharkiv was “directly on people, on ordinary houses,” he posted on X, along with a video purporting to show the aftermath of the strike.
“All services are currently engaged in the rescue operation. I thank everyone who is helping to save lives at this moment.
“This strike was carried out using a Russian guided aerial bomb – a strike that could have been prevented if our Defense Forces had the capability to destroy Russian military aircraft at their bases.
“We need strong decisions from our partners to stop this terror. This is an absolutely legitimate need. There is no rational reason to limit Ukraine’s defense. We need long-range capabilities and the full implementation of air defense agreements for Ukraine. These are life-saving measures.”
The Russian strike on Kharkiv directly on people, on ordinary house. All services are currently engaged in the rescue operation. I thank everyone who is helping to save lives at this moment.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 30, 2024
This strike was carried out using a Russian guided aerial bomb—a strike that could have… pic.twitter.com/ydRfqPju6n
Updated
Reuters provides further detail about the Russian attack on Kharkiv:
A Russian guided bomb attack on Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv hit a residential building and a playground, killing four people, including a child, and injuring at least 28 more, local authorities said.
“Occupiers killed a child right on the playground,” Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.
Three other people were killed in a 12-storey apartment block that caught fire as a result of the strike, he added.
A video from the site shared by the president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak showed huge flames and heavy black smoke rising from the upper floors of the building.
“Russians hit civilians again,” Yermak said on Telegram.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, and the surrounding region have long been targeted by Russian attacks, in particular, by highly destructive guided bombs.
Ukraine has called on Mongolia to arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin when he visits the country, which is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that has issued a warrant for the Russian leader, next week.
“The Ukrainian side hopes that the government of Mongolia is aware of the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal,” the foreign ministry said, adding “we call on the Mongolian authorities to execute the binding international arrest warrant.”
Zelenskiy renews calls to use long-range weapons after Kharkiv deaths
Reuters now reporting that the death toll from Russia’s attack on Kharkiv is four, including a young girl killed in a strike on a playground.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy renewed a call on western allies to allow long-range attacks on Russian military air bases following the attack.
“The strike ... would not have happened if our defence forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft where they are based,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram.
Updated
Russian air attack kills child and two others after hitting playground in Kharkiv – mayor says
A Russian bomb has hit a playground in Kharkiv, killing at least one child and two other people, according to Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov, Reuters reports.
Terekhov said on Telegram that a young girl and two others were killed when the playground was hit in the Nemyshlian neighbourhood.
The Guardian could not independently verify these reports.
Updated
Russia’s military has said its forces had captured three villages in eastern Ukraine, where it is advancing even as Kyiv mounts its own assault on Russian territory, AFP reports.
In a briefing published on its Telegram page, Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized settlements in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions.
Russia’s TASS news agency reported that the villages were: Synkivka, Kostiantynivka and Novozhelanne. The reports could not be independently verified.
Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov said he had called on EU allies to contribute to an air defence shield over Ukraine’s western regions at an informal defence ministers meeting earlier today.
Strengthening Ukraine’s air defences is crucial to protecting the civilian population and infrastructure, he said in a statement on Telegram.
“I am grateful to our European allies for their support. A strong partnership between Ukraine and the European Union is key to ensuring the inevitable victory over the aggressor and achieving a just peace in Europe,” the post said.
Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi said Kyiv’s forces had advanced about a mile in its incursion of Russia’s western Kursk region in the past 24 hours.
Syrskyi briefed president Volodymyr Zelenskiy via video link and said Ukrainian forces took control of 2 sq miles of Russian territory.
AFP reports that the death toll from Russia’s overnight attack on Sumy is now two.
Two women were killed and eight other people were wounded in the northeastern city, officials said, as residents of settlements near Russia’s border were urged to evacuate.
Sumy lies just across the border from Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv launched a shock offensive on 6 August.
Regional prosecutors said the body of a 37-year-old woman had been found under the rubble of a building in Sumy hit in the strike. A 48-year-old woman later died in hospital from her injuries.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said the intergration of Ukraine in the European Union is at the heart of efforts to secure peace.
Speaking at the Globsec Forum in Prague, she said Europe’s duty was to protect itself with Nato at its core. She said central Europe could be one of the greatest beneficiaries of a new push for a European defence sector.
She called for a systemic overhaul of Europe’s defence capabilities and said it was time for governments to think of the union “intrinsically as a security project”, saying security must be the focus of everything the union does.
In a bleak warning, von der Leyen added: “we cannot afford any more illusions, the second half of the decade will be high risk” and said “Europeans must be on guard”.
Here are some of the latest pictures from the photo agencies:
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that ongoing corruption investigations into Russian defence officials involve “serious charges” that will lead to court trials, Reuters reports.
A military court in Moscow placed Pavel Popov, a former deputy defence minister, in detention yesterday on suspicion of fraud in the latest of a string of corruption probes of officials tied to former defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Asked to comment on the investigations, Peskov said: “Indeed, serious charges are being brought.
“This is the systematic work of law enforcement agencies”, he told reporters. “We cannot talk about more details. Once the investigation is completed, there will be a trial.”
The corruption scandal, the biggest to hit Russia’s defence and military establishment in years, have seen at least a dozen officials detained since April.
The Kremlin has never made any deals with Telegram boss Pavel Durov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that he was not aware of any meetings between the tech entrepreneur and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
A French judge put Russian-born Durov, boss of the messaging app that has become a key communication tool for both sides of the Ukraine conflict, under formal investigation on Wednesday. He is being investigated for suspected complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, child sex abuse images, drug trafficking and fraud.
“There were no negotiations between Durov and the Kremlin,” Peskov told reporters. “And the fact that he visited Russia, well, he is a Russian citizen, he moves freely, so naturally he visited Russia.”
“There were no deals between the Kremlin and Durov,” Peskov said in response to further questions.
Peskov said that as far as he was aware, Putin and Durov had never met.
Russia, after years of pressure on Durov and his tech ventures, has rallied behind him, with Peskov this week saying that the case against him should not become political persecution.
The commander of Ukraine’s air force said on Friday that it had shared with US partners a preliminary report about an F-16 jet crash that took place on Monday, according to Reuters.
Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram that the US, where the F-16 is manufactured, was assisting the investigation.
The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that the F-16 crashed and its pilot died while approaching a target during a Russian air strike.
The Kremlin said it was not worried that Mongolia could arrest president Vladimir Putin during his visit next week to the member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued a warrant for the Russian leader, AFP reports.
Putin will travel to Mongolia on Tuesday, in a first trip to an ICC member since The Hague-based court issued a warrant for his arrest over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children in March 2023.
“There are no worries, we have a great dialogue with our friends from Mongolia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Asked if Moscow had discussed the arrest warrant with Ulaanbaatar ahead of Putin’s trip, he said: “All aspects of the visit were carefully prepared.”
The European Union wants to train more Ukrainian soldiers, but remains divided over whether to provide the support in Ukraine itself, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said on Friday, AFP reports.
The EU has already set a goal of training around 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers this year, but with fierce fighting continuing, the bloc wants to do more.
“We will discuss how to increase our training mission” of Ukrainian soldiers, EU top diplomat Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels before a meeting of the bloc’s defence ministers.
“We are thinking about having a coordination centre in Ukraine, but there is no agreement to train Ukrainian soldiers on Ukrainian soil with European instructors,” Borrell added.
The issue divides the EU’s 27 member states. Several countries, including Estonia, France and Sweden, support training soldiers in Ukraine, but other countries, including Hungary, fear such a move could lead to conflict escalation.
France shocked its allies earlier this year when president Emmanuel Macron said he did not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine, although he acknowledged that there was no consensus on taking such action.
Ministers will discuss renewing the European mission for training Ukrainian soldiers but the current text does not mention carrying it out on Ukrainian soil, an EU diplomat said.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has provided an update on the formation of new Russian volunteer units in Kursk.
The units are part of reservist groups known as BARS, which were established in Russia in 2021. The UK’s MoD says the units were established to provide Russia with a cadre of reservists with a high level of readiness and training.
The MoD’s post said that the formation of the BARS units in Kursk is almost certainly a response to Ukraine’s offensive in the area.
In another post, the MoD shared a map showing the current battlefield situation in Russia and Ukraine. The map shows Russia’s advance on Pokrovsk and the extent of Ukraine’s advance into Kursk.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 30 August 2024.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 30, 2024
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/Xc3JHnCt83#StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/6IEfZQ487Q
The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is continuing.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 30, 2024
The map below is the latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 30 August 2024. #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/i0mQdITVul
A Russian news editor in Siberia has been sentenced to eight years in prison for publishing critical material on Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, AFP reports.
Sergei Mikhailov, a journalist and editor in the mountainous Altai region, was arrested in the first weeks of the Kremlin launching its invasion in 2022, shortly after repressive laws that banned criticism of Russia’s actions in Ukraine were adopted.
He had published online posts about civilian deaths in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha and in Mariupol.
A court in the city of Gorno-Altaisk sentenced the 48-year-old after finding him guilty of “knowingly spreading fake information” about the Russian army. Prosecutors said he was “motivated by political hatred.”
In a speech in court earlier this week, Mikhailov stood by his reporting and criticised the Kremlin for sending troops to Ukraine. He said the Russian state narrative of calling the Ukrainian leadership “fascist” had “created a whole virtual universe in the information space, and this fog became stronger and stronger.”
“My publications were aimed against this fog, so that my readers were not seduced by lies, so that they do not take part in armed conflicts, do not become murderers and victims and so that they do not harm the brotherly Ukrainian people,” Mikhailov said, in audio of the speech published by Listok, the social media channel Mikhailov ran prior to his arrest.
More than 1,000 people have been prosecuted in Russia for criticising the Russian offensive against Ukraine since the start of the armed conflict in February 2022, according to monitor OVD-Info.
After visiting Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant earlier this week, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi will next week travel to Ukraine to hold high-level talks and assess developments at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a statement on the IAEA website said.
“The IAEA acts promptly and decisively whenever and wherever there are threats to nuclear safety and security. Our proactive presence is of paramount importance to help stabilise the situation,” Grossi said.
“My message has been loud and clear throughout this tragic war: a nuclear accident must be avoided at all costs, and a nuclear power plant must never be attacked. The consequences could be disastrous, and no one stands to benefit from it. I remain determined to do everything in my power to protect nuclear safety and security as long as the fighting continues.”
At the Zaporizhzhia plant, the IAEA team stationed at the site has continued to hear explosions and other indications of military activities, at times near the plant itself. Due to reported drone threats in the area, the team was told to shelter indoors on 20 August and had to reschedule their planned walkdown on 26 August.
Since Grossi last went to the site in February, it has been hit by drone strikes, experienced loss of power lines and, earlier this month, a fire caused significant damage to one of its two cooling towers, the IAEA said.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has praised his country’s Paralympic athletes after they won their first medals at this year’s Games in Paris.
“It’s a great start! Every victory of our athletes inspires our entire country. Keep it up!” he said in a post on X.
The first victories of our Paralympic athletes in Paris. Ukraine won two silver and two bronze medals in swimming 🇺🇦
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 30, 2024
Anton Kol won silver in the 100-meter backstroke.
Iryna Poida won a silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle.
Anna Hontar is a bronze medalist in the 50-meter… pic.twitter.com/VZCO4fIwOp
A woman has died in Sumy following Russia’s overnight attacks on the region.
“According to the investigation, on August 30, 2024, at about 1:30 a.m., using methods of warfare prohibited by international law, the enemy launched an airstrike on an enterprise in Sumy. As a result of the attack by the occupiers, according to preliminary data, nine people were injured. The damage from the fire is currently being eliminated. Prosecutors, in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies, are documenting the consequences of the shelling,” Sumy prosecutor’s office said on Facebook, Ukraine’s Interfax news agency reported.
“A woman, 48, died from her wounds in hospital,” it later added.
Russian overnight attacks injured at least 9 people in the Sumy region, and hit an industrial facility in Poltava region, local authorities said, AP reports.
An airstrike on the northeastern city of Sumy caused a fire, prompting regional authorities to ask residents to stay inside and close the windows. The Sumy region borders the Russian Kursk region.
A drone attack hit an industrial facility in Poltava without causing any casualties, regional governor Filip Pronin said.
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 12 out of 18 Russia-launched drones overnight over five Ukrainian regions. Four more drones fell over the Ukrainian territory. Russia also used an Iskander-M missile during the attack, the air force added.
A group of Russian armed volunteers is being set up in Kursk to “ensure security”.
Kursk is the scene of a nearly four-week long incursion into Russia by Ukraine. Thousands of Russian civilians have fled border areas because of the assault.
Kursk governor, Alexy Smirnov said on Telegram that the new detachments would be tasked with “not only ensuring security, but also participating in life support in resettled areas in order to support the remaining people in this difficult time.”
His post said the contract for participation would be for six months and had a phone number for those interested in enlisting.
Updated
Putin to visit Mongolia despite risk of arrest under ICC warrant
Russian president Vladimir Putin will visit Mongolia next week, despite the country being a member of the International Criminal Court, which last year issued a warrant for his arrest, AP reports.
The visit, scheduled for 3 September, will be Putin’s first trip to an ICC member state since the warrant was issued in March 2023 over suspected war crimes in Ukraine.
Under the court’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, ICC members are bound to detain suspects for whom an arrest warrant has been issued by the court, if they set foot on their soil.
But the court doesn’t have any enforcement mechanism. In a famous case, then Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir wasn’t arrested in 2015 when he visited South Africa, which is a member of the court, sparking angry condemnation by rights activists and the country’s main opposition party.
Ukraine shoots down 12 of 18 Russia-launched drones in overnight attack
Hello and welcome to our live blog covering the Russia-Ukraine war. Russian overnight attacks damaged an enterprise in Sumy region, injuring at least nine people, and hit an industrial facility in Poltava region, local authorities said on Friday, as reported by Reuters.
An airstrike on the northeastern city of Sumy caused a fire, prompting regional authorities to ask residents to stay inside and close the windows.
A drone attack hit an industrial facility in Poltava without causing any casualties, regional governor Filip Pronin said. The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 12 out of 18 Russia-launched drones overnight over five Ukrainian regions. Four more drones fell over the Ukrainian territory.
Russia also used an Iskander-M missile during the attack, the air force added.
In other news:
One of the F-16 warplanes that Ukraine received from its western partners to help fight Russia’s invasion has crashed, killing the pilot, Ukraine’s Army General Staff said on Thursday. The fighter jet went down on Monday during a major Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine, a military statement posted on Facebook said. Four of those Russian missiles were shot down by F-16s, the statement said.
The crash was the first reported loss of an F-16 in Ukraine, after they arrived at the end of last month. At least six of the warplanes are believed to have been delivered. The defence ministry has opened an investigation into the crash. The Ukrainian air force in a Facebook post identified the pilot as Col. Alexei “Moonfish” Mes, who “saved Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles, unfortunately, at the cost of your own life.”
A US defence official told Reuters that Monday’s crash did not appear to be the result of Russian fire, and possible causes from pilot error to mechanical failure were still being investigated.
The EU’s top diplomat on Thursday ramped up pressure on Ukraine’s international backers to lift restrictions on the use of weapons they provide to allow its armed forces to strike targets inside Russia. “The weaponry that we are providing to Ukraine has to have full use, and the restrictions have to be lifted in order for the Ukrainians to be able to target the places where Russia is bombing them. Otherwise, the weaponry is useless,” Josep Borrell told reporters as the bloc’s foreign ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday he had spent several days on the eastern Pokrovsk front and described fighting there as “exceptionally tough”. Russia has been pressing hard towards the strategic hub of Pokrovsk in recent months, steadily inching forward. “Fights are exceptionally tough. The enemy throws into battle everything that can move and advance, trying to break through our defences,” commander Syrskyi said on Facebook. He said the most intense clashes were taking place in the area of Krasnyi Yar, 10 km (6.2 miles) from the city of Pokrovsk.
Ukraine’s military said on Thursday it had attacked an artillery depot and two oil storage facilities in Russia, causing a fire on Wednesday at the Atlas oil depot in the southern Rostov region. The military said it had also attacked the Zenit oil facility in Russia’s Kirov region, 1,500 km (930 miles) north-east of the border with Ukraine. A field artillery depot in the Russian region of Voronezh was also attacked, it added in the same message on the Telegram app.
IAEA director general Rafael Grossi will travel to Ukraine next week to hold high-level talks and assess developments at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the IAEA said on Thursday. The UN’s nuclear watchdog warned earlier this month that the safety situation at the plant was “deteriorating” after a nearby drone strike.
A military court in Moscow placed Pavel Popov, a former deputy defence minister, in detention on Thursday on suspicion of fraud in the latest of a string of corruption probes of officials tied to ex-defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
The case against Popov, who has served in his role since 2013, is the third investigation into a senior defence official relating to the construction of a military theme park near Moscow. The court ordered Popov detained until 29 October, Russian media said. He denies guilt, his lawyer told the Ria state news agency.At least one person died and six sustained injuries during Russian shelling of the eastern Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka on Thursday, the local governor said. Kostiantynivka, which is miles away from the frontline, is one of the most affected cities in the region, Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin wrote in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. “It comes under enemy fire almost every day,” he said.
One person has been killed and two injured in strikes on Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, the regional governor said Thursday. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that “the town of Shebekino was targeted by Ukrainian forces” and “unfortunately, one person was killed”.
