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.
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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
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