As the war enters its 897th day, here are the top developments.
Here is the situation on Saturday, August 10, 2024.
Struggle
- A Russian missile hit a supermarket in the Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka in the frontline Donetsk region, killing at least 14 people and wounding 43 others, Ukrainian authorities said. “Russian terrorists attacked an ordinary supermarket and a post office. There are people under the rubble,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X.
- Russia has moved additional tanks, artillery and rocket systems into its southern Kursk region and imposed “anti-terrorist measures” in border areas as it fights off a shock incursion by the Ukrainian army.
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Ukrainian forces released a video purporting to show them in control of a town near the border, the first graphic evidence of their cross-border advances. Another video posted on social media showed a convoy of about 15 burned-out Russian military trucks strewn along a highway in the Kursk region. Some contained corpses.
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The acting governor of the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, said the drone debris had fallen on a power substation near Kurchatov, home to one of Russia's largest nuclear power plants with four reactors. Power to the area was cut off for a time.
- The Russian Defense Ministry has released a video in which it says a drone is seen destroying a Ukrainian tank and howitzer near Sudzha, about 10 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. The location could not be immediately verified.
- The ministry said that over the past 24 hours, Russian troops, airstrikes and artillery had “suppressed attempts by enemy units to break into Russian territory in the direction of Kursk.” It said Ukraine had lost up to 945 soldiers and 102 armored vehicles in total, though it did not mention any Russian losses.
- Ukrainian special forces have carried out an amphibious raid on the Russian-occupied Kinburn Spit in the northwestern Black Sea, destroying six Russian armored vehicles and around three dozen personnel, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said.
Politics and diplomacy
- The United States has announced a new $125 million aid package for Ukraine, including Stinger missiles, artillery ammunition and anti-armor systems. Zelensky said the package was “vital for our forces to counter Russian attacks.”
- The head of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency has urged Russia and Ukraine to show restraint in fighting in the Kursk region near Kurchatov, given the proximity of the conflict to a nuclear power plant in the area.
Arms
- Dozens of Russian military personnel are being trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile system, two European intelligence sources told Reuters news agency, adding that they expected the imminent delivery of hundreds of satellite-guided weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
- Poland has signed a deal with the United States to buy hundreds of air-to-air missiles, the national armaments agency said on Friday. The AIM-120C AMRAAM missiles will be delivered between 2029 and 2033 for the air force's fighter jets, the agency reported on X. Security concerns have been raised in Poland after neighbouring Russia invaded Ukraine.
Economy
- Ukraine has begun the formal process of seeking creditor approval of its bid to restructure some $20 billion in international bonds, a key step in the war-ravaged country's effort to restructure its debt.
- Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4 percent year-on-year from April to June, according to statistics agency Rosstat, the weakest quarterly result since early 2023 but still a sign the economy is expanding.
