As the war enters its 919th day, here are the top developments.
Here is the situation on Sunday, September 1, 2024.
Struggle
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A Russian-guided bomb attack killed two people and wounded 10 others, including children, in a village in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. He added that two women were confirmed dead, including one who was rescued from the rubble. Kharkiv has faced multiple attacks since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
- Russia's state news agency TASS reported that the fire at the Moscow oil refinery has been given the highest level of complexity. The warning came after Russia said it had repelled drone attacks in several parts of the country.
- Moscow said it had foiled a massive drone attack in western Russia and another targeting the capital. Bryansk regional governor Aleksandr Bogomaz said the Russian military had “identified and destroyed” at least 26 drones, causing no casualties or damage.
- The Baza Telegram news channel, which is close to Russian security services, reported that loud explosions were heard near the Konakovo power plant in Tver region, one of the largest energy producers in central Russia. Tver Governor Igor Rudenya said five drones were destroyed over his region northwest of the capital.
- Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a drone launched from Ukraine was destroyed near the Moscow oil refinery owned by Gazprom. There was no damage or threat to the refinery's production process, he said.
- The head of the Kashira city district, Mikhail Shuvalov, said on Telegram that Ukraine also tried to attack the Kashira power plant in the Moscow region with three drones.
- Independent Russian media outlet Mediazona reported that as of August 30, more than 66,000 Russian servicemen had been killed during the war in Ukraine. Mediazona said the list had increased by more than 4,600 in the past four weeks, adding that it was not a definitive figure as the deaths of many soldiers are not made public.
Politics and diplomacy
- Ukraine had every right to launch its surprise offensive in Russia’s Kursk border region as an act of self-defence, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told German newspaper Die Welt. He stressed that Ukraine “has the right to defend itself” and that Russian soldiers, tanks and bases in Kursk “are legitimate targets under international law.”
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stepped up pressure on the United States to allow Kiev to strike military targets inside its territory after his representatives met with senior US officials in Washington. In his late-night video address, he said deadly attacks like the one in Kharkiv, which killed six people, could only be prevented by “striking Russian military airfields, their bases and the logistics of Russian terrorism.”
