As the war enters its 923rd day, here are the top developments.
Here is the situation on Thursday, September 5, 2024.
Struggle
- At least seven people, including three children, were killed in a Russian missile and drone attack on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, which borders Poland. Four of the dead were from the same family. Prosecutors said at least 40 people were injured and schools, medical facilities and other buildings in the city centre were damaged.
- Poland sent fighter jets to ensure their safety while Lviv was under attack.
- At least five people were injured when debris from a downed Russian missile fell in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, damaging a hotel, Ukrainian emergency services said.
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Ukraine's air force said it had shot down seven of 13 missiles and 22 of 29 drones that Russia deployed in an attack on energy facilities and critical infrastructure in nine Ukrainian regions.
- At least one person was killed and three wounded when Russian forces shelled a residential area in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka, which lies northeast of Pokrovsk, a strategically important city that Russia is trying to capture.
- Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces had taken control of the settlements of Prechystivka and Karlivka, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Pokrovsk.
- Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said three people were killed and two wounded after Ukraine shelled a village in the region bordering Russia.
- Russia's Defense Ministry has acknowledged attacking a military educational institute and a hospital in Poltava. Ukraine said at least 51 people were killed and 271 wounded in Tuesday's attack. Russia said the attack targeted soldiers, foreign instructors and drone operators.
Politics and diplomacy
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had ordered a major government reshuffle because Ukraine needed “new energy.” A total of six ministers submitted their resignations, with parliament accepting four of them. Among those who submitted their resignation was Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, but parliament did not formally sanction it.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated Germany's political and military support for Ukraine. “Germany's support for Ukraine will not cease. We have taken action, we have made a step forward and we have reached an agreement.” [defence] “We have concluded agreements and secured funding in time so that Ukraine can continue to have full trust in us in the future,” Scholz said.
- The Swiss government said it would offer protection to Ukrainian refugees at least until 2026 because the situation there is not expected to change in the foreseeable future.
- The Kremlin claimed Russia was adjusting its nuclear doctrine because the US was “stirring up tension” and its allies were stoking “the hot war in Ukraine” and ignoring what it said were Moscow’s legitimate security interests. Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
- Belarusian state broadcaster All-National TV reported that an alleged Japanese spy had been detained. The channel said the alleged agent was caught filming military infrastructure and had tried to reveal details about Chinese investments in Belarus as well as the situation on the Belarus-Ukraine border. There was no official statement from Minsk about the arrest.
