As the war enters its 926th day, here are the top developments.
Here is the situation on Sunday, September 8, 2024.
Struggle
- At least five people have been killed in Russian strikes in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Three people were killed and four wounded in the town of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said, while two men were killed near the town of Toretsk, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast.
- Serhiy Lysak, governor of Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, said the number of people injured in a Russian missile attack on the town of Pavlohrad the previous day had risen to 82. “Sixty people remain in hospital,” he said.
- The remains of one of the many Russian drones shot down over Ukraine early Saturday morning have been found near the Ukrainian parliament building, the country's parliament said in a statement.
- Funerals were held in Poltava for more than 50 people killed when Russia attacked a military educational institute in the eastern Ukrainian city. Residents knelt in silent tribute as hearses carrying the victims passed by on their way to a military cemetery outside the city for burial.
- At least three people were injured in Ukrainian shelling of the town of Shebekino in Russia's Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
- The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had taken control of the village of Kalynove in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Kalynove is about 25 kilometers (15 miles) southeast of Pokrovsk, a major Ukrainian logistics hub that Russia is seeking to capture.
- Ukraine has attacked an ammunition depot in Russia's Voronezh region with drones, a Ukrainian security source told Reuters news agency. Alexander Gusev, the province's governor, said “explosive objects” had caused a fire. There were no casualties, but several hundred people were evacuated and a local state of emergency was declared.
Politics and diplomacy
- Richard Moore, head of the UK's foreign intelligence service MI6, and CIA chief William Burns wrote a joint op-ed for the Financial Times highlighting British and US efforts to help Ukraine in its war against Russia and stressing that it was crucial for the West to maintain their support.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to London on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine, the war in Gaza and other key security concerns, the State Department said.
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pledged her unwavering support for Ukraine after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of a conference on Lake Como where they discussed kyiv's plans to end the war against invading Russian forces and reconstruction efforts.
- Zelensky also met with Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders at the forum, and the two discussed the Ukraine peace plan. Wilders is the leader of the largest Dutch parliamentary party.
Arms
- Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has expressed deep concern over reports of a possible imminent transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia. The ministry said deepening military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow was a threat to Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East, and called on the international community to increase pressure on Iran and Russia. In August, reports indicated that Russia expected the imminent delivery of hundreds of Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles from Iran.
