Ukraine Daily Summary - Wednesday, September 4 2024

Ukraine’s deep drone strikes aim to break Russia’s war machine, sow discontent -- Russian strikes damage overhead power line at occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant -- Russian forces strike university building in Sumy -- Casualties in Lviv as Russia launches another mass attack on Ukraine -- and more

Wednesday, September 4

Russia’s war against Ukraine

a statue of a man in front of a damaged building

Medical workers and psychologists provide assistance and support to local residents and victims in the neigborhood where a military educational facility was hit by Russian missiles in Poltava on Sept. 3. At least 51 people were killed and hundreds wounded in one of the single deadliest strikes of the two-and-a-half-year war. (Patryk Jaraccz / AFP via Getty Images)

Russia strikes Poltava with ballistic missiles, killing at least 51, injuring over 270. The Military Institute of Communications and a neighboring medical facility were hit in the attack.

Mongolia fails to arrest Putin due to ‘energy dependence, neutrality,’ Politico reports. “Mongolia imports 95% of its petroleum products and over 20% of electricity from our immediate neighborhood (Russia), which has previously suffered interruption for technical reasons. This supply is critical to ensure our existence and that of our people,” the Mongolian spokesperson said in a statement to Politico.

Ukraine plans to ‘indefinitely’ hold Kursk Oblast’s seized territories, Zelensky says. Ukraine is planning to “indefinitely” hold the seized territories of Russia’s Kursk Oblast as it tries to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with NBC News aired on Sept. 3.

Russian strikes damage overhead power line at occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Energoatom says. Damage to another overhead power line will lead to an emergency at the plant, according to the state nuclear energy company.

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Russian forces strike university building in Sumy. At least one person has been injured after a Russian airstrike damaged a university building in the north-eastern city of Sumy, regional authorities said on Sept. 3.

Russian court sentences Ukrainian soldier captured in occupied Crimea to 20 years in prison. According to Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, Oleksandr Lyubas was part of a small group of Ukrainian soldiers who attempted to conduct an amphibious operation on the peninsula and was captured in the process.

Drone appears to drop molten thermite on Ukraine’s southern front. Both Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels have claimed responsibility for the terrifying new drone innovation.

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Ukraine’s deep drone strikes aim to break Russia’s war machine, sow discontent

Targeting power generators and fuel depots, Ukraine aims to disrupt Russian logistics, limit Russia’s ability to launch air strikes, and restrict fuel as well as electricity supplies to military facilities and the defense industry.

Photo: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images

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Ukraine war latest: Russian missile attack on Poltava kills at least 51, injures 271

Russian forces launched two ballistic missiles against the city of Poltava on Sept. 3, killing at least 51 and injuring 271 people, according to the latest information shared by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Photo: Bohdan Kazyrid/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

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Dismissal of Ukraine energy grid chief prompts resignations, international concern amid Russian energy strikes

The controversial decision to dismiss the head of Ukraine’s state-owned energy grid operator has prompted resignations from two independent members of the company’s supervisory board and raised concerns from partners abroad.  

Photo: Future Publishing via Getty Images

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‘She was the culture’: Kharkiv mourns 18-year-old artist killed in Russian attack

At the opening of an art exhibition in Kharkiv’s Yermoliv Center on Aug. 29, 18-year-old artist Veronika Kozhushko, also known as Nika, could be seen jumping on a small trampoline before she landed on her feet with a breathless smile.

Photo: Yaryna Tsymbal / Facebook

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Human cost of war

Casualties in Lviv as Russia launches another mass attack on Ukraine. At least three civilians were killed and 25 were wounded in Lviv overnight on Sept. 4 amid Russia’s attack against Ukraine, Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyi and Mayor Andrii Sadovyi reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 618,960 troops since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,360 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.

International response

Norway pledges $53 million for drones, air defense for Ukraine. The donation is made through the London-led International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) in cooperation with the U.K., Lithuania, and the Netherlands. Norway has previously contributed a total of $168 million to the IFU since 2022.

Romanian parliament approves Patriot system delivery to Ukraine. The bill is yet to be signed by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, after which the government will issue an order for the delivery to go ahead.

In other news

Several Ukrainian ministers submit resignations amid reports of government reshuffle. Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin, Justice Minister Denys Maliuska, Ecology Minister Ruslan Strilets, and Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna submitted their resignations to the Ukrainian parliament, Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk reported on Sept 3.

Top Ukrainian anti-corruption official fired over pressure on whistleblower. Gizo Uglava, the second-in-command at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), has been fired following a probe into his alleged pressure on a whistleblower, the bureau said on Sept. 3.

Ukraine energy grid chief Volodymyr Kudrytskyi dismissed, board members confirm. Via a post on Ukrenergo’s Telegram account, Chairman of the supervisory board Daniel Dobenni, and supervisory board member Peder Andreasen, also said they were stepping down from their positions in protest of what they described as a “politically motivated” decision.

Zelensky dismisses one of his top aides, Rostyslav Shurma. President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Deputy Head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office Rostyslav Shurma on Sept. 3.

Ukrainian athletes win 10 medals on day 6 of Paralympics. On the sixth day of the 2024 Paralympic Games, Ukrainian athletes secured 10 medals.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Francis Farrell, Nate Ostiller, Dinara Khalilova, Kateryna Denisova, Sonya Bandouil, and Olena Goncharova.

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