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Russian troops are continuing to advance on the key Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk as Moscow begins a fightback.
Vladimir Putin’s forces have encroached on Ukrainain territory near the strategic hub in the east of the country, which is home to a railyway yard and other important logistical assets.
Meanwhile, Kyiv launched waves of drone attacks targeting power and refinery plants in the Moscow region and neighbouring Tver, sparking fires, while tens of drones were destroyed across other parts of the country, Russian officials said on Sunday.
Russia's defence ministry said on the Telegram messaging app that its air defence units had destroyed 158 drones launched by Ukraine overnight, including nine over Moscow and its surrounding region, in one of the biggest Ukrainian drone attacks of the war.
It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the commander of the country's air force in the wake of a deadly F-16 crash.
The order to dismiss Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk was published on the presidential website on Friday, four days after an F-16 warplane that Ukraine received from its Western partners crashed during a Russian bombardment and killed the pilot, Colonel Alexei “Moonfish” Mes.
Key Points
- Ukraine fires drones at refinery and power plants in Moscow and Tver regions, says Russia
- Russia says it downed over 150 drones in one of biggest Ukrainian drone attacks of war
- Russia says it has captured two more settlements in east Ukraine
- Ukraine's top general says situation 'difficult' around main Russian attack
- One killed and four injured in Russian shelling of Sumy region, Ukraine says
- Ukrainian president fires air force commander after fatal F-16 crash
Kremlin spokesman says Harris is more predictable than Trump
Russia sees US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris as a more predictable opponent than Republican Donald Trump, though in any case there is no prospect of an improvement in relations with Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In an interview with Pavel Zarubin, a TV reporter with favoured access to the Kremlin, Peskov also appeared dismissive of Trump's boast that he could end the Ukraine war within 24 hours if US voters returned him to the White House.
Before Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from November's election and threw his support behind Harris, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that Moscow preferred Biden over Trump, describing the former as an experienced "old school" type of politician.
With Biden out of the running, Zarubin asked Peskov, laughing: "Then who is our candidate now?"
Peskov, also laughing, replied: "We have no candidate. But, of course, the Democrats are more predictable. And what Putin said about Biden's predictability applies to almost all Democrats, including Ms Harris."
While stating that the election was an internal US matter, Putin and Peskov have offered a variety of opinions at different times. In February, for example, Putin praised Biden for his predictability but also discussed the sensitive topic of his mental fitness for office in comments that appeared designed to sow mischief.
In June, he said Russia did not care who the next US president was, but that the US court system was clearly being used in a political battle against Trump.
Peskov, in the interview published on Sunday, said US steps to "trample on our country's interests" had exceeded acceptable limits. Bilateral relations were at a historic low point, with "no prospects" at the moment of setting them on a path towards recovery.
The Kremlin spokesman said there was no "magic wand" to resolve the Ukraine crisis overnight in the way that Trump has promised.
He said it was "fantasy" to imagine that the next US president would announce in their inauguration speech that Washington was halting military aid to Ukraine and calling for peace negotiations, and that this would change mindsets in Kyiv.
Tara Cobham1 September 2024 18:00 1725206421Zelensky again calls for permission to use Western-supplied weapons to strike inside Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that last week alone Russia had used 160 missiles, 780 guided aerial bombs and 400 attack drones against cities and troops across Ukraine, and he again called for permission to use Western-supplied weapons to strike deep inside Russia.
"To give full defence and secure our cities from this aggression, more support is needed for a just Ukrainian response," he said on Telegram.
Zelenskiy called for "a decision on long-range strikes on missile launch sites from Russia, destruction of Russian military logistics, joint shooting down of missiles and drones".
UK and Ukraine make AI deal to help post-war rebuild
The UK and Ukraine have signed one of the world’s first digital-only trade deals to benefit both countries with physical trade is disrupted by the Russian invasion.
Businesses in the allied countries are expected to be boosted when the UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) comes into force.
Ukraine was one of the largest exporters of IT services globally, with areas such as outsourcing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) and mobile applications in rapid development before the war.
Barney Davis reports:
UK and Ukraine make AI deal to help post-war rebuild
Ukraine was a global leader exporting cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) and mobile applications before the Russian invasion
Tara Cobham1 September 2024 16:00 1725199237Recap: Watch as Zelensky pays tribute to Briton killed in hotel attack in Ukraine
EU’s top diplomat ramps up pressure on Ukraine’s backers to permit strikes inside Russia
The European Union’s top diplomat on Thursday ramped up pressure on Ukraine’s international backers to lift restrictions on the use of weapons they provide to the conflict-ravaged country to allow its armed forces to strike targets inside Russia.
The US restricts the use of long-range ballistic missiles it provides to Ukraine and some EU members also limit the use of their weapons. Ukraine is desperate to target airfields and other military installations inside Russia that are used to stage attacks on its armed forces and civilians.
“We need to lift restrictions on the use of weaponry against Russian military targets, in accordance with international law,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said as the bloc’s foreign ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lorne Cook reports:
EU's top diplomat ramps up pressure on Ukraine's backers to permit strikes on targets inside Russia
The European Union's top diplomat is pressing Ukraine’s international backers to lift restrictions on the use of weapons they provide so the country's armed forces can strike military targets inside Russia
Tara Cobham1 September 2024 14:00 1725193708Russia will change nuclear doctrine due to West's actions in Ukraine, official says
Russia will make changes to its nuclear doctrine in response to the West's actions over the conflict in Ukraine, the TASS state news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Sunday.
Ryabkov did not say what the changes would entail.
Russia's existing nuclear doctrine, set out in a decree by President Vladimir Putin in 2020, says it may use nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatens the existence of the state.
Russia, which accuses the West of using Ukraine as a proxy to wage war against it, has said before that it is considering changes. Ryabkov's was the most categorical statement yet that it would proceed with them.
"The work is at an advanced stage, and there is a clear intent to make corrections", TASS cited Ryabkov as saying.
He said the decision is "connected with the escalation course of our Western adversaries" in connection with the conflict in Ukraine.
Tara Cobham1 September 2024 13:28 1725192037Kyiv is pressing US for permission to use allied-supplied weapons to strike deep inside Russia
Kyiv is pressing the United States for permission to use allied-supplied weapons to strike deep inside Russia.
With the domestic drone industry growing rapidly, Kyiv has been stepping up its attacks on Russia, striking energy, military and transport infrastructure – sectors vital to Moscow's war efforts.
Kyiv says, however, that it needs to be allowed to use more powerful Western-supplied weapons to inflict greater damage inside Russia and impair Moscow's abilities to continue its attacks on Ukraine, which it invaded in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's senior officials were in Washington last week, appealing to the United States for what Zelenskiy called, "capabilities to truly and fully" protect the country.
Tara Cobham1 September 2024 13:00 1725188437Five wounded in Kharkiv as Ukraine says Russia launches 11 drones overnight
Eight drones were shot down by Ukraine out of 11 launched by Russia overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force.
Five people were wounded in shelling in the country's northeastern Kharkiv region, local officials said.
Tara Cobham1 September 2024 12:00 1725185512Russia says it has captured two more settlements in east Ukraine
Russia said on Sunday its forces had captured two more settlements in eastern Ukraine and Kyiv's top commander acknowledged his army was under heavy pressure.
The Russian defence ministry said its units had taken Ptyche, about 21 km (13 miles) southeast of the important Ukrainian logistical hub of Pokrovsk, and were "continuing to advance deep into the enemy defences". It said Russia had also seized Vyimka, another settlement in the Donetsk region.
Reuters could not independently confirm battlefield reports.
Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Sunday the situation was "difficult"around Russia's main line of attack in eastern Ukraine, but that all the necessary decisions were being taken.
Russia has been pressing its offensive in the Donetsk region while trying to repel a surprise Ukrainian incursion into western Russia that began on 6 August.
Tara Cobham1 September 2024 11:11 1725184837Ukraine's top general says situation 'difficult' around main Russian attack
Ukraine's top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Sunday the situation was "difficult" around Russia's main attack, which is focused in eastern Ukraine, but that all the necessary decisions were being taken.
Syrskyi did not give the exact location of the main Russian offensive, but earlier both he and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces were targeting the strategically important city of Pokrovsk.
"The situation is difficult in the direction of the enemy's main attack. But all the necessary decisions at all levels are being made without delay," Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app.
Syrskyi said last week he spent several days on the eastern front near Pokrovsk and described fighting there as "exceptionally tough".
Russia, which has captured swathes of eastern Ukraine since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022, continues to inch forward there in heavy fighting.
The gains have continued since Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into Russia's west Kursk region on 6 August, apparently aimed at diverting Russian resources and strengthening Kyiv's position in any future negotiations.
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