News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe

Democratic U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal urged his colleagues in the House of Representatives to approve long-awaited sweeping Russia sanctions legislation in an interview with CBS News on Aug. 30, as the House prepares to reconvene on Aug. 31.

Russian independent media outlet Mediazona, in collaboration with the BBC Russian service, has confirmed the identities of 242,747 Russian military personnel killed in Ukraine.

The president's latest report comes amid an ongoing Russian drone attack on the capital with explosions heard in central Kyiv beginning around 12:30 a.m. local time overnight on Aug. 31, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground.

Drones have been flying toward the capital for hours at a time, with explosions and the sound of air defense fire rocking the city throughout the morning and afternoon.

Mykhailo Fedorov said he is seeking backing from venture capitalists, private investors, and U.S. technology companies for a fund that would invest in Ukrainian defense startups and create new companies focused on battlefield technologies.

The company said it is currently assessing the full scale of the consequences and taking steps to restore supplies of its products to customers and consumers in Ukraine.

"Such a meeting is possible only to formalize agreements," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He added that a settlement over Ukraine is "not a primitive deal," but a "very complicated" process involving "a huge number of details."

Unmanned Systems Forces Commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi said Ukrainian drones targeted the Yeysk airfield in Russia's Krasnodar Krai and the Millerovo airfield in Rostov Oblast.

In Donetsk Oblast, two people were killed, including a 13-year-old child, and two more were injured after Russian forces dropped bombs on houses in the village of Bilbasivka on Aug. 30,

As Russia scales up production of its jet-powered drones — the Geran-4 and Geran-5 — Ukraine is struggling to shoot them down amid prolonged waves of attacks.

Amid intensifying attacks in the Black Sea from both Ukraine and Russia, a Turkish-operated vessel was hit on Aug. 26 off the coast of Tuapse — a Russian port city with a large oil refinery that Ukraine frequently attacks with drones.