Mayor: Explosion reported in Russian-occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced on Sept. 1 that he will visit China to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Slovakia.

Ukrainian assault groups spent two weeks fighting to liberate the settlement, raising the national flag in the village center on Aug. 31, according to the General Staff.

Siversk, Russia's new potential target, lies about 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of Russian-occupied territory and just south of the contested Serebrianskyi Forest.

The pace of Russia's advance in Ukraine dropped by 18% in August, with Russian forces occupying 464 square kilometers of territory.

"We are accelerating the supply of additional air defense systems to enhance protection against missiles," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"We can confirm there was GPS jamming, but the plane landed safe," European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta confirmed for the Kyiv Independent.

While Moscow has publicly insisted on full control of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the map indicated possible plans extending to Odesa and Kharkiv, neither of which had been included in earlier demands.

The victim, identified as Liana, was struck by a train traveling about 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) after a 31-year-old Iraqi citizen allegedly shoved her onto the tracks.

"The suspect has given an initial testimony. Urgent investigative actions are currently underway to establish all the circumstances of this murder," President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in the early hours of Sept. 1.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to broker a swift peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, is not expected to attend the Paris meeting at the moment, a source told AFP.

Heihe, a small rural lender, was one of the last Chinese banks willing to process transactions for Russian non-sanctioned credit organizations after larger Chinese banks cut off such services.

Putin met both Xi and Modi during the summit as he seeks to strengthen ties with India and China amid the war in Ukraine and in the face of Western pressure.

Law enforcement officers arrived at the scene shortly after 8 a.m. local time and tried to speak to the driver before he drove his car into the consulate gate, the Australian police said.