Local official: Russian troops shell liberated Kherson 17 times on Nov. 24

"Therefore it is vital that we use this window of opportunity that we have while Russia is bogged down in Ukraine to strengthen NATO's northern flank," Sweden's defense minister Pal Jonson said.

The bombing took place around 11 a.m. while local residents lined up to receive pensions, according to officials. The casualties included local pensioners and employees of Ukrposhta, Ukraine's national post service, who were delivering the payments.

"We aim for 100% by October," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in reference to the 2 million pledged artillery shells.

According to the agency, Ukrainian forces destroyed a 48Ya6-K1 Podlet low-altitude radar and an RLM-M module from the 55Zh6M Nebo-M air defense complex.

The contract, set to be signed on Sept. 10 and worth "hundreds of millions of euros," will see the first units delivered to Ukraine by the end of the year.

Three oil and gas pipelines in Russia were knocked out of service in a series of explosions on Sept. 8, a Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) source told the Kyiv Independent.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow's plans could cost "years and a million people," or even "two or three million corpses" if Russia accelerates its offensive.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki said that a country cannot join NATO while at war and that "today's discussion about Ukraine's membership in the European Union is premature."

The attack may have coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin's working visit to the city. According to the Kremlin, Putin joined the BRICS summit online from Sochi on Sept. 8.

Alexey Sinitsyn, CEO of potash producer K-Potash Service, was found dead near Kaliningrad.

"That's the only conceivable way to move Putin from his current calculations... get him to compromise and to agree to a ceasefire," former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 84 Shahed-type attack and decoy drones overnight, with air defenses downing 60.

"Compared to missiles from previous years, there are fewer components from Europe and the U.S., and more from Russia and Belarus," presidential sanctions commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk said.

A 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee was fatally stabbed in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Aug. 22, The Charlotte Observer reported.