The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Moscow and Washington discuss the potential resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe, among other issues related to the peaceful settlement of Russia's war in Ukraine, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed to the Russian state-run Interfax news agency.
"This is a historic decision, as weapons for Ukraine will be purchased at the expense of the proceeds from frozen Russian assets through the European Peace Fund," Denys Shmyhal said.
The approval marks a key step in international efforts to hold Moscow accountable for what is considered the gravest violation of international law committed against Ukraine.
Although Moscow declared on April 28 that it would halt all military actions from May 8 to midnight on May 11 to mark Victory Day, strikes on civilian areas have continued.
Sudzha in Russia's Kursk Oblast after Ukrainian forces entered the town, Aug. 16, 2024. (Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)
Russia has not provided a humanitarian corridor for its citizens to leave Kursk more than three weeks after Ukraine began its incursion into the region, said Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Operational Tactical Group Siversk.
Mysnyk made his comments during the government-run Telemarathon, Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform reported.
"We talk a lot with the locals. Even show them photos of destroyed Ukrainian cities, show films about the crimes committed by the Russians at the beginning of the war. They have different opinions. But for the most part they don't understand. They say that they want peace, that it is beyond politics, that everything stops or that they are given a corridor - the opportunity to leave the combat zone, which Russia does not provide," said Mysnyk.
According to Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, as of Aug. 27, Ukraine controlled 1,294 square kilometers (around 500 square miles) and 100 settlements, including the town of Sudzha.
These claims have not been independently verified by The Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine opened a hotline for Russian citizens in Kursk Oblast who wish to receive humanitarian aid or want to be evacuated to Ukraine amid the ongoing fighting in the area, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Aug. 14.
Around 200 civilians remain in the city of Sudzha out of 5,000 residents, Oleksandr Pavliuk, commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces, said on Aug. 31. The majority of them are retirement age. Russia is regularly shelling Sudzha and attacking it with guided aerial bombs and kamikaze drones, according to Pavliuk.
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Kateryna Denisova
