Key developments on Aug. 9:
- Russian attack against supermarket in Donetsk Oblast's Kostiantynivka kills 14, injures 43
- 700 bombs destroyed in Ukrainian strike against Russia's Lipetsk airbase, source says
- Ukrainian FPV drone hit another Russian helicopter in Kursk Oblast, source says
- About 30 Russian soldiers killed during Ukrainian raid on Kinburn Spit, military intelligence says
- Russia claims Ukraine's forces reach outskirts of Sudzha in Kursk region
Russia struck a supermarket in the town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast on Aug. 9, killing at least 14 people and injuring at least 43 others, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said.
At first, Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin said that the town had come under the artillery attack but later said that it was hit by a Russian Kh-38 missile.
Local outlet Novosti Donbassa shared the footage of the burning "Ekomarket" building and ruined surroundings.
A freight department of Nova Poshta, Ukraine's largest postal service, that was located in the targeted shopping center was also damaged, the company said.
One of the employees suffered a concussion and is being provided medical assistance. Nova Poshta promised compensation for destroyed packages, adding that not all parcels have been destroyed.
Filashkin said that according to the preliminary information, the Russian attack also damaged four houses, nine shops, a car wash, and 12 cars.
"The attack against the supermarket in Kostiantynivka is another case of Russian terror. Warfare against civilians is all they can do," Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.
Later in the day, Russia attacked Kostiantynivka again, using Smerch multiple launch rocket systems, Filashkin said. The attack injured two people and damaged six houses and a gas pipeline, he added.
Another Russian attack on a local market in Kostinatynivka in September 2023 killed 17 people and injured over 30 others.
Martin Fornusek
700 bombs destroyed in Ukrainian strike against Russia's Lipetsk airbase, source says
A drone strike against a military airbase in Russia's Lipetsk Oblast on Aug. 9 set off a chain explosion that detonated more than 700 bombs, a Ukrainian intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent.
Earlier, Russian authorities said that a fire broke out at a military airfield, and an energy facility was damaged in a drone attack in the oblast. The source told the Kyiv Independent that there were fighter jets and helicopters stored at the airbase. It is unknown how many were damaged or destroyed in the attack.
The source said the attack was carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in collaboration with the Ukrainian army and the Special Operation Forces. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed the attack on the airfield but said that the damage was still being clarified.
Ukrainian forces have previously launched drone attacks at military and industrial targets in Lipetsk Oblast, which is located some 450 kilometers (279 miles) from the Ukrainian border. It is northeast of Kursk Oblast, where fighting is currently ongoing after an unprecedented Ukrainian cross-border incursion that began on Aug. 6.
Six people were injured in the attack, Lipetsk Oblast Governor Igor Artamanov said, adding that they had been taken to the hospital.
Videos shared on Russian Telegram channels showed a massive explosion in the distance, although it was unclear what was directly impacted by it or where it was located.
The intelligence source said that the explosion occurred at the Lipetsk-2 military airfield, located just outside the city of Lipetsk, which has a population of around 500,000.
The local department of the Emergency Situations Ministry said that a state of emergency had been introduced, and residents of four towns had been ordered to evacuate.
Russia's Defense Ministry said that 75 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted overnight over six different oblasts, as well as occupied Crimea. The ministry also claimed that seven naval drones in the Black Sea had been intercepted.
Kateryna Denisova
Ukrainian FPV drone hit another Russian helicopter in Kursk Oblast, source says
A first-person-view (FPV) drone operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) hit another Russian military helicopter in mid-air in Kursk Oblast, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent on Aug. 9.
This comes as the second reported case this week. A Russian Mi-28 attack helicopter was reportedly hit by an FPV drone in Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6 in what some called the first such successful attack in history.
The source did not specify the model of the second aircraft, but Ukrainian activist Serhii Sternenko, who also reported on the attack, said it was a Mi-8 transport helicopter.
A video of the attack provided by the source appears to confirm this. The operation was carried out by the Special Operations Center "A" of the SBU, according to the source.
It is not immediately clear whether the helicopter was downed in the attack. Sternenko said that the aircraft was hit in the tail "with a powerful fragmentation warhead."
Ukraine launched an unprecedented incursion into Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6, with fighting reportedly ongoing at least in two border districts.
Kursk Oblast lies on the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, which has been experiencing daily attacks since Russian troops were pushed out of the oblast and back across the border in April 2022.
Kateryna Denisova
About 30 Russian soldiers killed during Ukrainian raid on Kinburn Spit, military intelligence says
Ukrainian special forces killed about 30 Russian soldiers and destroyed six armored vehicles during a raid on the Russian-occupied Kinburn Spit on Aug. 9, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported.
The Kinburn Spit is located at the mouth of the Dnipro River, south of Kherson. It is one of the parts of Mykolaiv Oblast that remain under Russian occupation.
The airborne operation was carried out by a number of Ukrainian units, such as "Chimera," "Stuhna," "Paragon," "Siberian Battalion," and "Terror," with the support of Ukraine's Navy, according to military intelligence.
As part of the operation, Ukrainian soldiers hoisted a flag of Ukraine's military intelligence on the Kinburn Spit, the agency said, sharing a video purportedly showing the raid.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Russian forces had stopped an attempted landing by a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group on the Kinburn Spit and destroyed the group. No evidence was provided.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
This is the second raid by Ukrainian special forces reported in the last week. Ukraine's troops destroyed Russian "equipment, personnel, and fortifications" during a raid on the Tendra Spit off the coast of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, HUR said on Aug. 7.
Russia claims Ukraine's forces reach outskirts of Sudzha in Kursk region
Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Aug. 9 that Russian forces are carrying out attacks against Ukrainian soldiers on the western outskirts of the town of Sudzha as Kyiv's incursion continues into the fourth day.
Sudzha is located less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Ukraine, while the city of Kursk lies 85 kilometers (53 miles) to the northeast of Sudzha. This is the first time Moscow claimed that Ukrainian forces reached the town amid multiple reports about their presence there.
According to the ministry, Russian forces also "launch attacks on Ukraine's Armed Forces' manpower and equipment" near the settlements of Daryino, Gogolevka, Melovoy, and Nikolskyi.
The battles are ongoing "a few dozen kilometers" from Kurchatov in the Kursk region, claimed the town's mayor, Igor Korpunkov. The town is located some 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Ukraine's Sumy Oblast and hosts the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
Russian pro-war Telegram channels also claim that Ukrainian forces are some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the town of Lgov, where a crucial highway is located.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
Earlier in the day, Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said that the situation in the Kursk region has been declared a "federal emergency."
The state-owned train operator Moscow Railway said on Aug. 8 that the railway stations in Sudzha, Korenevo, and Psel are "temporarily closed to passengers."
Kyiv has so far maintained a policy of silence, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 8 that "Russia brought war to our land, and it should feel what it has done." He did not directly mention the incursion into the Kursk region.
Francis Farrell
