Key developments on Sept. 2:
- Russia launches missile strike on Kyiv
- Russia has no advance near Pokrovsk over past 2 days, Zelensky claims
- Poland has right to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine for national security, Polish FM says
- Dutch PM makes surprise visit to Ukraine, announces new aid package
- Iran may send ballistic missiles to Russia 'within a matter of days,' Bloomberg reports
Poland and neighboring countries are "responsible for protecting their own airspace," despite NATO's opposition, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sept. 2.
Russian drones and missiles have previously entered Poland's airspace during attacks on Ukraine. However, Polish allies advised the government to exercise restraint when dealing with unidentified airspace violations, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
"Membership in NATO does not trump each country's responsibility for the protection of its own airspace – it's our own constitutional duty," Sikorski told the Financial Times.
"I'm personally of the view that, when hostile missiles are on a course of entering our airspace, it would be legitimate self-defense (to strike them) because once they do cross into our airspace, the risk of debris injuring someone is significant."
In early July, Ukraine and Poland signed a bilateral security agreement, which included a commitment by both sides to examine "the feasibility of possible intercepting in Ukraine's airspace missiles and UAVs fired in the direction of the territory of Poland, following necessary procedures agreed by the states and organizations involved."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in turn, was skeptical about this point of the agreement, saying that it puts the alliance at risk of "becoming part of the conflict."
Sikorski began to insist on Poland's right to shoot down air targets after a Russian drone reportedly crossed the country's border in an attack against Ukraine on Aug. 26. The minister said that the risk of Polish casualties increases the closer a missile is to its target when intercepted, so it was better to shoot it down at a higher altitude over Ukraine.
"Ukrainians have told us: you're welcome," Sikorski added.
Elsa Court
Russia launches missile strike on Kyiv
Several waves of explosions were heard in Kyiv shortly after the air alert sounded at around 5:30 a.m. local time, Kyiv Independent journalists reported on Sept. 2.
Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said that Russia had used cruise and ballistic missiles in the attack.
Air defense was active in the capital and Kyiv Oblast.
Ukraine's Air Force said that it had detected 35 missiles of various types and 23 attack drones across the country. Nine Iskander ballistic missiles, 13 Kh-101 cruise missiles, and 20 drones were downed, the Air Force said.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that emergency services were called to the city's Sviatoshynskyi, Holosiivskyi, and Shevchenkivskyi districts.
As a result of the missile strike, Popko said that debris fell in at least four districts of the city, causing damage to cars and non-residential buildings. The extent of the damage is still being investigated, he said.
Local authorities said that at least three people were injured in the city.
A mosque and other religious buildings in Kyiv's Nyvky neighborhood were damaged in the attack, said Refat Chubarov, the chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis.
Chris York
Russia has no advance near Pokrovsk over past 2 days, Zelensky claims
The situation in the Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast is "difficult," but Russian troops have not advanced over the past two days, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 2, citing Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
The eastern front near Pokrovsk has been the scene of fierce fighting for several months and a focal point of Russia's offensive in Donetsk Oblast. The city is an important logistical hub for Ukrainian forces.
Asked whether it was appropriate to launch the Kursk incursion, Zelensky said that Russia had redeployed a "sufficiently large number" of troops from Zaporizhzhia and Kherson sectors to Kursk Oblast.
As Kyiv's incursion into Kursk Oblast enters its fourth week, Ukraine reportedly controls over 1,290 square kilometers (500 square miles) and 100 settlements, Syrskyi said in late August.
Ukrainian soldiers also have taken over 600 Russian captives, Zelensky said.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
"The Kursk operation is fulfilling its tasks and is going according to plan... We believe that the Kursk operation can also affect the (Pokrovsk) direction, where the pressure may be reduced due to a decrease in the number of Russian troops," the president said at a press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.
According to Zelensky, Russia has long concentrated the most combat-ready Russian brigades in the area, as Moscow's main goal is the complete occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
"But so far we see that it is difficult there... In any case, no matter how difficult it is, there has been no advance in the Pokrovsk sector for two days," he added.
Russian troops accelerated their advance towards Pokrovsk over the past week, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Sept. 1.
On Aug. 15, the military administration of Pokrovsk urged residents to evacuate after Russian forces reached about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the town's outskirts.
Francis Farrell
Dutch PM makes surprise visit to Ukraine, announces new aid package
New Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof arrived in Ukraine's southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Sept. 2 to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and announce a new aid package for Ukraine worth more than 200 million euros ($221 million).
This is Schoof's first visit to Ukraine since he took office in early July. He replaced Mark Rutte who was officially appointed to be the next NATO secretary general starting from October.
"Without exaggeration, the leadership of the Netherlands has helped Ukraine protect thousands and thousands of lives. Our relations are stronger than ever. We stand shoulder to shoulder in the pursuit of a just and lasting peace," Zelensky said.
The aid package for Kyiv will be devoted to protection and repair of Ukraine's energy infrastructure and includes additional funding for humanitarian aid.
"People in Ukraine have the right to live in freedom and security. And stopping Russia’s attacks on Ukraine is in the security interests of both the Netherlands and Europe as a whole," Schoof wrote on X.
According to Zelensky, the leaders discussed new air defense systems for Ukraine, missiles to them, F-16s fighter jets, and "all the necessary weapons for our defense" against Russia.
As Ukraine marks the beginning of the school year, the two leaders visited the first lesson at one of the schools in Zaporizhzhia.
Part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast is occupied by Russian troops. Heavy fighting is raging on about 40 kilometers from Zaporizhzhia, and the city and its nearby areas often endure indiscriminate Russian attacks.
Local authorities plan to open eight more underground schools being built in Zaporizhzhia by the end of the year, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Daria Shulzhenko
Iran may send ballistic missiles to Russia 'within a matter of days,' Bloomberg reports
Iran may begin delivering ballistic missiles to Russia "within a matter of days," Bloomberg reported on Sept. 2, citing an unnamed European official.
The news outlet's sources declined to estimate the type or the scope of the missiles. Reuters reported in August, citing unnamed intelligence sources, that Moscow may receive "hundreds" of Fath-360 and other ballistic missiles from Tehran.
Iran is one of Russia's closest allies. The two countries have deepened their military and political cooperation since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Tehran has provided Moscow with thousands of Shahed kamikaze drones since the start of the all-out war. In February, Reuters also reported that Tehran sent "a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles" to aid Russia's invasion, but Kyiv has not yet registered any use of Iranian ballistic missiles by Moscow.
Bloomberg's sources believe that the potential transfer of ballistic missiles "would mark a worrying development in the conflict." The G7 countries are expected to immediately condemn any delivery and voice their concerns to governments in the Middle East through diplomatic channels, the unnamed source told the outlet.
Undisclosed Iranian sources told the New York Times on Aug. 5 that Iran has requested modern air defense systems from Russia as it prepares for a possible war with Israel, with deliveries already underway.
Western and Ukrainian officials have confirmed the use of North Korean artillery shells and missiles used by Russian forces.
Jakub Parusinski
