Key developments on Aug. 26:
- Russia launches over 200 missiles, drones in largest attack on Ukraine since start of invasion
- Negotiations with Ukraine have now lost their relevance, Kremlin says
- Russian authorities claim Saratov Oblast attacked by drones
- Wagner Group claims to no longer be fighting in Ukraine
- Ukraine has not officially requested withdrawal of Belarusian troops from border, Minsk claims
The mass missile and drone attack on the morning Aug. 26 was the largest Russian attack against Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine's Air Force reported.
Seven people were killed and 47 were injured, including four children, according to the State Emergency Service.
Russia launched 127 missiles and 109 drones, with Ukraine downing 102 missiles and 99 drones, the Air Force said.
Ukrainian forces intercepted one Kinzhal ballistic missile, one Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missile, one Kh-22 cruise missile, 99 Kh-101, Kalibr, and Kh-59/69 cruise missiles, as well as 99 Shahed-type drones.
Russian strikes hit several civilian, energy, and fuel facilities, including a dam in Kyiv, part of the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant.
Explosions were also reported in Kharkiv, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kryvyi Rih, as well as in Lviv, Rivne and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts.
Polish military officials said that an unidentified airborne object, likely a drone, probably flew into Polish territory during the attack. Polish and other allied jets were scrambled in the southeast of Poland during the attack as missiles and drones flew toward Ukraine's western border.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said 15 of the country's 24 oblasts had been targeted during the attack "primarily targeting critical civilian infrastructure and our energy system."
Shortly after 9 a.m., DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said emergency power shutdowns were in place across Ukraine.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said there were power outages in "several districts" of the capital, and later added there were problems with the water supply on the right bank of the city.
Following the attack, President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, and Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of state grid operator Ukrenergo.
The meeting addressed the efficiency of air defense and electronic warfare systems and mobile fire groups in each region, among other issues, Zelensky said.
Kateryna Hodunova
Negotiations with Ukraine have now 'lost their relevance,' Kremlin claims
The Kremlin is skeptical about the talks between Russia and Ukraine, given their "loss of relevance," Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported on Aug. 26, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Peskov's statement comes amid an ongoing Ukrainian incursion in Russia's Kursk Oblast, which started in early August. As of Aug. 20, the Ukrainian military said it controlled 1,263 square kilometers (488 square miles) and 93 settlements, including the town of Sudzha.
The Washington Post (WP) reported on Aug. 17 that the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk Oblast allegedly disrupted plans for secret indirect talks between Russia and Ukraine, facilitated by Qatar. The parties planned to discuss ending Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, according to the outlet.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, as well as Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, denied any indirect negotiations between the states.
"You know that the subject of negotiations has lost much of its relevance now. There are a lot of reports about various contacts in the media, and not all of them are truthful," Peskov said in response to a question about possible negotiations between the two sides.
Kyiv said that rather than capturing Russian territory, the incursion aims to protect Ukrainian lives by preventing cross-border attacks and diverting Russian reinforcements.
Kursk Oblast borders Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast, an area subjected to daily Russian attacks since parts of it were liberated in April 2022.
Russia has also continued to attack border communities in Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, including the villages of Porozok and Poznia. Ukrainian authorities are planning to evacuate a total of 45,000 residents from the region amid intensified Russian attacks.
Kateryna Hodunova
Russian authorities claim Saratov Oblast attacked by drones
Drones reportedly struck Russia's Saratov Oblast overnight on Aug. 26, Russian authorities reported in the morning. At least four civilians were allegedly injured in the attack that caused damage to buildings and led to flight restrictions in the region.
The drones reportedly targeted Saratov and Engels, home to a Russian air force base. There was no immediate information on damage at the base, which is often used by Russia to attack Ukraine.
"A woman was hospitalized in serious condition," Saratov Oblast Governor Roman Busargin said on his Telegram channel. "Doctors are fighting for her life."
Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defense systems destroyed nine drones over the Saratov region, which lies some 900 kilometers (560 miles) away from the border with Ukraine.
Three more drones were allegedly downed over Kursk region, and several over Belgorod, Bryansk, Tula, Orel, and Ryazan oblasts. The Kyiv Independent couldn't immediately verify this information.
Nate Ostiller
Wagner Group claims to no longer be fighting in Ukraine
Wagner mercenaries are operating only in Belarus and Africa, and are not fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine, the Wagner Group claimed in a statement on Telegram on Aug. 26.
The statement, which was posted on a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel, claimed that "there are no subordinates of the company either in Rosgvardia (Russia's National Guard), or in the ranks of the Russian Defense Ministry, or anywhere else."
Wagner fighters are not taking part in Russia's invasion of Ukraine "at this stage," the group said, claiming that "if the situation changes, it will be announced."
Wagner units were key to Russia's seizure of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast in May 2023. Estimates suggest that nearly 20,000 mercenaries, many of whom were former convicts recruited from Russian prisoners in late 2022, died in the battle for the city.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the then-leader of Wagner, died in a mysterious plane crash in Russia on Aug. 23, 2023. The crash came two months after Prigozhin led Wagner troops in a short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin.
Wagner units were then reportedly incorporated into official Russian military structures, such as Rosgvardia. The Chechen Akhmat unit claimed in October 2023 that a "massive" number of Wagner mercenaries had joined its ranks.
According to a U.K. Defense Ministry intelligence report on Aug. 23, just 5,000 Wagner troops are currently deployed in Africa and Belarus, a fraction compared to its peak of 50,000 in 2023.
Olena Goncharova
Ukraine has not officially requested withdrawal of Belarusian troops from border, Minsk claims
Kyiv has not yet made an official request for Minsk to withdraw Belarusian troops from the border with Ukraine, Belarus' Foreign Ministry claimed on Aug. 26, a day after Ukraine urged Belarus to withdraw its forces "to a distance greater than the firing range of Belarus' systems."
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry released a statement on Aug. 25 that Belarus is "concentrating a significant number" of weaponry and personnel at the border with Ukraine, including some former Wagner Group mercenaries.
The Foreign Ministry warned that "in case of a violation of Ukraine's state border by Belarus, our state will take all necessary measures to exercise the right to self-defense guaranteed by the UN Charter."
"We have not received any official requests from the Ukrainian side in any form," Anatoly Glaz, the spokesperson for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, claimed on Aug. 26.
"We only saw this message on the internet," Glaz told state news outlet Belta. "We would be grateful if someone could explain to us the logic of such statements."
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said that Minsk is concentrating Special Operation Forces, as well as weaponry, including tanks, artillery, multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), air defense systems, and engineering equipment near Gomel.
The city of Gomel lies in southeastern Belarus, around 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Ukraine's Chernihiv Oblast.
"Conducting exercises in the border area and in close proximity to the nuclear power facility, the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, poses a threat to the national security of Ukraine and global security in general.
The Foreign Ministry warned Belarus "not to make tragic mistakes for their country under Moscow's pressure," and to immediately withdraw forces away from Ukraine's border.
Minsk is Moscow's closest ally and hosts Russian troops and missiles, but is not currently directly involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview on Aug. 15 that Belarus moved a third of its army to the border with Ukraine earlier in the summer.
Speaking to the Rossiya TV channel, Lukashenko claimed it was in response to a build-up of Ukrainian troops that had been prompted by a misinterpretation of preparations for Belarus's Independence Day celebrations on July 3.
He claimed that Ukraine keeps 120,000 troops on the border with Belarus which were then "boosted" with even more troops.
"In response, I had to redeploy almost a third of the army to reinforce the border," he added.
Lukashenko claimed that he later managed to speak to Ukrainian officials through special channels and the situation was resolved through diplomatic means, and both sides withdrew forces.
Elsa Court
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