Ukraine war latest: Ukraine calls emergency UN Security Council meeting over Russian strike on Kyiv
Key developments on Aug. 29:
- Ukraine calls emergency UN Security Council meeting over Russian strike on Kyiv
- EU member states ready to deploy military instructors to Ukraine after potential truce, Kallas says
- Russian losses amount to nearly 220,000 killed as of August, media reports
- Ukraine claims strike on Russian S-400 radar system in occupied Crimea, shows footage
- Ukraine claims strike on key Russian facility supplying fuel to Moscow's army
The U.N. Security Council will convene on Aug. 29 at Ukraine's request to discuss a recent deadly Russian attack against Kyiv, Ukrinform news agency reported.
During the meeting scheduled for 3 p.m. local time, the Ukrainian delegation in New York will brief the international community about the scale of destruction and urge an immediate ceasefire and the protection of civilians.
Russia launched a barrage of around 630 drones and missiles against Ukraine overnight on Aug. 28, killing at least 25 people in Kyiv, including four children, and injuring over 60.
The attack took place amid now months-long efforts by the U.S. to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, even as the Kremlin continues to reject calls for a ceasefire.
EU member states ready to deploy military instructors to Ukraine after potential truce, Kallas says
European Union defense ministers have nominally agreed to deploy military instructors to Ukraine after a hypothetical future cease in hostilities with Russia, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Aug. 29.
Kallas met with the ministers in Copenhagen on Aug. 29 to discuss several issues, including plans for security guarantees for Ukraine.
The meeting came the day after an EU mission building was damaged in a Russian strike on Kyiv on Aug. 28.
"I welcome that there is broad support today to expand our EU military mission mandate to provide training and advice inside Ukraine after any truce," Kallas said, as quoted on the European External Action Service website.
"We are the largest provider of training to Ukraine's military. We have trained over 80,000 soldiers so far, and we must be ready to do more. Ministers were clear that the security guarantees for Ukraine must be robust and credible," she added.
Russian io amount to nearly 220,000 killed as of August, media reports
Russia has lost close to 220,000 people killed in the war against Ukraine as of August, according to estimates by independent news outlets Mediazona and Meduza published on Aug. 29.
The news underscores Russia's soaring losses over three and a half years of its full-scale war against Ukraine, making it Moscow's most costly conflict since World War II.
While the journalists were able to confirm 125,681 deaths as of this month based on open sources like obituaries and media reporting, this figure likely does not reflect the full scope of losses, as not every death is publicly known.
The two outlets estimate that 219,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the war overall, based on their own methodology that uses both the confirmed cases and the register of inheritance cases.
Using the register, the investigation pinpointed a new record for male mortality in Russia in November 2024, about 3,000 people per week.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the figures.
Ukraine claims strike on Russian S-400 radar system in occupied Crimea, shows footage
Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) struck a Russian 91N6E radar system, part of the S-400 Triumph air defense system, in occupied Crimea overnight on Aug. 28, HUR reported.
"Another (Russian) 'Triumph' (the codename for the model) on the peninsula has been 'blinded'," the agency said on Aug. 29. Its statement was accompanied by a black-and-white drone footage that purports to show the successful strike against the Russian system.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
The attack marks the latest in a series of reported strikes targeting components of the S-400 "Triumph" system. In late June, Ukrainian drones struck air defense equipment in Crimea, damaging radar units and other parts of the system.
Ukraine claims strike on key Russian facility supplying fuel to Moscow's army
Ukrainian forces struck a diesel pumping station in western Russia, an important facility providing fuel to the Russian Armed Forces, Ukraine's General Staff reported on Aug. 29.
The pumping station near the village of Naytopovichi in Bryansk Oblast, a Russian region bordering Ukraine and Belarus, was hit overnight in a joint operation by missile forces, the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Special Operations Forces, and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the military said.
The attack comes amid escalating Ukrainian attacks against Russian energy facilities and logistical infrastructure in an effort to undermine Moscow's ability to wage its all-out war.
"A fire has been recorded on the territory of the facility," the General Staff reported. "The consequences of the attack are being determined."
The facility, roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the Russia-Ukraine border, pumps diesel fuel through petroleum product pipelines, primarily supplying Russian forces, according to the statement.
