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Because the battle enters its 554th day, these are the primary developments.
Right here is the scenario on August 31, 2023.
Preventing
- Ukrainian officers stated at the very least two folks have been killed and two injured in a “large” Russian drone and missile assault on Kyiv. Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, stated the concentrating on of the capital with greater than two dozen Russian cruise missiles and 15 drones was a “deliberate assault on the civilian inhabitants”.
- Ukrainian drones swept throughout western Russia, concentrating on at the very least six areas, in accordance with Russian officers. On the navy airbase in Pskov, 600km (373 miles) from Ukraine, the state-run TASS information company stated 4 Il-76 transport plane, lengthy the workhorse of the Russian navy, have been broken. Two of them “burst into flames”, it added.
- Russia’s defence ministry stated its forces destroyed 4 navy boats carrying as many as 50 members of the Ukrainian particular forces who have been working within the Black Sea. It didn’t reveal the place the incident happened.
- Six members of the Ukrainian armed forces have been killed in an incident involving two helicopters whereas they have been on a mission in Russian-occupied territory close to Bakhmut in japanese Ukraine, the navy stated.
- The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence stated greater than 20,000 of its troopers had been skilled in Britain since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion 18 months in the past.
Diplomacy
- Russia’s overseas ministry stated Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan will focus on a possible various to the Black Sea grain deal after they meet for talks on Thursday and Friday. The proposal would enable Moscow to ship a million tonnes of grain – at a reduced worth – to Turkey, the place it could be processed and delivered to the nations most in want. The Black Sea deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey allowed Ukraine to export grain from its southern ports, whereas a separate settlement minimised the affect of sanctions on the export of Russian meals and fertiliser. Russia withdrew from the settlement in July.
- European Union nations elevated imports of liquefied pure fuel (LNG) from Russia in contrast with earlier than the Ukraine battle. Civil society group World Witness discovered that within the first seven months of the 12 months, EU nations imported 40 % extra Russian LNG on tankers than in the identical interval in 2021 regardless of the bloc’s dedication to ending its reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2027.
- Poland’s parliament gave the go-ahead for a “Russian affect” panel to start work, regardless of EU and US issues it might be used in opposition to opposition politicians. The conservative majority elected 9 members to the panel in a vote boycotted by all opposition events, which refused to place ahead candidates for the posts, calling it “unlawful” and “anti-constitutional”. No date was given for when the panel would turn out to be operational. Poland is one in every of Ukraine’s staunchest allies.
- Social media platforms, together with TikTok and Twitter, renamed X by proprietor Elon Musk, did not successfully deal with Russian disinformation on-line through the first 12 months of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, in accordance with an impartial research for the EU. In addition to TikTok and X, the report centered on dangers from pro-Kremlin disinformation on Fb, Instagram, YouTube and Telegram. “The attain and affect of Kremlin-backed accounts has grown additional within the first half of 2023, pushed specifically by the dismantling of Twitter’s security requirements,” the report warned.
- Lithuania summoned the Vatican’s high diplomat after Pope Francis final week advised Russian youths to recollect they’re the heirs of “the nice Russian empire”. On Tuesday, the Vatican stated Pope Francis didn’t intend to glorify Russian imperialism within the speech, the place he additionally praised Peter the Nice and Catherine II.
- The Badminton World Federation stated Russian and Belarusian athletes could be allowed to return to worldwide badminton competitions from subsequent February and compete as “impartial” athletes.
Weapons
- The USA urged Pyongyang to not promote Russia weapons that Moscow can use for its battle in Ukraine amid growing concern about potential arms offers between the 2 nations.
- EU overseas coverage chief Josep Borrell urged member nations to order extra ammunition for Ukraine, as figures confirmed the bloc is a great distance from a March goal of giving Kyiv 1,000,000 artillery shells inside 12 months.
Prigozhin aircraft crash
- The Kremlin stated investigators are contemplating all causes for the aircraft crash that killed Wagner mercenary chief and a few of his high commanders, together with that it might have been “deliberate”.
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