Key events
Russia has lost close to 620,000 troops since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Friday that 614,950 Russian troops have been killed, including 1,360 casualties over the past day.
This report, carried by The Kyiv Independent, also confirmed that Russia has lost 8,582 tanks, 16,736 armored fighting vehicles, and 23,825 vehicles and fuel tanks since the full-scale invasion began.
Ukrainian air defences shoot down 24 drones launched by Russia overnight
In a statement issued via Telegram on Saturday morning, the Ukrainian Air Force said that 24 out of 52 were shot down during overnight attacks on eight regions across Ukraine.
Reuters reported that 25 Shahed drones fell on their own, with three others flying towards Russia and Belarus. There were no reports of anybody being hurt in the attacks or of any major damage being caused.
Alerts lasted for around four hours in Kyiv, which was subject to its fourth drone attack this week. All drones targeting the city were downed and no major damage was reported, Kyiv city officials said.
Ukrainian air defences also shot down drones in the Poltava, Cherkasy, Kyrovohrad and Dnipropetrovsk regions in central Ukraine, in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions in the north and the Mykolayiv region in the south.
A Mi-8 helicopter with 22 people on board has gone missing in the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s far east.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said in a statement that the helicopter took off on Saturday close to the Vachkazhets volcano but did not arrive at its destination as scheduled.
The Associated Press has reported that 19 passengers and three crew members were on board.
Russia’s aviation industry has been badly affected by sanctions imposed since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, including a ban on the export of aviation-related technology.
Russian airlines or Russian-owned airplanes have also been prohibited from using EU airspace.
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has offered condolences to those killed in a Russian strike on Kharkiv on Friday, including a 14-year-old girl named Sofia.
Kharkiv’s regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, reported via Telegram on Saturday morning that 97 people have been injured.
Zelenskiy described the attack as “horrific” and “cowardly”.
“Russia will be held accountable for all its evil deeds. But the world must remember that the most effective tactic is to prevent evil from acting in the first place.
“We need decisions—decisions that our partners can make, decisions from those countries that have the power to ensure we have the capability to destroy Russian military aircraft at their bases, where eliminating these terrorists and their aircraft will be most effective.”
Rescue operations continue in Kharkiv at the sites struck by Russian bombs. Tragically, there are fatalities, including a child—a girl named Sofia, who would have turned 15 this fall. My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. Many others are injured. Aid is being… pic.twitter.com/ZU9flEw0Pd
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 30, 2024
Ukraine has recorded over 4,000 cases of Russian chemical agents being used on its frontline since the start of the invasion in February 2022.
The Kyiv Independent reports that there have been over 3,100 reported cases since December 2023 alone. May this year saw a record number of 715 cases reported, with this number declining to 560 and 358 respectively during the following two months.
Earlier this year the US Department of State confirmed Russian forces have used the chemical agent chloropicrin, often used as an herbicide, in Ukraine.
Moreover, Russian naval infantry units have previously confirmed the illegal use of K-51 aerosol grenades filled with the Riot Control Agent gas CS, a tear gas used for crowd control.
Such agents are prohibited from being used in modern warfare under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Good morning and welcome to the live blog covering the Russia-Ukraine war with both sides experiencing deadly attacks on civilians in the last 24 hours.
Five people were killed and 46 injured in a Ukrainian attack on the south-western Russian city of Belgorod late on Friday, the local governor said. Vyacheslav Gladkov also said 37 people, including seven children, were taken to hospital, Reuters reports.
Video from a car dashboard, posted on social media and purporting to demonstrate the attack, showed another car being blown up while moving on the road. Seconds later an explosion is seen on the other side of the road.
Ukraine has staged frequent attacks on Belgorod and other Russian border regions in recent months.
Earlier on Friday, seven people died after a Russian bomb attack on Ukraine’s north-eastern city of Kharkiv hit a residential building and a playground, with nearly 80 injured. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said a 14-year-old girl was among the dead. There are fears the toll could rise further as about 20 of the injured are in severe condition.
In other news:
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Zelenskiy has fired the head of Ukraine’s air force a day after it emerged that a recently delivered F-16 jet crashed during the week, killing the pilot. “I have decided to replace the commander of the air forces … I am eternally grateful to all our military pilots,” Zelenskiy said in an evening video address, without giving a reason for the dismissal of Mykola Oleshchuk.
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Ukraine has called on Mongolia to arrest Vladimir Putin when he visits on Tuesday. The Russian president is due to travel to Mongolia, a member of the international criminal court (ICC). The ICC has a warrant out for Putin’s arrest over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
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Ukraine’s top commander said Kyiv’s forces had advanced about a mile in Russia’s western Kursk region in the previous 24 hours. Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces took control of two square miles more of Russian territory.
