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Stay on top of Russia-Ukraine war 09-04-2024 developments on the ground with KyivPost fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated war maps.
Ukraine has grabbed about as much as it can and Russia isn’t likely to be able to kick Kyiv’s troops out any time soon.
Nearly one month into Ukraine’s daring ground force invasion of Russia, both sides seemed to be hunkering down for the long term and no quick end to a nearly unprecedented foreign troop presence on Russian Federation territory is in sight.
Led by special operations troops deploying behind Russian lines in Kursk region weeks before, Ukrainian tank and armored infantry columns openly crossed the Ukraine-Russia frontier on Aug. 6. Kyiv commanders likely committed 5-10,000 men and hundreds of tanks and other armored vehicles to the operation.
“We need new energy. And these steps are related to strengthening our state in various areas,” Zelensky told journalists when asked about the changes.
Russia struck the city of Lviv in western Ukraine on Wednesday, killing seven people and damaging historical buildings in a rare attack hundreds of kilometers from the front line.
The strike came as several Ukrainian ministers, including top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba, offered their resignations, part of a major reshuffle President Volodymyr Zelensky said would bring “new energy” to the government.
As drone swarms saturate the battlefield, it may be more productive to go after the operator rather than defeating individual drones, and this new system may be the answer.
The military issues website The War Zone (TWZ) reported on Tuesday that Ukraine was trialing an electronic surveillance system suspended on an aerostat balloon, which is designed to detect enemy drone operators. TWZ said the exact status of the system, known as Aero Azimuth, was unknown but indicated a growing interest in the use of balloons as a platform for elevated sensors.
Aero Azimuth was developed by the Ukrainian Kvertus company and was reportedly demonstrated at a recent Ukrainian exhibition that focused on counter-drone technologies.
In his last interview as Foreign Minister, Kuleba said Russian missiles are just metal, not people, and it should not be considered an escalation if NATO were to down Russian missiles over Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the “escalation argument is flawed” in response to a journalist’s question about the West’s restrained weapon policy on Ukraine, and that downing Russian missiles over Ukraine should not constitute an escalation.
Following comments about the necessity for the West to provide Kyiv with enough long-range weapons and lift restrictions on striking airfields deep inside Russia with them, Kuleba told CNN on Tuesday, Sept. 3 that the escalation argument among skeptics “simply serves as an excuse not to do something.”
Prior to his resignation, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he could envision Ukraine receiving an invitation to join NATO before the 2025 bloc’s summit, given enough political will.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he envisioned Ukraine receiving an invitation to join NATO before the bloc’s summit next year in the Netherlands between June 24 and 26.
“I clearly see an opportunity for that to happen before the next summit – NATO summit – in the Netherlands in 2025. I think when there’s a will there’s a way, and the way is actually clear,” Kuleba told CNN on Tuesday, Sept. 3
Time is running out on Ukraine’s finances, and none of the reasons behind the bloc’s inaction stand up to scrutiny.
Two months after pledging to shape a legal framework that would give Ukraine the interest earned on frozen Russian assets, the EU still hasn’t taken the necessary steps to make this a reality. And time is running out on Ukraine’s finances.
At their June Summit in Apulia, Italy, G7 leaders — including European Commission President von der Leyen — promised to provide Ukraine a vital lifeline: “We decided to make available approximately $50 billion leveraging the extraordinary revenues of the immobilized Russian sovereign assets … by the end of the year.”
Russian forces are escalating gas attacks in Ukraine’s trenches, gaining ground near Chasiv Yar and Pokrovsk. Experts suggest British- supplied gas masks and training could help counter this threat
Russian forces are deploying gas attacks with increasing frequency in the trenches of Ukraine’s Donbas region, leading to strategic gains around Chasiv Yar, Bakhmut, and more recently, Pokrovsk, The Telegraph reported.
These gas attacks, often involving CS gas or the more dangerous chloropicrin, are illegal under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, to which both Russia and Ukraine are signatories.
The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has submitted his resignation, the parliamentary speaker says. He’s one of the most respected and longest serving ministers in the government and an experienced diplomat. There’s long-since been reports that the ministry has faced deep budget cuts and had been sidelined by Zelensky administration. Previously, Kuleba has said: "I said at the very beginning that I would leave under two circumstances: the first is if the president asks me to do it. The second is if I get into some fundamental contradiction with foreign policy and don’t consider it possible to work with it.” His resignation will be discussed by lawmakers at their next session, parliamentary Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on his Facebook page. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that a Cabinet reshuffle was imminent last week as he tries to strengthen the government 2½ years into the war, AP reported.
Watch the Global Impact pre-war interview with Minister Kuleba here: https://youtu.be/kgSJXGpKt60?si=A9pDu89aetg9Qru8
The Chief of Staff of the Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Command, Roman Hladkyi, was suspended after allegations of treason, corruption, and ties between his family and Russia.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Oleksandr Syrsky, suspended Roman Hladkyi, Chief of Staff of the Unmanned Systems Command, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The General Staff clarified that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) will conduct a special investigation into Hladkyi, who was appointed to the position in late August. This decision followed a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on National Security, Intelligence, and Defense, which had previously demanded such an investigation.
The European Commission and the European Parliament's biggest group raised concerns after Hungary extended a "national card" system to citizens of the two countries amid the war in Ukraine.
Hungary on Wednesday dismissed as "political hysteria" fears that its new work and residency permit scheme for Russian and Belarusian nationals heightened the risk of spying in the European Union.
The European Commission and the European Parliament's biggest group raised concerns after Hungary extended a "national card" system to citizens of the two countries amid the war in Ukraine.
Armed Forces of Ukraine, Kursk, Russia, War in Ukraine, Russian Armed Forces, Putin
In response to the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s (AFU) recent offensive in the Kursk region, Russian authorities have launched an extensive advertising campaign to recruit new military personnel.
This campaign, the largest since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is being heavily promoted across various platforms, including Telegram, Yandex, VKontakte, and federal television channels.
Fired ostensibly for poor preparation of energy infrastructure defenses, the Ukrenergo CEO rebuts the accusations and has the support of Ukrainian lawmakers and international institutions.
Ukraine’s embattled energy sector has been further shaken by polemics regarding the dismissal of Ukrenergo CEO Volodymyr Kudrytskyi on Aug. 30.
Two days later, international financial institutions working with Ukraine – the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation (IFI), Ambassador to the EU in Ukraine, and Business Ombudsman Council – reacted to the dismissal, expressing their “grave concern” in an official letter to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
The resignation letter from Dmytro Kuleba has been received by the speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament for consideration during the upcoming plenary session.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has submitted his resignation, according to parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk.
Stefanchuk announced the news on Facebook, stating that the Verkhovna Rada has received Kuleba's resignation letter, which will be considered in an upcoming plenary session.
Russian attack on Ukraine's western city of Lviv killed seven people, including three children, and wounded at least 47 others, the region's governor said Wednesday.
Russian attack on Ukraine's western city of Lviv killed seven people, including 3 children, and wounded at least 47 others, the region's governor said Wednesday, Sept. 4.
The attack comes a day after missiles hit the central city of Poltava in one of the single deadliest bombardments of Russia's invasion, which has stretched into its third year.
The deputy head of Zelensky's office and one of the president's top aides, Rostyslav Shurma, was meanwhile dismissed, according to a presidential decree.
At least six Ukrainian officials including cabinet ministers submitted their resignation on Tuesday and a presidential aide was dismissed, as the ruling party signalled a major government reshuffle was underway.
The reset comes as Kyiv faces growing challenges including daily Russian bombardment and as President Volodymyr Zelensky seeks to boost confidence in the government two and a half years into Moscow's invasion.
A video posted on several social media channels entitled “Drakaris” shows a Ukrainian drone dropping a flaming incendiary mix onto a Russian defensive position.
Forbes published a report on the video posted on Telegram by Ukraine’s 108th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade which shows a drone flying along a tree line occupied by Russian forces, spurting a white-hot flame onto the locations below. As the video ends, the trees and adjacent fields are left burning.
Referencing the popular TV series “Game of Thrones” the social media post was entitled “Drakaris” – the command given to dragons to attack. The video has been widely reposted on both Telegram and X /Twitter.
A Ukrainian serviceman described the battle captured in the video as a textbook example of Ukrainian infantry defending positions and halting Russian advances.
A GoPro video featuring the Special Operations Forces (SSO) Group Two unit in the Kharkiv region in a firefight with Russian forces near the village of Lyptsi has been circulating on social media.
Lyptsi, a small village located 10 km (6 miles) from the Russian border, has been under attack by Russian forces with aerial bombs and artillery shelling.
War in Ukraine - Latest update, key takeaways and map from the Institute for the Study of War on September 3, 2024
Key Takeaways from the ISW:
More than half of Cabinet staff dismissed in reshuffle; After Poltava massacre, Russian missiles target schools in Sumy; Trump again touts secret plan to end war; Iran to ship missiles to Moscow soon
As Russian bombardments increase by the day, and many Ukrainian businesses struggle to thrive, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration carried out a sweeping round of dismissals on Tuesday with the perceived goal of restoring the public’s trust in his martial-law government.
At least six high-ranking officials, including cabinet ministers, submitted their resignations. More vacated posts could appear this week, a party official said.
