On the 915th day of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, intense missile and drone attacks resulted in multiple casualties across Ukraine, while diplomatic efforts and military maneuvers continued to shape the war’s trajectory.
In the latest escalation of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, at least six people lost their lives and nine were injured in a second consecutive day of Russian missile and drone strikes. The central city of Kryvyi Rih and the southern city of Zaporizhzhia were among the areas hit the hardest. This assault is marked as Russia’s largest aerial offensive since the beginning of the invasion in 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to retaliate against Russia for these attacks. Ukraine’s air force successfully intercepted five out of the ten missiles and sixty out of eighty-one drones launched by Russia. Notably, Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets played a key role in the defense. However, ten more drones evaded tracking and likely crashed within Ukrainian territory, with one reportedly crossing into neighboring Belarus.
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskii, reported significant progress on the frontlines, stating that Ukraine had captured 594 Russian soldiers, reclaimed 1,294 square kilometers of territory, and taken control of 100 settlements since launching an incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region earlier this month.
Amidst the fighting, Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), visited the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. Grossi highlighted the plant’s vulnerability to a serious accident due to its lack of a protective dome, making it susceptible to missile, drone, and artillery attacks.
In Russia, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, reported that the situation on the Ukraine-Russia border was “difficult but under control” following reports of a Ukrainian attack on the Nekhoteyevka border checkpoint. Despite this, Russian forces managed to repel the assault.
In the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, the situation remains “fairly difficult,” according to Syrskii, with Russian forces using their advantage in manpower, weapons, and equipment to target Ukrainian supply lines. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed to have captured the village of Orlivka, located near Pokrovsk.
Politics and Diplomacy
President Zelenskyy announced plans to present a “victory plan” to U.S. President Joe Biden and his potential successors, likely during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York. The plan aims to place Ukraine in a strong position for future peace negotiations, with the primary goal of compelling Russia to end the war.
China’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui, called for broader international support for its peace plan for Ukraine. Following diplomatic efforts with Indonesia, Brazil, and South Africa, Li emphasized China’s commitment to a political settlement through dialogue and negotiation. However, China did not attend the peace summit organized by Switzerland in June, despite issuing a joint peace plan with Brazil earlier this year.
In other diplomatic developments, Moscow reported that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin had exchanged views on the Ukraine conflict during Modi’s visit to Kyiv last week. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized Ukraine’s decision to ban a Russia-linked branch of the Orthodox Church, calling it an attack on Christianity and religious freedom.
In Russia, the FSB security service announced criminal charges against two more foreign journalists who crossed into the Kursk region to report on the Ukraine conflict. Among those charged are a reporter for Germany’s Deutsche Welle and a correspondent for Ukraine’s 1+1 TV channel, bringing the total number of foreign journalists facing charges to at least seven.
Weapons
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy revealed that the military had recently conducted a successful test of a domestically-produced ballistic missile, though he did not provide further details on the operation.