Situation as of 8:00 a.m. on September 04, 2023
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to build upon the success achieved in the western part of Zaporizhzhia region. Ukrainian advances near Bakhmut are also continuing.
- On the night of August 30, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked military facilities in several regions of Russia with drones. The greatest results were brought by an attack on an airfield near Pskov, where several Il-76 transport aircrafts were hit.
- Against the backdrop of preparations for a new round of Turkish-Russian negotiations on a grain agreement, on September 3 and 4, Russia conducted a series of drone strikes on objects of Ukrainian port infrastructure in the Odesa region.
- President Zelensky announced the decision to dismiss Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. The position is set to be filled by Rustam Umerov, the head of the State Property Fund.
- The Ukrainian court has ordered two months of detention with the possibility of bail for oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. Kolomoyskyi, who is under US sanctions, is being detained at a time when Ukraine is intensifying its fight against corruption.
OPERATIONAL SITUATION
The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue offensive operations in the Melitopol direction (Zaporizhzhia region). They continue to advance near the village of Robotyne, which was recently liberated from the occupation.
During the week, the Ukrainian military intensified attacks on Russian military infrastructure, including drone attacks on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation. The largest attack on several locations was carried out on the night of August 30. The most successful was the attack on the military airfield near Pskov, where several Il-76 transport aircrafts were hit. In addition, strikes were carried out in Moscow, Oryol, Bryansk, Ryazan and Kaluga regions. On other days, Russian sources reported UAV attacks in Belgorod, Tula, and Bryansk regions.
In addition, strikes continue on the bases of the Russian military and representatives of the occupation administration in the temporarily occupied territories – in particular, in Berdyansk, Enerhodar (Zaporizhzhia region) and Crimea.
Russian forces continue to strike Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. On the night of August 28, 4 people were killed and 2 people were injured as a result of a missile strike in the Poltava region. On the night of August 30, a combined attack on the capital of Ukraine was carried out using missiles and drones. 3 people were killed and 2 people were injured as a result of the fall of rocket fragments in different districts of Kyiv. An infrastructure facility in the Zhytomyr region was also attacked. On the night of September 1, a rocket hit a private enterprise in the Vinnytsia region. On September 2, an attempt was made to attack Kryvyi Rih, but it was repulsed by air defense forces. On the night of September 3, and agian on the night of September 4, a massive attack on the southern regions of Ukraine by kamikaze drones was carried out. In Odesa oblast, port infrastructure was hit and 2 people were injured. The attack took place on the eve of the new round of Turkish-Russian negotiations on the grain deal – it seems that it was demonstrative.
During the week, the losses of civilians in the frontline regions of Ukraine as a result of Russian attacks amounted to at least: in the Donetsk region – 13 people killed and 28 people wounded; in the Kherson region – 8 people killed and 14 people wounded; in the Kharkiv region – 2 people killed and 6 people wounded. 8 people were injured in Dnipropetrovsk region, 3 people were killed and 13 people were injured in Sumy region. In Chernihiv region, 2 people were killed and 2 children were injured as a result of a mine explosion.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
According to UNICEF and the Ministry of Education of Ukraine, Russian attacks over the past year and a half have destroyed more than 1,300 schools, with many others also reported as damaged. Only one-third of children of primary and secondary age enrolled in school in Ukraine are learning fully in-person. One-third of enrolled students are learning through a mixed approach of in-person and online, and one-third are fully learning online.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that corruption within the military medical examination system in Ukraine had led to thousands of individuals leaving the country who did not have the right to do so. Zelensky mentioned that there is an ongoing investigation into military medical examination commissions nationwide.
Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi has been placed under pretrial detention for alleged fraud, with a 60-day detention period in Dnipro and the possibility of posting bail of over 500 million hryvnias. Law enforcement agencies have found that between 2013 and 2020, Kolomoyskyi laundered over half a billion hryvnias by transferring them abroad, using banks under his control.
According to the Ministry of Energy, Ukraine’s gas transportation system and underground gas storage facilities are ready to operate in the absence of Russian gas transit. Stress tests have demonstrated that the gas transportation system is prepared for the heating and winter period of 2023/2024, even under the challenges of a war situation, and the underground storage facilities can serve as reliable storage for European gas.
According to the Ministry of Finance, as of the end of July 2023, Ukraine’s state and state-guaranteed debt amounted to 4,860 billion hryvnias or $132.9 billion, setting a new record. The external state debt stood at 3,050 billion hryvnias or $83.4 billion. In 2023, the total expenditure on servicing and repaying the state external debt is only 2% of GDP, but in 2024, the “standstill” agreement, which froze payments to private creditors at the beginning of 2022, expires. This indicator could increase to 7% of GDP.
FOREIGN POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
International partners continue to provide support to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities and financial stability. The German government has announced the provision of another package of military aid to Ukraine, including Leopard 1A5 tanks and the TRML-4D airborne surveillance radar system. The United States has declared the provision of a new military assistance package worth $250 million to Ukraine, including AIM-9M air defense missiles, artillery ammunition, demining equipment, Javelin anti-tank missile systems, and other anti-tank systems. Additionally, the USA will supply Ukraine with armor-piercing ammunition containing depleted uranium, and the US Department of Defense has ordered AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles for Ukraine. Belgium continues to transfer Lynx armored vehicles (Iveco LML) and Volvo trucks to Ukraine as part of the update of their own armed forces’ vehicle fleet.
In 2024, South Korea will provide financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 520 billion won (394 million dollars), which will be directed towards humanitarian aid and funding through international organizations. Meanwhile, the World Bank has initiated the HOPE project, which involves providing funds for over 100,000 families in Ukraine to conduct urgent repairs on housing damaged due to the Russian invasion.
On August 30th, a two-day meeting of European Union defense ministers took place in Spain, focusing on the continuation of military assistance for Ukraine and discussions about the security situation in the Sahel region. As a result of the meeting, Romania and the Netherlands signed a letter of intent to establish a training base for F-16 pilots and the corresponding maintenance of these aircraft at one of the training centers in Romania. This represents another significant contribution by these countries to strengthening Ukraine’s air defense. Furthermore, on August 31st, there was a discussion on international security issues during an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers, in which Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, participated.
As well, on August 30th, the seventh meeting between the leadership of the Office of the President of Ukraine and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions regarding the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula took place, with a focus on “Food Security”.
This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with representatives of the transnational company BAE Systems, headquartered in London, which operates in the fields of weapons manufacturing, security, and aerospace. Following the meeting, an agreement on cooperation in the localization of BAE Systems’ arms production was signed. Additionally, Volodymyr Zelensky had a phone conversation with the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, discussing the preparation of important international events, the implementation of the peace formula, and security guarantees.
The information in the newsletter is collected from official sources—reports of state authorities of Ukraine, Ukrainian and international news agencies. The accuracy of the data is carefully checked by the project team and corrected in case of fake news.