Sunday, September 3

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian serviceman stands near missile that landed in a road after Russian shelling on Sept. 2 in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. Russian army shelled Kramatorsk with Smerch Multiple Launch Rocket Systems. In several high-rise buildings, windows were broken from the blast wave. (Photo by Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Ukraine downs 22 drones in Odesa Oblast. Russia attacked Ukraine in several waves overnight on Sept. 3 using Iranian-made kamikaze drones, the Air Force said in its morning update. Russia used a total of 25 Shahed-136/131 drones against Ukraine’s southern regions.

Military: Ukraine has breached Russia’s first line of defense near Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian forces have achieved a significant breakthrough by successfully breaching Russia’s initial defensive line near Zaporizhzhia, General Oleksandr Tarnavsky, the commander of Ukraine’s military fighting in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, said in an interview with the Guardian.

Air defense down missiles fired at Kryvyi Rih. According to multiple regional defense officials, explosions and air raid sirens sounded in Kryvyi Rih on Sept. 2. Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city’s defense council, said: “Air defense worked successfully. Target hit.”

Interior Ministry: Russia-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church priest charged with inciting religious hatred in Ukraine. The Interior Ministry did not mention the name of the priest but said he was a parson of the parish in the Ovrutsk-Korosten eparchy, located in central Zhytomyr Oblast. The priest faces a monetary penalty or up to five years in prison if found guilty.

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Russian governors claim Ukraine attacked Belgorod, Kursk regions. The governors of Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions claimed Ukraine attacked Russia with multiple rocket launchers, mortars, and drones, killing one and injuring three residents on Sept. 2.

ISW: Russian officers reportedly contact former general amid deteriorating conditions on front line. Officers from the Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army (CAA) in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast have reportedly reached out to their former commander, Major General Ivan Popov, the Institute for the Study of War said in their latest update. This development comes as the situation on the Russian front line continues to deteriorate.

Kolomoisky’s arrest

Oligarch Kolomoisky charged with money laundering, fraud. Ihor Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine’s most infamous oligarchs, was officially charged with fraud and money laundering. The Security Service said in its official statement that Kolomoisky is alleged of laundering over Hr 500 million ($13.5 million) in 2013-2020.

Court arrests Kolomoisky, sets $14 million bail. Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district court on Sept. 2 put oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky under arrest until Oct. 31 and set a Hr 509 million ($14 million) bail for him, Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported.

Lawyers: Kolomoisky won’t pay bail in fraud case. Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky’s lawyers said late on Sept. 2 that the defendant will not pay the Hr 509 million ($14 million) bail set by a Kyiv court after he was charged with fraud and money laundering.

Zelensky thanks law enforcement after Kolomoisky arrest. In his evening address on Sept. 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked law enforcement following the arrest of businessman Ihor Kolomoisky who is suspected for fraud and money-laundering.

Human cost of war

Prosecutors: 2 killed, 2 wounded in Russian attack on Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces launched an attack on Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 2, killing two and wounding another two, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

Governor: Russian artillery wounds 4 in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Russian forces have attacked Nikopol and its surrounding areas with heavy artillery, wounding four people and damaging houses and power lines, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhiy Lysak reported on Sept. 2.

Governor: Russian guided bomb strike kills 1, injures 2 in Kherson Oblast. Russian forces struck a residential area in the village of Odradokamianka in southern Kherson Oblast with guided bombs, killing one civilian and injuring two others, Governor Oleksandr Prukudin reported on Sept. 2.

Policeman killed by Russian attack on Sumy Oblast. Russian shelling of Sumy Oblast has killed Ruslan Faraonov, a 32-year-old investigator and police captain, the National Police of Ukraine reported on Sept. 2.

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 23 – Ministry of Defense is under fire for corruption, again

International response

Nobel Foundation bars Russia, Belarus, Iran envoys from award ceremony in Sweden. The Nobel Foundation announced on Sept. 2 that it would not invite Russian, Belarusian, or Iranian ambassadors to Sweden to the Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm.

Poland denies violating Belarusian airspace. Poland on Sept. 1 refuted the claims of Belarus’s border guards that a Polish military helicopter crossed into Belarusian airspace. Polish armed forces speaker Jacek Goryshevsky said an investigation of pilot reports and radio tracking data shows no such violation. He called it a “lie and provocation.”   

In other news

Ukrainian athlete wins Diamond League meet with personal season-best result. Yaroslava Mahuchikh, a 21-year-old high-jumper from Dnipro, dominated the field in a Diamond League meet in China’s Xiamen on Sept. 2 with a high jump of 2.02 meters.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleksiy Sorokin, Igor Kossov, Lili Bivings, Alexander Khrebet, Oleg Sukhov, Asami Terajima, Brad LaFoy and Olena Goncharova.

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