A Russian missile struck the town of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, causing the tragic death of one police officer and injuring many others, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
Notably, Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy.
In a separate incident, Ukraine’s air force successfully shot down 16 out of 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones over the Odesa region, which were launched from Russia.
These events unfolded on a Friday, as confirmed by military officials.
Odesa, the region targeted by the drones, has experienced five attacks this week, as reported by regional governor Oleh Kiper via the Telegram messaging app.
In another unfortunate event, a Russian strike on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy resulted in at least three people being injured.
President Zelenskyy praised three military units for their effective actions against Russian troops in eastern and southern Ukraine.
He specifically commended one National Guard unit in the east and two in the south during his nightly video address.
Zelenskyy’s appreciation comes after the Ukrainian military announced that they had successfully destroyed 25 out of 33 drones used by Russia to attack the Sumy and Odesa regions overnight.
“Thank you soldiers for very, very effective results in destroying the occupiers,” Zelenskyy said.
“And results are precisely what Ukraine needs now from everyone.”
Notably, the Russian attack on the Izmail area marked the fourth such incident in just five days, causing injuries and damage to port facilities and an administrative building.
Despite this, the Ukrainian counteroffensive appears to be progressing slower than anticipated, which has led to increasing opposition from some members of the Republican Party against U.S. President Joe Biden’s request to Congress for additional aid to Ukraine.
In August, Biden had asked for $40 billion in additional spending, including $24 billion for Ukraine and $16 billion for disaster relief and other international needs.
Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have destroyed two Ukrainian drones in the Rostov region, one in Bryansk, and another on the outskirts of Moscow.
Thankfully, there were no reported casualties or damage from the debris in Moscow’s Ramensky district.
There were discussions between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu regarding the investigation into drone debris found in Romania near its border with Ukraine.
On a different note, debris from a downed Ukrainian drone caused a fire in an administrative building in Russia’s Bryansk region but was ultimately brought under control.
In a surprising revelation, a new biography about Elon Musk suggests that he ordered his Starlink satellite communications network to be deactivated near the coast of Crimea last year.
This action was allegedly taken to thwart a Ukrainian submarine drone attack on Russian warships, amid fears of retaliation by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Neither Musk nor the author of the biography, Walter Isaacson, responded to requests for comments.
President Zelenskyy introduced the new Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, with a focus on transparency, trust, and strengthening the ministry’s strategic and coordination functions.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking to the European Parliament, emphasized that Ukrainian forces are gradually making progress and breaching Russian defenses in their counteroffensive.
“To support Ukraine is not an option, it is a necessity to ensure that to preserve peace for our members, for our countries, and to ensure that authoritarian regimes [don’t] achieve what they want by violating international law and using military force,” Stoltenberg said.
He defended the counteroffensive against critics, citing the unpredictable nature of war and the importance of supporting Ukraine to maintain peace and international law.
Stoltenberg also expressed optimism about Turkey’s parliament ratifying Sweden’s accession to NATO when lawmakers reconvene in October.
