War in Ukraine: salvos of strikes against kyiv, rapid advance of Russia… an update on the situation

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Monday, September 2, 2024, discover the latest news about this conflict.

Russian strikes kyiv

Russia pounded the Ukrainian capital Kiev in the early hours of Monday, local authorities said, as the entire country was placed on alert for Russian missile attacks.

The air force said it had destroyed 22 of the 35 missiles launched by Russia and 20 of the 23 attack drones. In detail, nine ballistic missiles and 13 cruise missiles were launched at the regions of kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhia.

Air raid warnings sounded across the country for nearly two hours before the air force declared the skies clear at 6:30 a.m. (0330 GMT). Neighboring NATO member Poland mobilized its planes and those of its allies to keep its airspace safe during the attacks. The bombings come as many children return to school after the summer break.

“It was supposed to be the start of the school year today,”, says Alina, standing in a schoolyard. “We were sleeping and woken up by a loud noise,”, says her friend Amina. The city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said on Telegram that a fire broke out in the Chevchenkivsky district, where emergency services were dispatched.

Several universities and schools are located in this district. The attack left at least two people injured, cars were set on fire throughout the city, as well as a non-residential building, Vitali Klitschko added. Rescue teams also visited the Svyatoshynksy, Holosiivsky and Solomyansky districts, which are home to Kiev's main railway station and airport.

Several sets of explosions were heard by Reuters journalists, some from central Kiev. The strikes come just a week after Ukraine reported an unprecedented Russian attack with more than 200 missiles and drones fired in a matter of hours. Russia, meanwhile, announced the closure of some kindergartens in Belgorod for a week, what Moscow said was a Ukrainian attack on a kindergarten.

“A kindergarten in the city of Belgorod has been almost completely destroyed,”, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on the messaging app. Russian air defense units destroyed a drone launched by Ukraine overnight, the Defense Ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia advancing rapidly in eastern Ukraine, Putin says

Russian forces are advancing faster than they have in a long time in eastern Ukraine, seizing several square kilometers of territory each day, Vladimir Putin said on Monday, as Moscow tries to break through a key Ukrainian defense line.

Despite a Ukrainian offensive in Russia's Kursk region launched on August 6, the superior Russian army has advanced relatively quickly in recent weeks in Ukraine, approaching the strategically important city of Pokrovsk. “It has been a long time since the offensive in the Donbas region was so rapid. pace", Vladimir Putin told students at a secondary school in Kyzyl, in the Tuva region, which is about 4,500 km east of Moscow.

"Today, it is no longer a question of advancing 200 or 300 meters (…) The Russian armed forces already control territories not of 200 or 300 meters, but of square kilometers", the Russian president added.

Pro-Russian military bloggers said Monday that Russian forces were now fighting in the cities of Selydove and Ukrainsk. Ukrainian authorities did not immediately comment. Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born pro-Russian military blogger, said intense battles were underway in Selydove, about 20 km south of Pokrovsk, and in Ukrainsk, about 14 km south of Selydove.

Pro-Russian blogger Rybar also said that fighting was taking place in both cities. Russian news agency Tass reported that Ukrainian forces had been pushed out of part of Selydove. By pushing south toward the town of Kurakhivka, Russian forces are seeking to break through Ukrainian defense lines while increasing their hold on the Pokrovsk-Donetsk highway and encircling part of the territory, according to Russian bloggers.

Russia has been trying to push Ukrainian forces out of the southern Kursk region since the Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory, which is aimed in part at mobilizing Russian troops away from the Eastern Front. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, quoted by the Russian news agency RIA, Russian troops have taken control of the village of Skuchne in the Donetsk region.

Finland Considers Banning Russians From Buying Real Estate

The Finnish government is proposing to ban most Russian citizens from buying real estate in the country to protect national security, Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said Monday.

Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, relations between Finland and Russia have further deteriorated, prompting Helsinki to join the NATO military alliance after decades of neutrality. The proposal would not apply to Russians with dual citizenship or those who are permanent residents of Finland or other European Union countries.

It is still subject to consultations before a later vote in Parliament. “The regulation aims to prevent possible hostile influences against Finland,”, Antti Hakkanen told a news conference. Around 3,500 properties linked to Russian citizens are already monitored by the Finnish government, the minister said. Using existing regulations, Helsinki is trying to limit property acquisitions by Russian citizens near strategic sites.

Finland, which shares a 1,340 km border with Russia, has closed all crossing points between the two countries. It accuses Russia of exploiting immigration by encouraging migrants to seek asylum in Finland.