Live blog: Deadly Russian shelling hits northeast Ukraine

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Russian shelling has killed a 45-year-old civilian man in the town of Kupiansk, local officials said, as Moscow's forces try to advance in northeastern Ukraine.

Some residents remain in the town, but regional authorities have ordered a mandatory evacuation of civilians from near the Kupiansk front because of the difficult situation.

Regional governor Oleh Synehubov said the man killed was a guard at a meat processing plant that was hit in the latest shelling. The prosecutor general's office said a 67-year-old man had also been hurt during the shelling.

Kupiansk was home to about 27,000 people before the war and is a rail hub about 100 kilometres east of the regional capital, Kharkiv. Losing the town a second time would be a considerable blow to Kiev's battlefield momentum.

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1912 GMT — US announces $250M in new military aid for Ukraine

The United States has announced a new $250 million military assistance package for Ukraine that includes equipment for clearing mines and obstacles.

The assistance will "help Ukraine counter Russia's ongoing war of aggression on the battlefield and protect its people," the Pentagon said in a statement.

Also included in the package are air defence missiles, artillery rounds, anti-armour missiles and more than three million rounds of small arms ammunition.

1553 GMT — French foreign minister reiterates continued support for Ukraine

The French foreign minister has reiterated Paris' continued support for Ukraine amid the ongoing war with Russia.

"This support will continue and intensify as long as needed to defeat the Russian aggression," Catherine Colonna said in a joint news conference with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, on the sidelines of the Ambassadors' Conference in Paris.

The French minister stressed that this is needed not only to defend Ukraine but also to ensure the collective security and the international system that is "based on the law and not on the force."

1550 GMT — A memorial service has been held for Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin: his spokespeople

A private funeral has been held for Yevgeny Prigozhin, ending his tumultuous journey from St. Petersburg street thug to Kremlin-financed mercenary leader.

His spokespeople Tuesday the closed service came less than a week after he was killed in a plane crash, two months following his brief mutiny that challenged the authority of President Vladimir Putin.

"Those who wish to bid their farewell” to the 62-year-old mercenary leader should go to the Porokhovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg, his hometown, according to a terse online statement by his press service.

1537 GMT — Ukraine bids farewell to flying ace killed in collision

The cap of a Ukrainian fighter pilot known as "Juice" sat atop his flag-draped casket as mourners have gathered to pay homage to the 29-year-old considered legendary by the country's air force.

Andriy Pilshchykov died last week with two other pilots during a training flight over the northern Zhytomyr region, prompting tributes from across the country for not only his talents but efforts in pushing the West to provide Ukraine with F-16 jets.

"He wanted to fight bureaucracy, so that we could have American-style pilot training — no wasting time, just improving your skills," reserve Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Dovgal told AFP news agency.

1507 GMT — Russia upholds detention of former separatist commander

A Russian court has rejected an appeal by former separatist commander in Ukraine and nationalist blogger Igor Girkin to be freed from pre-trial detention in Moscow.

Girkin, a high-profile critic of the Kremlin's military strategy in Ukraine, was detained in July and remanded in custody on extremism charges. He faces up to five years in prison.

Speaking in Moscow City Court, Judge Yulia Komleva said that the earlier decision of a Moscow court to remand Girkin, 52, in custody would remain unchanged.

At the hearing, Girkin — better known by his alias Igor Strelkov — said he had no plans to flee.

1430 GMT — Ukraine foreign minister sees no fall in Western support

Ukraine does not fear any fall in Western war assistance, its foreign minister has said, dismissing a US poll showing declining public support and critical comments from some American conservatives.

"We are not feeling any fall in support from the (US) Congress, in the European parliament," Dmytro Kuleba told reporters in Paris during a press conference with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna.

"We see some people making statements in America and in Europe too that we should support Ukraine less. In the United States it's linked to the start of the electoral cycle," he said, adding that Ukraine would "overcome it. We will find a way through."

1348 GMT — Ukraine 'advancing' on southern front, children evacuated

Ukraine has said its forces pushed deeper into Russian defensive lines near the village of Robotyne, a day after claiming control over the village on the southern front.

Military spokesperson Andriy Kovalyov said Ukrainian forces were edging further in the Zaporizhzhia region, which Moscow claims is part of Russia.

"Ukrainian forces had successes in the direction of Novodanylivka to Verbove," he told state media on Tuesday, naming two hamlets in the war-battered region.

He added that the troops were holding captured territory and attacking Russian artillery.

Kiev also ordered children to be evacuated from five settlements near the focus of their assault, as Russia claimed to have repelled Ukrainian forces.

1300 GMT — Ukraine to evacuate children from five towns on south front

Kiev has ordered children to be evacuated from five towns near the frontline in southern Ukraine, citing an uptick in attacks as its forces claim territorial gains nearby.

"Due to the difficult security situation and enemy shelling, 54 children and 67 accompanying persons will be forcibly evacuated" from the villages in the Zaporizhzhia region, the ministry responsible for reintegrating Russian-occupied territories announced on social media.

1209 GMT — Ukraine says Russia returned bodies of 84 soldiers

Ukrainian authorities have said that Russia handed over the bodies of 84 Ukrainian soldiers.

"The bodies of servicemen who gave their lives for Ukraine were handed over. Today, the bodies of 84 defenders were returned to their families,” Commissioner for Missing Persons Oleh Kotenko said in a statement on Telegram.

Kotenko said that the returning of the bodies from regions under Russian control took place with the help of government agencies, including the Reintegration Ministry, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Central Security Service of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"The process of returning the bodies of dead Ukrainian soldiers continues. It takes place in accordance with the norms of the Geneva Convention," he added.

1157 GMT — Russia jails two journalists in absentia for Ukraine posts

Russia has handed 11-year jail terms to two exiled journalists accused of spreading misinformation about the military, pursuing a historic crackdown on criticism of the conflict in Ukraine.

Prosecutors said the journalists, Ruslan Leviev and Michael Nacke, posted a video online last March containing information about the military that they knew to be false.

Nacke runs a YouTube channel with more than 700,000 subscribers, while Leviev founded the respected Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), which investigates Russia's army.

1056 GMT — Germany arrests suspect over war drone component sales to Russia

Germany has arrested a German-Russian man for selling to Russia electronic components that are used in military gear, including drones currently deployed by Moscow's troops in Ukraine.

The arrest came days after another suspect was detained in Germany for also selling military components to Russia, amid nagging fears that Russia's arm manufacturers have exploited loopholes to circumvent EU sanctions.

In Tuesday's case, federal prosecutors said the suspect, identified as Waldemar W., exported components on 26 occasions from January 2020 to March 2023 to a company in Russia that makes military equipment.

1036 GMT — Putin won't attend Prigozhin's burial

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not planning to attend the funeral of Prigozhin following his death in a plane crash, the Kremlin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov wouldn't say where or when the chief of the Wagner Group military company would be buried, although some Russian media suggested it could take place as early as Tuesday in Prigozhin’s home city of St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg's Fontanka news outlet and some other media said Prigozhin, 62, will likely be put to rest at the Serafimovskoye cemetery, which has previously been used for high-profile military burials.

1027 GMT — Kiev hits out after Pope hails legacy of 'great Russia'

The Vatican has sought to defuse a row with Ukraine after Kiev accused Pope Francis of spreading "imperial propaganda" in a video message to young Catholic Russians.

The pope told the group gathered in a Catholic church in St Petersburg that "you are children of great Russia, of great saints, of kings, of Peter the Great, of Catherine II, of a Russian people of great culture and great humanity", according to a video posted online.

Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman O leg Nikolenko said the pope's language was "very unfortunate".

1000 GMT — Russia says it downs Ukrainian drone over Black Sea

A Russian military jet has destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry said without providing any other details.

0955 GMT — Japan PM Kishida pledges continued support for Ukraine

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Japan planned to keep on supporting Ukraine.

Kishida told reporters he had also condemned Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine during his phone call with Zelenskyy.

0930 GMT — More than 1,000 schools destroyed in Ukraine since war began

More than 1,300 schools have been totally destroyed in government-held areas of Ukraine since Russia's 2022 military offensive and others have been badly damaged, the UN children's fund UNICEF said.

Persistent attacks mean that only about a third of school-age children there are attending classes fully in person and many are forgetting what they have already learned, it said.

Beyond Ukraine, more than half of the children whose families have fled the conflict to seven countries are not enrolled in national education, UNICEF said, citing language barriers and overstretched education systems.

Around half of Ukraine's teachers have reported a deterioration in students' abilities in language, reading and mathematics, it said, and they have missed out on the sense of safety and friendships school can provide to those enduring war.

0400 GMT — US strongly condemns continued persecution of Crimean Tatars

The US has strongly condemned 'the continued persecution' of Crimean Tatars by Russia.

Russia illegally annexed Crimea in February 2014. The region was divided into two separate federal subjects of the Russian Federation the following month.

"Russia must end its persecution of Crimean Tatars, its occupation of Ukraine, and release all political prisoners there," he added.

Crimea's ethnic Tatars have since faced persecution, a situation especially decried by many countries. Türkiye, the European Union and the US as well as the UN General Assembly view Crimea’s annexation as illegal.

0430 GMT — Russia says foiled latest Ukrainian drone attacks

Russian air defences have downed Ukrainian drones over the Tula and Belgorod regions, Moscow's defence ministry said, without indicating if there had been damage or casualties.

Two drones "were destroyed" by air defences over the Tula region south of Moscow, Russia's defence ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

Another drone was "destroyed by air defence forces" over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, at around 11 pm Moscow time (2000 GMT) on Monday, the ministry said in a separate statement.

The ministry did not say whether there had been damage or casualties as a result of either incident.

0435 GMT — South Korea increases Ukraine aid to $394M for 2024

South Korea has unveiled financial aid of $394 million for Ukraine next year, an eightfold increase from this year.

The aid package includes 130B won for reconstruction, 260B in humanitarian aid and another 130B won through international organisations, according to South Korea's 2024 budget.

In July, President Yoon Suk Yeol announced his country would provide a "large scale of military supplies" this year without giving more details.

On Tuesday, Yoon also announced an increase in South Korea's Official Development Assistance for strategic areas, including the Asia-Pacific region and Africa, from 1.4T won to 2T won ($1.51B).

For our live updates from Monday (August 28), click here.