Russia Selensky hopes for positive signals
Following his talks with representatives of the US government during the Ukraine Contact Group meeting in Ramstein, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is now "very eagerly" awaiting results.
On Friday, Zelenskyi had specifically demanded that the allies provide extensive weapons and permission to use them against military and logistical targets on Russian territory. So far, this permission has not been granted.
Ukraine is trying to convince its partners at all levels to deploy long-range missiles, Selensky emphasized in his daily video message and lamented the lack of willingness to make decisions: "Russia can shy away from the search for peace just as the world shies away from strong decisions to defeat Russia."
"We are constantly working with representatives of both parties in the United States of America - on the sidelines of the forum in Italy, I met with a delegation from the US Congress," Selenskyj reported from a subsequent visit to Italy on Friday. "We talked in particular about the victory plan for Ukraine - about some of its details." Ukraine will inform both US President Joe Biden and the two candidates for his successor in office, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, about the details.
At the meeting in Ramstein, Kiev was promised further weapons and other military support. "Now, at the beginning of the fall, the main thing for us is to strengthen the position of Ukraine and the Ukrainians, to protect our cities and villages from Russian terror and, of course, to give our soldiers on the front line more opportunities," said Selenskyj. He was referring in particular to the recently heavily contested eastern Ukrainian regions of Pokrovsk, Torezk and Kurakhove.
Ukrainian drone hits fuel depot in Russia
The Ukrainian armed forces have set fire to a fuel depot during a drone attack on the southern Russian region of Belgorod. Citing Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, the Russian state agency Tass reported that a combat drone had hit the warehouse in the Volkonovsk district. "The explosion caused the tanks to catch fire."
The Ukrainian armed forces have recently started attacking logistical and military targets on Russian territory with combat drones. Time and again, they achieve spectacular results with these pinpricks. In recent months, the Ukrainian arms industry has supplied the armed forces with thousands of relatively inexpensive drones in various designs and with different ranges.
Heavy fighting again around Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine
The assault by Russian troops against the Ukrainian defense lines around Pokrovsk on the edge of the Donbass, which has been going on for weeks, has continued with full force. In the course of the day, a total of 23 Russian attacks were repelled in the section in the east of the country, the General Staff in Kiev announced in its situation report. "The situation in the Pokrovsk sector remains tense", it said.
Similar heavy fighting was also reported from nearby Kurakhove. The Russian army had attempted to undermine the Ukrainian defenses there a total of 19 times. The information could not be independently verified. The Russian army has been trying to expand its positions around the Donbass for months.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian war of aggression for more than two and a half years.
Another bridge damaged in the Kursk region
Ukrainian troops have damaged another bridge over the Sejm in the Kursk region. The bridge near the village of Karysh can now only be used by light passenger vehicles, the Unian agency reported, citing military sources. With the destruction of several bridges in the region, the Ukrainian troops have put the Russian units defending there in a difficult situation and largely cut them off from supplies.
