Ukraine on Thursday said the situation on the northeastern front line near the town of Kupiansk was “difficult but under control” after an uptick in Russian attacks on the settlement. Earlier in the day, local authorities urged vulnerable residents to leave the area. Read our liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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10:51pm: Biden asks US Congress for $13 billion in new Ukraine military spending
US President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday asked Congress for more than $13 billion in new military spending for Ukraine, citing the need for continued support following Russia’s “unprovoked” invasion of the country last year.
The funding would support Ukraine and other vulnerable countries “impacted by Russia’s unprovoked and brutal invasion”, Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young wrote in a letter to Congressional leader Kevin McCarthy and others.
7:47pm: Russian launches deadly strike on civilian building in Zaporizhzhia
A Russian strike on a civilian building killed at least one person and wounded five in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia Thursday, Ukrainian officials said.
“A fire broke out in a civilian building after the occupiers hit it with a missile. One person is currently reported dead,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram. The head of the city’s military administration Anatoli Kurtiev added that five people had been wounded in the strike.
6:28pm: Ukraine says fighting in northeast ‘difficult’
Ukraine said Thursday it faced fierce combat on the northeastern front line near Kupiansk, where Ukrainian officials urged civilian evacuations as Russia ramped up its assaults.
“Russians are trying to prevail (in the Kupiansk area) and break through our defence... the situation remains difficult but under control,” Sergiy Cherevaty, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern forces, said on national television.
4:15pm: Two killed in shelling of Russia’s Bryansk region
Two people were killed in Ukrainian shelling of the Russian village of Chausy in the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, the region’s governor said on Thursday.
Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said earlier that one man had died but later announced another person was killed.
"At present, two civilians have been killed by the Ukrainian armed forces," he said on social media.
Shelling of Russian territory along the Ukrainian frontier has become commonplace in recent months in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
1:32pm: Counterattack or ploy? Kyiv vigilant despite heavy Russian shelling of northeast region
Russian troops have mounted fierce assaults in Ukraine’s northeastern Kupiansk region, located at the northern end of the country’s 600-mile front line. While Moscow’s troops have reportedly gained some ground, military experts caution against calling this a full-blown offensive.
Since the start of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in June, Russia’s invading troops have been largely on the defensive along much of the front line that stretches across the country’s east and south.
In recent days, however, Moscow’s troops have once again mounted offensive operations in the Kupiansk region, an area south-east of Kharkiv that Ukrainian troops recaptured late last year.
“They are constantly attacking us,” a Ukrainian lieutenant stationed in the area told the New York Times this week. “On some days they shoot without stopping.”
Read the full piece by FRANCE 24's Sebastian Seibt by clicking on the link below.
Read moreCounterattack or ploy? Kyiv vigilant despite heavy Russian shelling of northeast region
1:13pm: Northeast Ukraine town urges evacuations in face of Russian advance
Authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian town of Kupiansk urged vulnerable residents to leave the area on Thursday citing an uptick in Russian attacks on the settlement.
"Vulnerable citizens: women with children, the elderly, the sick and those with limited mobility. Given the difficult security situation and the increasing number of attacks by Russian terrorist forces on the territory of the Kupiansk community, you have the opportunity to evacuate to a safer place," Kupiansk city council said in a statement on social media.
1:12pm: Russia says 'improved' positions along front in Kharkiv region
The Russian army on Thursday said it had improved its positions on the front line in northeastern Ukraine around Kupiansk, where Kyiv has reported increasing Russian attacks.
"In the course of offensive operations near Kupiansk, assault teams of the Western battle group improved their positions along the forward edge of the front line," the Russian defence ministry said.
12:50pm: At least 12 missing after Russian warehouse blast
Twelve people were still missing Thursday after a huge explosion tore through a warehouse in the Russian city of Sergiyev Posad, officials said.
At least one person was killed in Wednesday's blast, which investigators said began in a warehouse used to store pyrotechnics.
"There are 12 missing persons reported," the city's administration said in a post on social media.
Officials in the city, which lies 35 miles (56 kilometres) northeast of Moscow, said search and rescue efforts were ongoing.
12:40pm: Ukraine's navy announces Black Sea humanitarian corridor but says Russian threat remains
Ukraine's navy said a new temporary Black Sea "humanitarian corridor" had started working on Thursday and that the first ships were expected to use it within days.
Oleh Chalyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian navy, told Reuters that the corridor would be used by commercial ships blocked at Ukraine's Black Sea ports and for grain and agricultural products.
"Today a new temporary humanitarian corridor has started to work," Chalyk said by phone.
"The corridor will be very transparent, we will put cameras on the ships and there will be a broadcast to show that this is purely a humanitarian mission and has no military purpose," he said.
The navy said in a separate statement that the risk posed by mines in the Black Sea and the military threat from Russia remained.
10:04am: Three dead after Russian attack on Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia
Two young women and a man were killed and nine other people were wounded in a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia late on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.
A Reuters reporter at the scene saw emergency workers lifting a body, putting it on a stretcher, and wrapping it into a black body bag.
Rescuers sifted through debris and an ambulance was parked near damaged buildings.
"Three people dead and nine people injured including an 11-month baby – this is the result of the strike on the regional centre," a statement from President Volodymyr Zelensky's office said. "The Russian shell took away the lives of a 43-year-old man and young women who were 19 and 21."
Officials said two of the people had been killed on the spot and a woman had died overnight at a hospital.
9:27am: Kyiv says Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant switched to reserve power line
Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant again lost connection to its last remaining main external power line overnight and was switched to a reserve line, state-owned power generating company Energoatom said on Thursday.
Energoatom said that Europe's largest nuclear power plant was on the verge of a blackout as the reserve line had less than half of the power capacity of the main power line.
"Such a regime is difficult for the reactor plant, its duration is limited by the project's design and it can result in failure of the main equipment of the energy unit," Energoatom said on Telegram.
The Zaporizhizhia nuclear power plant with its six reactors has been controlled by the Russian military since the early days of Moscow's invasion in February 2022.
8:27am: Poland plans to send up to 10,000 soldiers to border with Belarus
Poland is planning to move up to 10,000 additional troops to the border with Belarus to support the Border Guard, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Thursday.
"About 10,000 soldiers will be on the border, of which 4,000 will directly support the Border Guard and 6,000 will be in the reserve," the minister said in an interview for public radio.
"We move the army closer to the border with Belarus to scare away the aggressor so that it does not dare to attack us," Blaszczak said.
Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik said on Wednesday that Poland would send 2,000 additional troops to its frontier with Belarus.
5:33am: Russia says it downed 11 Ukrainian drones near Crimea, plus 2 headed to Moscow
Russia's defence ministry said early on Thursday it had downed 11 Ukrainian drones near Crimea overnight, as well as two drones flying towards the capital Moscow.
"Two UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) flying in the direction of the city of Moscow were destroyed," the ministry said in a statement on Telegram.
It said two Ukrainian drones were shot down near the city of Sevastopol on the Crimean coast, and "another 9 were suppressed by means of electronic warfare and crashed in the Black Sea". The ministry said there were no reports of damage or casualties in any of the affected areas.
Key developments from Wednesday, August 9:
A deadly Russian attack on Ukraine’s southern city of Zaporizhzhia Wednesday left two dead and many injured, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a post on social media. Zelensky also posted a video that showed a partially damaged church with fire in its courtyard and smoke rising. The footage also showed another building heavily destroyed and on fire, as well as a damaged basketball pitch.
Poland said it would send an additional 2,000 troops to reinforce its eastern border with neighbouring Belarus, a deputy interior minister said Wednesday, as a record number of migrants try to cross. "This will not be a reinforcement of 1,000 but of 2,000 soldiers," Maciej Wasik told the PAP state news agency, adding that the move was approved by the defence minister following a request from the national border agency for additional manpower.
Read yesterday's live blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
