Ukraine Live Blog: ++ Latvia and Romania report Russian drones ++

Latvia and Romania have reported that Russian drones entered their airspace. At least two people were killed and four wounded in a Russian strike in the Sumy region of Ukraine. Live blog developments.

Ukrainian forces have reportedly set fire to a fuel depot in the Belgorod region in southern Russia using a drone strike. Russian state-run news agency Tass reported that a combat drone struck a camp in the Volkhonovsk region, citing Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. “The explosion set the tank on fire,” he said.

Russian attacks on Ukrainian defenses around Pokrovsk on the edge of Donbass continue. The Kiev General Staff said in a situation report that a total of 23 Russian attacks were repelled in the eastern part of the country during the day. “The situation in the Pokrovsk region remains critical,” it said.

Similar heavy fighting was reported in nearby Kurachewe, where Russian forces attempted to breach Ukrainian defenses a total of 19 times. This information could not be independently verified.

In eastern Latvia, an EU and NATO member, a suspected Russian drone flew into Latvian airspace over Belarus and crashed in the town of Rēzekne. The Riga Defense Ministry said it was investigating the incident. NATO was also informed. The Latvian military detected the drone as it entered its airspace and tracked its movements to find the crash site. It was unclear how the Russian drone managed to travel unhindered through Belarus and into Latvia. An investigation was underway, it said.

“This situation confirms that we must continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia’s eastern borders, including the development of air defense and electronic warfare capabilities to limit the activities of unmanned aerial vehicles for various purposes,” Latvian Defence Minister Andris said in a statement, according to Spruds.

The Bucharest Defense Ministry said a Russian drone flew over Romanian territory on Sunday night and then re-entered Ukrainian airspace. In the border towns of Constanta and Tulcea, the military sent out warnings to residents in the form of text messages on their mobile phones. Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets took off to observe the drone’s flight. The military began searching for possible drone debris in an uninhabited area in the border town of Periprava.

According to Ukrainian reports, at least seven people were killed in Russian attacks. Governor Oleh Syniehubow said two elderly women were killed in shelling in the Kharkiv region on Sunday night. Local military officials said two people were killed and four others, including two children, were wounded in an airstrike in the city of Sumy.

According to Ukrainian air defenses, Russian forces attacked with cruise missiles and drones. Fifteen of the 23 Iranian drones were shot down. None of the four cruise missiles hit their targets. One was shot down and another missed. Three women were killed by shelling in a village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Governor Vadim Filashkin said via Telegram on Saturday. Rescuers also recovered two bodies from a hotel in the affected area on Saturday, emergency services said.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for more intensive efforts than before to find a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine. “I think it is time to discuss how we can get out of this war situation and achieve peace faster than the current impression,” the SPD politician said in a ZDF summer interview.

“It is important to move forward on this issue. There will definitely be another peace conference,” the prime minister stressed. He had just had a very secret conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. They both agreed that Russia should also participate in the next peace conference.

Ukraine is trying to get its own peace plan approved by the international community. At the Ukrainian peace conference in Switzerland in June, many countries already agreed to the plan, but Russia did not participate in the negotiations. Kiev’s peace plan envisages the withdrawal of Russian troops from all of Ukraine, including Crimea. Russia must also agree to pay reparations. Ultimately, all those responsible for Moscow’s war—politicians and military officers alike—must be held accountable in an international court.

Russian forces say they have captured another town in eastern Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said troops had “liberated” the town of Novorodivka in the Donetsk region.

Novorodivka, home to more than 14,000 people before the Russian offensive began in February 2022, is located about 20 km from the logistically important city of Pokrovsk.

Russia has made significant gains in terrain this summer and is now moving closer to Pokrovsk. The Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kursk region in western Russia, which began on August 6, has failed to halt the Russian advance. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday that the main goal of the military operation in Ukraine is to conquer the Donbas, where the Donetsk region is located. Ukrainian actions in Kursk have made this task easier.

Romania has accused Russia of violating its airspace during nighttime attacks on Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said a Russian drone flew into Romanian territory when Russia attacked civilian targets and port facilities on the Danube River. F-16 fighter jets were deployed to monitor the airspace.

Romania provides information to NATO allies. Preliminary data suggest there may be an impact zone in an uninhabited area near the Romanian town of Periprabha, the Defense Ministry said. The incident will be investigated in more detail. Romanian emergency authorities have issued text warnings to residents of two eastern regions.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana of Romania condemned the incident. “We have no information yet indicating a deliberate attack by Russia against our allies. However, these actions are irresponsible and potentially dangerous,” Geoana wrote on the short message service X. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said peace efforts in the Ukraine war must be accelerated. “I think it is time for us to discuss how we can move from this war situation to peace more quickly,” Scholz said. ZDF Summer Interview.

Future peace talks should be with Russia, he agreed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Scholz said there would be “definitely another peace meeting,” but did not give a date. He agreed with Zelensky that Russia should be there.

In mid-June, the first peace talks were held in Switzerland, with representatives from 90 countries, without Russia. At the time, Scholz, like other participants, favored including Russia in future meetings if possible. Zelensky said at the time that peace talks could begin “tomorrow” if Russian troops were to withdraw from Ukraine.

Iran is said to have supported Russia with weapons in its war against Ukraine, two sources told the Associated Press, citing U.S. intelligence. Iran is said to have supplied Russia with short-range missiles.

The AP reported that the source did not say when the missiles were delivered, or how many were delivered. Iran denied the report. Iran’s U.N. mission said, “Iran considers it inhumane to provide military support to the conflicting parties, which results in increased casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and dwarfing ceasefire negotiations.” The mission also urged other countries to stop supplying weapons to the conflicting parties.

The White House has been warning since last year about Iran’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia. While it did not want to confirm the information at this time, it reiterated its concerns about deepening cooperation between Iran and Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed a new external adviser on strategic issues, former Industry Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin, who resigned last week as part of a cabinet reshuffle. The decision was announced in a decree published on the president’s website, according to Reuters.

As minister, Kamyshin was in charge of Ukraine’s defense production. Last week, Prime Minister Zelensky carried out the biggest cabinet reshuffle since the Russian war of aggression.

The RIA news agency, citing the Russian Defense Ministry, reported that Russian troops had taken control of the small town of Novorodivka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

Two people were killed in a Russian airstrike in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine, according to local authorities. The military administration of the region said via the Telegram short message service that four people, including two children, were injured in the night attack. Several houses and cars were damaged.

According to local authorities, three civilians were injured in a Ukrainian airstrike in the Belgorod region in southwestern Russia. Among them were two children, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a Telegram message. Two residential buildings were destroyed and more than 15 buildings were damaged in total. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a Telegram message that two Ukrainian drones were shot down over Belgorod on the night of the same day.

Ukrainian President Zelensky wants to build an underground weapons production facility where Russian Poltava attack victims are buried.