Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 923
Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 923.
Poltava region. In one of the Kremlin’s deadliest strikes on Ukraine since the start of its invasion, more than 50 people were killed and more than 200 others injured in the central city of Poltava on Sep. 3. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, preliminary analysis shows that Russia used two ballistic missiles to target a military school and a nearby hospital. The devastating attack, deep inside Ukraine, partially destroyed the school building. Rescue operations to free victims trapped under rubble continue. Zelenskyy renewed his plea to western allies to lift remaining restrictions on Ukrainian attacks inside Russia. “We continue to urge everyone in the world who has the power to stop this terror… long-range strikes that can protect us from Russian terror are needed now, not later,” said Zelenskyy. “Every day of delay, unfortunately, means more lost lives.”
Donetsk region. Russian forces have been gaining ground on the eastern front, closing in on the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk oblast, or region, and putting hundreds of Ukrainian troops at risk of encirclement. With a pre-war population of approximately 60 thousand, the key logistical hub of Pokrovsk has been steadily evacuating. As of Sep. 1, Russian troops had advanced to within five miles. Ukraine had hoped its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, that began Aug. 6, would draw enemy resources away from the eastern front, but that effect has been negligible. Russia nonetheless gained momentum, pressuring Ukraine’s defenses with wave after wave of infantry assaults. A Forbes analysis now warns Russian advances have left Ukrainian troops at risk of encirclement south of the city.
Kharkiv region. Russian forces dropped aerial bombs on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, killing six and injuring scores, regional governor Synehubov said on Aug. 30. A 12-story apartment building in the so-called “Industrial” district that is dense with housing was one of several locations hit in the city. Six bodies were recovered from the rubble; close to one hundred people were injured, some two dozen of them children.
Among those killed was 18-year-old artist Veronika Kozhushko. She had gained recognition for her war-inspired artwork: pencil sketches of volunteers and shattered residential buildings.
