As the war enters its 893rd day, these are the main developments.
Here is the situation on Tuesday, 6 August, 2024.
Fighting
- Russia sent multiple missiles and drones at Kyiv as air raid warnings sounded in the capital from about 11pm (20:00 GMT). “Air defence forces and equipment operated in the capital and on the outskirts of the city. According to preliminary data, enemy missiles were hit,” Serhiy Popko, the head of the city’s military administration, said on social media. “As of now, no damage or casualties have been recorded in Kyiv.”
- Ukraine’s Air Force chief said the military shot down all 24 Russian drones launched at targets across Ukraine. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
- One person was killed and three more were injured after a drone struck a bus for an agricultural enterprise in the village of Vyazovoe in Russia’s Belgorod region, according to local Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
- Ukraine said it conducted an exchange of soldiers’ bodies with Russia in a deal mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Kyiv handed over the remains of 38 Russian soldiers while Ukraine received the bodies of 250 of their servicemen on August 2.
Politics and diplomacy
- Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s security council and a former defence minister, that Tehran was determined to expand relations with its “strategic partner Russia”, according to Iranian state media. Russia has cultivated closer political and military ties with Iran since starting its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and has said it is preparing to sign a wide-ranging cooperation agreement with the country. The Reuters news agency reported in February that Iran had provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles.
- Ukraine denied any involvement in northern Mali fighting last month that led to the deaths of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group. Mali cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine after a senior official from Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said the rebels behind the attack had all the “information” they needed. Kyiv expressed regret over the decision and stressed its commitment to the “norms of international law, the inviolability of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries”.
- Pavel Kushnir, a 39-year-old Russian pianist and antiwar activist, died in prison after going on hunger strike, his mother said. A Telegram channel with links to Russia’s security services reported in May that Kushnir had been arrested and accused of inciting “terrorist” activity after posting antiwar material online. The European Union called Kushnir’s death a shocking case of political repression.
- Ukraine’s newly-crowned Olympic high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh urged Russian athletes to speak up against the invasion, saying she was disappointed they remained silent in Paris where a small squad of about 15 athletes is competing as “neutrals”. Athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus were banned from world sport following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
