Ukrainian officials stated on Sunday (September 1) that the Ukrainian army launched its largest drone strike since the start of the full-scale war against Russia, targeting a power plant and an oil refinery. Meanwhile, Russian forces are advancing towards a key town in eastern Ukraine.
According to Reuters, Russia launched missile attacks on the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine from Saturday night to early Sunday, resulting in over forty injuries, including five children. In response, Ukraine carried out a counterstrike on Sunday, marking one of the largest drone attacks since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.
This battle comes at a critical moment in the ongoing two-and-a-half-year war between Russia and Ukraine, with Russia intensifying its offensive in eastern Ukraine while attempting to drive out Ukrainian forces that breached its western border in a surprise attack on August 6.
Last week, Russia launched its most intense aerial bombardment against Ukraine, targeting Ukrainian energy facilities. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, its drone and missile attacks have resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and military personnel.
Ukraine’s domestic drone industry has been rapidly developing, with the Ukrainian army escalating attacks on Russian energy, military, and transportation infrastructure.
Ukraine has called on the United States and other allies to allow the use of more powerful Western-supplied weapons to inflict greater damage within Russia, thereby weakening Russia’s ability to attack Ukraine.
Regarding the previous night’s Russian attack on Kharkiv, Ukrainian President Zelensky stated on the social media platform Telegram that “all necessary forces for rescue operations are in place.” Officials reported that at least 10 missiles were involved in the attack, targeting locations including a shopping center.
Russian officials claimed that their air defense forces destroyed 158 Ukrainian launched drones overnight, with debris causing fires at the Moscow Oil Refinery and a thermal power plant in the Konakovo district of the Tver region.
Reuters noted their inability to independently verify reports of drone attacks by Ukraine on Russia or originating from the Ukrainian battlefield, with no comments yet from Kyiv. Russia seldom discloses the full extent of the losses resulting from Ukrainian airstrikes.
According to Zelensky, just last week, Russia used 160 missiles, 780 guided bombs, and 400 unmanned combat aerial vehicles on cities and military forces across Ukraine.
In the fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces continue their advance towards Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, a crucial military hub and a key transportation junction linking towns further north.
Ukraine had hoped that its cross-border raid into Kursk Oblast of Russia last month would force Russia to redeploy its forces and ease pressure on Ukrainian troops besieged in the east, but so far, this outcome has not been achieved.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated on Sunday that their forces captured two residential areas in Donetsk Oblast and “continue to advance deep into enemy defensive lines.”
Ukrainian officials reported that in artillery strikes by Russia on the town of Kurakhove, approximately 35 kilometers south of Pokrovsk, at least three people were killed and nine were injured.
Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that the situation around the main attack lines of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine is “difficult” for the Ukrainian army.