Paramedics carry an injured man into an ambulance after a Russian rocket attack on a food market in … [+]
Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 562.
Regional.
Donetsk region. Dozens of Kostyantynivka residents were killed and wounded in Russia’s daylight attack on the town’s central market on September 6th. The strike during prime shopping hours claimed the lives of 17 people, including one child, and wounded 28 others. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “The audacity of evil. The brazenness of wickedness. Utter inhumanity.”
Odesa region. Russian forces launched a wave of UAVs at the Izmail area on the night of September 6th. The attack, which lasted three hours, killed at least one man. The trajectory of the UAVs suggests that Russia’s key objective was to disrupt port and agricultural activities.
National.
President Zelenskyy today formally welcomed Ukraine’s newly- appointed Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov. “I am grateful to the President of Ukraine for his trust,” Umerov said. “Ukraine will regain what belongs to it, and this time every meter and every centimeter of our land will be under the Ukrainian flag.” Umerov emphasized the value of increasing the number of Ukraine’s “friends,” forming new regional alliances and investing in national defense production.
Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, on September 7th opened the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen in Kyiv. The fourth conference of its type, which bore the title “Mental Health: Resilience and Vulnerability of the Future,” focused on human capital. The event gathered the spouses of world leaders as well as public figures such as British human rights advocate Stephen Fry and Sarah Brown, who heads a children’s charity foundation.
World.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv on a two-day official trip to the capital, his fourth visit to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion. Joined by his counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, Blinken paid tribute to fallen Ukrainian soldiers at Berkovetske cemetery. “They served their country with honor,” Blinken wrote on Twitter. “And the United States is proud to stand with Ukraine as it defends its people and sovereignty.” At a joint press conference afterwards, Blinken announced Washington’s steadfast commitment to deliver to Ukraine aid worth more than one billion dollars. “We’ve seen good progress on the counteroffensive,” Blinken continued. “We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs not only to succeed in the counteroffensive” but also to build a strong defense to deter any such future aggression.
On The Culture Front.
Prominent Ukrainian historian and religious scholar Ihor Kozlovskyy has died from a heart attack at the age of 69, people close to his family announced on September 6th. Kozlovskyy was revered as one of Ukraine’s most eminent scholars. In January, 2016, several militia officers of the self-proclaimed, Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic arrested Kozlovskyy at his home in the city of Donetsk. Kozlovskyy then spent almost two years in a Russian prison, where he was tortured until released during a prisoner exchange in December, 2017. Kozlovskyy was the author of more than 50 scholarly books, the winner of countless national awards and a proud advocate for the liberation of prisoners held by Russia.
