The situation at a glance: Ukraine asks the USA for permission to shoot against Russia

Ukraine is asking its most important ally for permission to use long-range weapons against military targets in Russia’s rear area. According to the Pentagon, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will receive his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umyerov in Washington today. At the meeting, Austin will receive information about the current combat situation, including the situation in the Russian Kursk region, said deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.

According to a CNN report, the Ukrainian side also wants to present the US government with a list of potential targets in Russia. The aim is to “concretely convince the White House to lift restrictions on long-range weapons attacks on Russian territory,” CNN quoted a Ukrainian official as saying.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, is also expected to attend meetings in Washington. By striking Russian command posts, airfields, ammunition depots and barracks, Ukraine could fend off many attacks before they even begin. So far, the USA has limited the use of its weapons against Russia to fending off the Russian offensive against the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to struggle with the effects of the latest Russian air strikes. Power cuts have been extended in many parts of the country due to damage to the energy system. Kiev also reported that four reactor blocks had to be temporarily shut down due to fluctuating voltage in the grid. According to military sources, a new F-16 fighter jet from Ukraine crashed on Monday while defending against the largest Russian air strike to date; the Ukrainian pilot, who was trained in the USA, was killed. On Friday night, Russian combat drones again attacked Ukraine. Russia’s air defense claims to have shot down several Ukrainian drones over Russian territory. There were initially no details about possible damage or injuries.

Ukraine must shut down four reactors

As a result of the heavy Russian air attack on Monday morning, reactors 1, 3 and 4 at the Rivne nuclear power plant were taken offline, the Ukrainian government wrote to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. The output of the South Ukraine nuclear power plant was increased for this purpose. Due to voltage fluctuations in the network, the third reactor block of this plant was then shut down in the afternoon. “The Russian Federation continues to deliberately target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” the letter said. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed the information and expressed concern about the increasing vulnerability of the Ukrainian energy network. He announced another trip to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant next week.

Electricity for Ukrainians is being cut off even more frequently

As a further consequence of the Russian attacks, the power cuts in Ukraine were once again significantly expanded. The state-owned utility Ukrenergo (Ukrainian Ukrenerho) listed in a statement the capital Kiev and eleven other areas in the east and center of the country where consumers will have their power cut off for a longer period of time. The previous plans for staggered cuts are temporarily suspended.

According to reports, this means that for many parts of Kiev there is only electricity for around 12 hours a day. Often, when the electricity goes out, the water goes out too. Many shops, restaurants and banks are running on emergency power with diesel generators. Russia had already severely damaged many Ukrainian power plants in the spring. This is increasing concerns in Ukraine about an extremely difficult third winter of war.

Kyiv loses a new F-16 fighter jet

According to military sources, a new F-16 fighter jet from Ukraine crashed while fending off a heavy Russian air attack. The recently delivered US-made aircraft proved to be very valuable in the mission and shot down four Russian guided missiles, the General Staff in Kiev announced. During the flight to the next target, contact with one of the aircraft was lost. “It crashed and the pilot was killed.” After months of waiting in Ukraine, Zelenskyj presented the first aircraft at the beginning of August. According to US sources, quoted in the “Wall Street Journal”, these were six former Dutch fighter aircraft.

In his evening video address on Thursday, Zelensky recalled the many Ukrainian soldiers killed. In 2022, Russia attempted to destroy the Ukrainians with a large-scale invasion, he said. But Moscow encountered the Ukrainians’ great will to defend themselves. “The courage of our people. The strength of the Ukrainian character. And the gratitude of our entire people, our entire state to every single soldier,” he said. How many soldiers Ukraine has lost since February 2022 has not been disclosed in Kyiv. Zelensky spoke of 31,000 dead soldiers this February; experts assume a higher number.