- Human Rights Watch said it uncovered new evidence of indiscriminate use of antipersonnel landmines by Ukrainian forces against Russian troops. The group called on Ukraine to follow through with a commitment to not use the banned weapons, investigate their suspected use and hold accountable those responsible.
- A Russian missile attack on a village school near the front line in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region killed two women and injured six, Ukrainian police said.
- Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said forces are advancing in all directions in their counteroffensive against Russian troops. “We have seized the strategic initiative and are advancing in all directions,” Maliar told Ukrainian television.
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered his top military commanders to boost defences in the northern military sector as Russia’s Wagner mercenary forces arrives in Belarus after an aborted mutiny to topple the Russian military leadership.
- Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces is “going slower than people had predicted”, but is making steady progress, United States Army General Mark Milley said. “It is advancing steadily, deliberately, working its way through very difficult minefields, et cetera,” he said.
- The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s military said his forces’ counteroffensive was hindered by the lack of adequate firepower, from modern fighter jets to artillery ammunition. Valery Zaluzhny said it “pi**es me off” that some in the West complain about the slow progress of the counteroffensive, while Ukraine is still awaiting F-16 fighters promised by its allies.
- Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Ukraine was preparing to commit a “terrorist” attack at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied that Russia intentionally attacked civilian targets in Ukraine, saying it only targeted military infrastructure or other military targets. Lavrov also said he believed the West wants to freeze the conflict in Ukraine to buy time to send more weapons to Kyiv.
- civilian targets in Ukraine, saying it only targeted military infrastructure or other military targets. Lavrov also said he believed the West wants to freeze the conflict in Ukraine to buy time to send more weapons to Kyiv.
Military
- The US is considering providing cluster munitions to Ukraine, said General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- The Russian government will increase salaries for military servicemen by 10.5 percent from October 1, a decree published on an official web portal has shown. The increase follows the abandoned mutiny by the mercenary Wagner Group.
- Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor blocked media outlets linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner mercenary force, Russian newspaper Kommersant reports.
