Overnight Russian attack on Ukraine results in one fatality and multiple injuries

In the past week, a series of significant events have unfolded in Ukraine and Russia.

On Saturday, a tragic incident occurred in the city of Lviv, Ukraine, where the former parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy was shot dead. Parubiy, a pro-Western politician, played a prominent role in Ukraine's Orange Revolution in 2004 and led self-defence volunteer units during the Maidan protests of 2014. He served as parliament speaker from 2016 to 2019. The suspect, disguised as a courier, shot him eight times and was later arrested in the Khmelnytskyi region, confessing to the killing.

In a separate incident, a fire was sparked at a refinery in the city of Krasnodar due to falling drone debris, causing damage to one of the facility's processing units but no casualties. Ukraine has continued to strike oil refineries inside Russia, with two facilities hit overnight: one in the Krasnodar region near occupied Crimea, and another in the Samara region farther northeast.

Russia has been active on the military front, launching 537 strike drones and decoys, as well as 45 missiles. Moscow's forces are waging a "nonstop" offensive along almost the whole 1000-kilometre front line in Ukraine. The attacks have resulted in casualties, with at least one civilian killed and 28 people, including children, wounded in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The EU foreign and defence ministers held a summit in Copenhagen to discuss sanctions on Russia, ramping up defence supplies to Kyiv, postwar security guarantees, and Ukraine's prospects for joining the 27-nation bloc. There is disagreement within the EU about confiscating Russian assets, with some, like Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, opposing the move due to concerns about financial instability and eroding trust in the euro. However, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the EU was advancing toward seizing frozen Russian assets to hand to Ukraine.

Russia has faced economic repercussions as well, with Russia pausing gasoline exports and declaring a full ban until September 30, and a partial ban affecting traders and intermediaries until October 31. Gas stations have run dry in some regions of Russia due to Ukrainian drone strikes on oil infrastructure in recent weeks, leading to rationing or cutting off sales altogether.

The United States approved an $825 million arms sale to Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin and former U.S. President Donald Trump held a summit in Alaska less than two weeks ago. Despite the air attack on Kyiv, the Kremlin has stated that Russia remains interested in continuing peace talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed frustration with what he calls Russia's lack of constructive engagement.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is on a four-day tour of European states bordering Russia or its ally Belarus. The tour aims to discuss the ongoing crisis and coordinate responses among EU member states. The situation in Ukraine and Russia continues to evolve, and these events underscore the complexity and gravity of the ongoing conflict.

Overnight Russian attack on Ukraine results in one fatality and multiple injuries