Ukraine says it has taken over Robotyne, a strategic point in the Southeast

Ukraine claimed on Monday, August 28, the capture of Robotyne, in the southeast of its territory, as part of a counterattack against Russian troops. “Robotyne has been freed,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar was quoted as saying by the Ukrainian military. He added on Ukrainian television that troops from Kyiv, which began their counteroffensive in early June, were now advancing southeast of Robotyne and south of the nearby town of Mala Tokmatchka.

Ukrainian forces are also fighting Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, where the progress of the counteroffensive has been slower than expected due to the obstacles posed by extensive Russian minefields and trenches.

Hanna Maliar described the situation on the Eastern Front last week as “very hot”. He said Russian forces were gathering new strength there and reorganizing, and that Moscow aimed to deploy its best troops there.

Ukrainian troops continued to advance south of Bakhmut, he said, referring to the nearly destroyed eastern town captured by Moscow troops in May after months of heavy fighting. He added that over the last week, Ukrainian troops had recaptured 1 km2 around Bakhmout and Russian troops had made no headway.

Ukrainian drone shot down by Russia

Russia says it shot down a Ukrainian drone bound for Moscow in the early hours of Monday, an attack that once again disrupted flights over the capital.

Authorities have reported more than a dozen attempted drone attacks on Moscow in the past month, some of which resulted in the temporary closure of the airport.

The drone sent on Monday was shot down in the Lioubertsy region, southeast of the capital, according to the Defense Ministry. Three airports temporarily halted flights before resuming operations, the national aviation agency Rosaviatsia said.

Moscow reported its first drone strikes on the capital in early May, when two of them were fired at the Kremlin without causing any damage. Since then, these attacks have become more frequent.
Most of the drones were intercepted by Russian air defenses, but some hit buildings in the capital’s business district.
Ukraine does not normally comment on these attacks on Russian soil, although officials have publicly expressed their satisfaction with them

Separately, a more recent Russian airstrike in Ukraine’s Poltava region left two people dead overnight from Sunday August 27 to Monday August 28, when a plant producing edible oil was hit, the region’s governor said.

Putin will not travel to India for the G20 summit

Russia will be represented by its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the G20 summit in India in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday during a telephone conversation in which they also discussed bilateral ties.

This statement confirms an earlier announcement by the Kremlin that Vladimir Putin, who is subject to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on suspicion of war crimes in Ukraine, will not travel to New Delhi on September 9 and 10. The Russian president last week specifically refrained from traveling to South Africa for the BRICS summit, which he took part in via videoconference.

“While expressing his understanding of Russia’s decision, the Prime Minister thanked President Putin for Russia’s continued support of all initiatives under India’s G20 Presidency,” the statement read.

Targeted by broad Western sanctions for an attack it launched on Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has since sought to further strengthen its ties with India, which is one of the main buyers of Russian oil.

Monday’s telephone conversation was an opportunity to discuss “current issues in Russia-India relations, which are gradually developing in the spirit of a very special strategic partnership,” the Kremlin said.
“The positive dynamics of trade and economic cooperation have been confirmed,” the Russian presidency added in a statement.