Massive overnight Russian strikes rain down on Kyiv
At least two people were killed and a dozen more wounded in a Russian strike on Kyiv overnight. For several weeks, the Ukrainian capital has been the target of Russian missile and drone attacks that its air defences have struggled to repel. Ukraine has also increased its long-range attacks on Russia, with a growing number of victims on both sides.
the broadcaster has this report.
Zelensky says he spoke to NATO head Rutte about securing interceptors
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he had spoken with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about the possibility of securing more air defence interceptors.
"Mark is well-informed about the threats, and we have coordinated our efforts regarding countries that possess the necessary missiles and the capability to help," Zelensky wrote on social media platform X.
"It is crucial to eliminate all bureaucracy and make the required political decisions."
Russian drone factory director badly wounded in car explosion
The director of a factory supplying drones to the Russian military was badly wounded and his driver was killed when the car they were in exploded, news reports said Wednesday.
The state Tass and RIA Novosti agencies said that Vladimir Tkachuk was hospitalized in grave condition following the explosion late Tuesday in Bolshoy Istok just outside Yekaterinburg, 1,400 kilometers (about 870 miles) east of Moscow.
There was no immediate comment from the authorities.
Tkachuk headed the Uraldronzavod factory that manufactures Upyr (Russian for Ghoul) drones. Tkachuk, a small-scale entrepreneur, set up a team of engineers that developed the Upyr and organized its production near Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city and a key industrial hub in the Ural Mountains
Emergency services put out blaze at Russian space agency
A fire that broke out at a research facility belonging to Russian space agency Roscosmos in the town of Korolyov outside Moscow has been extinguished, the state-run TASS news agency reported on Wednesday, citing emergency services.
The Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering in Korolyov is the space agency's lead research centre.
According to a preliminary assessment, the fire was caused by a short circuit and resulted in no casualties.
TASS did not provide details on the size of the fire or any damage caused.
Russia says it hit three more cargo vessels in Black Sea
Russian forces on Wednesday hit three more cargo vessels in the Black Sea, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
The ministry released video footage of the strikes but did not disclose further details.
Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks on each other's shipping in an escalation that has forced up global wheat prices and threatens to turn the Black Sea into the latest strategic trade chokepoint, following the Strait of Hormuz, to seize up as a result of war.
Fire at warehouse of Russia's online retailer Wildberries extinguished
A blaze at a warehouse owned by Russia's leading online retailer Wildberries in the Tula region has been put out, the regional governor Dmitry Milyaev said on Wednesday.
The warehouse caught fire after a Ukrainian drone attack, according to Russian authorities.
The incident is the latest in a series of strikes targeting Wildberries facilities, with at least 20 warehouses owned by the company reportedly attacked since July 18.
Ukraine orders evacuations from eastern city of Kramatorsk amid Russian attacks
Ukrainian authorities on Wednesday ordered hundreds of families with children to leave the stronghold city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine because of intensifying Russian strikes, as Moscow's troops advance nearby.
"This is a difficult but necessary decision. The security situation is deteriorating, so it is unacceptable to leave children under the constant threat of Russian attacks," Donetsk region governor Vadym Filashkin said.
A total of 525 children and their guardians would be forcibly evacuated from Kramatorsk and the surrounding regions.
Russian forces are within 20 kilometres (12 miles) of the city's eastern edge, according to DeepState, a conflict monitor close to the Ukrainian army.
Kramatorsk is one of the major cities Russia has not yet captured in the eastern Donetsk region, which Moscow claims as its own.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire in a residential building following a Russian air attack in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Photo by Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP).
Fire erupts at Russian space agency research facility outside Moscow, TASS reports
A fire has erupted at a research facility belonging to Russian space agency Roscosmos in the town of Korolyov outside Moscow, the state-run TASS news agency reported on Wednesday, citing emergency services.
The Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering in Korolyov is the space agency's lead research institute.
TASS did not report the cause of the fire or provide details on its scale or any damage caused.
Zelensky urges partners to boost funding and supplies of air defense missiles
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X the immediate needs of Ukraine's military campaign to counter Russia's recent escalation in attacks.
Zelensky identified the need to boost drones, overall supplies and funding with a bolstering of defenses focused on the Kostiantynivka and Slovyansk regions and in the Donetsk region.
He urged allies to ramp up their supplies of anti-ballistic capabilities which "have decreased significantly this year" highlighting the threefold drop in the number of air defense missiles they had supplied compared with 2025.
Zelensky also said long-term sanctions would be vital in putting additional pressure on Russia to end its war.
German extremism prosecutors, counter-terrorism officers join airport drone investigation
German state prosecutors have taken over the investigation of the drone incident at Leipzig/Halle airport after an explosive device was found, according to a statement on Wednesday.
The prosecutors' ZESA extremism office and officers from the state counter-terrorism unit have become involved, it said, after the drone was found to be carrying an explosive device.
Macron condemns latest Russian attacks on Kyiv and says more sanctions likely
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned on Wednesday Russia's latest attacks on Kyiv, and said the European Union and its partners would step up their pressure on Russia via sanctions and would continue to support Ukraine militarily.
"The European Union and its partners will continue to increase the pressure on Russia, including through new sanctions, while strengthening military support for Ukraine so it can defend itself and protect its population," Macron wrote on X.
Alarm at German airport after drone found near Ukrainian plane, mid-air incident
German police deployed a bomb disposal robot at an airport overnight after a drone was found on the tarmac near a Ukrainian cargo plane, sparking alarm and forcing the diversion of numerous flights.
One aircraft that had to abort its scheduled landing at Leipzig-Halle airport then collided mid-air with an unknown object nearby but later landed safely elsewhere, a government spokesman said.
Bild daily reported that the drone found on the tarmac of the eastern German airport carried explosives and a detonator - but police did not confirm this report to AFP, saying the investigation was ongoing.
Ukraine ambassador Oleksii Makeiev voiced suspicion that Moscow was behind the incident, telling Welt TV: "Who else could it be but Russia?"
The airport in eastern Germany plays a key role in the transport of military goods, including by the German military and NATO allies, and also serves as a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines.
Russian drone hits street vendor in Kherson
Authorities in Ukraine say at least 17 people have been killed after the latest barrage of Russian missiles and drones.
The overnight attacks were the latest in a series of large-scale strikes that have become almost routine this summer.
According to Kyiv, Ukraine was unable to shoot down a single Russian missile. Ukrainian civilians are also being targeted, but through small drones.
More details with the broadcaster international affairs editor, Kethevane Gorjestani.
Head of Russian drone factory wounded, driver killed in car explosion, Kommersant says
The head of a Russian drone factory was wounded and his driver was killed when their car exploded in Russia's Yekaterinburg region, the Kommersant news outlet reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed source.
State news agency TASS cited a source in the emergency services as saying that Vladimir Tkachuk, head of the Uraldronzavod company, was in intensive care and medics were fighting for his life.
Putin names commander to head new Russian drone forces
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday named Denis Lyamin to head Russia's Unmanned Systems Forces, a newly established branch of the military that will be responsible for drone warfare.
Lyamin was previously chief of staff for the "Centre" group of the Russian armed forces.
EU to use €1.4 billion from interest on frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine
The European Union will use €1.4 billion taken from interest generated by frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
The money, transferred to the bloc on August 3, came from interest on cash balances, part of Russian central bank assets frozen by the EU in the wake of Moscow's invasion, the Commission added.
"Russia must pay for the destruction it has caused. And we are using the proceeds from the immobilised Russian assets to make sure it does," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the statement.
"We are making a further €1.4 billion of them available to Ukraine. This will support Ukraine's continued resistance against Russia's illegal war," she added.
Russia says its forces hit three vessels with Ukrainian military cargo in the Black sea, Interfax reports
Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had hit three vessels used to transport Ukrainian military cargo in the Black sea, the Interfax news agency reported.
Reuters could not independently verify the ministry's claims.
Russian strikes kill at least 17 in Kyiv region, Zelensky says
Russian strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region killed at least 17 people and wounded 44 more overnight, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a post on X.
Zelensky says ballistic interceptors 'could have saved lives'
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called for allies to send more anti-ballistic air defence, after Russian strikes killed 17 overnight.
"Ballistic interceptors are what could have saved the lives of those killed today. It is very important for partners to realise that delays in their deliveries or failure to provide anti-ballistic measures lead to such terrible casualties and destruction," Zelensky said on social media.
Ferrexpo halts Ukraine operations on war risk as financial woes linger
UK-listed Ferrexpo temporarily suspended its Ukraine production operations on Wednesday due to war related risks and said the resumption was dependent on the injection of working capital into the iron ore pellet producer.
(the broadcaster with AFP, Reuters and AP)
