War Ukraine - Russia, last minute | Arrest warrant for Ukrainian tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky for money laundering

Highlights: Ukraine said that the recent drone attack on an airport in northwestern Russia was carried out from Russian territory. The attack occurred on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday against the airport of Pskov, a Russian city near the border of Estonia, Latvia and Belarus, almost 700 kilometers from Ukraine. A court has ordered the arrest of one of Ukraine's richest men, Ihor Kolomoisky, for money laundering. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in the high-level meetings of the 77th session of the General Assembly.

Ukraine said that the recent drone attack on an airport in northwestern Russia was carried out from Russian territory, in full counterattack

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Ukraine said the recent drone attack on an airport in northwestern Russia was carried out from Russian territory, in the midst of a counteroffensive to liberate occupied areas.

The attack occurred on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday against the airport of Pskov, a Russian city near the border of Estonia, Latvia and Belarus, almost 700 kilometers from Ukraine. "The drones used to attack the 'Kresty' airbase in Pskov were launched from Russia," military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said on Telegram, along with a link to an interview he gave to The War Zone.

It is the first time that the Ukrainian government has acknowledged operating from within Russian territory, where there have been several drone bombings and alleged acts of sabotage, in addition to a series of armed incursions by Russian fighters in favor of Ukraine.

On the other hand, the Nobel Foundation has reversed its decision to invite the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus to the award ceremony in Stockholm, following the wave of outrage provoked the day before by the invitation. The decision was hailed as a "victory of humanism" by Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko.

In addition, a court has ordered the arrest of one of Ukraine's richest men, Ihor Kolomoisky, for money laundering. The tycoon had a relationship with President Zelensky when he was a comedian.

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19.58

Arrest warrant for Ukrainian tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky

A Ukrainian court has ordered the detention of businessman Ihor Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine's richest, for a period of two months. He can avoid arrest with the payment of a bail of 13 million dollars, according to some media and collects the Reuters agency.

Ukraine's top security agency has accused the tycoon of fraud and money laundering.

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19.33

Ukraine strengthens the Eastern Front as it consolidates its advance towards the Sea of Azov

Ukraine erects fortifications in the eastern Kharkiv region, where Russian troops have gained ground, while Russia tries to reinforce the southern front, where Ukrainian forces continue to advance towards the Sea of Azov in order to break the corridor linking the Crimean peninsula with Russia.

"Southeast of Kharkiv they have begun to actively erect fortifications. They also dig trenches, anti-tank trenches, prepare land for mining," Andrei Marochko, representative of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, told RIA Novosti.

According to the retired lieutenant colonel of the pro-Russian militias of Lugansk, these works "not only involve war equipment, but also communal services and private companies" of Kharkov.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army has recorded that Russian forces carried out during the last day unsuccessful offensive attempts in four sectors of the front, in particular in the direction of the town of Kupiansk, located in the Kharkiv region.

"The enemy carried out an air strike in the Krojmalni district of the Kharkiv region. More than 15 towns ... in the Kharkiv region were hit by enemy artillery and mortar fire," the Ukrainian army said in its daily war report.

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18.00

Lavrov to go to UN Assembly

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in the high-level meetings of the 77th session of the General Assembly, which will take place from September 19 to 26, according to Russian diplomacy.

"Sergey Lavrov will appear at the political debates of the UN General Assembly (...) and will participate in a series of bilateral meetings and multilateral activities of the UN Security Council, the BRICS" among others, Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Foreign Affairs added that in the framework of the General Assembly Russia "will defend its principled approaches", set out in the renewed conception of the country's foreign policy set in March this year in the context of the war in neighboring Ukraine.

"We will express ourselves in favor of restoring the role of the UN as the central coordinating mechanism to guarantee and harmonize the interests of all states," the Russian diplomat said.

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17.15

The annexed regions of Luhansk and Kherson vote in advance

The inhabitants of the areas occupied by the Russian army in the annexed Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Kherson began to vote early ahead of the Russian regional and municipal elections on September 10.

These are the first Russian municipal and regional elections to be held in these regions, annexed by Russia in September 2022 after a referendum that neither Kiev nor the international community recognized.

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14.55

Ukrainian tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky suspects in fraud investigation

Ukraine's top security agency has accused tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky of fraud and money laundering. He is one of the most prominent businessmen in the country. The move against Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine's richest men and a longtime supporter of President Zelenskiy whose election he backed in 2019, comes as Kiev tries to signal gains during a wartime crackdown on corruption.

"It has been established that between 2013 and 2020 Ihor Kolomoisky legalized more than 500 million hryvnias ($14 million) by withdrawing them abroad and using the infrastructure of banks under his control," the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement.

The SBU posted images on the Telegram messaging app of a group of detectives on his doorstep, as Kolomoisky received documents and signed them. The businessman, who has been under U.S. sanctions since 2021, is seen as one of the class of oligarchs who amassed enormous industrial wealth after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and have wielded enormous political and economic influence.

Before winning the presidency, Zelenskiy rose to fame as a comedian and played the role of president in a program broadcast on a television channel owned by Kolomoisky. The Ukrainian leader has denied that Kolomoisky had any influence over the government.

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14.20

Zelenskiy says troops are "advancing" and rejects criticism

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Kiev's troops are "advancing" in their counteroffensive against Russian forces. In turn, he has rejected criticism that Ukraine is gaining ground too slowly.

The counteroffensive, now approaching three months, has recaptured more than a dozen villages but no major settlements, with soldiers paralyzed by vast minefields and Russian defensive lines.

This week, U.S. officials who did not give their names expressed frustration at the slow progress of the operation and even criticized the Ukrainian strategy, according to Western reports that drew Kiev's ire. Ukrainian forces are advancing. In spite of everything, and no matter what they say, we are moving forward, and that is the most important thing. We are on the move," Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Some fear that Western support may begin to falter as colder, wetter weather slows progress on the battlefield as it moves this year. The West has invested many billions of dollars to help in the counteroffensive and Kiev says it needs more.

In its daily battlefield update, the Ukrainian military reported no new advances, but said its troops continued to advance toward Melitopol, a major Russian-occupied urban center in the Zaporiya region.

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14.10

The Nobel Foundation rectifies and will not invite the Russian ambassador to the award ceremony

The Nobel Foundation will not invite the ambassadors of Russia, Belarus and Iran to the awards ceremony in Stockholm, contrary to what it had announced.

"The Nobel Foundation's decision to invite all ambassadors to the Nobel Prize ceremony, in line with previous practice, has provoked strong reactions," the organization said in a statement Saturday.

Behind the invitation — which came after those ambassadors were barred last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine — was the reasoning that it was "important and right" to try to give the maximum possible scope "to the values and messages that the Nobel Prize represents," he argued.

However, reactions in Sweden to Thursday's announcement by the foundation's president "completely overshadowed" this message, the statement said. On Friday, the Ukrainian ambassador to Sweden and the leaders of several Swedish parties had threatened to boycott the ceremony in protest at the invitation of the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus.

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13:57

Russia claims to have improved its positions southwest of Bakhmut

The Russian Army improved its positions in the vicinity of the town of Klischíivka, southwest of Bakhmut, in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the Russian Defense Ministry said today.

"On the Donetsk front, Russian forces improved their positions on the front line in the vicinity of the town of Klischiivka thanks to their offensive actions," Russian military department spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in the daily war report.

Según el representante de Defensa, la agrupación militar "Sur" del Ejército ruso, con apoyo de la aviación y la artillería repelieron cinco ataques ucranianos en las cercanías de Bajmut y otros tres en las cercanías de Márinka, también en Donetsk.

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13:42

El Ministerio de Defensa ruso dice que derribó tres drones cerca de la frontera

El Ministerio de Defensa ruso dijo el sábado que había derribado tres drones ucranianos sobre la región de Belgorod, mientras que el gobernador regional dijo que un hombre había muerto en un ataque con cohetes ucranianos contra una aldea cercana a la frontera.

Por otra parte, los gobernadores de las regiones fronterizas cercanas de Bryansk y Kursk dijeron que una serie de aldeas fronterizas habían sido atacadas por Ucrania y que una mujer había resultado herida en la región de Kursk.

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12:53

Putin recibirá a Erdogan

Dos nuevos cargueros zarparon de un puerto ucraniano y avanzan por el mar Negro en un corredor marítimo trazado por Kiev, pese a las amenazas de Rusia, que se retiró en julio de un acuerdo mediado por la ONU y Turquía para permitir la exportación de granos.

Rusia y Ucrania son grandes exportadores de productos agrícolas y son actores claves para el suministro global de alimentos.

Turquía, como mediador del acuerdo, ha instado a Moscú a que vuelva a ceñirse al pacto.

Putin se reunirá el lunes con su homólogo turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, en el balneario ruso de Sochi, a orillas del mar Negro.

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