Zelenskyy: Ballistic Missile Strike Kills At Least 40 In Eastern UKR

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that a Russian missile strike in the eastern Ukrainian city of Poltava today has killed at least 41 people and injured more than 180 people.

• The strike, the latest mass casualty event from a sustained missile barrage that followed the Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, is likely to increase pressure on Western backers of Ukraine to relax restrictions on the use of Western-supplied weapons. Kyiv claims the restrictions prevent Ukraine from striking legitimate targets within Russia where the strikes emanate.
• Zelenskyy said in a video message: "Ukraine needs air defense systems and missiles now, not sitting in storage. Long-range strikes that can protect us from Russian terror are needed now, not later. Every day of delay, unfortunately, means more lost lives."
• The Ukraine Contact Group, the format of ~50 countries to coordinate military aid to Ukraine, is set to meet for an in-person summit at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday, September 6. Considering the extent of recent Russian strikes, the group will be under intense pressure from Ukraine to moderate some restrictions, particularly on long-range ATACMS missiles.
• US President Joe Biden, when asked yesterday about Ukraine striking back with American weapons, said, "I've made it clear what we support and don't support."
• Comes as Russia continues to make territorial gains in the east of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Russian forces are advancing faster than they have done for a long time, taking several square kilometres per day.