More than 40 Russian firefighters were injured while battling a fire at fuel storage facilities sparked by a Ukrainian drone attack in the southwestern Russian city of Proletarsk, local authorities said on Monday, August 19. A state of emergency has been declared in the Rostov region city, where a fire continued to rage at an industrial site for the second day in a row, the Proletarsk district administration said earlier. Follow our live coverage.
Offensive in progress. The incursion launched by the Ukrainian army into the Russian border region of Kursk continues, Volodymyr Zelensky said in a message published on Telegram. “We are achieving our goals”the Ukrainian president said. This operation, he said on Sunday, aims to “create a buffer zone” between Russia and Ukraine.
Kremlin says it “will not talk” to Ukraine after Kursk offensive. “At this stage, given this adventure, we will not discuss”Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian media outlet Shot. “At this point it would be completely inappropriate to start a negotiation process.”
kyiv orders evacuation of families with children from the city of Pokrovsk. Heavy fighting continues in Ukrainian Donbass, where Ukrainian forces are outnumbered. “We are starting the forced evacuation of families with children from the Pokrovsk community. (…) When our cities are within reach of virtually all enemy weapons, the decision to evacuate is necessary and inevitable”the governor of the Donetsk region explained on social networks.
Berlin says it remains “fully committed” to military support for Ukraine. “Support for Ukraine will continue as long as necessary and no one, especially not the Russian president, has any reason to expect us to ease up [l’effort]”also assured Wolfgang Büchner, government spokesman, at a press conference.