The Russian-installed government has begun holding regional elections in parts of Ukraine that Russia claimed last year in an effort to consolidate Moscow’s power in what it calls its “new territories.” Russia does not fully control any of the four regions where voting is taking place – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson. Together with Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, it makes up almost a fifth of Ukraine.

The most important events of the last 24 hours of the war:

• Russia’s installed government on Thursday began holding regional elections in parts of Ukraine that Russia claimed last year in an effort to consolidate Moscow’s power in what it calls its “new territories.”

• Belarusian leader Oleksandr Lukashenko criticized what he called “stupid demands” by Poland and the Baltic states that the Wagner PKK militants hiding in his country leave the country, AFP reports. Wagner’s fighters took refuge in Belarus after a brief uprising against Moscow’s military rule in June, which caused concern in neighboring countries.

• Ukrainian troops have advanced to the south and east as part of a counteroffensive against Russian troops, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said, according to the Associated Press.

• British defense company BAE Systems has set up a subsidiary in Ukraine and signed deals with the government there to help increase arms and equipment supplies to Kyiv.

• Royal Navy warships and Royal Air Force patrol aircraft watched several Russian warships approach the UK

• Two Ukrainian “saboteurs” were killed and five captured during a raid in the Bryansk region, a Russian official said on Thursday

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has condemned medical benefits granted through corruption that allowed people to avoid military service, saying the medical system allowed mass travel abroad because of bribes.

Highlights of the war in Ukraine, day 554, LIVETEXT:

01:01A Russian guerrilla group claimed responsibility for a drone attack in Kursk, Russia, on Sunday.

The pro-Ukraine Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) said it had “once again crossed the porous border without obstruction” before striking a military airfield.

“All planned objects have been destroyed. We emphasize: legal objects that brought pain and death to peaceful Ukrainian cities,” the group’s Telegram message reads.

00:36Zelenskyi announces that an agreement has been reached regarding the delivery of armored vehicles for medical evacuation to Ukraine

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced that an agreement had been reached regarding the delivery of armored vehicles for medical evacuation to his country.

How Russian military hackers are trying to steal Ukrainian war plans

06:21The World Bank will financially help more than 100,000 families in Ukraine to urgently repair houses damaged by Russian attacks. “The Home Repair project will allow homeowners to make light repairs, such as replacing broken windows or repairing damaged roofs. Funds will also be provided to owners of damaged apartment buildings,” Ukrinform writes.

06:10Ukraine continues the reform of administrative decentralization despite the war. “Ukraine not only can, but continues to develop reforms in the conditions of invasion. Ukraine still sets a high bar for international partners. An important issue of the reform is the control and monitoring of the decisions of local self-government bodies, first of all, control by the public is necessary, because the public is a direct participant in the political events taking place. in the local administration. Of course, this does not rule out the presence of control by central authorities,” Deputy Head of the Office of the President Oleksiy Kuleba told Ukrinform.

06:00 On the morning of September 1, an air alert was announced in Kyiv and several regions due to a missile threat. “Kherson, Mykolaiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk regions – missile danger!”. Officials added that it is possible to launch Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea. Later, an air alert was announced due to the danger of missiles in Odesa and Vinnytsia regions.

00:21In the USA, a man is accused of smuggling potential military equipment to Russia.

Artur Petrov was accused of violating US export controls in connection with an alleged plan to supply Moscow with microelectronics that could be used by the military.

According to US Attorney Damien Williams, the Russian-German national was charged with export control violations, smuggling, fraud and money laundering.

23:40Kyiv asks Turkey to abandon Moscow’s attempts to create Russian grain export routes to the Black Sea

Supporting Russian grain exports to the Black Sea without resuming grain exports from Ukrainian ports will increase Moscow’s “sense of impunity” and be a “strong blow” to international obligations and international law, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine condemns. On Thursday, after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the Russian initiative in this regard, CNN reports.

23:14MTI: Peter Szijjártó – The Hungarian government does not even want to discuss the financing of arms supplies to Ukraine