After midnight on 31 August, the Russian army launched ferocious attacks against the cities of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv. Many fires have broken out, and civilians were forced to spend the entire night in shelters.

The Ukrainian army has repelled all attempts by the Russian army to advance in the regions of Donetsk and Kherson. Russia is forming a reserve of 16 battalion groups, with another 14 expected by the end of August. The Ukrainian command is closely monitoring whether the new Russian reinforcements will target Kharkiv, or Izuym and Sloviansk, UNIAN reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a government decision for the mandatory evacuation of the civilian population remaining in the parts of Donetsk region unoccupied by Russia, stating that “the more people leave the Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill.”. According to the authorities there are around 250,000 people, of whom 50,000 children still remaining in the unoccupied parts of Donetsk region.

On 31 July, the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol was hit by a drone attack, wounding five, the Russian TASS news agency reports. The attack came as Russia celebrated its Navy Day. After the strike, the authorities cancelled the planned military parades and all celebrations.