A rare and risky visit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram on Monday September 4 that he went to the front line in the Donetsk region in the east of the country the same day. The Head of State says he hailed eight brigades and took into account “their critical problems, equipment that must be delivered in greater numbers” in order to “motivate the fighters”. This visit comes a day after the replacement of the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Oleksiï Reznikov, splashed by two corruption scandals. Follow our live.
Vladimir Putin ready to relaunch the grain agreement with kyiv. Almost two months after slamming the door, Moscow says it is ready to resume the “discussions” with Ukraine on the grain agreement. Under several conditions: Vladimir Putin said he was ready to relaunch these negotiations “as soon as all the agreements contained therein regarding the lifting of restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products are fully implemented”. The Russian president receives, Monday, September 4 in Sochi (Russia), his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The latter specified that he “prepared a new set of proposals in consultation with the UN”. “I believe it is possible to get results”said the Turkish head of state.
Free grain deliveries for six African countries. Vladimir Putin also claimed that agreements were close to being reached “with six African states” in order to their “provide free” cereals in the coming weeks. These countries were not named, but Zimbabwe, Somalia, Eritrea, Mali, the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso had received such a promise from the Russian president at the Russia-Africa summit in late July.
The counter-offensive is “a failure” for Putin. The Russian President spoke about the latest actions on the front in the east and south of Ukraine. “We’ll see what happens next, but hopefully it stays that way”launched Vladimir Poutine, estimating that the troops of kyiv advance only slowly.
Seventeen Russian drones shot down near Odessa. The attack caused no casualties, according to the local governor. Buildings were damaged in the district of the port city of Izmail on Monday. The river port of Izmail has become one of the main exit routes for Ukrainian agricultural products since Moscow ended the agreement on grain exports in July. A bomb threat in all schools in kyiv was also issued in the morning.