Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 553

Here is the situation on August 30, 2023.

Prigozhin plane crash

• Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was buried in a cemetery in the northeast of his hometown of St Petersburg after a private funeral, according to his press service. The mercenary group’s logistics chief Valery Chekalov was also buried in the northern city. The two were among 10 people killed when Prigozhin’s private jet crashed last week.
• The United States came close to declaring the Kremlin responsible for Prigozhin’s death. “We all know that the Kremlin has a long history of killing opponents,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Fighting

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that 9,511 civilians have been killed and 17,206 people injured since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. It added that 2,115 civilians had been recorded as killed in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces but said the actual figure was likely to be considerably higher given access to information has been delayed in some locations where intense hostilities have been going on.
• A farmer in the southern Kherson region was killed after he drove his tractor over a Russian landmine, according to the regional administration. “Many fields of the Kherson region are mined,” authorities said.
• A 45-year-old man in Kupiansk was killed in Russian artillery shelling. A 67-year-old man was also wounded by shrapnel, according to local authorities.

• Ukraine bade farewell to legendary fighter pilot Andriy Pilshchykov, known by his call sign “Juice”, who was killed with two other pilots during a training flight last week. A Ukrainian flag was draped over 29-year-old Pilshchykov’s coffin and his cap placed on top.
• Russian forces shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea, the Russian state RIA news agency reported citing the Ministry of Defence. They also shot down three Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Tula and Belgorod.
• The mission of Ukraine’s president in Russian-occupied Crimea said that Moscow was preparing to start a new round of mobilisation for the Russian army in the territory.
• The United Kingdom’s defence ministry said Russia had boosted salaries and benefits for its soldiers making military service “increasingly lucrative”. In its daily intelligence update, it said many junior ranks were now earning more than 200,000 roubles ($2,095) a month, more than 2.7 times the national average.

Diplomacy

• South Korea unveiled a new financial aid package of 520 billion won ($394m) for Ukraine next year, an eightfold increase from this year. The package includes support for reconstruction and humanitarian aid.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida talked on the phone with Tokyo reiterating its support for Kyiv. Zelenskyy invited Kishida to a Global Peace Summit that Kyiv plans to host before the end of the year.
• The Kremlin said that a schedule for “bilateral Russian-Chinese contacts” was being worked out after reports Russian President Vladimir Putin would travel to China for October’s Belt and Road Forum.

Weapons

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new package of military assistance for Ukraine. The deal includes additional mine-clearing equipment, missiles for air defence, ammunition for artillery and high bar systems, and more than three million rounds of small arms ammunition.
• Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, said Russia wants to produce 1,300 Shahed drones by the end of 2023, according to a report by Ukraine’s national news agency Ukrinform.
• The German news magazine Der Spiegel reported German investigators had arrested the boss of a company suspected of selling electronic components used in Russia’s Orlan-10 drones, which have enabled Russia’s precise aiming at Ukrainian soldiers.