Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces advance on Pokrovsk as Kyiv drones ‘spark fires at power plants’

When the air raid siren bellows in the dead of night, the women in arms rush to duty.

Barely two months since joining the mobile air-defense unit, 27-year-old Angelina has perfected the drill to a tee: Combat gear fitted, anti-aircraft machine gun in place, she cruised behind the wheel of a pickup, singing along to a Ukrainian song about rebellion.

The rest unfolded in seconds: Under a tree-lined position near Kyiv’s Bucha suburb, she and her five-woman unit mounted the gun, checked the salvo and waited. The chirp of crickets filled the silence until the Russian-launched Shahed drone was shot down — on this August night, by a nearby unit — another menace to near daily life in Ukraine eliminated.

To shoot down a drone brings her joy. “It’s just a rush of adrenaline,” said Angelina, who like other women in the unit spoke to The Associated Press on condition only their first names or call signs be used, in keeping with military policy.

Women are increasingly joining volunteer mobile units responsible for shooting down Russian drones that terrorize Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure as more men are sent east to the front line.

Searchers found no survivors among the wreckage of a Russian helicopter that crashed in the far eastern peninsula of Kamchatka with 22 people on board, state news agency TASS said on Sunday.

Russia sees U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris as a more predictable opponent than Republican Donald Trump, though in any case there is no prospect of an improvement in relations with Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

According to reports from Rueter’s, in an interview with Pavel Zarubin, a TV reporter with favoured access to the Kremlin, Peskov appeared dismissive of Trump’s boast that he could end the Ukraine war within 24 hours if U.S. voters returned him to the White House.

Peskov reportedly said “the Democrats are more predictable. And what Putin said about Biden’s predictability applies to almost all Democrats, including Ms. Harris.”

Just hours after a dawn air raid alarm rang through the city, Zaporizhzhia schoolchildren celebrated the traditional first day of school on Sunday.

A mere 25 miles from the front line, the war is never far from the minds of teachers and families at one school in the city. Because of a ban on large gatherings in the city, which is regularly struck by Russian artillery and missiles, only students starting their first and last years were allowed in the celebratory parade.

Wearing traditional embroidered Ukrainian shirts and carrying roses, the children lined up in pairs and held hands – each small student with a teenager. Despite the wartime restrictions, the entire ceremony was a celebration of Ukraine’s future.

Of the school’s 800 students, around 300 fled the war for safety abroad or elsewhere in Ukraine. The rest alternate one week of in-person study with one week online because the recently renovated bomb shelter can only accommodate around 250 people.

Zaporizhzhia routinely spends hours each day under air raid alerts.

The school’s bomb shelter is about 75 metres away from the main school building, across an open playground. School director Kostiantyn Lypskyi said the youngest students attend in person every day and work in a classroom created just above the basement rooms, while the rest of the school operates in the main building.

Mr Lypskyi said: «We prepared everything for the new school year. We equipped the bunker in case of air alarms, so children will have a safe space because our school will continue lessons during the air raid alarms in the bunker.»

Sunday’s ceremony unfolded without problems and Olha Komarova-Lesko, the mother of two pupils, said she is optimistic for the coming school year, which she described as the best solution under the circumstances.

«We are happy that the children had the chance go to the celebration today just as in the pre-war times,» she said. «This is really exciting and joyful.»

The school has not been identified for security reasons.

On Sunday, 41 were injured when Russia shelled the regional capital of Kharkiv, also called Kharkiv.

A shopping centre, a sports facility and residential buildings were damaged, said Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov.

Russia said on Sunday its forces had captured two more settlements in eastern Ukraine and Kyiv’s top commander acknowledged his army was under heavy pressure, reports Rueters.

The Russian defence ministry said its units had taken Ptyche, about 21 km (13 miles) southeast of the important Ukrainian logistical hub of Pokrovsk, and were “continuing to advance deep into the enemy defences”.

It said Russia had also seized Vyimka, another settlement in the Donetsk region.

Russia sees US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris as a more predictable opponent than Republican Donald Trump, though in any case there is no prospect of an improvement in relations with Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

In an interview with Pavel Zarubin, a TV reporter with favoured access to the Kremlin, Peskov also appeared dismissive of Trump’s boast that he could end the Ukraine war within 24 hours if US voters returned him to the White House.

Before Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from November’s election and threw his support behind Harris, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that Moscow preferred Biden over Trump, describing the former as an experienced «old school» type of politician.

With Biden out of the running, Zarubin asked Peskov, laughing: «Then who is our candidate now?»

Peskov, also laughing, replied: «We have no candidate. But, of course, the Democrats are more predictable. And what Putin said about Biden’s predictability applies to almost all Democrats, including Ms Harris.»

While stating that the election was an internal US matter, Putin and Peskov have offered a variety of opinions at different times. In February, for example, Putin praised Biden for his predictability but also discussed the sensitive topic of his mental fitness for office in comments that appeared designed to sow mischief.

In June, he said Russia did not care who the next US president was, but that the US court system was clearly being used in a political battle against Trump.

Peskov, in the interview published on Sunday, said US steps to «trample on our country’s interests» had exceeded acceptable limits. Bilateral relations were at a historic low point, with «no prospects» at the moment of setting them on a path towards recovery.

The Kremlin spokesman said there was no «magic wand» to resolve the Ukraine crisis overnight in the way that Trump has promised.

He said it was «fantasy» to imagine that the next US president would announce in their inauguration speech that Washington was halting military aid to Ukraine and calling for peace negotiations, and that this would change mindsets in Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that last week alone Russia had used 160 missiles, 780 guided aerial bombs and 400 attack drones against cities and troops across Ukraine, and he again called for permission to use Western-supplied weapons to strike deep inside Russia.

«To give full defence and secure our cities from this aggression, more support is needed for a just Ukrainian response,» he said on Telegram.

Zelenskiy called for «a decision on long-range strikes on missile launch sites from Russia, destruction of Russian military logistics, joint shooting down of missiles and drones».

Businesses in the allied countries are expected to be boosted when the UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) comes into force.

Ukraine was one of the largest exporters of IT services globally, with areas such as outsourcing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) and mobile applications in rapid development before the war.