Russia strikes Kharkiv with drones, Zelensky likely to attend UN General Assembly, British PM calls for release of jailed Russian politician Kara-Murza

It is day 523 of the war in Ukraine. 

Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s Kharkiv with Shahed kamikaze drones, injuring one person.

Drones hit the Moscow International Business Centre for the second time this week, damaging an office tower that houses several federal ministries.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for the immediate release of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian politician recently sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will likely visit New York for the UN General Assembly, Bloomberg writes.

Explore what happened overnight with Novaya-Europe’s roundup.

Russia strikes Kharkiv with drones

Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s Kharkiv with Shahed kamikaze drones overnight, causing damage and a fire, regional administration head Oleh Synyehubov reported in the early hours of Tuesday.

Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said that there had been at least three hits across the city, “all of them in the city centre, in densely populated areas”. He added that one of the drones destroyed two floors of a dormitory, causing a fire, and that emergency services were working onsite.

The Kharkiv prosecutor’s office reported that two of the drones struck an educational establishment and a sports facility, injuring a security guard.

Regional police chief Volodymyr Timoshko told local media that the attack involved 6 or 7 drones and pointed out that none of the places hit were military facilities or had troops stationed in them.

Second drone attack on Moscow’s business centre in three days 

Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported on Tuesday morning that there had been another drone attack on the Moscow International Business Centre (known colloquially as Moscow-City).

“Air defence shot down several drones attempting to fly into Moscow. One of them reached the same City tower as last time. The facade of the 21st storey sustained damage,” Sobyanin wrote. He did not specify whether there were any casualties.

The building in question was the IQ-Quarter office tower, which houses several federal ministries, including the Ministry of Digital Development, the Ministry of Economic Development, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. ASTRA writes that the Ministry of Economic Development in particular is located on the spot that was hit.

The Russian Defence Ministry called the incident a “terrorist attack”, adding that two drones were shot down by air defence in the Odintsovo and Naro-Fominsk districts southwest of Moscow. Another drone was allegedly “suppressed by means of electronic warfare”. 

Drones had previously attacked Moscow-City on Sunday, 30 July, hitting two office towers, including IQ-Quarter, and injuring a security guard.

British PM calls for release of jailed Russian politician Kara-Murza

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak branded a Moscow court’s decision to reject Vladimir Kara-Murza’s appeal against his 25 year prison sentence “desperate and unfounded” and called for his immediate release.

On Monday, the UK slapped sanctions on six people involved in the trial of Kara-Murza, who was convicted of high treason, heading an “undesirable” organisation, and spreading “fake news” about the Russian army.

Bloomberg: Zelensky to attend UN General Assembly in New York

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will likely visit New York City for the UN General Assembly, Bloomberg writes citing sources familiar with the matter.

Zelensky is expected to make the case for his “peace formula” — a 10-point blueprint for ending the war. 

Bloomberg also points out that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to attend the Assembly due to the ICC arrest warrant issued against him. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced earlier that Putin is not intending to go to New York.

Former environment ministry employee in Russian South sentenced to 12 years’ jail for high treason

Yury Katrychko, a former employee of the Krasnodar region’s Ministry of the Environment, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for high treason, TASS reported.

The prosecution claims Katrychko “collected and provided” information that could be used against Russia’s security to a foreign spy. Exactly what actions constituted the crimes was not specified.