Highlights of September 4:

• Death toll reported in Lviv, Kryvyi Rih as Russia launches another massive attack on Ukraine

• Ukrainian military uses ‘Dragon drones’ against Russia, Defense Ministry says

• Germany orders 17 IRIS-T air defense systems for Ukraine, Scholz says

• Ukraine and Ireland sign agreement on cooperation and support

• Russia has executed 3 Ukrainian prisoners of war in Donetsk region, prosecutors say

At least seven civilians were killed and 64 wounded in Lviv in the early morning hours of September 4 during Russia’s attack on Ukraine, regional authorities said. Children were among the victims.

Several explosions were heard in the city amid a nationwide air raid alert as Russia fired drones and missiles at the country. Multiple deaths were also reported Crooked Rih.

Explosions were heard in other cities during the night, including Kiev, Sumy, Lutsk and Rivne.

Initial reports said that three children were among the dead, but the latest updates have confirmed that one 7-year-old girl was among the dead. The girl, Emilia Bazylevych, was killed in her home along with her 43-year-old mother, Yevhenia, and two sisters, 21-year-old Yaryna and 18-year-old Daryna.

According to Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, only their father, Yaroslav, survived the attack.

“I don’t know what words to use to support the father of the family, Yaroslav. We are all with you today. Sincere condolences,” Sadovyi said on Telegram.

The other dead included a 52-year-old woman and two men aged 54 and 55.

Eight children were among the injured, including a 10-year-old boy. Some 47 people were hospitalized in the attack, seven of whom are in critical condition, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said earlier in the day.

At approximately 12:50 p.m. the State Rescue Service reported that the search and rescue operation had ended.

Several buildings near the central train station were set on fire after the attack. In total, about 50 buildings were damaged in the attack, including three schools and an arts center, which were attacked just days after the start of the new school year in Ukraine.

The attack damaged buildings in the historic center in an area designated as a UNESCO buffer zone. According to Governor Kozytskyi, at least seven architectural objects of local importance were damaged.

Lviv, located about 540 kilometers (about 335 miles) west of Kiev, with a population of more than 700,000, has been repeatedly targeted by Russian drones and missiles during the war. The city is about 70 kilometers (about 43 miles) east of the Polish border.

“Anyone who can convince our partners to give Ukraine more room to maneuver in responding to this terror will help prevent Russian terrorist attacks on Ukrainian cities,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Russia also launched a missile attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk region the same morning, wounding at least five civilians, Governor Serhiy Lysak said. The victims included women aged 62, 83 and 84, a 70-year-old man and a 10-year-old girl.

Later that day, city administrator Oleksandr Vilkul reported a sixth victim – a 58-year-old woman who was taken to hospital with a fracture.

According to local authorities, a hotel, 57 residential buildings, four educational institutions and four cars were damaged in the attack.

Kryvyi Rih, with a population of about 660,000, is the second-largest city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, lying more than 60 kilometers (less than 40 miles) north of the Russian-occupied territories in Zaporizhia Oblast.

On the night of September 4-5, Russia fired 42 drones and missiles at Ukraine, including two Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles fired from MiG-31K aircraft, two Kh-22 cruise missiles fired from Tu-22M3 bombers, six Kh-101 cruise missiles fired from Tu-95MS bombers, three Iskander-K cruise missiles, and 29 Shahed-type “kamikaze” drones.

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 22 drones, four Kh-101 missiles and three Iskander-K missiles, the Air Force said. Six drones were lost, likely to electronic warfare, and one flew to Belarus, according to the statement.

Read also: Death toll from Russia’s attack on Poltava rises to 53, rescue operations underway

Ukrainian military uses 'dragon drones' against Russia, Defense Ministry says

Ukrainian soldiers are using so-called “dragon drones” against Russia, which are firing on the battlefield. This information was confirmed by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on September 4.

The ministry released a new video reminiscent of one shared by Ukrainian and Russian Telegram channels just days earlier, showing what appeared to be a drone dropping fiery, white-hot metal on unseen soldiers hidden in a treeline.

The Ukrainian military news agency Defense Express wrote that the drone was used by the 108th Territorial Defense Brigade of Ukraine, adding that the video was recorded near the village of Ukrainske in the Zaporizhia region.

The Kyiv Independent was unable to verify these claims.

The video, released by the Ukrainian ministry on September 4, was filmed by the Perun unit of the 42nd Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine. The “dragon drone” in the video is operating in the Kharkov sector, according to the Defense Ministry.

Another video showing the alleged use of such a drone at night was released by the Ukrainian 60th Independent Ingulet Brigade on September 4.

“Attack drones are our wings of vengeance, carrying fire straight from the sky. They become a real threat to the enemy, burning their positions with a precision no other weapon can match,” the military said in a Facebook post.

A number of reports indicate that the drones are equipped with thermite munitions that are dropped on Russian positions.

The thermite weapon scatters thousands of tiny pieces of molten metal that burns at temperatures exceeding 2,000 degrees Celsius, meaning it can melt down some armoured vehicles.

Ukrainian drones that drop a continuous stream of molten metal in this way appear to be yet another military innovation.

Russia used similar incendiary weapons, such as banned white phosphorus bombs, at the very beginning of the war.

Thermite and other incendiaries can cause serious injury.

Human Rights Watch writes that exposure to such ammunition can lead to “extensive and painful burns that require painful treatment,” including “respiratory damage from inflammation of the airways and toxic fumes, infection, extreme dehydration, and organ failure.”

Read also: Ukraine Claims It Has a New Ballistic Missile — Here’s What They’re Doing

Germany orders 17 IRIS-T air defense systems for Ukraine, Scholz says

Berlin has ordered 17 additional IRIS-T air defense systems for Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on September 4, citing Bloomberg reports.

The new 17 units will be sent to Ukraine in addition to seven other systems that have already been delivered. Ukraine can expect to receive four more IRIS-T systems of varying ranges by the end of 2024, government spokesman Wolfgang Buchner said in August.

By 2026, Ukraine should receive 24 IRIS-T systems from Germany — 12 medium-range and 12 short-range versions — an anonymous German government official told Bloomberg.

“This shows that German support for Ukraine is not weakening,” Scholz said at an air force base near Cologne.

According to the Chancellor, Berlin planned and secured financing and agreements in advance “so that Ukraine can continue to fully rely” on Berlin in the future.

Read also: General Breedlove on the Balance Between Air Superiority and Drone Warfare

Ukraine, Ireland sign agreement on cooperation, support

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris signed a bilateral cooperation agreement during the latter’s visit to Kyiv on September 4.

So far, Kyiv has signed 26 bilateral agreements with foreign partners based on the declaration made by the G7 during the Vilnius summit in July 2023.

The agreement on support for Ukraine and cooperation between the two countries sets out, among other things, issues of humanitarian aid from Dublin, support for the reconstruction of Ukraine, efforts to integrate with the EU and holding Russia accountable for war damage.

As part of the 10-year agreement, Ireland has pledged an additional €128 million ($140 million) this year to support non-lethal military weapons and at least €40 million ($44 million) in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Ireland said it would provide mine-clearing systems and explosive ordnance disposal equipment, support the training of Ukrainian soldiers through an EU mission, and explore other avenues for assistance within the Ramstein group, such as the IT coalition.

“I want to express my special gratitude to Ireland for their joint efforts in removing mines from our land – this is truly saving countless lives,” Zelensky wrote on X after signing the agreement.

Harris arrived in Kyiv earlier on September 4 to visit towns in Kyiv Oblast that were devastated by Russian forces in 2022, namely Hostomel.

During the visit, Ireland announced a new support package worth €36 million ($40 million) for “Ukraine and its neighbours” to provide “essential humanitarian assistance, support rehabilitation and eventual reconstruction, and contribute to Ukraine’s long-term goals, including peace, stability and political aspirations.”

Read also: Kuleba’s resignation and reorganization ‘expected long before difficult times’ for Ukraine, lawmaker says

Russia executed 3 Ukrainian POWs in Donetsk Oblast, prosecutors say

Russia has executed three Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) near Toretsk in the Donetsk region, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine reported on September 3.

The Prosecutor General’s Office said it was opening an investigation into the incident.

Earlier, a video circulated on Telegram showing three Ukrainian soldiers emerging from a basement with their hands up. The Ukrainians were then stopped by Russian soldiers, placed face down and immediately shot.

As of March 2024, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has collected pre-trial information on more than 128,000 victims of war crimesSProsecutors said they were investigating the cases of at least 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war executed by Russia. More cases are likely to have emerged since then.

In similar circumstances to more recent alleged war crimes committed by Russia, a video was released in May showing four Ukrainian soldiers being executed face down on the ground after they surrendered.

Read also: Energoatom denies accident at nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, but says ‘problems’ found

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