Vue lecture

Small Plane Crashes in Brazil, Killing Chinese Architect

Kongjian Yu, a prominent landscape architect, and three other people were killed when the aircraft crashed in a wetlands region.

© Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press

Kongjian Yu at his office in Beijing in 2022. He is known for the concept of sponge cities, an urban planning model that harnesses natural landscapes to protect towns and cities from the effects of climate change.
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Iran’s President Arrives at UNGA Seeking to Avoid More Sanctions

Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the General Assembly looking to prevent the imposition of sanctions on his country, this time from the United Nations Security Council.

© Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times

President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran during a military parade in Tehran in April. He will appear on the global stage at the U.N. General Assembly for the first time since the 12-day war with Israel in June.
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Elk Hunters Found Dead at San Juan Forest Had Been Struck by Lightning

The two men were found last week after a search operation in the San Juan National Forest that involved hundreds on foot or on horseback and was supported by drones and helicopters.

© Bridget Murphy

Ian Stasko, left, and Andrew Porter were killed in a lightning strike as a storm rolled in while they were elk hunting in southwestern Colorado.
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Justice Alito, in Rome, Says Religious Liberty Is Under Siege

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., a conservative Catholic, has visited Rome for decades, often teaching or participating in academic conferences.

© Vincenzo Livieri/Reuters

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. at the Jubilee of Justice in the Vatican on Saturday.
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F.B.I. Agents Fired by Patel Speak Out on ‘Broken’ Trust

The two agents’ accounts offer an inside view of a bureau buffeted by politics and upheaval, adding to the scrutiny of the F.B.I. director as he prepares to testify to Congress.

© Greg Kahn for The New York Times

“We were always told that we would be taken care of and there would not be any retaliation for our assigned work,” Walter Giardina told his supervisors the day he was fired from his job as an F.B.I. agent, according to the 19-year bureau veteran.
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Angered by Israel’s Attack in Qatar, Arab Leaders Meet to Weigh Response

Some Arab officials are pushing for tangible, but not military, action against Israel, and Egypt’s president said the Israeli strike threatened diplomatic ties that Israel spent years cultivating.

© Qatar News Agency

A photograph released by Qatar News Agency showing attendees at the emergency Arab-Islamic leaders’ summit in Doha, Qatar, on Monday.
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Witness to Michael Brown’s Shooting in Ferguson Dies of Gunshot Injuries

Dorian Johnson was shot in a domestic incident, 11 years after Mr. Brown’s death in a confrontation with a police officer led to nationwide protests.

© Ray Whitehouse for The Washington Post, via Getty Images

Dorian Johnson in Ferguson, Mo., in 2019. Mr. Johnson, who died on Sunday, was with Michael Brown Jr. when he was fatally shot by a white Ferguson police officer in 2014.
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Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1284: Key 2014 Euromaidan revolution leader assassinated in Ukraine while Trump doubts Putin-Zelenskyy talks to happen soon

Exclusive

Ukraine’s missile crews are valuable targets now. Ukraine’s Neptunes and other long-range cruise missiles pose a growing threat. So Russia is targeting them on the ground.

Military

Ukraine strikes Russian underground chemical plant storing military explosives 1000+ km away. Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate targeted the Aleksinsky Chemical Plant storing pyroxylin powder used in ammunition and artillery systems.

Frontline report: Ukrainian tanks destroy Russian infiltrators point-blank after river crossing near Lyman

. Geolocated footage captured the entire sequence as thermal drones monitored a Ukrainian tank systematically destroying each building where Russians had taken shelter

Ukraine hits oil refineries in Krasnodar Krai and Samara Oblast – General Staff. Ukrainian drones struck oil refineries producing 11.5 mn tons annually in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai and Samara Oblast overnight, with one facility suffering a 300-square-meter fire

Intelligence and technology

US approves possible sale of Patriot spare parts and Starlink services to Ukraine. Ukraine will receive $179.1 mn in Patriot air defense sustainment support, with an additional $150 mn authorized for Starlink satellite communications services.

International

Lithuanian forces install anti-tank “dragon teeth” barriers at Russian and Belarusian border crossings amid invasion threats. The Lithuanian initiative forms part of a broader regional strategy involving Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland, aimed at reducing land invasion threats following Russia’s 2022 full-scale aggression in Ukraine.

Trump doubts on near-term Putin-Zelenskyy meeting despite his previous optimism to end war quickly

. The US president once again compared Russo-Ukrainian war to playground children who “have to fight for a little bit before you can get them to stop.”

Trump eyes mercenaries for Ukraine as European allies demand American backing. American contractors would build fortifications and protect business interests under emerging peace framework.

German Navy inspector warns of growing Russian aggression. Russian units are showing “increased aggressiveness” through drone overflights, infiltration attempts, and sabotage efforts targeting German military infrastructure, the country’s navy inspector warned

Poland deports 15 Ukrainians citing “threats to public safety”. Poland expelled 15 Ukrainian citizens and banned them from re-entering the country for five to ten years following convictions for theft, robbery, drug possession.

Poland works to regulate status of Ukrainians as Polish president blocks protection extension. Nearly 1 mn Ukrainian citizens in Poland face potential legal uncertainty after President Karol Nawrocki blocked legislation extending their temporary protection

Estonia extradites Estonian Russian who helped Russia buy electronics to the United States. An Estonian national accused of operating a complex procurement network for Russian military interests was transferred to US custody this week

Humanitarian and social impact

“No laws or morals in Russian army”: Ukrainian drones document alleged execution of unarmed civilian by Russian soldier near frontline Pokrovsk. Ukraine’s aerial reconnaissance captured the killing of an elderly man “clearly visible in civilian clothes and without weapons.”

Russia claims it only targets “military objects” in Ukraine. But recent Russian strike killed toddler born during war and her mom. Moscow’s assertion of targeting exclusively military and defense industry facilities in Ukraine contrasts with the death of civilians spanning ages from toddlers to elderly residents.

Zaporizhzhia blackout affects 25,000 residents after Russian strike. Power outages affected 25,000 subscribers in Zaporizhzhia following a Russian attack that killed one person and injured 28 others

Political and legal developments

Ukraine Parliament ex-speaker Parubiy shot dead in Lviv. Former Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy was shot and killed around midday on 30 Aug. in Lviv, with the assailant reportedly disguised as a delivery courier,

Read our earlier daily review here.

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“No laws or morals in Russian army”: Ukrainian drones document alleged execution of unarmed civilian by Russian soldier near frontline Pokrovsk

Ukrainian drone footage shows Russian soldier executing unarmed civilian in Donetsk Oblast yard near the front line on 28 August.

Fighters from Ukraine’s 1st National Guard Corps “Azov” have released drone footage showing what they describe as the execution of an unarmed elderly civilian by Russian forces in Pokrovsk district, Donetsk Oblast, on 28 August.

According to the Azov unit, aerial reconnaissance captured the incident in which a Russian soldier shot and killed an elderly man in his yard. The military unit published the video evidence on their official Telegram channel.

“It is clearly visible that the person was in civilian clothes and without weapons,” the Azov fighters stated in their announcement. 

Russian soldier shot and killed an unarmed elderly man in his own yard near frontline Pokrovsk on 28 August — 1st National Guard Corps "Azov."

Ukrainian drone footage captured the incident during aerial reconnaissance, identifying the alleged perpetrator as a serviceman from… pic.twitter.com/XQAUDhJAJs

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) August 30, 2025

The unit emphasized that the alleged act constitutes a direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons during times of war and armed conflict. 

The Ukrainian forces identified the alleged perpetrator as a serviceman from the 95th separate rifle regiment of the 5th separate motorized rifle brigade of the 51st army of the Russian Armed Forces, according to their intelligence.

The Azov unit characterized the incident as “another proof that for the Russian army there exist neither laws nor morals,” though this represents their assessment rather than an independent verification.

This incident fits within a documented pattern of executions carried out by Russian forces against both civilians and Ukrainian soldiers in frontline zones and occupied territories.

Russian soldiers have been recorded executing civilians often under suspicion of collaboration with Ukrainian forces or information sharing. These killings sometimes occur as collective punishment following attacks on Russian positions, with troops assuming local residents aided Ukrainian forces.

International observers have also documented hundreds of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), including footage showing captured soldiers killed shortly after surrender.

These documented executions serve multiple purposes according to military analysts, including intimidation tactics, retaliation against resistance, and attempts to undermine Ukrainian military and civilian morale. 

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