Ukraine's Defense Minister Resigns; Erdogan Meets Putin

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on September 4 that in the past 24 hours, the country's air force had conducted 14 attacks on a series of Russian targets, focusing on surface-to-air missile systems, Ukrinform news agency reported.

The Ukrainian side added that over the past day, up to 30 military clashes have occurred on all fronts. Kyiv forces continue their offensive operations in the direction of Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia province), where they have made some progress.

Meanwhile, Kyiv also accused the Russian military of carrying out missile attacks and 78 air strikes, and firing multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) at Ukrainian positions and residential areas 47 times.

Chiến sự tối 4.9: Bộ trưởng Quốc phòng Ukraine từ chức; ông Erdogan gặp ông Putin - Ảnh 1. — The scene of the UAV attack in Odessa province on September 4.

In response, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had destroyed two Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and prevented Kiev from making another attempt to attack Moscow's facilities.

Ukraine loses $100 million a day

In an exclusive interview with Ukrinform, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said the war with Russia has cost Ukraine $100 million (VND2,400 billion) per day.

He said that the money spent on the military comes from the state budget and from contributions from the people. Besides, according to Ukrinform, since the conflict broke out, Ukraine has received $100 billion in aid from international partners, specifically in weapons and military equipment.

Chiến sự tối 4.9: Bộ trưởng Quốc phòng Ukraine từ chức; ông Erdogan gặp ông Putin - Ảnh 2. — Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov submitted his resignation to parliament on September 4.

Also on September 4, Mr. Reznikov submitted his resignation to parliament. The decision to resign came in the context of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying on September 3 that he would replace the defense minister. This is the biggest change to the defense establishment of Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict with Russia.

Russia uses hypersonic weapons in Ukraine

A Russian defense official told TASS news agency on September 4 that Russia's Su-34 multirole fighter bomber used the Kinzhal hypersonic missile during a special military operation in Ukraine.

The Kinzhal missile is highly maneuverable and is designed to attack ground and naval targets.

The Kinzhal missile system began testing combat missions in December 2017. The Russian military first officially used this missile in combat during the military campaign in Ukraine on March 18, 2022.

Ukraine says Russian UAV crashed on NATO territory

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said that a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed and exploded on Romanian territory during a Russian airstrike on the port of Izmail in Odessa region on the morning of September 4, Ukrinform reported.

Mr. Nikolenko said this was another confirmation that Russia's missile terrorism poses a major threat not only to Ukraine's security, but also to the security of neighboring countries, including NATO member states.

However, Romania has denied the information from Ukraine.

"Russia's overnight attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube River on September 4 does not pose a direct military threat to the territory of Romania, a neighboring NATO country," Reuters quoted a statement from the Romanian Defense Ministry.

Turkish President has arrived in Sochi

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Sochi (Russia) to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The Aksam newspaper reported that Erdogan's plane landed at 12:15 Moscow time. Earlier, a Turkish government source said the main topic of the consultations would be a grain deal through Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.

Chiến sự tối 4.9: Bộ trưởng Quốc phòng Ukraine từ chức; ông Erdogan gặp ông Putin - Ảnh 3. — Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) receives Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi on September 4.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting in Sochi, Mr Putin told Mr Erdogan he was ready to negotiate a grain deal.

The Russian president said his country could return to the grain deal if the West also implemented a separate memorandum agreed with the United Nations to facilitate Moscow's exports of food and fertilizer.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on August 31 that he had sent Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “a series of concrete proposals” to revive the grain deal. One of Moscow’s main demands was that the Russian Agricultural Bank Rosselkhozbank be reconnected to the international payment system SWIFT.

The European Union (EU) removed Rosselkhozbank from SWIFT in June 2022 as part of sanctions in response to Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.

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