An electrical transformer near a railway route used for transporting military cargo was destroyed by pro-Ukrainian partisans in southern Russia overnight on Aug. 24, the Atesh group claimed.

“An agent of our movement destroyed a transformer cabinet on the railway branch near Cherkessk in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic. Military cargo is transported along this road, and military units and the Russian National Guard in the region are supplied,” the group said in a post to Telegram.

Cherkessk is located about 435 kilometers (270 miles) from Ukraine’s Azov Sea coast in southern Donetsk Oblast.

The act of sabotage falls on Ukraine’s Independence Day as Kyiv continues to fend off Russia’s war.

The group said the destroyed electrical transformer is a sign to Russian President Vladimir Putin that discontent is growing inside Russia.

“This sabotage is a sign to the Putin regime that its end is near. We continue to strike at the logistics of Russian troops across the country. More and more people who disagree with the actions of the current authorities are joining us,” the statement said.

The claims could not be independently verified.

Hours earlier, the Atesh group sent out a statement on Telegram wishing Ukraine a happy Independence Day.

A day prior, drone operators from the “Rugby Team” battalion of the 129th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade reportedly raised the blue-and-yellow flag over two villages in Russia’s Kursk region to mark Ukraine’s National Flag Day.

The flags were raised over Hornal and Huyevo, historically part of Ukrainian Slobozhanshchyna, which spans parts of today’s northeastern Ukraine and areas now within Russia’s Belgorod, Kursk, and Voronezh regions.

Russian air defenses intercepted a drone headed toward Moscow on Aug. 23, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. He said fragments of the drone were being examined on the ground. No casualties were reported.

The Kyiv Independent couldn’t immediately verify these claims.

In response to concerns over airspace safety, Russia’s federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, temporarily suspended operations at multiple airports in major cities of the Volga and Central regions of European Russia—including Izhevsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Penza, Tambov, and Ulyanovsk.

Ukrainian officials often say these drone strikes are intended to degrade Russia’s strike capabilities and bring the consequences of the war closer to those supporting the Kremlin’s aggression.

Authorities in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, also reported significant flight delays as a result. Several Russian airlines, including Rossiya and Pobeda announced they were adjusting their schedules in response to the airspace restrictions.

Separately on the same day, two windows were damaged while shooting down a drone over the “Ogni Zaliva” residential complex in St. Petersburg’s Krasnoselsky district, Deputy Governor Yevgeny Razumishkin said via his Telegram channel.

St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov earlier reported that a drone had been intercepted in the Krasnoselsky district, with no injuries reported. Another drone was also reportedly downed in the city’s Pushkinsky district.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 32 drones had been intercepted and destroyed over several central regions during a three-hour window.

The Ministry later reported that a total of 57 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over several central regions and over the Black Sea.

Drones were spotted and explosions were heard in the city of Stary Oskol in Belgorod Oblast, Pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash claimed.

The reports come as both U.S. President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky advocate for a negotiated resolution to Russia’s war, now in its 12th year. However, past efforts at peace talks have repeatedly broken down due to the Kremlin’s ultimatums and rigid demands.

Zelensky has continued to push for a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin without preconditions, arguing that such a step could offer a real opportunity to bring the full-scale war to an end.

To mark Ukraine’s National Flag Day, drone operators from the “Rugby Team” battalion of the 129th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade raised the blue-and-yellow flag over two villages in Russia’s Kursk region—Hornal and Huyevo—historically part of Ukrainian Slobozhanshchyna.

The Kyiv Independent couldn’t immediately verify this information.

Slobozhanshchyna spans parts of today’s northeastern Ukraine—including Kharkiv, Sumy, and Luhansk oblasts—as well as areas now within Russia’s Belgorod, Kursk, and Voronezh regions.

Hornal, located on the Psel River, is located about 15 kilometers from the Ukrainian border and 102 kilometers southwest of Kursk. Huyevo is even closer—just 3.5 kilometers from the border and around 96 kilometers from the regional center.

Ukraine’s forces entered Russia’s Kursk Oblast in a surprise cross-border incursion in August 2024. The Kursk region lies on the border with Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy Oblast, which has been experiencing daily attacks since Russian troops were pushed out of the oblast and back across the border in April 2022.

Sumy Oblast and the Kursk region share a 245-kilometer (152-mile) border.

Ukraine’s initial goal was to occupy Russian border territories and divert attention from fighting in eastern Ukraine. However, the strategy proved ineffective. Russian troops continued their advance in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, reaching the outskirts of Pokrovsk by late 2024.

0:00 / 1× Ukrainian drone operators from the “Rugby team” battalion of the 129th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade raised the blue-and-yellow flag over two villages in Russia’s Kursk region—Hornal and Huyevo—historically part of Ukrainian Slobozhanshchyna.

Adding to a string of encouraging developments on Aug. 23, Ukrainian forces in Donetsk Oblast repelled Russian attacks and regained control of the village of Zelenyi Hai. Troops from the 37th Separate Marine Brigade, working in coordination with the 214th Separate Assault Battalion “Opfor,” secured the settlement and continued to defend the settlement from repeated Russian attempts to retake it, according to the military.

Zelenyi Hai in Volnovakha district is located approximately 90 to 100 kilometers (about 56 to 62 miles) southwest of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk.

Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent)

As President Volodymyr Zelensky signals readiness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war, Russia is gaining ground on the battlefield—strengthening its position ahead of potential negotiations.

Moscow’s current focus is on the Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast, where Russian troops are gradually advancing northeast of the key logistics hub, once home to around 60,000 people. According to the open-source monitoring group DeepState, Russian forces are attempting to close a 16-kilometer-wide pocket around Pokrovsk.

Russia’s monthly territorial gains have also accelerated. According to a recent U.K. Defense Ministry intelligence update, Moscow likely captured around 500 to 550 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in July alone—marking the fastest rate of advance since March.

However, Zelensky has downplayed the notion that Russia could quickly take over all of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. In a meeting with journalists on Aug. 20, the president noted that at the current pace, it would take Moscow at least another four years to do so. Despite launching its first invasion in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Russia still lacks full control over the region.

Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts remain a central territorial demand from Moscow in any future negotiations. But according to Zelensky, after more than two years of full-scale war, Russia occupies only about one-third of Donetsk Oblast—roughly 67–69%.

“I explained to (U.S. President Donald Trump) that the talks about them (Russia) occupying our Donbas by the end of (2025) are all just chatter,” Zelensky said.