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Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 901

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Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 901

As the war enters its 901st day, these are the main developments.

Here is the situation on Wednesday, August 14, 2024.

Kursk incursion

  • The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskii, said Kyiv’s troops had taken control of 74 settlements in Russia’s Kursk region and were still advancing, gaining control over 40sq km (15sq miles) of territory in the past 24 hours.
  • In Russia, special forces commander Major General Apti Alaudinov said Ukraine’s troops had been halted. The Ministry of Defence said Russian troops had repelled attacks in villages about 26 to 28km (16 to 17 miles) from the border. Kursk regional Governor Alexei Smirnov called on residents to show patience and character, warning that “the crisis has not yet been overcome”.
  • United States President Joe Biden said Ukraine’s military incursion into Russia had “created a real dilemma” for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In his first substantive comments since Kyiv launched its surprise attack on August 6, Biden said he had been briefed on developments every four to five hours. Officials stressed the US had no role in planning or preparation for the attack.
  • Lithuanian Minister of Defence Laurynas Kasciunas said Russia was moving troops from its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad to Kursk.
  • Russia convened an informal gathering of the UN Security Council and criticised Ukraine’s allies for not condemning Kyiv’s incursion. “We will not recognise the aggressor as the victim,” said senior Slovenian diplomat Klemen Ponikvar, one of several members to accuse Russia of hypocrisy, double standards and wasting the council’s time. Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently occupies about one-fifth of Ukraine’s internationally-recognised territory.
Russia has been evacuating thousands of residents from the Kursk region [Ministry of Emergency Situations Press Service via AP Photo]

Fighting in Ukraine

  • At least one person was killed and two injured in Russian shelling of Ukraine’s Sumy region, bordering Kursk. Sumy’s regional military administration said it had recorded 45 Russian attacks on Tuesday, including guided bomb strikes, drone explosions and shelling.
  • Ukraine’s general staff said it was restricting the movement of civilians within a 20km (12 mile) border zone in Sumy due to an “increase in the intensity of hostilities” and the activation of Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the area.
  • Two people were killed and 30 injured after a bus was struck by Ukrainian shelling in the Russian-occupied city of Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine, the TASS news agency reported, quoting Russian-appointed local officials.
  • The Ukrainian military said Russian forces stepped up their attacks on the Pokrovsk front in eastern Ukraine. The General Staff said there had been 52 battles in the area over the previous 24 hours, more than a third of all battles reported along the war’s 1,000km (621-mile) front line.
  • Russia launched 38 attack drones and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s Air Force said. Thirty of the drones were destroyed over eight Ukrainian regions, it added. It was not clear what happened to the weapons that were not destroyed.

Politics and diplomacy

  • Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s president’s chief of staff, said Ukraine plans to hold a follow-up conference this month to June’s peace summit in Switzerland. The meeting will take place online and focus on energy security, he said.

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Map: 3.8-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Las Vegas

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Map: 3.8-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Las Vegas

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Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown.  All times on the map are Pacific time. The New York Times

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A minor, 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck in Nevada on Thursday, according to the United States Geological Survey. The earthquake prompted a flurry of chatter online, but no widespread damage was reported.

The temblor happened at 1:47 p.m. Pacific time about 7 miles northwest of Summerlin South, Nev., data from the agency shows.

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On social media, residents across the area described the earthquake jolting their homes and rattling windows and doors. Some said they heard the boom-like sound of an explosion, while others said they didn’t feel anything or described a small disturbance that lacked any significant oomph.

Brian Cohen was at home putting away groceries in Lone Mountain, about a half hour west of the Las Vegas strip, just before 2 p.m. when he felt the entire house rattle intensely for about three seconds.

“The whole house felt like it was lifting up,” said Mr. Cohen, who is in his 60s. He went outside and saw a neighbor, who also reported feeling the jolt.

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Mr. Cohen, who has lived in the Las Vegas area since 1994, said this wasn’t his first earthquake. “This one is the strongest one I felt,” he said, adding there was no damage to his home.

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

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Aftershocks forecast

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While individual earthquakes can’t be predicted, geologists can calculate the chances that more earthquakes will follow an initial quake using statistical models of past events.

For this earthquake, it is unlikely — about a 4 chance — that a larger quake will strike the area in the next day, according to the U.S.G.S. Here is the forecast for aftershocks of other sizes:

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3.0 mag. or stronger

Perhaps

26%

4.0 mag. or stronger

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Unlikely

5%

5.0 mag. or stronger

Unlikely

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Source: United States Geological Survey. Data is as of June 4 at 1:57 p.m. Pacific time.  Chance of aftershocks typically decreases over time. Forecast quake counts are estimates. William B. Davis, Joel Eastwood and John Keefe/The New York Times

The rate of aftershocks typically decreases over time, and forecasts are available for the next week, month and year.

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Aftershocks detected

Subsequent quakes have been reported in the same area. Such temblors are typically aftershocks caused by minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.

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Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles

Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.

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When quakes and aftershocks occurred

 All times are Pacific time. The New York Times

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Sources: United States Geological Survey (epicenter, aftershocks, shake intensity); LandScan via Oak Ridge National Laboratory (population density) | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Pacific time. Shake data is as of Thursday, June 4 at 5:25 p.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Thursday, June 4 at 8:23 p.m. Eastern.