What happened on 6 September 2023 in the war?

What did the war in Ukraine look like on 6 September 2023? It was a day that combined a deadly strike on civilians, new Western military aid and a first for British armour, along with a spillover incident on NATO's eastern edge.

Strike on a market

At least 15 people were killed and about 30 others injured when a missile hit a marketplace in Kostiantynivka, in Donetsk Oblast. Kyiv blamed Russia for the attack, and Russia denied involvement. Later reporting by the New York Times suggested that a Ukrainian 9M38 missile, fired by a mobile Buk antiaircraft vehicle, was responsible. According to later accounts, the strike hit an open market in the downtown area in the morning. The dead included a child and a couple in their 50s who had been selling flowers, and the wounded numbered at least 32. The Times investigation, based on video and audio footage from near the launch site and from the town, pointed to Ukrainian positions west of Kostiantynivka. A Security Service of Ukraine spokesman said the official investigation was continuing, but that the service believed a Russian-launched S-300 missile was used.

Aid and armour

On the same day, the United States announced a $175 million aid package for Ukraine. It included depleted uranium ammunition for the first time, intended for use with Abrams tanks.

British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed reports from Russian officials that a Challenger 2 tank had been destroyed in Ukraine. It was the first loss of that model on the battlefield.

Debris in Romania

Romania's Ministry of National Defence confirmed that debris from a Russian drone had been found on Romanian territory, in Tulcea County. Bucharest denied claims that drones launched by Russia had exploded on its soil.

A defector paid

Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who had defected to Ukraine with an Mi-8 helicopter, received a $500,000 reward for defecting, as reported on 6 September.

The preceding days

Reports from 5 September 2023 showed the pace of the drone and maritime fighting. Russia's defence ministry said it had repelled a Ukrainian aerial drone attack over the Black Sea. It also said it had shot down three Ukrainian drones, over Istra, Moscow, and over the Kaluga and Tver regions near Moscow. The ministry further said it had destroyed four Ukrainian military boats carrying troops in the Black Sea, heading towards Cape Tarkhankut on the Crimean coast.

Also on 5 September, Cuba's foreign ministry said criminal proceedings had been initiated against a recruiting group that was mainly seeking to enlist Cuban citizens living in Russia to fight in Ukraine. The ministry noted that mercenary activity is prohibited in Cuba and reiterated that Cuba was not part of the war.

Why the day matters

Taken together, the reports from 6 September 2023 show a conflict with several strands running at once: the cost to civilians in Donetsk Oblast, the continuing flow of Western weapons, the exposure of their performance on the battlefield, and the risk of debris reaching a neighbouring NATO country's territory. The competing accounts of who fired on Kostiantynivka also show how contested attribution of a single strike could be.