Key developments on Aug. 31: Kyiv endures 5th day of near-constant air raid alerts as Russian jet-powered drones continue to swarm cityExclusive: Musk opposes allowing Ukraine to use Starlink for strikes on Russia, despite recent media reports, sources sayUkrainian forces reportedly target Wildberries warehouse in Yekaterinburg, over 1,600 kilometers from borderUkraine's military intelligence reveals capabilities of Russian Zircon missilesZelensky replaces State Border Guard's acting chief for 2nd time in 2026Ukraine is facing a fifth consecutive day of nonstop Russian jet-powered drone attacks, while Russian strikes in other regions have killed at least seven people and injured another 45 over the past day, local authorities said.Russian forces have shifted their airstrike tactics in recent days. Rather than launching massive overnight barrages of ballistic and cruise missiles preceded by waves of drones, Moscow is now launching jet-powered drones in separate, near-hourly attacks throughout the day, triggering continuous air raid alerts across Ukrainian cities."The goal is not only to hit a specific target, but to keep Ukrainian air defenses in constant combat readiness. That is extremely difficult technically, psychologically, and physically," Viktor Kevliuk, a reserve colonel and analyst at the Center for Defense Strategies, told the Kyiv Independent.Kyiv and the surrounding region remain key targets of the strikes, with eight air raid alerts sounding by 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 31. The capital recorded 13 alerts on Aug. 28 — the highest number since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Constant air raid alerts are disrupting businesses and public transportation, affecting both residents' daily lives and the broader economy.At the same time, the nonstop attacks are placing mounting strain on Ukraine's air defenses, while also increasing the civilian casualty toll. The continued Russian strikes on Kyiv on Aug. 31 injured eight people in the village of Pohreby, about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) north of the capital, the Kyiv Regional Military Administration said.SpaceX CEO Elon Musk remains opposed to allowing Ukraine to use Starlink for strikes deep inside Russia, despite recent media reports suggesting otherwise, three sources familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent.Kyiv has long sought U.S. approval to use the technology to strengthen its campaign against Russia, including to target ballistic missile launchers. President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the issue during a closed-door meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on July 28, but Ukraine has yet to receive approval.The Financial Times reported on Aug. 30 that Musk was open to Ukraine using Starlink-equipped drones to strike targets in Russia, but said the decision would ultimately be a political one requiring approval from the White House.One of the sources said Musk does not believe allowing Ukraine to use Starlink for operations inside Russia would help bring the war to an end."Musk wants a deal in this war, not escalation," the source said.Musk allegedly held talks with former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov that were "extremely unsuccessful," after which the SpaceX CEO became convinced that he did not want to grant Ukraine permission to use Starlink for such operations, the source added.Ukrainian forces reportedly target Wildberries warehouse in Yekaterinburg, over 1,600 kilometers from borderUkraine targeted a warehouse belonging to Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries in Yekaterinburg, more than 1,600 kilometers (nearly 990 miles) from the Russian-Ukrainian border, on Aug. 31, monitoring Telegram channels reported.Local authorities declared a drone threat in Russia's Sverdlovsk Oblast, home to Yekaterinburg, at around 9 a.m. local time. Sverdlovsk Oblast Governor Denis Pasler confirmed that the strike occurred near a logistics center but did not identify the company that owns the facility.The Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ said the target of the Ukrainian drones was a facility belonging to Wildberries, adding that one of the drones fell near the warehouse.Meanwhile, debris fell on residential areas in the city, damaging three apartment buildings and injuring four people, according to the governor.Pasler said no fires broke out at the damaged sites following the attacks, with the vast majority of the damage consisting of shattered windows.Ukraine's military intelligence reveals capabilities of Russian Zircon missilesUkraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) published new details about the Russian 3M22 Zircon hypersonic missile on Aug. 31, revealing that its actual capabilities fell short of those claimed by the Kremlin.According to HUR assessments, the missile is slower than previously believed, carries a smaller warhead than Russia's low-cost S8000 Banderol cruise missile, and is not, in fact, a "hypersonic cruise missile" as Russia has previously claimed.HUR described the munition as a ballistic missile rather than a hypersonic cruise missile. According to the agency, it used solid fuel, followed a quasi-ballistic trajectory, and had a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).The agency also identified 70 companies, including U.S. firms TriQuint Semiconductor and Altera Corporation, which was part of Intel, that it said either supplied components for or were involved in the missile's production.Russia had previously claimed that the Zircon could reach speeds of up to Mach 9. HUR said instead that the missile's recorded maximum speed was significantly lower, at Mach 6.8.HUR estimated that the Zircon carried a 120-kilogram warhead. By comparison, the S8000 Banderol, a low-cost cruise missile that Russia increasingly used to strike targets in and around Kyiv and Odesa, carried a warhead of about 150 kilograms.Zelensky replaces State Border Guard's acting chief for 2nd time in 2026President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Vadym Chenchyk as the new acting head of Ukraine's State Border Guard Service on Aug. 31, according to decrees published on the Presidential Office's website.Chenchyk replaced Valerii Vavryniuk, who had served as acting chief since his appointment in January 2026. Zelensky has now replaced the acting head for the second time this year without appointing a permanent chief.Chenchyk was deputy head of the State Border Guard Service from 2019 to 2026, after previously serving as acting director of the agency's Operational Activities Department, which is responsible for preventing and combating offenses at the state border, including smuggling, illegal migration, and terrorism.Chenchyk's predecessor, Vavryniuk, took over as head of the agency on Jan. 4 after then-chief Serhii Deineko, who had led the State Border Guard Service since 2019, came under investigation and was dismissed.In 2023 border guards received at least 204,000 euros (nearly $237,000) for facilitating the smuggling of cigarettes through the border between Ukraine and the European Union, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said.