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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had conducted its first test of a domestically produced ballistic missile, as Russia launched a second consecutive day of deadly attacks on Ukraine.

Zelensky also said at a press conference following a forum in Kyiv on 27 August that the war with Russia would ultimately end through dialogue, but that Kyiv would have to take a strong position for this to happen.

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Zelensky said he hoped to travel to the United States in September to attend the UN General Assembly in New York, meet US President Joe Biden and present a plan to end the war. Kyiv's invasion of Russia's Kursk region is part of that plan, but it also includes other steps on the economic and diplomatic front, he said.

“The main purpose of this plan is to force Russia to end the war,” he said, adding that he wanted the plan to be fair to Ukraine.

He did not elaborate on next steps, but said he would also discuss the plan with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and likely with Republican candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump.

His announcements came as Ukraine pleaded with its Western allies to lift their ban on Kyiv using weapons it supplies to attack military targets deep inside Russia, to prevent Moscow's forces from destroying civilian and energy infrastructure.

Ukraine also announced that it is working on developing the Hrim-2 short-range missile system, which will combine the functions of a tactical missile system and a multiple rocket launcher.

Last weekend, Zelensky also confirmed the existence of the domestically produced Paljanytsia missile, which he described as a “new class of weapon” for Ukraine.

Zelensky made his comments just hours after at least five people were killed and several injured in Russia's second massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine in just a few days.

In Kursk, Russia, where fighting has been raging since August 6, when Ukrainian forces unexpectedly invaded Russian territory, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear agency, visited the Kurchatov nuclear power plant because of concerns about the safety of the nuclear facility.

After the visit, Grossi said that there was a risk of a “nuclear incident” at the power plant and that the situation was serious.

The Kurchatov plant is located about 60 kilometers from the Ukrainian border on the banks of the Sejm River, where heavy fighting has been taking place for three weeks.

Separately, the top commander of the Ukrainian military, General Oleksandr Syrskiy, stated that his forces now control 1,294 square kilometers and 100 settlements in Kursk. He also said that Ukrainian troops had taken a total of 594 Russian prisoners during the ongoing operation in Kursk.

As Russia launched another wave of attacks, the Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down a total of 60 drones and five missiles in the early morning of August 27.

Due to the new wave of attacks, a comprehensive air raid alert was declared for the entire Ukraine.

Ukrainian aviation expert Valeriy Romanenko told RFE/RL that Russia's recent massive air strikes are designed to exceed the capabilities of Ukraine's anti-aircraft missile systems.

Missiles fly in a “bunch” and appear to air defense systems as a single missile, Romanenko saidThe air defense system fires a single missile, but not just one but five or six must be shot down.

Romanenko also pointed out that the Russians are using X-101 missiles, which have a range of almost 5,500 kilometers.

“The Russians take advantage of this and plan their trajectories to avoid the positions of the anti-aircraft missile systems as much as possible,” he told Current Time, RFE/RL's Russian-language network. They also take advantage of uneven terrain when possible, programming the missiles to fly undetected behind hills and other topography and to make many turns without losing sight of the target.

In the latest wave of Russian missile attacks, a hotel in Kryviy Rih in the southern Dnipropetrovsk region was hit. Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that a man and a woman were killed and five people were injured.

Local officials also said two people were killed in overnight Russian attacks in the southern Zaporizhia region.

In the north-eastern region of Kharkiv, a Russian missile kills one person and five others injured, regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram.

Eight Russian drones were shot down in the Khmelnytskyi region, but one person was injured in the attack, regional governor Serhiy Tyurin said on Telegram.

Air defense systems shot down all 15 drones that attacked Kiev, the administration of the Ukrainian capital said. A fire broke out in a forest park in the Dnipro district due to falling debris.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Russian region of Belgorod on the border with Ukraine, said early on the morning of August 27 that the situation in the region was difficult but manageable in view of an attempted incursion by Ukrainian troops.

“According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the situation at the border remains difficult, but under control. Our armed forces are carrying out the planned work. I ask you to remain calm and trust only official sources of information,” Gladkov wrote on Telegram. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on Gladkov's statement.

With reporting from Reuters