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Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: September 18th, 2023
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title. [Korrespondent] 22:53 Zelensky said in an evening video message that he had arrived in New York and immediately from the airport was going to see Ukrainian soldiers who were undergoing treatment and rehabilitation in the United States. “Next are important and busy days. The UN General Assembly, the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, the Security Council. Significant bilateral meetings have already been scheduled,” the president said. He clarified that negotiations are planned in Washington with Biden, with the leaders of the chambers and parties of Congress, with the military leadership, American business, journalists, and the community.  22:47 South Korea will give Ukraine two K600 Rhino minefield traversing vehicles in addition to the previous batch of old mine detectors, the country's government announced. 22:35 A global restructuring has been launched at the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The new Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov initiated the dismissal of all deputies that he inherited from Alexei Reznikov. According to media reports, Umerov personally convinced Zelensky to replace the entire team in the ministry, and none of the fired officials would be able to return to their positions. For more details, see the Ministry of Defense's material from scratch . 21:34 Zelensky will hold a meeting with Brazilian President Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session on Wednesday, September 20, the Brazilian presidential administration said. 21:26 Germany has prepared a new package of military assistance to Ukraine worth 400 million euros, but Taurus missiles are not included in it, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. He clarified that the package will include ammunition, vehicles and mine clearance systems, as well as warm clothing and generators. 20:37 The number of Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in the EU since the beginning of the war has reached almost 10 million people, said Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market. According to him, in the Czech Republic alone the number of migrants from Ukraine is 440 thousand - this is 4% of the country's population. 19:48 Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that he flew to Germany for the 15th meeting in the Ramstein format. According to him, representatives of almost 50 countries will take part in the meeting. 18:13 There is evidence that the health of the head of Chechnya has sharply deteriorated. According to one information, he fell into a coma, and according to another, he died altogether. Read more in the article What happened to Kadyrov . 17:07 The next council of EU foreign ministers will most likely be held in Kiev in early October, the Italian agency Ansa reports, citing sources. At this meeting, the EU intends to “continue the path of Ukraine’s integration” and express support for Kyiv. 16:55 Ukraine returned two more children from the temporarily occupied territories, Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets said. 16:39 In the Bakhmut direction, Ukrainian forces broke through the enemy’s defense line, which he tried to close, throwing all available reserves into battle. In the battles in this direction, some of the most trained and best units of the enemy were defeated and completely lost their combat capability - the 72nd separate motorized rifle brigade, the 31st and 83rd separate air assault brigades, said the commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky. According to him, there are fierce battles in the Bakhmut area. After the loss of Andreevka and Kleshcheevka, the enemy carried out numerous counterattacks from different directions, unsuccessfully trying to regain positions. Syrsky explained that these small settlements were important elements of the enemy’s defensive line, stretching from Bakhmut to Gorlovka. The Russian army is also actively preparing to resume the offensive in the Kupyansky and Limansky directions, the commander added. 16:05 The EU is preparing for a “fight” in the process of preparing the 12th package of sanctions against Russia, writes Bloomberg. According to the publication, the G7 countries are moving forward on the issue, in particular, of banning the purchase of diamonds from the Russian Federation. New restrictions could be introduced as early as October. According to sources, they may include a proposal for a mechanism for using profits from frozen assets of the Russian Federation to help Ukraine. Some EU members, including Poland and the Baltic states, are calling for additional sanctions, particularly on IT services. 15:26 The Russians fired artillery at the village of Severnoe in the city of Toretsk, Donetsk region, one person was killed. In addition, the Russian military carried out an air missile strike on Avdeevka, killing one person, the prosecutor's office reported. 15:18 Russian media report shelling of the building of the “head of the DPR administration” in the center of Donetsk. Ukrainian troops allegedly fired three MLRS rockets at the city center, causing minor damage to the building. 14:44 CIT investigative journalists published photos of damage to the Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don, which Ukraine struck last week while it was at a ship repair yard in Sevastopol: 14:11 The US Congress maintains a high level of support for continued assistance to Ukraine, said John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications at the National Security Council. He dismissed concerns that funding could be cut because congressional support for Ukraine's defense funding "remains very, very strong." 13:45 The Russian Federation has encountered problems obtaining Chinese drones, reports the Russian publication Kommersant. From September 1, China limited the export of drones, which complicated their deliveries to Russia and resulted in a shortage of components. Sellers of Chinese drones are trying to establish parallel imports, but are facing opposition, including in Kazakhstan, which recently tightened the import procedure. At the same time, large Russian drone manufacturers have managed to stockpile spare parts and are now hoping that their suppliers in China will be able to obtain all permits. However, obtaining such permits can take up to a year - to do this, you need to prove that the drone will not be used for military purposes and provide information about the final recipient. 13:07 In Bulgaria, ammunition was found and neutralized, which was found along with the wreckage of a drone near Tyulenovo, the country’s Ministry of Defense reported. According to the department, an 82 mm mortar shell was attached to the found drone. It is not yet known whether the drone fell from the air or was carried by the current. 12:20 There is a lull in the Liman-Kupyansk direction, said the speaker of the Eastern Group of Forces Ilya Yevlash: “In particular, we see the transfer of the 25th Army in the Liman-Kupyansk direction. Now there is some calm there, in the sense that there are no direct combat events there clashes. The enemy is now placing more emphasis on artillery... He is not moving on to military clashes after he has been pretty much bullied by our Defense Forces, in particular near Novoegorovka and other populated areas." 11:56 The Cabinet of Ministers dismissed all deputy ministers of defense and the ministry’s secretary of state, said government representative in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnichuk. In particular, Anna Malyar, Vladimir Gavrilov, Andrey Shevchenko, Vitaly Deinega and others were fired. 11:43 The third separate assault brigade raised the flag of Ukraine over Andreevka, Donetsk region. The recently liberated village is under constant shelling and enemy attempts to storm it, but it was important to raise the Ukrainian flag here - this means that Andreevka has been completely liberated and has come under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the soldiers said. 11:24 On September 17, the Russians fired artillery at the civilian infrastructure of the city of Vorozhba, Sumy region: one person was wounded, three private households, an electrical network and an elevator were damaged, the prosecutor’s office reported. 11:20 Ukraine will be able to powerfully break through Russian defenses, and it is already known where this will happen, Zelensky said in an interview with CBS: “Everyone wants us to break through the defense lines. We really want this... It will happen, I’m sure of it. And "I can't say where it will be faster. I can't say that, I don't want to share information, sorry, because I know where we are going to break through - and break through powerfully. I really hope and believe in our warriors that this will happen." 10:47 During the draw attack on Ukraine, an unprecedented amount of Russian aviation was recorded in the airspace, said Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat: “Tonight there was an unprecedented amount of aviation. Several dozen aircraft, which is unusual for night time, were in the airspace. This and drones and tactical aircraft that attacked Ukraine along with cruise missiles and suicide bombers. 10:32 Russian troops attacked Berislav in the Kherson region from a drone in the morning, four local residents were injured. The enemy deliberately attacked a crowded place, dropping explosives near the local bus station, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin. There was also a report of yesterday evening shelling of Nikolaevka, as a result of which one person was killed and one was wounded. 10:04 In the Khmelnitsky region, during a night attack as a result of missiles being shot down by a blast wave, roofs and windows in several households were damaged, falling debris and two explosions were also recorded on the territory of a production enterprise. The railroad tracks were damaged by debris, but no people were injured, said Sergei Tyurin, first deputy head of the OVA. 09:45 British intelligence reports that over the past two weeks Russia has additionally strengthened the 58th Combined Arms Army, which is in a difficult situation, in the Orekhovsky direction in the Zaporozhye region with additional airborne units. In total, at least five airborne regiments, drawn from the 7th and 76th divisions, are believed to be now concentrated within a few kilometers of the front-line village of Rabotino. At full strength, such forces should amount to about 10 thousand elite paratroopers. However, almost all units are in critical condition, analysts believe. In their opinion, the current situation will be perceived by the leadership of the Airborne Forces as extremely unsatisfactory. Throughout the war, the Russian command sought to revive the Airborne Forces as a highly mobile strike force for offensive operations, but they are again being used as line infantry to replenish depleted ground forces. 09:12 Anna Malyar clarified that the Ukrainian offensive in the Bakhmut direction “is carried out by the forces with which we are defending, that is, without creating an offensive group, without the use of additional resources and materiel.” 09:04 The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service arrested a Defense Ministry official accused of exporting aircraft parts to the Russian Federation through third countries, despite EU sanctions, Euractiv reports. 09:02 Ukrainian troops liberated 2 quarters last week. km near Bakhmut, said Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar. In total, 51 square meters have been liberated in this area since the beginning of the Ukrainian offensive. km. On the southern front, the Defense Forces liberated 5.2 square meters over the past week. km, in total during the offensive - more than 260 sq. km. The Ukrainian military is advancing in the Melitopol direction and has had successes south and east of Rabotino, Zaporozhye region. 08:55 During the night attack, the Russian Federation attacked the Danube region with drones. A hit was recorded in the recreational infrastructure of the Vilkovsky community, a fire broke out, which was promptly extinguished, OK Pivden reported. Also, as a result of falling debris, an unused two-story building in the Snigirevsky community of the Nikolaev region caught fire. The fire was extinguished, no people were injured. 08:39 At night, air defense destroyed 18 of 24 Shahed drones and all 17 X-101/X-555/X-55 cruise missiles , the Air Force command reported. Enemy UAVs were flying from two directions: Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Russian Federation and Cape Chauda, Crimea. They were launched in the direction of the Nikolaev and Odessa regions. The cruise missiles were launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers from the Volgograd region. The missiles were destroyed within the Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava and Khmelnytsky regions. 08:36 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Russia from 18 to 21, and the day before he held consultations with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Malta, including on Russia’s war against Ukraine, writes Reuters. The White House said Chinese and American officials discussed, among other things, "key issues in the US-China bilateral relationship, as well as global and regional security issues, Russia's war against Ukraine and China-Taiwan relations." 08:27 Zelensky, in an interview with CBS, commented on the slow progress in the counter-offensive: “We must liberate as much of our territory as possible and move forward, even if it is less than a hundred meters, we must do it. We must not give Putin a break.” The president said that now the front line has turned into an artillery duel, where the Russians and Ukrainians are firing 40 thousand shells a day. The drone war has also slowed progress. “This is a difficult situation. I will be absolutely frank with you. We have the initiative. This is a plus. We stopped the Russian offensive and launched a counteroffensive. And despite this, it is not very fast. It is important that we move forward every day and liberate territories.” , he emphasized. 08:15 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of September 18:
08:03 The Russians shelled the Kherson region all night, there are dead and injured, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin. In particular, in Kherson one person was killed and one was injured. In Kizomys, one person was also killed and one was injured as a result of a hit in a private house. Another person was wounded during the shelling of Olgovka. And over the past 24 hours, as a result of Russian shelling in the region, two people were killed and four were injured. 07:44 Over the past 24 hours, more than 35 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report . In the Bakhmut direction, the Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks in the Belaya Gora and Andreevka areas of the Donetsk region. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue assault operations in the Kleshcheevka area and consolidate on the achieved lines. In the Maryinsky direction, the enemy unsuccessfully tried to advance in the Marinka area of the Donetsk region, and in the Avdeevsky and Shakhtarsky directions the Defense Forces held the initiative and carried out assaults. The Ukrainian offensive also continues in the Melitopol direction. 06:36 Budanov said in an interview with The Economist that Ukraine may have time to break Russia’s land corridor with occupied Crimea before the onset of winter. He also noted that Russia is now desperate and has deployed insufficiently strong reserves, which it did not plan to deploy until the end of October. “Contrary to what the Russian Federation declares, it has absolutely no strategic reserve,” the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate emphasized. Speaking about the pace of the counteroffensive, Budanov pointed out that the slow pace of advance against a dug-in and well-prepared enemy is simply a reflection of reality: “Is the pencil strong or weak? It depends on how you look at it. The counteroffensive continues. Ukraine still has time. Until "The dirty season is still more than a month away. And that's a fact." In addition, Budanov said that Ukraine is using drones on the territory of the Russian Federation in order to deplete the Russian air defense system, disable transport and bomber aircraft, and also cause damage to military production facilities. In addition, the secondary purpose of such attacks is psychological. “We want to take them out of their comfort zone,” said the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate. “Drones certainly facilitate operations to liberate our territories. We are not afraid of drones, and we don’t mind losing them,” he added. The chief intelligence officer admitted that a long war is dangerous for Ukraine, since the country depends on external players, while Russia “largely depends on itself.” But, according to his forecasts, the Russian economy will only last until 2025, and the flow of weapons will dry up in 2026, “perhaps earlier.” Posted by: badanov 2023-09-19 |
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