The essentials in brief:
- Ukraine is said to have made a breakthrough in the Cherson region
- Kyiv receives five billion euro loan from the EU
- Ukraine estimates environmental damage alone at 36 billion euros
- According to Moscow, the first recruits from partial mobilization in the Donbass are now underway
- Journalist Ovsyannikova in Russia on the wanted list
The Ukrainian armed forces have reportedly made the biggest breakthrough on the southern front since the beginning of the war. Russian sources reported that Ukrainian armored forces were advancing south along the front line in the Dnipro River area of the Kherson region. “The information situation is tense, let’s put it that way, because there have indeed been breakthroughs,” said Vladimir Saldo, the governor installed by Russia in the occupied and illegally annexed parts of Cherson, on Russian state television. Saldo specifically named the area around the village of Duchany on the banks of the Dnipro. “There are settlements occupied by Ukrainian troops.” Dutschany is about 30 kilometers south of the previous course of the front.
Remains of a wrecked Russian tank
The government in Kyiv only commented cautiously on what was happening in the war. Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko released a video showing Ukrainian soldiers raising their national flag in the village of Solota Balka. The area lies between the cities of Cherson and Zaporizhia, whose regions Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Friday as annexed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not revealed any details of the offensive
President Volodymyr Zelenskyj said in his video message that evening that the Ukrainian army was advancing against the Russian armed forces. In “several areas” the army recaptured cities. The fierce fighting continued at various points along the front. He did not give details.
Battle lull – Ukrainian soldiers in recaptured terrain
The information from the combat zones cannot be checked independently. If the reports are confirmed, thousands of Russian soldiers are at risk of being cut off from their supply lines.
Ukraine will receive another five billion euros from the EU
The European Union has signed a declaration of intent on new financial aid of five billion euros for Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian budget, including military spending, has been largely financed from Western countries. The Vice President of the EU Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, announced that the money would be used for “immediate liquidity bottlenecks as well as wage and pension payments”. The first part will flow in mid-October, with two more tranches later this year. The money is part of an aid package announced in May totaling nine billion euros. One billion euros was already paid out at the beginning of August.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the EU Commission, assures loans for “immediate liquidity bottlenecks”.
War causes billions in damage to the environment
Ukraine currently estimates the environmental damage caused by the Russian invasion at around 36 billion euros. According to the Ministry of the Environment, nature reserves covering an area of millions of hectares are threatened. A fifth of the protected areas could be destroyed. 2000 cases of damage have already been documented. So far, the bill for air pollution has amounted to around 25 billion euros. Another eleven billion euros are needed to clean the floors.
First recruits arrived in Donbass after mobilization
According to official information, the first recruits called up as part of the partial mobilization in Russia have been transferred from Moscow to the occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, however, the reservists will not be deployed to fill gaps, but will secure the supply routes after their training in the rear of the front.
Russian soldiers on their way to the front (picture published by the state agency TASS)
Despite a partial mobilization by Moscow, the US has so far not observed any large-scale reinforcements of Russian troops in Ukraine. A US military official, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Roughly speaking, we saw a relatively small number (Russian reinforcements)…but nothing on a large scale at this point.”
Mass brawl among soldiers in a military base near Moscow
Against the background of the partial mobilization in Russia, according to media reports, there was a mass brawl between the newly drafted and long-serving regular soldiers at a military base near Moscow. The soldiers serving there had demanded their clothes and mobile phones from the newcomers, the Internet portal Baza reported. The conflict degenerated into a mass brawl in which the newly recruited got the upper hand. They are said to have beaten up their tormentors so badly that around 20 regular soldiers finally locked themselves in a building and called the police for help. Only after their arrival was the conflict settled.
Journalist Ovsyannikova in Russia on the wanted list
Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova has been put on the wanted list by the Interior Ministry in Moscow. Her name and photo appeared on a list of fugitives, as reported by various media.
TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova in an interview in June
The 44-year-old, who held a poster protesting the Russian invasion of Ukraine during a television program broadcast by her then employer, the Kremlin-based broadcaster Perwy Kanal, in mid-March was arrested in August on charges of “spreading false information about the Russian army ” charged and placed under house arrest. You face up to ten years in prison. Allegedly, Ovsyannikova escaped from court-ordered arrest. Where she is is not known.
qu/gri (dpa, rtr, afp)
This article will be continuously updated on the day of its publication. Reports from the combat zones cannot be independently verified.
