Ukraine says long-anticipated southern offensive has begun
Source: Reuters
The Ukrainian military on Monday started a long-awaited counter-offensive against Russian forces in the country's south, its southern command said on Monday.
Command spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk confirmed the offensive in a news briefing and said it included the Kherson region.
Ukraine has regularly stated its intention to retake its south, and in particular the city of Kherson, the only regional capital that Russia has been able to capture from Ukraine since it invaded six months ago.
...
Humeniuk said at the briefing that recent strikes on Russia's southern logistical routes had "unquestionably weakened the enemy". More than 10 Russian ammunition dumps had been hit over the last weeks.
Russia Identifies Second Suspect in Death of Nationalist Dugina August 29, 2022
Introduction:
(AP via ABC) MOSCOW -- Russia’s top security agency on Monday identified a second Ukrainian that it alleged was involved in the killing of the daughter of a Russian nationalist ideologue.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the main KGB successor agency, said that Ukrainian national Bogdan Tsyganenko helped prepare the killing of Darya Dugina, the daughter of Alexander Dugin, who was described by some in the West as “Putin’s brain.”
The FSB charged that Tsyganenko provided the main suspect, Natalya Vovk, with a fake ID and fake license plates, and helped her assemble an explosive device that was planted in Dugina’s car.
Tsyganenko, 44, arrived in Russia via Estonia on July 30 and left the country the day before the killing, the FSB said.
And then they took it away? Again, how active it has been lately?
Yes, some killing is still going on in Syria, but not on the news... Many airstrikes over there?
Again, I don't know what is going on there, but US is increasing the production of HIMARS... Russia is not increasing the production of S-300?
I have been reading around: morale, even with western weapons, not strong enough... If the "offensive" fails... would that be the right moments for negotiations? Both sides have learned the lesson?
Curiously enough...
All the glowing explanations the ISW is giving for the Ukrainian offensive -the dog ate my homework- were never provided for Russia... doing almost exactly the same thing.
(Why is not uploading my .jpg?, what is the trick?)
IAEA Arrives at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant for its Riskiest Mission in History by François Diaz-Maurin
September 2, 2022
Introduction:
(Bulletin of Atomic Scientists) On Thursday, experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, reached the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine for what is the riskiest mission of the agency’s history. Shortly before departing for the plant from Kyiv, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told journalists: “We are aware of the current situation. There has been increased military activity, including a few minutes ago. But weighing the pros and cons, and having come so far, we are not stopping.” Wearing a blue bulletproof vest stamped “United Nations,” Grossi added: “We are moving now, accepting the risks are very, very high,” commenting ahead of their trip across the front line.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, was seized by Russian forces in March and has since then raised fears of a nuclear accident due to a power outage, human error, or military mistake. On August 25, the plant was temporarily disconnected from the power grid after fires caused by shelling cut the last power line connecting the plant to Ukraine’s grid system. The incident forced the automatic shutdown of reactors 5 and 6 and triggered the emergency diesel generators to maintain the cooling of the reactor core and spent fuel pools and prevent a nuclear accident. It was the first time in nearly 40 years of operation that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been disconnected from the grid.
On Thursday morning—only hours before IAEA experts headed to Zaporizhzhia—the plant was forced again to trigger emergency systems, shutting down reactor 5 after shelling struck a 330-kV backup power line.
Complex counteroffensives cannot be resolved in a matter of days, the analysts wrote, and visual evidence indicated that Ukraine continued to pound Russian supply lines and logistical hubs.
NYT.
Exactly the same thing they were explaining about Russian offensives. Question: before, nobody was shelling anything?
Russia is purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea, US official says
Source: CNN
Russia is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use on the battlefield in Ukraine, a US official tells CNN.
The purchase indicates that the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions, according to the official.
The US expects Russia could try to buy more military equipment from North Korea going forward, the official added.
The New York Times first reported on the purchase. The two countries had formed relations through the Korean War of the 1950s, with the former Soviet Union having been a major benefactor to North Korea, financially propping the regime up. North Korea has blamed the US and the West for the war in Ukraine.
Putin attends joint military drills with China, others
Source: AP
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday attended sweeping war games in his country’s far east involving troops from China and other nations, in a show of military muscle amid the tensions with the West over Moscow’s action in Ukraine.
The weeklong exercise that began Thursday is intended to showcase growing defense ties between Russia and China and also demonstrate that Moscow has enough troops and equipment for the massive drills even while its forces are engaged in fighting in Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Vostok 2022 (East 2022) exercise that runs until Wednesday at seven firing ranges in Russia’s Far East and the Sea of Japan involves more than 50,000 troops and over 5,000 weapons units, including 140 aircraft and 60 warships. It engages troops from several ex-Soviet nations, China, India, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua and Syria.
Beijing sent more than 2,000 troops along with more than 300 military vehicles, 21 combat aircraft and three warships to take part in the drills, according to Chinese news reports. As part of the maneuvers, the Russian and Chinese navies in the Sea of Japan practiced joint action to protect sea communications and support for ground forces in coastal areas.
Why the European Court of Human Rights Remains Key to Justice for Ukraine by Vitalia Lebid
September 7, 2022
Introduction:
(Eurasia Review) Ukraine’s latest request to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to order Russia to respect its human rights obligations is likely to go the same way as previous appeals – namely, a refusal to comply.
This has been Russia’s consistent response during the last eight years of war.
The ECtHR, based in Strasbourg, France, is the court of law of the Council of Europe and is tasked with ensuring that all member states respect the European Convention on Human Rights. Complaints can be made by individuals or member states, and judgements are binding.
Both before and after Russia’s expulsion from the Council of Europe on March 16, 2022, it has followed a policy of complete disregard for its international obligations under this convention.
I have represented the interests of the victims of the conflict at the ECtHR since 2014, and have witnessed this recalcitrance first hand.
Putin threatens to tear up fragile Ukraine grain deal in bellicose speech
Source: The Guardian
Vladimir Putin has said he wants to revise a fragile international agreement to allow the export of Ukrainian grain in a move that could threaten the deal and revive fears of a renewed Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea.
During a bellicose speech at an economic conference in Vladivostok, Putin said he would speak with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, about “limiting the destinations for grain exports”, issuing a false claim that only two of 87 ships leaving Ukraine with grain had gone to developing countries.
The divisive statements came during a speech in which Putin also threatened to cut off all deliveries of gas, oil, and coal to Europe if they imposed a price cap on Russian energy imports. Recalling a Russian fairytale, he said that Europeans could “freeze like the wolf’s tail”.
About all Russia can do anymore is tear up a piece of paper like a little baby! Russia is lucky that the United states isn't like past empires or we'd be rolling our tanks into moscow!
