The Russian special military operation in Ukraine continues, today, Saturday, as the Russian army continues to… Demolition of the positions of the Ukrainian forces and the military infrastructure of Kiev With the aim of liberating the lands of Donbass, while Kyiv continues to receive Western support in the face of the Russian bear.
In the latest field developments, the Ukrainian forces bombed the city of Donetsk, according to the separatist authorities, while the separatist Donetsk authorities announced the killing of two people during the Ukrainian bombing of the city, amid warning citizens not to go out to the streets in anticipation of the dangers of the bombing, and coinciding with a referendum being held to join Russia.
The British military said that Russia bombed a dam on the Donets River with ballistic missiles, indicating that Russia might bomb the dams to flood the Ukrainian military crossing points.
The Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin that the attack took place on September 21 and 22 following an earlier attack on the Karachonevsky Dam on the Kryvyi Rih River in central Ukraine on September 15, adding that Ukrainian forces were advancing towards the mouth of the two rivers.
This comes as areas under the control of the Kremlin in eastern and southern Ukraine voted, for the second day, on their annexation to Russia, in a referendum that US President Joe Biden described as a “sham”.
On Friday, the referendum on whether Russia should annex four Ukrainian regions began, raising the stakes seven months following the invasion launched by Moscow.
The annexation of the four regions to Russia would represent a significant escalation in the conflict, as Moscow would consider any military move there as an attack on its territory. The referendums are reminiscent of what happened following Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the world to condemn what he called The “fake referendums” that Russia began to organize to annex areas it controls in Ukraine.
“The world will react absolutely justly to sham referendums – they will be categorically condemned,” Zelensky said in his daily address to the nation, Friday.
Four provinces in Ukraine controlled in whole or in part by Russian forces, namely Donetsk and Luhansk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhia in the south, are holding a vote on their annexation to Russia.
Voting in the referendum on the accession of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions to Russia began on Friday morning, and is scheduled to last 5 days until September 27 inclusive.
For his part, the US President said, on Friday, that Russian referendums aimed at annexing four occupied regions of Ukraine are nothing but “sham” voting operationsHe added that Washington would never recognize the annexation of any Ukrainian territory to Russia.
Biden said in a statement that Washington will work with its allies and partners “to impose more rapid and harsh economic costs on Russia.”
The Kremlin had confirmed that if a positive decision was taken in the referendums, actions by parliament and Russian President Vladimir Putin would follow.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that these measures will take place quickly, according to what was reported by Russian media.
“Certainly, a decision in this regard will be required later on the part of the parliament and the head of state of Russia. The necessary documents must be signed, some required actions must be carried out. Everything will be carried out in strict accordance with the applicable law,” Peskov said.
On the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry announced, on Friday, that its forces had killed more than 500 Ukrainian soldiers and “extremist nationalists and foreign mercenaries” during the past day, and had also shot down 3 Ukrainian warplanes.
Russian Defense Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a press briefing that the targeting of units of the 81st Airborne Brigade near the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk Republic, led to the killing of more than 220 soldiers, and more than 100 foreign mercenaries were liquidated near the city of Slaviansk.
In the Zaporozhye region, more than 190 militants were killed in strikes by Russian aviation on Ukrainian positions.
Konashenkov stated that the Russian Air Force destroyed in the air a Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft in the Nikolaev region and two Su-25 aircraft in the Kherson region and the Donetsk Republic.
Russian air defenses shot down 19 drones within a day, and intercepted 42 shells from the “Himars” and “Olkha” rocket launchers.
