13.09.2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 04:34 Italy’s right-wing top candidate Meloni promises to adhere to sanctions once morest Russia +++
Just under two weeks before the parliamentary elections in Italy, the top candidate of the right-wing alliance that leads the polls, Giorgia Meloni, pledged that Italy would stick to the sanctions once morest Russia. “Things won’t change under a right-wing government,” Meloni says in what is likely to be the only speech duel with centre-left top candidate Enrico Letta. Former Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who was allied with Meloni, recently questioned the effectiveness of the sanctions. His Lega signed a cooperation pact with Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party in 2017.
+++ 03:11 Flashing confident for Ukrainian offensive +++
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attests that the Ukrainian armed forces have made “significant progress” in their counteroffensive. “Their action was very systematically planned and of course supported by the United States and many other countries to ensure that Ukraine has the equipment it needs to carry out this counter-offensive,” Blinken said at a press conference in Mexico. The Ukrainian offensive once morest Russian forces is still in its infancy, but significant progress has already been made. Given the losses Russia has suffered, Russia can and should put a stop to it, Blinken said.
+++ 02:17 Hofreiter: “Should deliver Leopard tanks as soon as possible” +++
The Greens politician Anton Hofreiter pleads for a speedy delivery of German Leopard battle tanks to the Ukraine. “Sooner or later we won’t be able to avoid supplying Ukraine with modern, Western battle tanks,” he told Mediengruppe Bayern. Russia has largely destroyed the Ukrainian arms industry. At the same time, the old Soviet tanks offered poor protection once morest Russian attacks. “I think we should deliver Leopard main battle tanks as soon as possible to prevent Ukrainian soldiers from dying unnecessarily.”
+++ 01:29 US military: Many occupiers from the Kharkiv area are back in Russia +++
According to the US Army, many of the Russian soldiers who are retreating from the Kharkov region have left Ukraine. Large parts of these troops have crossed the border and returned to Russia, says a senior US military official. Ukraine has made extensive gains in territory near Kharkiv. The US representative does not name figures.
+++ 00:07 Second power line to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant works +++
The Zaporizhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, occupied by Russian troops, has been reconnected to two backup power lines. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), one line can supply the cooling system for the reactors that have been shut down, while the second is in reserve. The sixth and last reactor has been shut down and now requires less electricity for cooling. The situation in and around the largest nuclear power plant in Europe in the middle of the combat zone is still precarious, emphasizes IAEA boss Rafael Grossi. The four main lines have been destroyed and the power plant is not delivering any electricity. “A nuclear protection and safety zone is urgently needed,” he says.
+++ 23:14 Selenskyj urges rapid delivery of anti-aircraft weapons +++
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine has recaptured 6,000 square kilometers of previously Russian-occupied areas in its counter-offensive since the beginning of September. The soldiers “liberated” this area in the south and east and would “continue to advance,” says Zelenskyj in his evening video address. After Russian missile hits on the power supply in Ukraine, he called for faster delivery of anti-aircraft weapons. Aid from international partners to Ukraine must be increased, said the President. “Together we can overcome Russian terror.” Germany has promised Ukraine the state-of-the-art Iris-T air defense system. Ukraine hopes for quick delivery. According to Kiev reports, the first unit will be sent by the end of the year.
+++ 22:28 Ukraine: corpses with signs of torture found near Kharkiv +++
The Ukrainian authorities have discovered four bodies with “traces of torture” in a recaptured village in eastern Ukraine. Initial investigations indicated that the people found in Zalisnychne in the Kharkiv region were killed “by Russian soldiers during the occupation of the place,” the regional prosecutor’s office wrote on Facebook. Three of the bodies were found on private property, one on a factory site near the train station. It is being investigated for murder and “violations of martial law”.
+++ 22:00 Ukrainians comb areas for collaborators +++
During their advance in the east, the Ukrainian troops search the recaptured areas for collaborators of the Russian occupying power. In addition, mines would be cleared, the Ukrainian general staff announced in its situation report in the evening. He gives no further information on the advance of the Ukrainians, who have largely routed the Russian troops in the Kharkiv region. Photos show Ukrainian soldiers in Sivatohirsk in the Donetsk region on Monday. So far there has been no confirmation that the city with an important orthodox monastery was taken.
+++ 21:40 Ukraine: Counter-offensive is in the “third phase” +++
According to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, the Ukrainian counteroffensive is the “third phase” of Kiev’s plan to recapture occupied territory. In an interview with the French newspaper “Le Monde”, Reznikov says that in the first phase Ukraine tried to prevent Moscow from further attacks, in the second phase it was regarding “stabilizing” the front lines. The army leadership developed its plan once morest the Russian war of aggression on the basis of arms deliveries from western partners. With the US-supplied Himars missile systems, Kyiv has begun cutting off Russian supply lines.
+++ 21:04 “betrayal of one’s own country”: Crimean leadership bans pro-Ukrainian songs +++
The leadership of the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia, wants to stop the use of pro-Ukrainian slogans and the singing of songs critical of Russia. Videos of such incidents have appeared at official events, says Crimean head of administration Sergey Aksyonov in Simferopol. Anyone who organizes something like this or takes part in it should be held responsible and fired, Aksjonov writes on Telegram. He also threatens “other measures within the framework of the legislation”. Such behavior is “treason once morest one’s own country”. Anyone who supports Ukraine should go there. Unverified videos allegedly shot at summer concerts in Crimea are circulating on the Internet.
Read earlier developments related to the Ukraine war here.
