Ukraine Daily

Friday, September 9

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian children man an improvised checkpoint the Donetsk region of Ukraine, on September 8, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP) (Photo by JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images)

Belarus holds military drills at borders with Ukraine, Poland. Belarus’ Defense Ministry said its military will conduct drills in the country’s regions bordering Ukraine and Poland and its Minsk and Vitsebsk regions until Sept. 14. According to Deputy Chief of Ukraine’s General Staff Oleksii Hromov, the drills will allegedly focus on crossing the border with Ukraine and taking parts of Ukraine that Belarus deems so-called “lost territories,” potentially including parts of Ukraine’s Volyn, Rivne, and Zhytomyr oblasts. However, Hromov said the chance of a Belarusian offensive into Ukraine remains low.

UN mission to visit Olenivka prison in coming days. Plans are underway for a group of experts led by UN political affairs chief Rosemary di Carlo to visit the Olenivka prison in Donetsk Oblast where over 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in a Russian explosion on July 29. U.S. intelligence suggests that Russia may plant U.S.-provided ammunition at the site of the explosion to falsely accuse Ukraine of the attack, Washington Post reported in August.

Official: Over half of Kherson Oblast residents have evacuated. Around half a million people have evacuated partially-occupied Kherson Oblast, Yaroslav Yanushevych, the head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, said in an interview with Ukrainian TSN news. Russian forces are attempting to stage so-called “referendums” in Kherson Oblast, although they have been postponed.

General Staff: Ukraine liberates more than 20 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast. According to Oleksiy Hromov, a top officer at the General Staff, Ukraine’s Armed Forces have advanced up to 50 kilometers deep into the Russian-occupied territories in Kharkiv Oblast. Ukraine launched an unexpected counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast, a region in the east of Ukraine bordering Russia, on Sept. 7.

Zelensky: Armed Forces have liberated over 1,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian land since Sept. 1. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an evening address that the Ukrainian military has already liberated dozens of settlements from Russian occupation as part of the ongoing counteroffensive in both the southern Kherson Oblast and northeastern Kharkiv Oblast.

Bloomberg: China buys Russian gas at 50% discount until the end of the year. China’s imports of Russian liquefied natural gas soared to their highest level since 2020, according to Bloomberg data. “China is able to secure cheaper supply and resell shipments from more expensive exporters to utilities in Europe and Asia,” Bloomberg reports.

Kyiv School of Economics: Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused direct damages worth over $114 billion. According to the KSE, the total cost of damages to infrastructure has reached $114.5 billion, requiring at least $197.8 billion for the recovery.

US General: Ukrainians hit more than 400 Russian targets with HIMARS. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Sept. 8 that the U.S.-provided HIMARS systems had a devastating effect on Russia’s military in Ukraine. The U.S. is said to have supplied Ukraine with 16 HIMARS systems.

Zelensky confirms liberation of Balakliia, Kharkiv Oblast. President Volodymyr Zelensky published a video of the Ukrainian flag over Balakliia on Sept. 8. “The city of Balakliia, Kharkiv Oblast, is under (Ukrainian) control. The order is complete,” soldiers in the video said. The Armed Forces reported that over 20 settlements have been liberated since Ukraine launched its surprise counteroffensive.

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Ukraine liberates 1,000 square kilometers, over 20 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast

Ukraine’s military reports that it had liberated over 20 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast within days of launching a surprise counteroffensive in the country’s northeast.Ukrainian forces have advanced 50 kilometers deep into the Russian-occupied territories near Balakliia, Kharkiv Oblast, according to Deputy Chief of Ukraine’s General Staff Oleksiy Hromov.

Learn More

Today, everyone in Ukraine knows about the Come Back Alive charity. It is everywhere — government agencies, mobile banking apps, and the biggest online marketplaces recommend it as the organization one should visit to help the Ukrainian military. Come Back Alive became one of the symbols of Ukraine’s popular war effort. Read our interview with Taras Chmut, the head of the Come Back Alive foundation, here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Governor: Russian forces kill 7 people, injure 2 in Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 7. Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported that Russian shelling killed three people in Sloviansk, two in Marinka, one in Halytsynivka, and one in Vodiane.

Governor: Russian shelling injures 8 people in Kharkiv Oblast, including toddler. Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that Russian forces launched five attacks on several districts in Kharkiv in the past 24 hours. Two people were reportedly hospitalized with shrapnel and blast injuries in the Kharkivskyi district, two were hospitalized in the Chuhuivskyi district, and two were injured in the Iziumskyi district, including a two-year-old child.

Russian shelling kills 2, wounds 4 in Donetsk Oblast. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Russians shelled the center of Bakhmut with Uragan rocket launchers and mortars on Sept. 8, hitting private houses, shops, gas stations, and high-rise buildings. The city of Toretsk was shelled with artillery, the prosecutors said.

Governor: Russian shelling kills 1 person in Kharkiv Oblast. Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that Russian forces shelled the Saltivskyi district and the Chuhuiv district, where one woman was killed. Also, shelling took place in Kharkiv’s Kyivskyi district, according to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov. No casualties were reported, but several houses were partially damaged.

International response

Bloomberg: US ‘quietly’ provides Ukraine with most-accurate artillery shell. The U.S. Defense Department sent Ukraine its “most-accurate artillery shell,” the GPS-guided Excalibur, reports Bloomberg, citing budget documents that confirm the previously unannounced addition. A satellite-guided weapon can reportedly hit within two meters of its target. The Excalibur was first used to kill al-Qaeda leader Abu Jurah in Iraq in 2007.

Poland, Baltic states to limit entry of Russians with Schengen visas starting Sept. 19. The Baltic States and Poland will introduce severe entry restrictions for Russian citizens with Schengen tourist visas, regardless of the country in which they were issued, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Sept. 8, as reported by Estonian public broadcaster ERR. Exceptions will be made for those visiting family members, dissidents, and residence permit holders, she said. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu called on Russian citizens not to come to Estonia even before the restrictions enter into force. “You are not welcome here!” he said.

Norway to send about 160 Hellfire missiles to Ukraine. Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said the package would also include launching pads, guidance units, and night vision devices. The shipment was announced during a meeting with defense ministers from around 40 countries in Ramstein, Germany on Sept. 8.

Pentagon: New $675 million aid package to include 105 mm howitzers, 36,000 shells, munition for HIMARS. The package also includes high-speed anti-radar missiles (HARM), 100 armored vehicles (HMMWV), 1.5 million cartridges for small arms and more than 5,000 anti-armor systems, and 1,000 units of 155-mm rounds of remote anti-tank mines.

US sanctions Iranian companies over drone sales to Russia. The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on four Iranian companies and one individual for the development and shipment of Iranian drones to Russia. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the list includes Safiran Airport Services, Paravar Pars Company, Design and Manufacturing of Aircraft Engines, Baharestan Kish Company, and Rehmatollah Heidari.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Teah Pelechaty, Francis Farrell, Toma Istomina, Alexander Query, Oleksiy Sorokin, Thaisa Semenova, Anastasiya Gordiychuk, and Dariya Akhova.

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