Saturday, September 9

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A hospital damaged by artillery shelling in Huliaipole, Ukraine, Sept. 8 2023. Huliaipole is a front-line town controlled by Ukrainian forces and frequently bombed by the Russian army. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images)

Musk says he denied request to turn on Starlink in Crimea to prevent attack on Russia’s fleet. Elon Musk said he had received a request “from government authorities” to activate Starlink, operated by his spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX, “all the way to Sevastopol.” He didn’t specify who exactly had sent the request. “The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor.

Military: Ukraine controls most of Klishchiivka in Donetsk Oblast. Ukrainian forces took control of more than half of the village of Klishchiivka, located south of Bakhmut, Deputy Commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade Maksym Zhorin told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Sept. 8.

Official: ‘United Russia’ HQ destroyed in Zaporizhzhia Oblast amid sham elections. The headquarters of the political party “United Russia” located in the occupied city of Polohy, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, were destroyed on Sept. 8, Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov reported via Telegram.

Military: Russia prepares strike force near Novoiehorivka in Lyman direction.

Russia is accumulating its forces near the Luhansk Oblast village of Novoiehorivka in the Lyman direction, which is one of the epicenters of fighting on the eastern front, Eastern Force Grouping spokesperson Illia Yevlash said on Sept. 8.

General Staff: Ukraine advances south of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Ukrainian forces continue offensive operations in the Melitopol direction, making gains south of the village of Robotyne, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Sept. 8.

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Romania to set up shelters near area of Russian Danube strikes. Romania will introduce new security measures to protect the civilian population near the Danube River in response to Russian strikes against Ukrainian ports, based on a document issued on Sept. 7 by Romania’s National Committee for Emergency Situations.

Zelensky: Ukraine’s counteroffensive moves faster than new sanctions. Ukrainian counteroffensive is probably progressing faster than Kyiv’s partners launch new sanctions packages, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 8 at the 18th Yalta European Strategy meeting “The Future is Decided in Ukraine.”

Media: US prolongs Abrams tank training for Ukrainian soldiers. At Ukraine’s request, the Pentagon had decided to prolong the training of Ukrainian soldiers on Abrams tanks, the Voice of America reported on Sept. 8, citing U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command’s spokesperson Martin O’Donnell.

IAEA: Increased military activity observed near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Signs of “increased military activity” in the areas around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant pose a possible danger to nuclear security at the site, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wrote in its Sept. 8 report.

Corruption prevention agency: Enlistment officers in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Lviv involved in corruption. The National Agency on Corruption Prevention uncovered that the former head of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast military enlistment office and the head of a district enlistment office in Lviv illegally accepted gifts, the Agency reported on Aug. 8.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Ukraine controls most of Klishchiivka south of Bakhmut, commander says

Ukrainian forces have taken control of more than half of the village of Klishchiivka, located south of Bakhmut, Deputy Commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade Maksym Zhorin told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Sept. 8.

Photo: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 24 - Will Ukraine hold elections during war?

Opinions and Insights

George Monastiriakos: The best reason why Russia must be defeated in Ukraine? Because it is weak

“Russia has terrorized Ukraine beyond the point of no return. In doing so, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) have exposed the Russian army’s many weaknesses,” Monastiriakos writes.

Photo: Sergei Karpukhin/Getty Images

Human cost of war

Governor: Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast kill 3, injure 5. Russia launched air and mortar strikes against two settlements in Kherson Oblast, killing three people and wounding another five, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Sept. 8.

Russian shelling of Toretsk outskirts injures family of 4. A Russian artillery strike against Pivnichne near Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast injured two teenagers and their parents, the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported on Sept. 8.

Update: 1 killed, 73 injured in Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih. The number of people injured in Russia’s Sept. 8 missile strike against Dnipropetrovsk Oblast’s Kryvyi Rih has risen to 73, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 267,540 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Sept. 8 that Russia had also lost 4,529 tanks, 8,726 armored fighting vehicles, 8,264 vehicles and fuel tanks, 5,753 artillery systems, 754 multiple launch rocket systems, 507 air defense systems, 315 airplanes, 316 helicopters, 4,570 drones, and 19 boats.

International response

Reuters: G20 begins without consensus on Ukraine. Negotiators at the G20 summit in New Delhi left a paragraph on Ukraine blank in the leaders’ draft declaration due to unresolved disagreements, Reuters reported on Sept. 8.

ABC News: US will likely send ATACMS to Ukraine in upcoming aid package. According to U.S. officials, Washington will likely send long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, to Ukraine in an upcoming security assistance package, ABC News reported on Sept. 8.

Lithuania transfers over 1.5 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine. Lithuania has handed over 1.5 million rounds of ammunition to bolster Ukrainian forces in their fight against Russian aggression, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry announced on Sept. 8.

UK planes guard Ukrainian grain ships in Black Sea. The U.K. has been sending Royal Air Force (RAF) planes to protect Black Sea vessels carrying grain shipments from Ukraine, a Downing Street press release disclosed on Sept. 7.

EU sanctions Russian individuals over human rights abuses in Crimea. The EU Council imposed sanctions against six Russian prosecutors, judges, and security officers responsible for human rights abuses in Russia and in occupied Crimea, the Council announced on Sept. 8.

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