Ukraine Daily
Tuesday, September 20
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers ride on an armored vehicle in Novostepanivka, Kharkiv Oblast, on September 19, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/ Getty Images)
Energoatom: Russian missile lands 300 meters away from reactors of South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant. Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom reported on Sept. 19 that a powerful explosion occurred near the plant located in Mykolaiv Oblast as a result of the Russian attack, damaging the premises of the plant and three power lines. No casualties were reported.
Governor: Most bodies exhumed from mass burial site in Izium were civilians. Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on Sept. 19 that 146 bodies have been exhumed from the mass burial site in liberated Izium, most of which were civilians, including two children. On Sept. 17, Syniehubov reported that many bodies had “signs of violent death.” All bodies have reportedly been sent for forensic examination to determine the cause of death.
Prosecutor General’s Office records 34,000 Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on Sept. 19 that investigators were focusing on crimes committed during the Russian occupation of a part of Kharkiv Oblast, especially in Izium. The figure also includes ongoing investigations of cases in Bucha and Irpin in Kyiv Oblast.
Russian media: Russian proxies in Donetsk, Luhansk oblasts demand sham ‘referendums’ to join Russia. Russian state-controlled media RIA Novosti said on Sept. 19 that the heads of Russian proxies in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts have called for “immediate” so-called “referendums” to become part of Russia. Sham “referendums” orchestrated by Russian forces have been postponed in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv oblasts as of last week.
ISW: Russian proxies’ urgent calls to join Russia causing panic. The Institute for the Study of War said Russian proxies’ calls to immediately annex Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts “is panicking proxy forces and some Kremlin decision-makers.” As Russia does not control the entirety of either oblast, annexing proxy territories would mean Ukrainian-controlled areas would be “by Kremlin definition partially ”occupied” by legitimate Ukrainian authorities and advancing Ukrainian forces,” the ISW said. This would “place the Kremlin in the strange position of demanding that Ukrainian forces un-occupy “Russian” territory, and the humiliating position of being unable to enforce that demand,” according to the ISW.
Official: Russian forces step up ‘filtration’ in occupied Mariupol, arrest local residents. According to the adviser to Mariupol mayor, Petro Andriushchenko, Russian occupiers have recently increased the number of law enforcement patrolling the city and conducting ID checks. The official added that Russians are also stepping up the mobilization campaign among locals and conducting counter-partisan measures. First arrests of locals have already been reported, according to Andriushchenko.
Mayor: Russian shelling leaves some areas in occupied Enerhodar without water supply. Dmytro Orlov, the mayor of Russian-occupied Enerhodar city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said on Sept. 19 that local residents report that Russian forces shelled one of the banks of the Kakhovka water reservoir and the industrial area of the city. The mayor added that the level of damages is yet to be determined.
Investigation Bureau discovers Russian ammunition depot on outskirts of liberated Balakliia. According to the State Investigation Bureau, there was a “considerable amount” of ammunition and military equipment, including two infantry fighting vehicles, found at a Russian reserve command post near Balakliia, Kharkiv Oblast. The seized ammunition and equipment were handed over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the agency said.
General Staff: Russia sends 400 convicts to fight in Ukraine. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported on Sept. 19 that Russia continues to struggle to recruit manpower for the war and has turned to Russian convicts. Reportedly, 400 prisoners from Tambov were sent to fight in Ukraine. The General Staff also reported that Ukrainian forces repelled three Russian attacks and conducted airstrikes against Russian positions.
Digital Transformation Minister: Ukrainian IT Army hacks Wagner Group. The Ukrainian IT Army hacked the website of the Wagner Group, a Russian-controlled mercenary group that has allegedly been recruiting Russian prisoners to fight in Ukraine, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, reported on Telegram on Sept. 19. “We have all personal data of mercenaries! Every executioner, murderer, and rapist will be severely punished,” Fedorov wrote.
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Retired US General Ben Hodges: ‘We’ve reached irreversible momentum for Ukraine.’ Ukraine’s successful counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast has changed how the world thinks about the war, according to U.S. Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ben Hodges. Hodges, who served as commander of U.S. Army Europe from 2014-2017 and has helped train Ukrainian soldiers, said the operation ended “the mythology of Russia’s inevitable victory.”
Ukraine war latest: Russia attacks a nuclear plant in Ukraine as counteroffensive reportedly moves into occupied Luhansk Oblast. Ukraine appears to have made a breakthrough in occupied Luhansk Oblast. While Russia still controls the majority of the easternmost region, Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai said on Sept. 19 that Ukraine had liberated the village of Bilohorivka.
Ihor TkachovAFP via Getty Images
The human cost of Russia’s war
Governor: Russia’s attacks on Kharkiv Oblast injure 2 people on Sept. 19. According to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov, an 11-year-old boy was wounded in Kupiansk, and a 65-year-old woman was hospitalized with injuries in the Chuhuiv district of the oblast. The official added that six civilians were blown up by mines on Sept. 19. All of them were hospitalized.
General Staff: Russia has lost 54,650 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Sept. 19 that Russia had also lost 2,212 tanks, 4,720 armored fighting vehicles, 3,581 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,313 artillery systems, 312 multiple launch rocket systems, 168 air defense systems, 251 airplanes, 217 helicopters, 920 drones, and 15 boats.
Governor: Russia’s attacks kill 3 civilians in Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 18. According to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, the victims were from Toretsk, Yahidne, and Bohorodychne. Eight people were injured in the region on the same day, the official reported.
Governor: Explosion in occupied Svatove kills about 200 Russian troops. Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai reported on Sept. 18 that approximately 200 Russian occupiers were killed as a result of the earlier explosion in Russian-occupied Svatove.
International response
Germany, Slovenia agree to transfer 28 M-55S tanks to Ukraine. In a phone call on Sept. 19, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed on an “exchange” in which Slovenia will receive military equipment from Germany in return for transferring tanks to Ukraine. The arrangement was first announced in April 2022.
Bloomberg: Turkey’s Isbank suspends use of Russian Mir cards. Turkey’s largest private lender Isbank has suspended transactions through the Russian payment system Mir, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 19. The decision came after the U.S. Treasury warned against financial institutions cooperating with the Russian operator. Turkey has not implemented sanctions imposed on Russian institutions due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Germany to send 4 more Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers to Ukraine. The plan was announced by Germany’s Defense Ministry. The delivery will bring the number of self-propelled artillery sent to Ukraine by Germany and the Netherlands to 22 units, including 14 sent by Germany.
Reuters: US General urges vigilance as Russia suffers military losses.“The war is not going too well for Russia right now. So it’s incumbent upon all of us to maintain high states of readiness, alert,” U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said after visiting a military base in Poland on Sept. 18, Reuters reports. Milley also said he was not suggesting that U.S. forces stationed in Europe were under an increased threat.
CNN: Senior US military official says US may provide Ukraine with tanks. CNN reported that the official told reporters on a background call that tanks are “absolutely on the table,” but are currently not an option due to issues of training, maintenance, and sustainment.
In other news
Ukraine to provide Ethiopia, Somalia with 50,000 metric tons of free wheat. Ukraine’s Cabinet Ministry said that it will reimburse Ethiopia and Somalia for Hr 420 million ($11.4 million) worth of wheat. On Sept. 17, a ship carrying 30,000 metric tons of grain departed for Ethiopia from Odesa Oblast via the UN-backed grain corridor.
Judges seek to fire Supreme Court’s deputy chairman over Russian citizenship. Judges of the Supreme Court are collecting signatures to dismiss Bohdan Lvov, the Supreme Court’s deputy chairman, from the position of the head of the court’s commercial division, according to Olena Kibenko, a Supreme Court judge. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Schemes project has published an investigation according to which Lvov has Russian citizenship, which he denies. Lvov has also been investigated for the issuance of unlawful rulings and allegedly helping a top official extort $500,000 for court rulings, which he also denies.
McDonald’s to resume delivery from restaurants in Kyiv. The company said three of its restaurants in Kyiv will resume delivery on Sept. 20, and seven more will follow in about a week. In October, the restaurants will resume dining in. McDonald’s shut down all of its 109 restaurants in Ukraine when Russia’s full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24. In August, the company said it would gradually reopen restaurants in Kyiv and the west of Ukraine.
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