Eurasia Press & News
In today’s summary:
- The counteroffensive of the Russian Armed Forces in the Kursk region has slowed down, Ukrainian troops are trying to develop their success in the Glushkovsky district
- Civilians in Kursk region suffer from Russian shelling and complain of mass looting
- The Russian Armed Forces have occupied Ukrainsk and are continuing their attempts to bypass Selidovo on the southern flank of the Pokrovsk direction
- Russian military managed to overcome the Seversky Donets-Donbass canal in Chasovy Yar and to the south of the city and gain a foothold there
- Following the motorized rifle battalion of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the Russian troops now have a battalion called “Frigate”, recruited from sailors
- BBC Russian Service and Mediazona – names of 70,122 people killed in the war on the Russian side have been established
- In Novogrodovka, recently occupied by the Russian Armed Forces, a Ukrainian prisoner of war was stabbed to death with a decorative sword bearing the inscription “For Kursk”
- The Insider’s security and defense columnist Colby Bedworth outlines the problems with US military aid
- The situation at the front
- The counteroffensive of the Russian Armed Forces in the Kursk region, which began last week, seems to have slowed down significantly. Military blogger Yuri Podolyaka admits that “Russian troops are advancing literally hundreds of meters a day.” The restoration of control over the settlements of Darino and Nikolayevo-Daryino , declared by General Apti Alaudinov, has not yet been confirmed by visual evidence, but there is footage of the repulse of the Russian assault on Lyubimovka . The Ukrainian Armed Forces, in turn, have failed to develop the success of the counterattack on Glushkovo in the rear of the advancing group. Over the past week, the village of Vesyoloye , 3 km from the border, has moved into the “gray zone”, but fighting continues for it. On the Sudzhan section of the front, the Russian Armed Forces managed to recapture Borki .
Meanwhile, Russian troops continue to shell the occupied areas of the Kursk region — in particular, they managed to hit the Ukrainian crossing over the Psel River (until now, only the Ukrainian Armed Forces were engaged in the destruction of bridges and crossings in the region). Z-channels boast about how they “destroyed half a village with khokhols” — despite the fact that, according to the Ukrainian commandant’s office, several thousand civilians remain in the territory of the Kursk region controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces , of whom 23 have died since the end of August from Russian shelling. Residents of the region suffer not only from artillery and air strikes, but also from looting by Russian soldiers — at least, this is evidenced by the appeal of residents of the Korenevsky district to Vladimir Putin, published on the “Spy Dossier” channel.
In the Pokrovsk direction , fighting also continued for a week. The Russian Armed Forces finally occupied Ukrainsk , “clung” to the northern outskirts of Gornyak and tried to outflank Selidovo (while continuing to try to storm the city head-on). According to analyst Def Mon, the logistical routes are thus sufficiently secured to resume the offensive on Pokrovsk (before 2016 – Krasnoarmeysk ). In addition, Russian troops are trying to break through to Kurakhovo , for which they are storming Ukrainian positions near Georgievka , Maksimilyanovka and Ostroye . Ukrainian serviceman Stanislav Bunyatov describes the situation as “a real Armageddon” – the enemy infantry is massively going into battle as airborne troops on tanks with “barbecues” , and the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters are in dire need of artillery ammunition, including cluster munitions . As Tatarigami_UA writes , the overall situation in the Pokrovsk direction revealed systemic problems in the Ukrainian defense, namely the gap between the command’s assessments and the situation at the front, the lack of truthful reports and responsibility of generals for failures, as well as insufficient training of recruits.
Massive armored attacks by the Russian Armed Forces are also taking place on the Ugledar salient . In this area, Russian troops continue fighting for the Yuzhnodonbasskaya #3 mine and are advancing north of Vodyanoye . At the same time, as the Z-channel “Voin DV” admits , the pace of the offensive has slowed down due to regrouping after previous successful assault actions.
According to Russian and Ukrainian sources ( 1 , 2 , 3 ), the Russian Armed Forces managed to cross the Seversky Donets-Donbass Canal within the boundaries of Chasov Yar and to the south in the Stupochki area and gain a foothold on the western bank. In addition, Russian troops advanced in the Toretsk agglomeration , towards the Oskol River and in the Kupyansk direction in the east of the Kharkiv region .
The Russian military continues to use palliative measures to combat the shortage of personnel. For example, those mobilized from the repair company, who have never held a weapon in their hands, complain that they are being sent into battle. Also, following the motorized rifle regiment of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the Fregat motorized rifle battalion , recruited from sailors, has appeared at the front. In these conditions, talk continues about a possible new wave of mobilization two years after the first. However, the Russian leadership is in no hurry to announce it, including, as experts told The Insider, due to possible problems with equipment, as well as economic and social risks.
Mutual shelling and sabotage
During the week, the Ukrainian Air Force Command reported repelling the following missile and drone strikes:
On the night of September 14, 72 Shahed drones out of 76 launched were shot down, two were “lost in location” over Ukrainian territory (apparently under the influence of electronic warfare ), and two more flew to Russian territory;
On the night of September 15, 10 of the 14 launched Shahed missiles and the only Kh-59 guided air missile were destroyed, and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles were also launched;
On the night of September 16, 53 out of 56 Shaheds were shot down;
On the night of September 17, air defense systems shot down 34 of 51 Shaheds, another 12 were lost due to electronic warfare, and two returned to Russia. In Sumy, two electrical substations caught fire , and water supply and communications were lost;
On the night of September 18, 46 out of 52 Shaheds were shot down, and three Kh-59/Kh-69 guided air missiles were also launched;
On the night of September 19, 42 of 46 Shahed missiles and the only launched Kh-59/Kh-69 guided air missile were intercepted; launches of three SAMs from the S-300/400 air defense system were also reported;
On the night of September 20, Ukrainian air defense intercepted 61 of 70 Shaheds and one Kh-59 missile.
As a result of the shelling of Kharkov ( 1 , 2 ) on September 15, a multi-storey residential building was damaged, one person was killed, 41 were injured. The next morning, 8 people were injured during the return shelling of Belgorod . Journalist and serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Matsarsky told The Insider about life in frontline Kharkov under incessant shelling.
Also this week, the Russian Armed Forces again hit a merchant ship, firing Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Odessa’s port infrastructure.
In addition, there were reports of civilian casualties and deaths as a result of shelling in Odessa , Mykolaiv , Kherson , Zaporizhia ( 1 , 2 , 3 ), Kharkiv ( 1 , 2 ), Kirovohrad , Sumy ( 1 , 2 ) and Donetsk regions .
The Russian Ministry of Defense, in turn, reported repelling the following raids:
On the night of September 14, 19 aircraft-type UAVs were destroyed over Russian territory ;
on the night of September 15 – 29 UAVs;
on the night of September 17 – 16 UAVs;
on the night of September 18 — 54 UAVs. The department’s report did not include the Tver Region , where an ammunition depot of the 107th arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry was hit near the city of Toropets . At least 13 people were injured ; according to Ukrainian sources, up to 100 drones were involved . Judging by high-quality satellite images, 27 of 43 ammunition shelters were completely destroyed , six were damaged;
On the night of September 19, three aircraft-type UAVs were destroyed;
on the night of September 20 – eight UAVs.
Thus, according to Ukrainian data, during the week, the Russian Armed Forces launched 365 Shahed drones and 11 missiles during night raids, and according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 129 UAVs were destroyed over Russian territory (another 100, according to Ukrainian sources, attacked an arsenal near Toropets ).
In addition, the Ukrainian Navy reported hitting ammunition depots near Mariupol, and the adviser to the Ukrainian mayor of the city, Petro Andryushchenko, published footage of the aftermath of the strikes. A Russian training ground near occupied Donetsk was also hit by a HIMARS MLRS , and Ukrainian Palyanitsya drone missiles attacked a military unit in the Bryansk region .
Deaths and injuries of civilians as a result of shelling were reported, including in the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as in the Belgorod region ( 1 , 2 , 3 ).
Losses
The BBC Russian Service, together with the Mediazona publication and a team of volunteers, found out the names of 70,122 people killed in the war with Ukraine on the Russian side. Most of them (13,781 people) were volunteers – before the war, these people had no connection with the Russian Armed Forces. Next come professional military personnel – contract soldiers (13,582 people) and former prisoners (13,157 people).
The total number of killed and wounded in the Russian-Ukrainian war has exceeded one million people, The Wall Street Journal writes , citing Ukrainian sources and Western intelligence data. Russia has lost approximately 600,000 people, of whom up to 200,000 were killed and 400,000 were wounded. Ukrainian losses amount to about 480,000 people, including 80,000 killed and 400,000 wounded, according to the article.
The death of UAV operators from the 87th separate rifle regiment of the 1st Slavyansk motorized rifle brigade, Dmitry Lysakovsky, call sign Goodvin, and Sergei Gritsai, call sign Ernest, who were sent to the assault due to a conflict with the command, turned into a loud scandal and became a reason for criticism of the systemic problems in the Russian Armed Forces. At the same time, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov demanded that the situation be looked into. More details about the circumstances of the incident and the reaction in the Z community can be found in The Insider’s report from September 16.
Russian soldiers killed a Ukrainian prisoner of war by stabbing him with a sword, said Dmitry Lubinets, the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. A photograph of an unarmed Ukrainian soldier lying on his back and pierced in the heart with a decorative sword was previously distributed by Telegram channels. The dead man’s hands were wrapped in tape. The inscription ” For Kursk ” is visible on the weapon. The location of the events has been geolocated to Novogrodovka in Donetsk Oblast , recently captured by the Russian Armed Forces .
The Russian Investigative Committee reported on the disclosure of the murder of American volunteer Russell Bentley in Donetsk . According to the investigation, four Russian servicemen exceeded their authority: they tortured and then killed Bentley, subsequently trying to cover up the evidence. The American, known by the call sign Texas, had been fighting on the side of separatists in Donbas since 2014 , where he got married, converted to Orthodoxy, and received Russian citizenship. It was reported that the servicemen who detained him considered Bentley an enemy spy.
Weapons and military equipment
CNN sources reported that the Pentagon is sending military aid to Ukraine under the PDA in small batches due to the depletion of its own stockpiles. Due to the slow deliveries, Ukraine has not been able to arm even four of the fourteen newly recruited brigades. At the same time, according to The Insider’s Colby Bedworth, the short-sighted policy of the White House has led to the fact that the $6 billion allocated for PDA supplies by Congress in the spring is at risk of “burning out” on October 1, at the end of the fiscal year.
During the week, the following military aid packages for Ukraine became known:
Germany bought 12 PzH 2000 self-propelled guns from Qatar , half of which are planned to be delivered to Ukraine in the next two months, the other half in 2025. In addition, Berlin delivered to Kiev another 22 Leopard 1A5 tanks (jointly with Denmark), 22 MRAP armored vehicles , three Gepard ZSUs with spare parts, two TRML-D radars and other weapons and military equipment;
Italy will deliver another long-range SAMP/T air defense system capable of shooting down ballistic missiles by the end of the month;
The European Union has allocated €400 million in revenues from frozen Russian assets to finance Ukrainian defense enterprises; Denmark has already financed the production of 18 Ukrainian Bogdan wheeled self-propelled howitzers from these funds. The EU also intends to issue Ukraine a loan of €35 billion secured by Russian assets, part of which will go to military needs, including the production of drones and missiles;
Latvia will transfer to Ukraine some of the British CVR(T) family armored vehicles from its own army.
In addition, Ukraine is in talks to receive 12 American AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, originally intended for Pakistan, and the Australian government is working with the Biden administration to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with 59 Australian M1A1 SA Abrams tanks.
Russian troops received a batch of Chekan armored vehicles, which became famous during the Wagner PMC campaigns in Syria and Africa. Meanwhile, during the war, Russia removed more than half of its towed artillery systems from storage, with the relatively new large-caliber guns being depleted the most. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the scale of Russian missile production has reached 42-56 ballistic and 90-115 long-range cruise missiles per month — not without the help of Rosatom, whose subordinate MOKB Mars is working on navigation systems for Russian missiles, including with the help of dual-use goods. According to the same data, monthly production of Shaheds has reached 500 units.
At the same time, on the front, the Ukrainians are equipping American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles with folding “barbecues” and adapting damaged ATGMs for the Javelin ATGM as ammunition for drones. The Russians, for their part, have begun to add dynamic protection to tank “king-barbecues” and have demonstrated yet another buggy from the Mad Max universe – this time based on the Lada car.
