Ukraine War Updates: Kyiv Retakes Territory in East, Russia Reinforces Front Line
Russia, Belarus hold “unannounced” drill near Polish border.
Almost a week after the Ukrainian military launched a counter-offensive on Russian-held territory in the south, they are reporting a significant breakthrough in the east of the country.
“Ukrainian forces on Friday claimed new success in their counteroffensive against Russian forces in the country’s east, taking control of a sizeable village and pushing toward an important transport junction,” The Associated Press reported Friday.
The latest gains add to the advances made by Ukrainian forces since the beginning of the counter-offensive. “Ukraine says it has retaken more than 1,000 sq km (385 sq miles) of territory in its south and east from Russia in the past week,” the BBC reported late Friday.
Official Russian sources have confirmed the initial Ukrainian gains. “Ukrainian forces have seized an expanding area of previously Russian-held territory in the east in a “very sharp and rapid” advance, a Russian-installed regional official said on Friday,” Reuters reported.
TheSky News (UK) reported the Ukrainian push:
Ukraine advances 50km near Kharkiv, liberates more than 20 villages
Ukraine has advanced 50km into Russian-held territory near Kharkiv and liberated more than 20 villages, one of its generals has said. (…)A Ukrainian general (…) said Ukraine had recaptured more than 700 square kilometres of its territory in the Kharkiv region and in the south.
They said the country’s military had advanced 50km into Russian lines in the region and recaptured more than 20 villages.
Video appearing to show emotional residents of Balakliya greeting Ukrainian troops who liberated the town after enduring 7 months under Russian occupation.
“The flag of Ukraine in a free Ukrainian city under a free Ukrainian sky,” Zelensky said yest pic.twitter.com/R5JpgO18s5
— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) September 9, 2022
Russia Reinforces Front Line
Responding to the Ukrainian advance, Russia is reinforcing the frontline troops in eastern Ukraine. “Moscow is sending columns of military reinforcements to Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, according to reports in Russian media, after the first major Ukrainian counterattack since spring made big territorial gains this week,” the UK daily Guardian reported Friday.
Reporting the scale of reinforcement, BBC noted: “Russia is believed to be sending reinforcements to the region by road and by air, using giant Mi-26 transport helicopters, each capable of carrying 80 soldiers.”
Russia, Belarus Hold Drill Near Polish Border
As Russian invading forces come under pressure in the east and south of Ukraine, Moscow is carrying out “unannounced” military drills in neighboring Belarus, media reports say. The surprise military exercises are taking place near the Polish border, heightening the tensions between the Kremlin and European NATO member states.
“Belarus has started military exercises by the city of Brest near the Polish border, its capital Minsk and the northeast region of Vitebsk,” the Reuters reported Saturday citing Russian military sources.
The nature of the drills suggest Russian and their allies’ troops are training to dislodge Ukrainian troops in newly regained territories. Belarusian “defence ministry (…) said the exercises, which are set to last a week, will practise “liberating territory temporarily seized by the enemy” and regaining control over border regions,” the British daily Guardian reported Sunday.
The choice of Belarus for staging the surprise drill is significant since Russia used the Belarusian territory to launch its initial pincer attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
China, India Surpass EU as Top Russian Energy Buyers
As Moscow cuts oil and gas supply to Europe, China and India are emerging as top importers of Russian energy. The new revenue stream opening up with the Asian giants could substitute the losses faced by Russia in the wake of Western sanctions.
Moscow is already profiting from the recent surge in global energy prices. The European Union and some European leaders have proposed placing a cap on soaring Russian prices, but Germany — highly dependent on the Kremlin for its energy needs — is opposed to the move, which will likely result in a Russian backlash.
The BBC reported earlier this month:
Countries in Asia are turning to Russia for discounted oil as global energy prices remain high, and Western nations seek to scale down their reliance on Russian energy.
India has been increasingly buying up Russian crude, and the latest shipping data shows that China has also been buying more.
In March this year, combined oil imports by China and India from Russia overtook those from the 27 EU member states by volume.
India’s purchases of Russian oil known as Urals (a crude blend typically exported to Europe) increased sharply earlier this year.
India’s imports of another Russian crude blend called East Siberia Pacific Ocean (ESPO) have also seen a rise, shipping information shows.
China has been buying larger quantities of both Urals and ESPO since March. In early July, it was reported to have bought record amounts for the second month in a row.
As Russian slashes their gas and oil supply, the EU has been forced to roll out plans for rationing energy in coming months, triggering fears that people will have to go without electricity and heating during the peek winter months. On September 1, the German government passed a nationwide “Energy Saving Decree” ordering business and household to conserve energy.
The rationing of energy and skyrocketing fuel prices are triggering protests across Europe, with Germany and Czech Republic witnessing large scale anti-government and anti-EU protests.
On Friday, Germany’s right-wing opposition party “Alternative für Deutschland” (AfD) launched its “Our Country First” campaign, positioning itself at the helm of the emerging anti-establishment protest movement in the wake of the European energy crisis.
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Comments
Ukrainian successes vs. the provinces Russian can’t afford to lose reinforce the distant Ukrainian push to the Dnieper, and further threaten Crimea.
The Ukrainians have been in position, the Russians out all along on this thing.
Could someone translate this into English, please?
Ukraine is cutting off the main supply routes such as road, rail and even river to the Russian forces to the south of Kharkiv.
Zelensky to headline US defense industry conference in Sept.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/3636685-zelensky-to-headline-us-defense-industry-conference/
Does anyone have a running total of the hundreds of billions of graft…, er, uh… dollars ol’ child molester Biden has dumped into the corrupt crime syndicate with a flag known as ‘Ukraine’??
At this point I’m actively rootin’ for Putin….
IN a fight sometimes the other guy lands a punch. I’m rooting for Putin, but I’m glad he got embarrassed. It will cause him to think carefully of future interventions.
I’m glad to see a unipolar word run by the US collapse, but I don’t want it replace by a unipolar world run by Russia and/or China.
Both countries are corrupt shitholes.
“At this point I’m actively rootin’ for Putin….”
The Soviet Union and the leftovers of Russia have been behind the worst atrocities and terror attacks around the world. Putin just continues the legacy of destruction.
It’s quite possible to despise biden and the corruption perpetrated by that regime in the Ukraine and despise the corrupt regime of putin. Hard to determine which is worse, but putin is an enemy of freedom and liberty as much as biden.
Still Cold Warring? Bet you still rock a rad mullet, too!
“Zelensky to headline US defense industry conference in Sept.”
Where he’ll get the “Salesman of the Century” award and be inducted into the “Merchants of Death Hall of Fame.”
Probably but I wonder why the US is throwing money at them. Why isn’t Europe doing it since it’s in their backyard. Could it be because Russia can’t cut off the US’s energy supply with the effect it’s having there?
Mot much of a fight. Russia pulled up stakes and hauled ass out The Rooskies are going to run like scalded dogs. They are outclassed big time by USA.
Ha, You sure sound like you know what is going on.
Too fun … outclassed big time by the USA. We have a bunch of idiots running our military right now. They are more concerned about making sure there are enough arm sales to fill their deep pockets than fighting a war. They are more concerned about have our service men vaxed instead of healthy and fit for duty. I am guessing things are much worst than they were in 2019, so NATO is a joke.
Here is a clip from the Hill in 2019:
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/474047-the-problems-plaguing-nato/
Back in 2017, a simulated wargame carried out by the prestigious RAND Corporation think tank found NATO woefully unprepared to effectively counter a Russian land offensive against the Baltics — and warned that its defenses would collapse within 36 to 60 hours of a Russian invasion. Some two-and-a-half years on, little has changed. Earlier this fall, outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford told Newsweek that “the NATO advantage over a resurgent Russia has eroded,” and that the alliance was losing its edge in strategic competition with an increasingly technologically advanced, militarily capable and politically aggressive Kremlin.
Only 3-400 billion dollars more and they may actually live up to their propaganda.
Hmmm, I would not get to excited about this. Might be another roost to get more money. Russian claim they are just pulling back. Their standard MO is to pull back, let the Uks fill the gap then shell the heck out of them.
Russians are fighting a protracted war on their schedule, not the media’s.
That said, this is a victory for the Ukr.
Moon over has some excellent discussions.
https://www.moonofalabama.org/
More detailed discussion:
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/09/the-izium-counteroffensive-success-disaster.html#more
Don’t be surprised if the pull out is for something more nefarious:
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/09/could-russias-sudden-ukraine-retreat-mean-a-tactical-nuclear-weapons-strike-is-coming/
This is a BS article. The “Alliance” is wishing the Russians will use Nukes, just like the Uniparty is pushing to create a MAGA Riot.
If anything, the Russians are moving their resources to protect their water interests, not run away from the Ukrs.
This Ukr war is just a carry over from John McCain and Nuland’s failed policies.
“It would be a huge shame to see five years of work and preparation go to waste if the AA is not signed in the near future,” Nuland said at the December 13, 2013 US-Ukraine Foundation conference. “So it is time to finish the job.”
Ha, the job they finish is totally screwing everyone over.
Notice McCain in this little video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPVs5VuI8XI
Operationally, the Russian retreat may have been smart. I have no doubt Russian allies will be able to counter-attack and inflict huge casualties in the process.
Strategically, however, I fear the hasty retreat was a huge mistake. Ukrainians are already “filtering” the “bio units” in “liberated” territory who collaborated with the Russians. Will other Russian-speaking populations in the Ukraine continue to trust Putin’s promises to protect them?
(Related question: will the western media report the atrocities undoubtedly being committed in places like Izyum at this very moment?)
Of course they won’t. The same way they won’t admit Ukraine is full of literal Nazis. The same way they won’t admit Ukraine was shelling the Donbas region to spark the war. The same way they won’t admit Ukraine intentionally put their military by and in civilian areas. The list goes on and on.
or the atrocities committed over the last 6 months by the Russians?
Please provide evidence of such “atrocities.”
(Ukrainians murdering other Ukrainians who cooperated with the Russians, or Ukrainians who used civilians as human shields don’t count.)
Yeah, I still don’t believe anything I read coming out about who’s winning or losing this or that battle or skirmish.
In the best of times the fog of war is very dense. Toss in the political agenda of the ruling classes and their media stenographers in the US and Europe, combine with the thoroughly corrupt regime in Ukraine and Putin’s Russia, and the visibility is about a foot.
Russians are in full retreat in that particular area and are leaving equipment and ammo dumps behind. Izyum has been reclaimed by Ukraine basically without a fight. The cutting off of main roads, rail and even river access to points farther south will badly hamper the Russian war effort with the rainy season coming.
It would be ever so informative if this article included one decent map.
Map of what?
You can find all the maps you desire. And they are just as misleading as most of the propaganda that passes as information.
Might want to try here:
https://militaryland.net/
Just be care about the sources of these maps:
This summary and detailed maps are based on the following sources- they have a strong UKr. basis:
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, official media channels of Ukrainian regional administrations, Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), geolocated footage and press releases of Russian Armed Forces, self-proclaimed DPR and LPR.
Just a matter of time here in the US. Look at what they are doing to Trump associates.
The pro-Russian population is fleeing to Russian territory, both from Kharkiv Region and the LPR northern regions. Filtration detachments enter settlements occupied by the AFU. Their goal is to eliminate pro-Russian activists and accustom people of being afraid to support Russia under pain of death. Dark times have come to the lost territories of the Kharkiv region.
“Filtration detachments” = Einsatzgruppen.
Ukrainians’ great-grandparents taught them well.
Same as the Russian “little green men” from 2014
I guess we will have to wait for the fog of way to lift:
Lots of Ukrainian armour being decimated overnight. We should see pics and videos surface by the end of the day tomorrow.
This was Ukraine’s best. Not just hardware, but also troops. Units they reserved for this exact purpose. There’s no coming back from this if they lose these assets.
ASB Military reports
Wow. Too bad someone didn’t stand in front of the UN in 2018 and warn Europe against dependence on Russian fossil fuels….oh wait…
Europe: “We are going to sanction all Russian Companies and freeze all currency transactions”
Putin: ” I’ll cut off your gas just before winter”
Europe: “You can’t do that”!
Europe to selves:” We didn’t see that coming”
They are so used to other leaders taking marching orders from the cabal of parasites that actually run the west that they didn’t consider Putin might not also be run by them.
Russia-China-North Korea-Cuba are not good guys any more than the UN or WEF are.
Agreed. It is possible for bad people to fight each other. The enemy of my enemy is usually still my enemy, too.