WAR IN UKRAINE: September 11, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 200
The Russian occupation administration in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region is calling for a full evacuation. “Our army is doing all it can” but admits it can’t stop Ukraine. Stunning defeat in towns and villages where Russia told local collaborators it was there to stay. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has confirmed that its forces have entered the strategically important town of Kupyansk in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. It is a vital supply hub for Russian forces. Separately, up to 1,300 paramilitary troops loyal to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov have arrived in Ukraine's Kherson region to reinforce Russian forces.
In his nightly video address on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Ukraine had now liberated 2,000 sq km (700 sq miles) from Russia since beginning a renewed counter-offensive earlier this month. His claim would suggest that half of that area has been recaptured in the last 48 hours alone - as it is twice the area of territory Mr Zelensky said had been liberated when he spoke on Thursday evening -BBC
CNN reports that the last five days have seen the most ambitious ground assaults by the Ukrainians since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in late February. Video and satellite images geolocated by CNN show the advances have involved sustained attacks on command posts, ammunition stores, and fuel reserves far behind the front lines.
Analysis by Orla Guerin, Senior International Correspondent in central Ukraine: The pace of the counter-offensive has not only caught the Russians off guard, but even surprised some Ukrainians. People here have been struggling to keep up with news of the latest gains. The Russians have now lost two key logistics hubs - the railway cities of Izyum and Kupiansk. This is a military setback and a public humiliation for President Putin. We cannot reach the frontlines. Journalists have been denied access. Ukraine is determined to control the information war. But plenty of footage has emerged on social media showing Ukrainian troops raising their flag in newly liberated areas. All of this is cathartic for Ukraine and reassuring for its Western backers. The Russians still hold around a fifth of the country and few imagine a swift end to the war. But the Ukrainians have now shown they can beat the Russians in battle, not just outmanoeuvre them. According to one military expert, it's the first time since World War Two that whole Russian units have been lost.
Meanwhile, early Sunday morning, explosions could be heard in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Dnipro, according to the Telegram channel of Suspilne. Several air raid sirens overnight in Odesa.
President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that 90 days of the coming winter will decide more than 30 years of Ukraine's independence and than all the years of the EU's existence. "This is the most difficult winter for the whole world... Russia is doing everything to break the resistance of Ukraine, the resistance of Europe and the world in 90 days of this winter,” he said at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) summit in Kyiv - Ukrainska Pravda
Garry Kasparov: “Latest joke: Russia may be banned from the Olympics, but their soldiers are displaying excellent results in the Ukraine Triathlon by swimming, riding, and running!“
Moldova has prohibited its national flag carrier, Air Moldova, to resume flights to Russia as planed on Oct. 1. The airline said the resumption was due to passenger demand.
Latvian president becomes first world leader to stay overnight in Kyiv. Egils Levits arrived on Sept. 9 for the first multi-day visit that a world leader has made to Kyiv since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion - Kyiv Independent
Required reading…
Why the Russian Military Brutalizes Ukraine: A narrative of resentment and betrayal
War is always a brutal business, but why is the Russian military so determined to inflict civilian casualties on neighboring Ukraine?
I spent years teaching military officers who served in conflicts all around the globe. I am not naive about the viciousness of war, and I am grateful that I have never been touched by it. But I am startled by the sheer sadism of the Russian war on Ukraine. Russia’s armed forces are engaging in actions such as leveling cities, intentionally attacking civilian targets, and other apparent war crimes that we would associate with a war of extermination.
I turned to a friend and fellow Russia expert for a more thorough consideration of this. Nick Gvosdev holds a Ph.D. in Russian history from the University of Oxford; he and I taught together at the U.S. Naval War College for many years. (He still teaches there, and his comments here are his personal views and not those of the U.S. government.) We are both Eastern Orthodox Christians ourselves, which adds an especially painful aspect for us to this immense tragedy. We have had many conversations about the war, the latest of which I now offer to readers trying to understand this terrible conflict.
Read the full conversation from The Atlantic here
