The day of the war at a glance
Bodies in Izyum show signs of torture – Ukraine is allowed to order howitzers
09/17/2022, 9:08 p.m
According to British reports, Russian troops are digging in after territorial losses in the north-east. They are also increasingly shelling Ukrainian towns. In Izyum, the examinations of the corpses seem to confirm feared war crimes. Ukraine is allowed to order howitzers in Germany. The 206th day of the war at a glance:
Russians are said to be worried about an important supply line
According to British intelligence services, the Russian military has built a line of defense between the Oskil River and the town of Svatove in north-eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian offensive in the region is continuing, the Ministry of Defense in London said in its regular situation assessment on Twitter. Control of the area between Swatowe and the Oskil might be particularly important for Russia, as it is one of the few main supply lines still functioning from the Russian border region of Belgorod. Russia will probably therefore try to stubbornly defend the territory in Ukraine.
Numerous towns shelled by Russians
According to the Kyiv Independent, there is still intense fighting in the Donbass and in the south of the country. The mayor of the occupied city of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, reports that a Russian military base near the city has been destroyed. The occupation authorities themselves, on the other hand, reported the bombing of the power supply in the southern part of the city. According to the governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, Russian troops also shelled and damaged the thermal power plant in Sloviansk. Two civilians also died in the shelling of the cities of Bakhmut and Sviatohirsk. Eleven people were injured.
Fixed power line in Zaporizhia
In addition, Russia fired rockets at other regions of Ukraine. According to their own statements in Kherson, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Donetsk. Ukraine partially confirmed this. According to them, four rockets hit the village of Tavriyske. A school, a sports club and a cultural center were destroyed. According to the head of the regional military administration Oleksandr Starukh, there were no injuries. High-rise buildings were also shelled in Stepnohirsk. However, no one was injured there either. According to Ukrainian sources, one person was injured in attacks in Orichov.
The Russian Defense Ministry alleges that Ukrainian troops twice fired on targets near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denies this. The power plant itself is slowly improving. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA, one of the power supply lines could be repaired and is back in operation. The power supply is required for the safety-critical cooling of the plant, as all six reactors have been shut down and the power plant is therefore no longer producing any electricity itself.
US think tank warns of false flag attacks
Much of the information provided by both warring parties cannot currently be confirmed during the war. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is currently specifically warning of Russian false flag attacks against Ukrainian civilians. The think tank urged Ukrainians in the occupied territories to avoid public places between September 17 and 20. Such false flag attacks could be attempts to “distract the attention of the world community from the defeat in Kharkiv and the discovery of Russian war crimes,” the ISW wrote.
Bodies in Izyum show signs of torture
In any case, Russia would have reason to distract from war crimes, as the first findings from the area around the liberated Izyum suggest. According to Ukrainian sources, almost all of the bodies recovered from the graves in Izyum show signs of a violent death. According to Kharkiv Oblast governor Oleh Syniehubov, this is the case for 99 percent of the bodies exhumed from the graves on September 15. “There are several corpses whose hands are tied behind their backs, and one person is buried with a rope around his neck,” Syniehubov wrote on Telegram. “Obviously these people were tortured and executed.” In the course of these discoveries, the Czech EU Council Presidency called for the establishment of an international war crimes tribunal on Ukraine. “In the 21st century, such attacks on the civilian population are unthinkable and abominable,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Twitter.
Scholz does not want to deliver weapons alone
Meanwhile, the debate about further arms deliveries from Germany remains polyphonic. Chancellor Olaf Scholz continues to insist that he does not want to make this decision alone, but only in consultation with alliance partners. He even replied that with the German weapons deliveries to date, “we have probably delivered the most crucial weapons that are necessary for the current battle in eastern Ukraine,” said Scholz on “Deutschlandfunk”. Then the German Bundeswehr Association warned against “cannibalization of our troops”. The head of the association, André Wüstner, told the editorial network Germany that he understood Ukraine’s desire for heavy weapons, but cautioned: “What we believe as a professional association is no longer possible is the delivery of weapons and ammunition to the Bundeswehr. Each individual delivery leads to a weakening of the Bundeswehr.”
Ukraine may order howitzers from German gunsmiths
However, there was still positive news for Ukraine: the federal government has approved the purchase of German-made howitzers for Ukraine, as a government spokesman confirmed. The “Welt am Sonntag” had previously reported on it, citing documents available to it. As the “Welt am Sonntag” reports, citing documents available to it, it is about 18 examples of the RCH-155 weapon system worth 216 million euros, which Kyiv wants to order from the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) armaments company. Downer: The howitzers could therefore be delivered in two and a half years at the earliest.
Russia lacks parts for its own weapon systems
Russia also has problems with missing weapons. However, the reason here is Western sanctions, which restrict Russia’s ability to build modern weapons for the war in Ukraine. NATO Military Committee Chairman Rob Bauer told Reuters. Accordingly, the Russian arms industry is being increasingly hampered by the sanctions because some of the components they need for their weapon systems come from Western industry. Russia is apparently finding it increasingly difficult to produce replacements for cruise missiles and more advanced weapon systems. However, despite the sanctions, Russia can still produce “a lot of ammunition,” he added.
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