08/26/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 08:04 Ukraine: occupiers send residents back to frontline areas +++
The Ukrainian side accuses the Russian occupiers of using residents in the front areas as human shields. This is what the National Resistance Center of Ukraine claims, which is a military institution. Residents of Tokmak and Vasylivka, who were reportedly brought to Berdyansk because of heavy fighting, were sent back to their cities. The National Resistance Center also accuses the occupiers of taking advantage of the evacuation. People were pressured to accept Russian passports. It is said that this was the only way they would have received housing and social benefits.
+++ 07:13 Ukraine reports raids on Robotyne, Russian military blogger complains about lack of reinforcements +++
Ukrainian troops are said to be making progress near Robotyne in their counteroffensive, according to the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in its situation assessment indicates. The place is located in Zaporizhia Oblast. The Ukrainian military reported several advances in this area. In addition, a well-known writes Russian military blogger, that the fighting had shifted to the south of Robotyne. According to him, many of the Russian soldiers fighting near Robotyne have been on the front line since the beginning of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. They didn’t have enough reinforcements. The ISW also assumes that many of the Russian soldiers in the western Zaporizhia region have been deployed since the beginning of the counter-offensive – without rotation and significant reinforcements.
+++ 06:20 Ukraine wants extradition of Rusich leader +++
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office wants to extradite a Russian arrested in Finland. The agency says it is Yan Petrovsky, one of the leaders of the Russian far-right paramilitary group Rusich, which has ties to the Wagner group. Petrovsky was arrested in Finland on Wednesday at the request of the Ukrainian authorities. The State Attorney General also writes that the man took part in combat operations in Ukraine in 2014 together with pro-Russian rebels. He is suspected of membership in a terrorist organization.
+++ 04:05 drone attack: Moscow airports are suspended +++
The three major Moscow airports Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo are temporarily closed due to a drone attack over Moscow. All flights have been canceled or delayed, reports the TASS news agency. The Russian air defense shot down another drone over Moscow early on Saturday morning. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reports that rescue teams are on site and there are no injuries.
+++ 03:35 allegations of corruption in medical care at the front +++
In Ukraine, corruption in military procurement may endanger the lives of wounded soldiers on the front lines. In an open letter, voluntary and civil society groups complain that military units have been provided with inferior first-aid equipment. A military doctor who works in a hospital close to the front confirms this to the Funke newspapers under the guise of anonymity. In particular, recently delivered medical binding systems – so-called tourniquets – are sometimes of such poor quality that, in the worst case, they are life-threatening for injured soldiers.
+++ 02:10 Kiev: Dozens dead after drone explosions in Crimea +++
According to a report in Ukrajinska Pravda, the SBU secret service and Kiev’s armed forces have used drones to attack military positions on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia. There are dozens of dead and injured, reports the Internet portal, citing informed circles at the SBU secret service. A photo of clouds of smoke was also published. Accordingly, the 126th Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is said to have been attacked in the village of Perevalnoe not far from the Crimean capital Simferopol. According to the reports, the drones also hit an ammunition depot, bypassing Russian air defense systems. Military technology was also badly damaged, it said. The Russian occupiers were not prepared for the special operation of the secret service SBU and the Ukrainian armed forces.
+++ 01:01 Kiev: Wagner mercenaries no longer play a role +++
Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov sees Russian President Putin as politically weakened by the Wagner jet crash. In an interview with “Bild”, “Welt” and “Politico”, Resnikov reminds that there was an agreement between Putin and the Wagner group after the march on Moscow two months ago, which was broken with the death of the mercenary leadership be. The further fate of the Wagner Group no longer played a role in the counter-offensive in the Ukraine. “There is no longer a Wagner group like you could see as a serious force a year ago. It’s broken.”
+++ 00:07 Resnikov: Berlin will soon give us Taurus +++
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov expresses confidence in Germany’s delivery of Taurus cruise missiles. “I’m really optimistic and I see in the future that we will also get Taurus from Germany,” says Resnikov in a joint interview with “Bild”, “Welt” and “Politico”. Resnikov didn’t give a date, but said he didn’t think it would be “a whole year” before the cruise missiles would be available to the Ukrainian army. Germany is a serious partner of Ukraine in this war and has already delivered many state-of-the-art weapon systems such as Leopard battle tanks, the Panzerhaubitze 2000 and Marder and Gepard.
+++ 22:59 video shows the destroyed cemetery of Wagner mercenaries +++
Two days after the entire leadership of the Wagner mercenary group died in a plane crash, there are indications of further attempts to wipe out the troop. A supporter of the Wagner mercenary group, for example, claims that graves of mercenary soldiers were “destroyed” in a cemetery in Russia. A video circulated on Russian Telegram channels shows the man standing in a cemetery and saying: “Everything has been demolished”. The man, wearing a mercenary group T-shirt, adds: “This is blasphemy. People died for Russia and they leveled all their graves.”
+++ 21:52 Selenskyj hopes that the F-16 will soon be deployed +++
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is urging the deployment of F-16 fighter jets against the attackers. “Our goal is to get closer to the moment when the F-16s will help us keep the Russian terrorists away. As soon as possible,” he wrote on the portal formerly known as Twitter. In his video message that evening, he says that after the announced delivery of the fighter jets by the Netherlands and Denmark, the agreements made during his recent visits to the countries will be implemented. Norway had also announced F-16. In total, dozens of planes are involved. The exact delivery time is not clear. On Thursday, Zelenskyy spoke to US President Joe Biden about training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
+++ 21:33 Ukraine: Russia is preparing a new offensive +++
According to the Ukrainian army, the Russian army is gathering troops for a new offensive. “After a month of fierce fighting and significant losses in the direction of Kupyansk and Lymansk, the enemy is regrouping its forces and assets, while at the same time moving the newly formed brigades and divisions out of the territory of the Russian Federation,” writes the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Land Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi in the Telegram channel of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. “The main objective of these measures is to increase combat potential and resume active offensive operations.” Ukraine must “immediately take all measures to strengthen our defenses on the threatened lines and, if possible, to advance”.
Read more about the events of the previous day here.