War day overview
Explosions shake Crimea – Moscow wants to strengthen air defenses with nuclear power plants
08/09/2022 8:23 p.m
In the afternoon, several heavy explosions shake the Crimean peninsula. Moscow then confirmed at least one fatality, but denied a Ukrainian attack. The Russian troops at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant want to fend off such an attack: According to reports, the air defense system at the nuclear power plant is to be strengthened. According to the British secret service, this also applies to Russian positions in southern Ukraine. More than 3,000 civilians have been able to leave the hard-fought Donetsk region in the east of the country. The 167th day of the war at a glance.
Violent explosions shake Crimea
According to the authorities, one person died in several explosions at the Russian military airfield Saki on the annexed peninsula of Crimea. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, ammunition had exploded at the site. According to Moscow, the camp was neither shot at nor bombed. A Ukrainian insider disagrees: In the “New York Times”, the high-ranking official states that the military airfield was attacked by a weapon developed in Ukraine. “Planes regularly took off from this base to attack our troops in southern Ukraine,” he said, explaining the reason for the attack. The insider did not reveal any further details to the newspaper.
Russians want to station air defenses around nuclear power plants
Russia wants to strengthen air defenses around the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine. This was announced by the head of Russia’s separatist civil administration in the region, Yevgeny Balizky, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is running normally, the damaged power connections have been repaired, he adds. Most recently, Russia and Ukraine had repeatedly accused each other of shelling the power plant site.
London: Russia reinforces positions in south
According to British information, Russia strengthened its positions in southern Ukraine over the weekend. At the same time, it continued its attacks in the eastern Donetsk region, the British Ministry of Defense announced, citing intelligence findings. In the past 30 days, Moscow’s axis has been most successful in the eastern sector of Ukraine’s Donbass, although Russia has only made about ten kilometers there. In other Donbass sectors where Russia has tried to break through, the armed forces have not gained more than three kilometers of ground in the same period. That was “pretty much less than planned”.
Ukraine evacuates 3,000 civilians from Donetsk region
Ukraine has evacuated more than 3,000 civilians from the hard-fought Donetsk region in the east of the country. In the past six days, more than 3,000 people have been brought to safety, including almost 600 children and 1,400 women, said the deputy chief of the presidential administration, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, on Tuesday. The evacuation continues. According to Tymoshenko, 1.3 million people have fled the region since the Russian invasion in February. However, many of the approximately 350,000 remaining residents – including 50,000 children – are hesitant because they lack the means to start over and they don’t know where to go.
Steven Seagal visits Olenivka
Former action star Steven Seagal is apparently in Donbass at the moment. Photos verified by ntv in social networks show the 66-year-old in the occupied city of Olenivka, where the actor also poses in the ruins of the prison where around 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war died under circumstances that are still unclear. In 2018, the Russian Foreign Ministry appointed Seagal special envoy for humanitarian relations with the United States. Kremlin boss Putin has maintained a friendship with the martial artist for several years.
First Turkish military transporters arrived in Ukraine
Ukraine says it has received 50 military transporters from Turkey. Another 150 are to follow, according to Ukrainian media. The armored personnel carriers of the Kirpi type are equipped with all-wheel drive and can transport twelve soldiers in addition to the crew. Turkey maintains close relations with the attacked Ukraine – but also with Russia.
Kremlin outraged by Zelenskyy’s demand
Russia has sharply criticized calls by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a travel ban on Russian citizens in Europe. The statements were received “extremely negatively,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The “irrationality of the train of thought” exceeded every measure, he criticized in Moscow. Zelenskyj had in one Interview with the “Washington Post” called for an international travel ban for all Russians to prevent Moscow from annexing occupied territories.
Russian oil no longer flows through Ukraine
According to the operating company, no more Russian oil flows through the Ukraine to Europe through the Druzhba pipeline. Deliveries were halted after a bank transaction was rejected due to Western sanctions against Russia, Russian state-owned Transneft said. Mainly Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are supplied via the line. The Druzhba pipeline also connects Russia with Germany via a connection further north. This pipeline runs via Belarus and Poland and ends in the Brandenburg border town of Schwedt. Deliveries will continue via this northern route of the Druzhba, according to the Transneft spokesman.
Strack-Zimmermann: “Panzerhowitzers are in constant fire”
FDP defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann defends herself against criticism of the federal government’s arms deliveries. “The self-propelled howitzers that we delivered are excellent,” she says in the “Stern” podcast “important today”. “Some were even delivered later,” explains the chairwoman of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee. The fact that the self-propelled howitzers are already showing signs of wear is due to their frequent use: “The self-propelled howitzers fire continuously. And every weapon that fires continuously has to be serviced from time to time.”
Belarus announces air force maneuvers
According to the Minsk government, the Belarusian Air Force will start maneuvers today. The Ministry of Defense announced that the first part of the exercise should run until Thursday this week in Belarus. The second part is planned between August 22 and 25 in Russia at the Aschuluk training base. Live ammunition is also used during the maneuvers. Belarus is a close ally of Russia. Since the invasion of neighboring Ukraine, speculation has repeatedly arisen as to whether the country is taking part in the war. Part of the Russian military invaded Ukraine from Belarus.
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