2023-09-11 04:28:43
President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party has won regional and local elections held by Russia in four occupied Ukrainian regions, according to initial official figures. This emerged from the first figures published on the website of the Russian Election Commission on Sunday evening during the counting of votes. There were no independent election observers during the vote.
In numerous Russian regions and in the Russian-controlled part of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, voting ended on Sunday in elections that were seen as a test for the Russian presidential election next year.
Ballot papers in an election office in Donetsk
What: REUTERS
Kiev and its Western allies had described the elections in the occupied territories as illegitimate. Moscow wants to underline its claim to power in the areas in the east and south of Ukraine. Russia declared the regions annexed in September 2022 after so-called referendums, but only controls parts of the regions militarily.
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The live ticker from September 11th, 2023:
10:00 p.m. – Ukrainian military reports progress in Donetsk and Zaporizhia
The Ukrainian military has reported ground gains in contested areas of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. In Klishchiyivka, just a few kilometers from the long-contested city of Bakhmut, Russian troops were pushed from their positions, the Ukrainian General Staff said. It was said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was also partially successful near Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia.
The responsible military spokesman, Olexander Shtupun, had said a few hours earlier that the Ukrainian army had liberated another 1.5 square kilometers near the recently conquered Robotyne. But there is still fierce fighting. “The Russians are clinging to every meter of our Ukrainian soil,” Shtupun said. However, the Ukrainians tried to make it more difficult to supply the Russians and in some areas they were successful.
9:22 p.m. – Ukraine is negotiating with the USA about long-range missiles
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, there is movement in talks with the USA about the possible delivery of long-range ATACMS guided missiles to Kiev. Things are moving forward and he hopes that Ukraine will get the weapons system in the fall, Zelensky told the US broadcaster CNN. It is very important from a military point of view, also so that the counteroffensive does not stop. He will speak to US President Joe Biden about it again.
ATACMS are guided missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers from the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin that are fired from the ground against targets on the ground. Kiev has been demanding it for a long time, but the USA has been hesitant. Ukraine is requesting a similar weapon system from Germany, Taurus-type cruise missiles. It is suitable for destroying bunkers and protected command posts at a distance of up to 500 kilometers. Germany has also shown restraint so far.
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Because of the long range of the weapon systems, there is concern that they could also be used to attack targets in Russia. However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba assured in August that both systems would be used exclusively within Ukrainian borders. The new weapons would allow Ukraine to attack Russian positions far behind the front. Targets on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which has been annexed by Russia in violation of international law since 2014, would also come within reach.
6:30 p.m. – German injured in shelling in eastern Ukraine – Two foreign NGO employees killed
According to a Ukrainian non-governmental organization, two of its foreign employees were killed and two others, including a German, were seriously injured in a Russian attack in Ukraine. The Road to Relief organization helps transport wounded people from the front. The organization’s van with the four volunteers was hit by shells on Sunday near the small town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk, rolled over and caught fire.
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As the organization announced on Instagram, A Canadian was killed in the attack. A German and a Swede were seriously injured. The fate of the fourth vehicle occupant, the Spanish director of the organization, was initially unclear. Acting Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares later told Spanish media that authorities in Madrid had received “verbal confirmation” of the 32-year-old’s death. The injured suffered shrapnel injuries and burns and were being treated in hospitals.
The Foreign Office confirmed on Sunday in Berlin: “We are aware of the case of an injured German citizen,” it said.
Ukraine has blamed Russia for the deaths of two humanitarian workers from Spain and Canada in eastern Ukraine. The Defense Ministry in Kiev said on Sunday that Russian soldiers had killed the Spanish Emma Igual and the Canadian Anthony Ihnat.
The NGO employees were on their way to the outskirts of the city of Bakhmut to find out what the civilians there needed. Ukrainian troops hold the western suburbs of the city, which largely fell to Russian attackers in May after fierce fighting. Ukrainian troops have launched a counteroffensive in the area.
5:33 p.m. – Steinmeier welcomes attempts to mediate peace
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has welcomed attempts to mediate in the war against Ukraine. It is important that, at the political level, we think together with Ukraine about what a peace solution could look like, said Steinmeier at the International Peace Meeting of the Catholic Community of Sant’ Egidio on Sunday in Berlin. He described corresponding discussions in the past in Copenhagen and Jeddah as an “important first step”.
At the same time, Steinmeier emphasized that it must be a just and long-term peace, “not just a pause in combat that allows Russia to bring new troops to the front.” As to when peace can be dared, “that decision lies with Ukraine,” said Steinmeier, referring to the meeting’s motto “Dare for peace.”
5:25 p.m. – UN observer: Torture is part of Russian war policy
A United Nations observer has accused Russia of deliberately using torture and ill-treatment in its war of aggression against Ukraine. The number of credible allegations continues, Alice Jill Edwards, the UN special rapporteur on torture, said on Sunday at the end of a week-long visit to Ukraine.
The Australian expert collected testimonies from Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war. These reported, among other things, electricity being applied to ears and genitals, beatings, mock executions and threats of rape and death.
“These serious acts do not appear random or incidental. “They appear to be part of an organized state policy to intimidate, incite fear, punish or extort information and confessions,” Edwards said.
According to the Ukrainian government, more than 103,000 war crimes cases have been registered so far. However, the war and the occupation of Ukrainian areas by Russia are making the work of the judiciary more difficult.
Edwards also visited Ukrainian facilities for Russian prisoners of war. The observer praised the good care and the respectful treatment of the soldiers. However, a UN commission investigating human rights violations in the Ukrainian war reported at the end of August that several Russian prisoners of war were killed or injured by Ukrainians. However, the commission mainly accused Russia of such crimes.
3:40 p.m. – Romania sends protest note to Moscow
The Romanian government has sent a protest note to Moscow following Russian drone attacks on the Ukrainian-Romanian border region on the Danube. “State Secretary for Strategic Affairs Iulian Fota urged the Russian side to stop actions against the Ukrainian population and infrastructure, including those that would in any way endanger the security of Romanian citizens in the region,” Romanian media quoted on Sunday a press release from the Foreign Ministry.
The Foreign Ministry summoned Russian embassy advisor Elena Kopnina to Bucharest on Saturday.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense recently confirmed the discovery of drone fragments near the village of Plauru. The Danube village is located directly opposite the Ukrainian port of Izmail, which has been attacked by Russia several times in recent days.
3:00 p.m. – Russian General Surovikin is said to be the new coordinator
Russian General Sergei Surovikin has been appointed head of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Air Defense Coordination Committee, according to media reports. The pro-government Russian news platform EADaily reported this on Sunday, citing the Council of CIS Defense Ministers. The decision is said to have been made unanimously. There was initially no comment from the Kremlin on the appointment.
Sergej Surovikin
Source: Pavel Golovkin/AP/dpa
In the war of aggression against Ukraine, Surovikin was commander in chief of the Russian troops in Ukraine from October 2022 to January 2023. He was considered one of the most important allies of the now dead leader of the Wagner mercenary troops, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in his power struggle with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Surovikin publicly condemned the uprising by Prigozhin’s Wagner troupe at the end of June, but he was no longer seen in public after that. According to media reports, he was removed from his position as head of the Russian Aerospace Forces in mid-August. On Tuesday, the first picture of the general, who had been missing since the Wagner uprising, emerged.
2:10 p.m. – Russian drone defense apparently relies on volunteers
Due to a lack of personnel, Russia is now relying on volunteers to defend against Ukrainian drones on its own territory. This emerges from the daily intelligence report from the Ministry of Defense in London on Sunday.
Accordingly, the Russians want to prevent further attacks on Pskov airport near the Estonian border by deploying volunteer patrols. “The use of volunteers most likely indicates a lack of trained security personnel within Russia,” the British statement said.
12:09 p.m. – Lavrov speaks of diplomatic “success”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hailed the G-20 summit in India as a diplomatic “success”. Moscow was able to prevent “the West’s attempts to ‘Ukrainize’ the themes of the summit,” Lavrov said at the end of the meeting in the Indian capital New Delhi. The minister emphasized that Russia was “not mentioned at all” in the joint final declaration by the heads of state and government of the most important industrialized and emerging countries.
12:08 p.m. – Ukraine reports terrain gains in the south of the country
According to its own statements, the Ukrainian army has made slight gains in terrain on the front in the south of the country. “We are making progress! In the Tavriya region, the armed forces have advanced more than a kilometer,” Ukrainian General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said in his daily situation report. He leads the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the region.
The current situation in Ukraine
Source: Infographic WELT
9:30 a.m. – “Step forward” – USA defends G-20 final declaration
The US government has defended the final declaration of the G-20 summit against criticism. The declaration is “a big step forward” with regard to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, said US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer. It shows that the major economies, “including Brazil, India and South Africa, agree that international law must be upheld and that Russia must respect international law.” The statement builds on UN resolutions and last year’s final declaration to send the message that Russia must refrain from using force to acquire territory.
9:24 a.m. – Romanian Foreign Ministry apparently summons Russian ambassador
According to a media report, the Romanian Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador after new debris from a drone was found. Parts of drones were found in the NATO country on Saturday for the second time in a week. They are similar to those used by the Russian military, the Agerpres website reports. According to President Klaus Iohannis, this indicates that an unacceptable violation of Romanian airspace has taken place.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the Russian attacks near the border “destabilizing” – even though there were no signs that Russia intentionally wanted to hit a NATO country. Most recently, Russia increasingly attacked the Ukrainian Danube port city of Izmail near the border with Romania with missiles and drones.
8:00 a.m. – Ukraine accuses Lavrov of glorifying war at the G-20 summit
Ukraine accused Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of war propaganda at the G-20 summit. After Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin did not travel to the meeting in New Delhi, India, Lavrov was justifying and promoting the invasion there, complained Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser in the Ukrainian presidential office, on the Freedom TV channel. “He is a promoter of the war in Ukraine,” said Podolyak. More international arrest warrants for war crimes such as those against Putin are needed in order to prevent such appearances by “subjects like Lavrov”.
“The G20 has nothing to be proud of,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko on X. He published red-marked corrections in the document as they should look from Ukraine’s perspective. According to Nikolenko, we should not be talking about a “war in Ukraine”, but rather clearly about “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine”. In addition, the G-20 countries should have unanimously condemned the war and called on Moscow to end the invasion immediately.
6:40 a.m. – Russia says it has destroyed speedboats near Snake Island
Russian forces have destroyed three Ukrainian speedboats near Snake Island in the Black Sea, according to its own defense ministry. The US-made speedboats carrying Ukrainian military personnel were destroyed early Sunday, the ministry said via its Telegram channel. No information was given on deaths or injuries. The information cannot be independently verified. The tiny snake island is a symbol of Ukraine’s resistance to the invasion of its larger neighbor.
05:37 a.m. – Russia reports drones shot down near Crimea
The Russian military has repelled a drone attack over the Black Sea near the Crimean peninsula, according to the Defense Ministry. The ministry said eight unmanned aerial vehicles launched from Ukraine were destroyed. In the statement on Telegram there is no evidence of damage or injuries.
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02:03 a.m. – Ukraine reports Russian drone attack on Kiev
According to the Ukrainian military administration, Russia has again attacked the capital Kiev with drones. “The air defense forces are working on the attacks,” the authority said on the messaging app Telegram. “Drones are still flying towards Kiev!” Mayor Vitali Klitschko also wrote on Telegram. According to preliminary information, there was one injured person. Drone debris fell across three counties, starting a fire near a park and hitting roads, Klitschko added. At least five explosions were heard early Sunday in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, witnesses report.
A drone explodes over Kyiv
What: REUTERS
00:23 a.m. – Scholz greets Ukrainian “brothers and sisters”
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) sent a particularly warm greeting to the team from Ukraine in a video message at the opening of the Invictus Games for war-disabled soldiers. The message that comes from the games and the participants is to never give up. The courage of the participants inspires us to defend “our freedom and values,” said Scholz.
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“Like our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who defend their homeland and their freedom and their right to live in peace in the face of Russia’s brutal aggression,” the Chancellor emphasized. “Slava Ukraine, Glory to Ukraine,” said Scholz. The video message in English was pre-recorded with a view to the G-20 meeting – before his accident.
0:01 a.m. – 90 percent of Ukrainians believe in a victory over Russia
According to a survey, 90 percent of people in Ukraine believe that their army can retake the entire territory of Ukraine, only six percent do not believe this. This is what a survey institute in Ukraine (Democratic Initiatives Foundation) found for “Picture on Sunday“determined.
All respondents live in the territories controlled by Ukraine. Accordingly, 83 percent of those surveyed want another counteroffensive next year if Ukraine does not achieve enough success this year. When asked whether they support direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end the war, 30 percent answered yes. 63 percent reject this.
And: Nine years after Russia annexed Crimea, 40 percent of Ukrainians would not consider it a defeat if the peninsula remained in Russian hands after the war. 50 percent, however, see it differently.
9:54 p.m. – Despite the cold, wet, mud – “the fighting will continue”
Ukraine wants to continue its counteroffensive against Russian forces even in bad weather. “The fighting will continue in one way or another. It’s harder to fight in the cold, wet and mud. The fighting will continue. The counteroffensive will continue,” said Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov.
The counteroffensive is taking place in several directions. Progress is slower than he would have liked and the situation is difficult. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recently described the Ukrainian counteroffensive as completely unsuccessful.
“We are experiencing a revision of the Second World War”
Russian President Vladimir Putin is using new editions of school textbooks to strengthen his own position in the country. Putin’s speeches are said to have been published in history books, says historian Matthäus Wehowski from the University of Tübingen.
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