Ukrainian forces retaking villages near Kherson, says Pentagon
The US defence department is seeing Ukrainian offensive forces in the Kherson region “continue to make some forward movement,” including retaking villages, according to a Pentagon official.
At a briefing with reporters, Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig Gen Pat Ryder said:
What we’ve seen in the Kherson region first is some continued offensive operations by the Ukrainians. They continue to make some forward movement. We are aware that they have retaken some villages.
The US has also seen “some offensive Russian activity … near Bakhmut”, he added.
It’s 9pm in Kyiv. That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war blog today. I’ll be back tomorrow.
Here’s a quick recap of where we stand:
The Ukrainian military repelled several Russian offensives in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the army’s general staff has said. In a situational update on Tuesday evening, the Ukrainian military also claimed the destruction of Russian targets in the Donetsk region. An adviser to the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff said he expected Kyiv to announce “great news” about its counteroffensive in the eastern Kharkiv region on Tuesday evening.
The US defence department is seeing Ukrainian offensive forces in the Kherson region “continue to make some forward movement,” including retaking villages, according to a Pentagon official. The US has also seen “some offensive Russian activity … near Bakhmut”, Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig Gen Pat Ryder said.
Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk oblast, has said Ukrainian troops have “gained a foothold” in the eastern region. In an update posted on Telegram, Haidai said Ukrainian forces have “advanced a little” in the Luhansk region and have repulsed Russian attacks. It has not been possible to independently verify his claims.
Ukraine’s forces are conducting counteroffensive actions in the east and south-east of the country, a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser has said. Writing on Telegram, Oleksiy Arestovych said Kyiv’s troops had “liberated several settlements on the western bank of the Dnieper” and that Russian forces on the right bank of the Dnieper would be in an “extremely difficult” position within a month.
The Russian defence ministry is in the process of buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea to support its invasion of Ukraine, according to a newly downgraded US intelligence finding. A US official said the fact Russia was turning to North Korea demonstrated that “the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions”.
A powerful explosion in the occupied city of Enerhodar, which houses the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, has cut off water and electricity supplies, according to the local mayor. Russia’s defence ministry claimed earlier on Tuesday that Ukraine had fired 20 artillery shells on the town of Enerhodar and the area around the facility over a 24-hour period.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog has called for the creation of a security zone around the Zaporizhzhia plant on the frontline of Russia’s war in Ukraine. In a long-awaited report that detailed extensive damage there, the IAEA said it was “gravely concerned” about the “unprecedented” situation at the plant and urged interim measures to prevent a nuclear disaster.
Russia’s biggest natural gas pipeline to Europe will not resume pumping until Siemens Energy repairs faulty equipment, Gazprom has said. Siemens Energy said an engine oil leak at the last remaining turbine in operation at the Portovaya compressor station did not warrant keeping the pipeline closed.
Russia’s foreign ministry has said the US is responsible for Europe’s gas supply crisis by pushing European leaders towards the “suicidal” step of cutting economic and energy cooperation with Moscow. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the “dominance of Washington prevailed” and that political forces playing the role of “sheep-provocateurs” were brought to power in EU countries.
The Kremlin said Russia will not resume in full its gas supplies to Europe until the west lifts its sanctionsagainst Moscow, as gas prices surged and the pound and euro slumped. Speaking to journalists on Monday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, blamed sanctions for Russia’s failure to deliver gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. “It is these sanctions imposed by the western states that have brought the situation to what we see now.”
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has blamed Europe’s energy crisis on sanctions it imposed on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine – a line taken by the Kremlin itself. European nations were “harvesting what they sowed” by imposing economic restrictions on Russia, Erdoğan added.
The Kremlin has said “with much certainty” that Russia-UK relations will not improve under the leadership of Liz Truss. “Judging by statements made by Madame Truss when she was still foreign minister … one can say with much certainty that no changes for the better are expected,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
A Russian-appointed official in the occupied city of Berdiansk in southern Ukraine has been seriously injured in a car blast, according to Moscow-installed authorities. Artem Bardin, who was appointed commandant of the Berdiansk’s occupying administration, was taken to hospital in “serious condition”, the pro-Russian mayor’s office said on Telegram, while blaming Ukraine.
Ukraine’s major western allies have yet to sign up to establish a tribunal to try Vladimir Putin and his inner circle for the crime of aggression, according to Ukraine’s top officials. Andriy Smyrnov, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, said western allies are “putting their foot in the closing door on relations with Russia so that it doesn’t close completely”.
The US president, Joe Biden, has decided not to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terror, the White House said. The designation of Russia as a state sponsor of terror – a label Ukraine has pushed for – could delay food exports and jeopardise deals to move goods through the Black Sea, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Jailed Russian opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny’s chief of staff has said worsening prison conditions were threatening his health. In a post on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, Navalny wrote last week via his lawyers that he had been sent to a punishment cell for a third time in August in revenge for his political activity.
A Russian court has sentenced the journalist Ivan Safronov to 22 years in prison on trumped-up treason charges. The sentencing of Safronov, a former defence reporter for the Kommersant and Vedomosti dailies, shocked friends and supporters who gathered in court on Monday to protest against his imprisonment. Editors at the Russian newspaper Kommersant published a front-page editorial in support of Safronov on Tuesday.
Also on Monday, a court in Moscow stripped the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta of its print media licence, effectively banning the newspaper from operating inside Russia. Editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov, said the ruling was “a political hit job, without the slightest legal basis”. He said the paper would appeal.
The same Russian court then revoked the licence of Novaya Gazeta’s sister magazine, “No” (“But”), on Tuesday. Novaya Gazeta is one of the country’s most important independent publications. Since it was established by Muratov and colleagues in 1993, it has investigated corruption inside and outside Russia, as well as the wars in Chechnya.
Russia is burning excess gas because it has no capacity to store it after cutting deliveries to Europe, the EU’s energy commissioner Kadri Simson said.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Indonesia, Simson said:
Our satellites are registering the leak of natural gas or them flaring the natural gas and this is very polluting.
They don’t have alternative pipeline connections to other regions in the world, and their own underground gas storage is full.
The US president, Joe Biden, has decided not to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terror, the White House said.
Biden had said previously that Russia should not be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, a label Ukraine has pushed for.
The designation of Russia as state sponsor of terror could delay food exports and jeopardise deals to move goods through the Black Sea, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Ukrainian forces ‘repelled Russian attacks’ in Donetsk region
The Ukrainian military repelled several Russian offensives in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the army’s general staff has said.
In a situational update, the general staff said:
Units of the Defence Forces of Ukraine hold their positions and prevent the enemy from advancing deeper into the territory of Ukraine.
It added:
Our military successfully repelled enemy attacks in the areas of Dolyna, Soledar, Novobakhmutivka, Kodema, Zaitseve, Avdiivka, Mariinka, and Lyubomirivka settlements of Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian military also claimed the destruction of Russian targets in the Donetsk region.
Ukrainian forces retaking villages near Kherson, says Pentagon
The US defence department is seeing Ukrainian offensive forces in the Kherson region “continue to make some forward movement,” including retaking villages, according to a Pentagon official.
At a briefing with reporters, Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig Gen Pat Ryder said:
What we’ve seen in the Kherson region first is some continued offensive operations by the Ukrainians. They continue to make some forward movement. We are aware that they have retaken some villages.
The US has also seen “some offensive Russian activity … near Bakhmut”, he added.
A powerful explosion in the occupied city of Enerhodar, which houses the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, has cut off water and electricity supplies, according to the local mayor.
Writing on Telegram, Dmytro Orlov said:
Today at 12:20 residents of Enerhodar reported about a powerful explosion in the city.
After that, the electricity and water supply disappeared simultaneously in Enerhodar.
Earlier today, Russia’s defence ministry claimed Ukraine had fired 20 artillery shells on the town of Enerhodar and the area around the facility over a 24-hour period.
In its daily military briefing, the Kremlin said three shells landed on the territory of the nuclear power station.
It has not been possible to independently verify either side’s claims.
A Russian-appointed official in the occupied city of Berdiansk in southern Ukraine has been seriously injured in a car blast, according to Moscow-installed authorities.
Artem Bardin, who was appointed commandant of the Berdiansk’s occupying administration, was taken to hospital in “serious condition”, the mayor’s office said on Telegram.
Bardin’s car exploded in “the very centre of Berdiansk” near the building of the civil-military administration, it said.
The mayor’s office said:
Today, September 6, in the very centre of Berdiansk, near the building of the Military Civil Administration, the car of the city commandant Artem Bardin was blown up. As a result of the explosion, the city commandant was hospitalised in severe condition. Doctors are providing him with necessary medical care.
Although it was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, pro-Russian authorities have blamed Ukraine.
The pro-Russian mayor’s office said:
The terrorists of the Kyiv regime continue to try to intimidate residents of the liberated territories.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivers a message virtually at the New York Stock Exchange before the ringing of the opening bell in New York City. Photograph: Michael M Santiago/Getty Images
The Ukrainian president delivered a message before the ringing of the opening bell to highlight the launch of Advantage Ukraine, an initiative aimed at driving foreign direct investment in Ukraine. Photograph: Michael M Santiago/Getty Images
IAEA calls for ‘security zone’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Here’s more on the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency after the UN nuclear watchdog sent a team to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant last week.
The IAEA called for the establishment of a “safety and security protection zone” around the nuclear power plant, calling the current situation “untenable”.
The report states:
There is an urgent need for interim measures to prevent a nuclear accident arising from physical damage caused by military means. This can be achieved by the immediate establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone.
The UN agency urged that shelling on site and its vicinity “should be stopped immediately to avoid any further damages to the plant and associated facilities”.
In addition to establishing a security zone around the plant, the IAEA recommended that the conditions Ukrainian staff operating the plant are working in should be improved.
The report says:
Ukrainian staff operating the plant under Russian military occupation are under constant high stress and pressure, especially with the limited staff available. This is not sustainable and could lead to increased human error with implications for nuclear safety.
An adviser to the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff has said he expects Kyiv to announce “great news” about its counteroffensive in the eastern Kharkiv region on Tuesday evening.
Serhiy Leshchenko wrote on Twitter:
Tonight there is going to be a great news from President Zelenskyy on counteroffensive operation in Kharkiv region.
He did not give any further details.
Tonight there is going to be a great news from President Zelenskyy on counteroffensive operation in Kharkiv region.
It’s just past 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk oblast, has said Ukrainian troops have “gained a foothold” in the eastern region. In an update posted on Telegram, Haidai said Ukrainian forces have “advanced a little” in the Luhansk region and have repulsed Russian attacks. It has not been possible to independently verify his claims.
Ukraine’s forces are conducting counteroffensive actions in the east and south-east of the country, a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser has said. Writing on Telegram, Oleksiy Arestovych said Kyiv’s troops had “liberated several settlements on the western bank of the Dnieper” and that Russian forces on the right bank of the Dnieper would be in an “extremely difficult” position within a month.
The Russian defence ministry is in the process of buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea to support its invasion of Ukraine, according to a newly downgraded US intelligence finding. A US official said the fact Russia was turning to North Korea demonstrated that “the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions”.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has warned there is an “urgent need for interim measures to prevent a nuclear accident” at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in south-east Ukraine. In its report, the UN nuclear watchdog said it was “gravely concerned” about the situation at the facility and that ongoing shelling near the plant “represented a constant threat to nuclear safety and security”.
The backup power line at the Zaporizhzhia power plant was disconnected to extinguish a fire, officials said on Monday. However, the IAEA said the line itself was not damaged and that the backup line “will be reconnected once the fire has been extinguished”.
Russia’s biggest natural gas pipeline to Europe will not resume pumping until Siemens Energy repairs faulty equipment, Gazprom has said. Siemens Energy said an engine oil leak at the last remaining turbine in operation at the Portovaya compressor station did not warrant keeping the pipeline closed.
Russia’s foreign ministry has said the US is responsible for Europe’s gas supply crisis by pushing European leaders towards the “suicidal” step of cutting economic and energy cooperation with Moscow. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the “dominance of Washington prevailed” and that political forces playing the role of “sheep-provocateurs” were brought to power in EU countries.
The Kremlin said Russia will not resume in full its gas supplies to Europe until the west lifts its sanctionsagainst Moscow, as gas prices surged and the pound and euro slumped. Speaking to journalists on Monday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, blamed sanctions for Russia’s failure to deliver gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. “It is these sanctions imposed by the western states that have brought the situation to what we see now.”
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has blamed Europe’s energy crisis on sanctions it imposed on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine – a line taken by the Kremlin itself. European nations were “harvesting what they sowed” by imposing economic restrictions on Russia, Erdoğan added.
The Kremlin has said “with much certainty” that Russia-UK relations will not improve under the leadership of Liz Truss. “Judging by statements made by Madame Truss when she was still foreign minister … one can say with much certainty that no changes for the better are expected,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Ukraine’s major western allies have yet to sign up to establish a tribunal to try Vladimir Putin and his inner circle for the crime of aggression, according to Ukraine’s top officials. Andriy Smyrnov, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, said western allies are “putting their foot in the closing door on relations with Russia so that it doesn’t close completely”.
Jailed Russian opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny’s chief of staff has said worsening prison conditions were threatening his health. In a post on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, Navalny wrote last week via his lawyers that he had been sent to a punishment cell for a third time in August in revenge for his political activity.
A Russian court has sentenced the journalist Ivan Safronov to 22 years in prison on trumped-up treason charges. The sentencing of Safronov, a former defence reporter for the Kommersant and Vedomosti dailies, shocked friends and supporters who gathered in court on Monday to protest against his imprisonment. Editors at the Russian newspaper Kommersant published a front-page editorial in support of Safronov on Tuesday.
Also on Monday, a court in Moscow stripped the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta of its print media licence, effectively banning the newspaper from operating inside Russia. Editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov, said the ruling was “a political hit job, without the slightest legal basis”. He said the paper would appeal.
The same Russian court then revoked the licence of Novaya Gazeta’s sister magazine, “No” (“But”), on Tuesday. Novaya Gazeta is one of the country’s most important independent publications. Since it was established by Muratov and colleagues in 1993, it has investigated corruption inside and outside Russia, as well as the wars in Chechnya.
Hello everyone, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong still with you today with all the latest news from Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
IAEA: Ongoing shelling near Zaporizhzhia plant represents 'constant threat to nuclear safety'
The team of UN nuclear experts “closely” witnessed shelling in the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant during their visit to the facility, the IAEA report says.
They also first-hand observations of damage to the road surface, walls and windows of various buildings, as well as at the overpass connecting the reactor units at the plant.
The report continues:
The shelling could have impacted safety related structures, systems and components, and could have caused safety significant impacts, loss of lives and personnel injuries.
IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi, stated that “while past events had not yet triggered a nuclear emergency, they represented a constant threat to nuclear safety and security because critical safety functions could be impacted”, it says.
IAEA: ‘Urgent need’ for action to prevent accident at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency has published its report about the nuclear safety and security situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in south-east Ukraine.
The UN nuclear watchdog warns that there is “urgent need for interim measures to prevent a nuclear accident” at the nuclear plant, adding that it was “gravely concerned” concerned about the situation at the facility.
The situation in Ukraine is “unprecedented”, the report writes.
It is the first time a military conflict has occurred amid the facilities of a large, established nuclear power programme. A nuclear accident can have serious impacts within the country and beyond its borders.
The IAEA added:
Pending the end of the conflict and re-establishment of stable conditions there is an urgent need for interim measures to prevent a nuclear accident arising from physical damage caused by military means.
This can be achieved by the immediate establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone.
Ukraine has urged Hasidic Jewish pilgrims travelling to the war-torn country to skip their annual pilgrimage to the city of Uman this year because of the Russian invasion.
Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims come to Uman from all around the world to visit the tomb of Rabbi Nachman for Rosh Hashana – the Jewish new year, celebrated this year between 25 and 27 September, Agence France-Presse reports.
Rabbi Nachman from Breslov (1772-1810) was the founder of an ultra-orthodox movement that settled in Uman in the early 1800s.
In a Facebook post, the Ukrainian embassy in Israel said:
“When the echoes of the Russian enemy explosions on Ukraine don’t stop, we must take care of ourselves.
“Please, avoid coming to Uman on Rosh Hashanah and pray that peace will return to Ukraine and the blessed pilgrimage will be renewed.”
Allow Facebook content?
This article includes content provided by Facebook. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'.
Plans have been made for “additional restrictions” in the city already under curfew.
More than 10,000 pilgrims from around the world are expected according to regional governor Igor Taburets, who was cited by Interfax-Ukraine.
Plans have been made for “additional restrictions” in the city already under curfew, including a ban on street vending and public gatherings because of the “high risk of a terrorist attack”, Taburets said.
He added:
We know how sly our enemy is. Any public gathering is potentially vulnerable.”
HMS Westminster monitoring Russian destroyer Vice Admiral Kulalov and tanker Vyazma during refuelling operations off the west coast of the UK. Photograph: Royal Navy/MOD/PA
Three Royal Navy warships have been shadowing a Russian Navy taskforce in waters close to the UK, PA Media reports.
Type 23 frigates HMS Westminster, HMS Lancaster and HMS Richmond tracked Slava-class cruiser, Marshal Ustinov, the sister ship of the ill-fated Moskva which sunk in the Black Sea in April.
They have also been keeping a watch on Udaloy-class destroyer, Vice-Admiral Kulakov and tanker Vyazma as the three ships headed home from the eastern Mediterranean after supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since February.
At the same time, patrol ship HMS Mersey has also shadowed Russian military research vessel Akademik Ioffe on its journey south through the Dover shipping lanes into the Channel.
A Royal Navy spokesman said:
The frigates and their helicopters used an array of cutting-edge sensors and modern naval technology to keep close watch in the Celtic Sea and through the English Channel.”
HMS Westminster’s commanding officer (CO) Commander Ed Moss-Ward said:
Maritime security in the sea areas around the UK is crucial to our prosperity and resilience.
The Royal Navy routinely responds to escort warships in UK territorial waters and the adjacent sea areas to ensure compliance with maritime law, to deter malign activity and to protect our national interests.
Escorting the Russian task group has demonstrated that the Royal Navy is committed to maintaining maritime security and to co-operating with our Nato allies.”
HMS Lancaster shadowed the Russian ships from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Celtic Sea as part of Nato’s fast response task force in the Atlantic.
HMS Westminster deployed from Portsmouth to intercept the Russian ships in the Celtic Sea where the Marshal Ustinov was refuelled by the tanker Vyazma while HMS Richmond kept watch in the Channel.
Commander Tom Johnson, CO of HMS Lancaster, said:
Working together allows Nato allies to respond to security challenges at pace and collectively deter potential aggressors.
Exchange of personnel further deepens Nato cohesion and interoperability so that the alliance can swiftly and efficiently react to any threat.
Lancaster’s team work exceptionally hard to ensure we are always ready to respond to any threat at a moment’s notice.”
A chimpanzee that escaped Kharkiv city zoo on Monday was persuaded to return by a zoo employee who wheeled it back on a bicycle.
Staff at the zoo in Ukraine’s second-biggest city were struggling to persuade Chichi, who had wandered around streets and a nearby park, to return to the zoo with them.
But when it started to rain she ran to a keeper, who put a yellow jacket on her. The pair embraced before Chichi was put on the seat of a bike.
Footage of the incident brought a rare moment of joy to a frontline city under daily bombardment by Russian forces.
The zoo’s director, Oleksiy Hryhoriev, confirmed to Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne that the animal was safely back in the zoo.
Earlier in the war, Chichi had been evacuated from the Feldman Ecopark, an outdoor zoo on frontlines in the Kharkiv region.
Editors at the Russian newspaper Kommersant have published a front-page editorial in support of the journalist Ivan Safronov, who was yesterday sentenced to 22 years in prison on treason charges.
The open letter to Safronov, a former military correspondent for Kommersant, pays tribute to how he became “the best in his field” and states that colleagues at the newspaper were “lucky to work with you”.
The letter writes that the authors “haven’t heard any public evidence of your guilt”, adding:
You didn’t give up – and don’t give up now. […] We love you, we believe in you. We are waiting for you.
A major Russian newspaper publishes a frontpage editorial, a strong letter of support to its former reporter Ivan Safronov who was sentenced to 22 years on trumped-up charges yesterday. Putin and his thugs took over the country, but people try to resist wherever they can. pic.twitter.com/t095rO392C
Safronov’s sentencing on Monday shocked friends and supporters who gathered in the Russian court to protest against his imprisonment.
He was tried on secret evidence, but case files revealed by Proekt showed that much of the case against him came from public data in his articles and alleged ties to foreigners that were not backed up by evidence.
