News
In this week's summary:
- The Russian Armed Forces' counteroffensive in the Kursk Region has slowed down, while Ukrainian forces are trying to build on their success in the Glushkovsky District.
- Civilians in the Kursk Region are suffering from Russian shelling and are reporting widespread looting by Russian soldiers.
- The Russian Armed Forces have captured Ukrainsk and continue their attempts to go around Selydove on the southern flank of the Pokrovsk direction in eastern Ukraine.
- Russian troops have managed to cross the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas canal in Chasiv Yar and south of the city, securing their position there.
- Following the creation of a motorized rifle battalion by the Russian Aerospace Forces, a new Frigate battalion, consisting of sailors, has been formed within the Russian military.
- BBC News Russian and Mediazona have identified the names of 70,122 people killed in the war on the Russian side.
- In the recently captured town of Novohrodivka, a Ukrainian prisoner of war was stabbed to death with a ceremonial sword inscribed “For Kursk.”
- The Insider’s defense and security columnist Colby Badhwar detailed issues with the provision of U.S. military aid.
Situation at the front
The Russian Armed Forces' counteroffensive in the Kursk Region, which began last week, appears to have significantly slowed. Military blogger Yuriy Podolyaka admits that “Russian forces are advancing literally by hundreds of meters a day.” The restoration of control over the settlements of Daryino and Nikolaevo-Daryino, as announced by General Apti Alaudinov, has not yet been confirmed by visual evidence. However, footage has emerged showing a Russian assault on Lyubimovka being repelled. The AFU, in turn, have been unable to capitalize on the success of their counterattack on Glushkovo, targeting the rear of the advancing group. Over the past week, the village of Veseloye, located 3 km from the border, has shifted into the “gray zone,” though fighting for control continues.
Russian pro-war Telegram channels are boasting about “half a village with the 'khokhols' being torn up” — this despite reports from the Ukrainian commandant's office that several thousand civilians remain in the areas of the Kursk Region under Ukrainian control, with 23 killed by Russian shelling since late August. The residents of the region are suffering not only from artillery and air strikes but also from looting by Russian soldiers — at least, this is suggested by an appeal from residents of the Korenevsky District to Vladimir Putin, posted on the Dossier Shpiona (lit. “Spy Dossier”) channel.
Fighting also continued throughout the week in the Pokrovsk direction. The Russian Armed Forces fully captured Ukrainsk, gained a foothold on the northern outskirts of Hyrnyk, and attempted to flank Selydove (while still making frontal assault attempts on the town). According to analyst Def Mon, Russia has secured its logistics routes sufficiently to resume an offensive on Pokrovsk. In addition, Russian forces are trying to break through to Kurakhove, launching assaults on Ukrainian positions near Georgiivka, Maksymilianivka, and Ostry.
Massive armored attacks by Russian forces are also occurring on the Vuhledar bulge. In this sector, Russian troops continue to fight for the “Pivdenno-Donbaska No. 3” mine and are advancing north of Vodyane. At the same time, as admitted by the Russian pro-war channel Voin DV (lit. “Far-East Warrior”), the pace of the offensive has slowed due to the need to regroup after previous successful assaults.
According to Russian and Ukrainian sources (1, 2, 3), the Russian Armed Forces managed to cross the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas canal within the city limits of Chasiv Yar, and also further south near Stupochky, securing positions on the western bank. Additionally, Russian forces advanced in the Toretsk agglomeration towards the Oskil River, and on the Kupiansk direction in eastern Kharkiv Region.
The Russian military continues to use stopgap measures to address its shortage of personnel. For example, conscripts from repair units, who have never handled weapons, are complaining about being sent into battle. Additionally, following the creation of a motorized rifle regiment by the Russian Aerospace Forces, a new motorized rifle battalion called Frigate, consisting of sailors, has appeared on the front lines. Under such circumstances, discussions about a potential new wave of mobilization have returned — two years after the first Russian mobilization was announced. However, the Russian leadership is hesitant to repeat such a step, partly due to possible issues with equipment, as well as economic and social risks, according to experts interviewed by The Insider.
Mutual strikes and sabotage
During the week, the Ukrainian Air Force Command reported on the interception of the following missile and drone attacks:
- On the night of Sept. 14, 72 Shahed drones were shot down out of 76 launched; two were “locationally lost” over Ukrainian territory (likely due to electronic warfare interference), and two more flew back to Russian territory.
- On the night of Sept. 15, 10 out of 14 Shahed drones and a single Kh-59 guided missile were destroyed. Two Iskander-M ballistic missiles were also launched.
- On the night of Sept. 16, 53 out of 56 Shahed drones were shot down.
- On the night of Sept. 17, air defense systems shot down 34 out of 51 Shahed drones, 12 were locationally lost due to electronic warfare, and two returned to Russia. Two electrical substations in Sumy caught fire, causing water and communication outages.
- On the night of Sept. 18, 46 out of 52 Shahed drones were shot down, and three guided Kh-59/Kh-69 missiles were launched.
- On the night of Sept. 19, 42 out of 46 Shahed drones and a single Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missile were intercepted. There were also reports of three launches of surface-to-air missiles from the S-300/400 systems.
- On the night of Sept. 20, Ukrainian air defense intercepted 61 out of 70 Shahed drones and one Kh-59 missile.
As a result of the shelling of Kharkiv on September 15 (1, 2), a residential building was damaged, one person was killed, and 41 were injured. The following morning, 8 people were wounded during retaliatory shelling of Belgorod. Journalist and AFU serviceman Yuriy Matsarsky shared with The Insider his insights about life in frontline Kharkiv, which remains under constant shelling.
Additionally, there were reports of civilian casualties and fatalities resulting from shelling in the Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia (1, 2, 3), Kharkiv (1, 2), Kirovohrad, Sumy (1, 2), and Donetsk regions.
The Russian Ministry of Defense, in turn, reported on the interception of the following attacks:
- On the night of Sept. 14, 19 fixed-wing drones were destroyed over Russian territory.
- On the night of Sept. 15, 29 drones were destroyed.
- On the night of Sept. 17, 16 drones were destroyed.
- On the night of Sept. 18, 54 drones were destroyed.
The report did not include information about the Tver Region, where a munitions depot of the 107th Arsenal of the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense was hit near the city of Toropets. At least 13 people were injured, and according to Ukrainian sources, up to 100 drones were involved. High-resolution satellite images show that 27 out of 43 munitions storage sites were completely destroyed, while six were damaged.
- On the night of Sept. 19, three aircraft-type drones were destroyed.
- On the night of Sept. 20, eight drones were destroyed.
Thus, according to Ukrainian data, over the course of the week the Russian Armed Forces launched 365 Shahed-type drones and 11 missiles during nighttime raids, while reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that 129 drones were destroyed over Russian territory (with another 100, according to Ukrainian sources, attacking the depot near Toropets).
Reports of civilian deaths and injuries due to shelling also emerged from the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as in the Belgorod Region (1, 2, 3).
Losses
BBC News Russian, in collaboration with the independent Russian media outlet Mediazona and a team of volunteers, has identified the names of 70,122 Russians killed in the war with Ukraine. The majority of these people (13,781) voluntarily signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense after the start of the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, and had no prior connection to the Russian Armed Forces before the war. The next largest groups are professional contract soldiers (13,582) and former prisoners (13,157).
Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported that Russian soldiers killed a Ukrainian prisoner of war by stabbing him with a sword. A photograph of the unarmed Ukrainian soldier, lying on his back and pierced through the heart with a decorative sword, was previously circulated on Telegram. The victim's hands were wrapped in tape, and the weapon bore the inscription “For Kursk.” The place of the incident has been geolocated to Novohrodivka in the Donetsk Region, which was recently captured by the Russian Armed Forces.
Weapons and military equipment
CNN sources reported that the Pentagon is sending military aid to Ukraine in small batches under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) due to the depletion of its own stockpiles. Slow deliveries have prevented Ukraine from arming even four of its fourteen newly formed brigades. At the same time, The Insider's defense columnist Colby Badhwar believes that the shortsighted policy of the White House has resulted in the risk that $6 billion allocated for supplies under the PDA by Congress in the spring could “expire” on Oct. 1, the end of the fiscal year.
During the week, the following military aid packages for Ukraine were announced:
- Germany repurchased 12 PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers from Qatar, with plans to deliver half to Ukraine within the next two months and the rest in 2025. Additionally, Berlin supplied Kyiv with 22 Leopard 1A5 tanks (in cooperation with Denmark), 22 MRAP-class armored vehicles, three Gepard anti-aircraft systems with spare parts, two TRML-D radar systems, and other weapons and military equipment.
- Italy will deliver another long-range SAMP/T air defense system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles by the end of the month.
- The European Union allocated €400 million from revenues generated by frozen Russian assets to fund Ukrainian defense enterprises. Denmark has already financed the production of 18 Ukrainian wheeled self-propelled Bohdana howitzers using these funds. The EU also intends to issue Ukraine a loan of €35 billion secured by Russian assets, with part of this amount earmarked for military needs, including the production of drones and missiles.
- Latvia will transfer some British CVR(T) family armored vehicles from its own military to Ukraine.
Additionally, Ukraine is negotiating for 12 American AH-1Z Viper combat helicopters originally intended for Pakistan, and the Australian government, in cooperation with the Biden administration, is working on supplying 59 Australian M1A1 SA Abrams tanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Previous weekly summary (Sept. 7 – Sept. 13, 2024): Weekly Ukraine war summary: Russia counterattacks in Kursk as one of its Su-30SM fighter jets is reportedly shot down over the Black Sea