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How the Situation in Ukraine Could Get Far More Dangerous: After days of a withering Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Russian defense ministry announced that it was withdrawing its forces from two areas in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. In a video statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky quipped, “The Russian army in these days is demonstrating the best that it can do — showing its back.” Ukrainians celebrated, and rightly so. While Russian spokesmen said that Russian forces were “repositioning” ahead of a new offensive, reporters on the ground cast doubt on such pronouncements both because they mirror Russian statements as it abandoned its...

Russian forces have withdrawn from key eastern towns, as a rapid Ukrainian counter-attack makes further gains. Ukrainian officials said troops entered Kupiansk, a vital eastern supply hub for Russian forces, on Saturday. Russia's defence ministry then said its troops have retreated from nearby Izyum to allow them "to regroup". The ministry also confirmed the withdrawal of troops from a third key town, Balaklyia, in order to "bolster efforts" on the Donetsk front. The Ukrainian advances - if held - would be the most significant since Russia withdrew from areas around Kyiv in April. Izyum was a major military hub for...

Russia’s defense ministry on Saturday admitted its forces had retreated from key towns in northeastern Ukraine after a stunning advance by Ukrainian troops. The Defense Ministry said it had pulled forces out of the village of Balakliya and the strategically crucial city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region, after a decision to “regroup” and transfer them to Donetsk in the south.” The retreat represents one of the biggest setbacks for Russia since President Vladimir V. Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. “In order to achieve the goals of the special military operation, a decision was made to...

Moscow abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, in a sudden collapse of one of the war's principal front lines after surging Ukrainian forces threatened to encircle the area in a shock advance. The swift fall of Izium in Kharkiv province was Moscow's worst defeat since its troops were forced back from the capital Kyiv in March, and could prove a decisive turning point in the six-month-old war, with thousands of Russian soldiers abandoning ammunition stockpiles and equipment as they fled. The head of Russia's administration in areas in Kharkiv it controls told all residents to evacuate the...

This falls under the category of too good to check. As Ed Morrisey pointed out this morning, the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the east seems to be shaping up as a genuine disaster for Russia. I came across this animation which shows the territory Ukraine has retaken in the past few days.AFU 🇺🇦 counter-offensive in Kharkiv region for the last three days 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8Mpj3fVPqB— Tarmo Juntunen 🇨🇿 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 NAFO (@TarmoJuntunen) September 9, 2022Wednesday there were reports of an even bigger loss for Russia. This has not been confirmed yet but it’s possible that Ukrainian forces have captured a Russian Lieutenant...

Blaring headlines such as “US bans ‘advanced tech’ firms from building facilities in China for a decade” and “China’s zero-Covid policies are crippling its economic outlook” distract from more mundane but arguably more important corporate news coming out of China. Those new developments include the start of production at BASF’s new industrial complex in Zhanjiang and the final commissioning of ABB’s state-of-the-art robotics factory in Shanghai, big new European investments that buck the trend of US “decoupling” with China. On September 6, BASF announced the inauguration of the first manufacturing plant at its Zhanjiang Verbund industrial complex in China’s southern...

The global shift to cleaner sources of energy is not yet a casualty of Russia's war in Ukraine, according to new research showing power generation has become less carbon-intensive, and clean energy investment has climbed since the conflict started. European nations that led the transition away from fossil fuels in recent years now find themselves scrambling to secure new sources of natural gas ahead of winter as Russia squeezes supply lines. In one of her first major policy announcements, new British Prime Minister Liz Truss promised to approve more North Sea oil drilling, and lift a ban on fracking to...

UKRAINSKA PRAVDA — FRIDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 2022, 17:15 Russian soldiers on the southern front are resigning in large numbers, raising riots, and rapidly replenishing Ukraine’s POW exchange fund by surrendering to Ukrainian captivity. Source: Natalia Humeniuk, the head of the United Coordinating Press Centre of Security and Defence Forces of the South of Ukraine, on air during the national 24/7 newscast on 9 September Quote: "The POW exchange fund is being replenished quite intensively compared to previous days. Russian soldiers are rioting within their units, they are rising up against their command and writing reports [requesting resignation] in large numbers."...

The Russian-installed chief administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region recommended on Saturday that all its inhabitants evacuate to Russia “to save lives,” according to the Russian state-run TASS news agency. Vitaly Ganchev said official representatives were ready to provide the refugees with food, heat and medical care, according to TASS. The Russian Defence Ministry said it was pulling troops out of Izium and Balakliia – crucial military supply hubs in the Kharkiv region – as Ukraine claimed rapid advances. Ganchev had said on Friday that civilians were being evacuated from several towns that had come under heavy pressure...

Work behind the enemy continues! In the southern direction, while conducting special reconnaissance in the temporarily occupied territory, a combat group of the MTR of Ukraine came across an enemy position. The Russian armored personnel carriers and personnel of the invaders found there were destroyed instantly in a matter of minutes. After that, the operators of the MTR of Ukraine division went on, continuing to perform their main task.

Dear Ukrainians, I wish you health! We have good news from the European Union. The provision of EUR 5 billion of macro-financial assistance to our state has been approved. It's very important. And secondly, there is a decision of the Council of the EU to suspend the visa facilitation agreement signed by the EU and Russia. This decision will be effective from Monday. And there are specific recommendations of the European Commission regarding visa restrictions for citizens of Russia. This is the protection of Europe, it will make it difficult for those who do not want to change anything, do...

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had taken control of more than 30 cities and towns in Kharkiv Oblast. Quote: "Our army, intelligence and the Security Service of Ukraine continue active operations on several fronts. And they are doing it successfully... At this time, the Armed Forces have liberated and taken control of more than 30 cities and towns in Kharkiv Oblast. In some villages of the Oblast, measures to check and secure the territory are ongoing; we are gradually taking control of new villages and towns, everywhere we are returning the Ukrainian flag and protection...

Scott Ritter, [9/9/2022 7:19 AM] [ Video ] Scott Ritter, [9/9/2022 7:40 AM] Some Comments on the Military Situation in Ukraine as of September 9, 2022 I have been asked to comment on the situation in eastern-southern Ukraine following the commencement of a major counteroffensive by the Ukrainian armed forces (UAF). Given the fluidity of the situation on the ground, I will avoid trying to conduct a detailed analysis of the specific actions that have taken place, are taking place, and will take place. I am thousands of miles removed from the battlefield and am in receipt of incomplete and...

Ukrainian forces were charging through an expanding area of previously Russian-held territory in the east on Friday after bursting through the frontline in a surprise breakthrough that could mark a major turning point in the war. After keeping silent for a day, Moscow effectively acknowledged that a section of its frontline had crumbled southeast of Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv. "The very fact of a breach of our defences is already a substantial victory for the Ukrainian armed forces," the head of the Moscow-installed administration for occupied areas in Kharkiv province, Vitaly Ganchev, said on Russian state TV.

Ukraine has launched a new front in the counteroffensive, this time moving east into the Kharkiv region. Yesterday the Guardian reported the town of Balakliia had been encircled by Ukrainian troops. Today, Balakliia is more than encircled. President Zelensky just published this video of Ukrainian soldiers standing on a Russian flag in the city with the Ukrainian flag flying behind them. (snip) And the push east has already moved on to another small town called Volokhiv Yar where the Ukrainian flag has also been raised.

Moscow abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, a sudden apparent collapse of one of the war's principal front lines after Ukrainian forces moved to encircle the area in a shock advance. The state-run TASS news agency quoted Russia's defence ministry as saying it had ordered troops to leave the area around the city of Izium in Kharkiv province, saying they would be sent to reinforce operations elsewhere in neighbouring Donetsk. The announcement came hours after Ukrainian troops captured the city of Kupiansk further north, the sole railway hub supplying Russia's entire frontline across northeastern Ukraine. That left...

Ukraine is reportedly on the precipice of a major victory, with its counter-offensive around the eastern city of Kharkiv (Kharkov) unexpectedly putting the Russian army on the back foot. According to British intelligence, Russian forces appear to have been “taken by surprise” by the Ukrainians, who have reportedly advanced “up to 50 kilometres (31 miles) into previously Russian-held territory on a narrow front.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address U.S. defense contractors later this month when he headlines the annual Future Force Capabilities Conference and Exhibition hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). Zelensky is scheduled to speak at the event Sept. 21, according to the program for the event available on the NDIA’s website. Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s minister of defense, is also scheduled to speak that day. News of the appearances was first reported by Reuters, which noted that the officials will speak via video link. Zelensky is expected to appeal for more weapons for his country during his speech, the...

Ukrainian forces have entered Izium after forcing Russian troops to retreat, an officer involved in the operation to liberate the strategic eastern city told CNN Saturday. Izium, which sits near the border between the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, had been under Russian occupation for more than five months and had become an important hub for the invading military. "We have just started clearing the town. First military units are in," the officer told CNN. A spokesperson for the Bohun Brigade of the Land Forces of Ukraine said in a statement earlier on Saturday that "Russians escaped and left weapons and...

Astonishing footage has captured the moment that Russian soldiers are thrown off a fleeing tank which is sent crashing into a tree as Ukraine's forces continue their 30-mile advance into Russian occupied areas. The fleeing tank is seen desperately retreating at a considerable speed near Izyum in the Kharkiv region with several soldiers on top of its hull. But moments after Russian troops are thrown from the tank, it is seen swerving off the road before smashing straight into a tree which falls on the remaining soldiers.