Sept 11- Sunday Edition
Day 200: Kharkiv, Kherson, RU referendum, Putin, Scholz, Macron, Romania. Arts & Posts: ISW, MacDonald, Avdeeva, Viacorka, Tomkiw, Ben-Ghiat, Tractors, Killilova, Kanefield, 9/11-Lautman
Catching up…
EA Worldview’s Ukraine Up-date- hop over to Scott’s amazing hourly Ukraine up-date page. I’ll fill in with some bits and bobs.
We’re also watching what is happening in Moscow. There is a lot of speculation about how long Putin will remain in power. Russian milbloggers are furious with Putin, even going as far as inciting the leadership to use nuclear weapons to strike Kyiv. Putin will be in power until he’s not, and it will be difficult to tell when that happens. As Olga has said time and again: the Kremlin is smoke and mirrors.
Stories we’re following…
Ukrainian forces have advanced north from Kharkiv to within 30 miles (48km) of the border with Russia and are also pressing to the south and east in the same region, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Gen Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said on Sunday. Chkalovske, Kharkiv Oblast was also liberated.
General Staff: Russian troops retreat from Svatove, Luhansk Oblast. According to the General Staff, four Russian Kamaz trucks and 20 Tigr infantry mobility vehicles left the settlement in the direction of Russian-occupied Luhansk.
Russian forces are fleeing Starobil's'k in the direction of Luhansk. Several convoys were reported to be leaving the town at high speed recently.
Ukraine official: The collaborators in southern Ukraine are fleeing faster than the Russian soldiers.
ISW: “Ukrainian forces have penetrated Russian lines to a depth of up to 70 kilometers in some places and liberated over 3,000 sq. km. of territory in the past five days since September 6 – more territory than Russian forces have captured in all their operations since April.”
The Russian MoD did not acknowledge Ukrainian successes around Kharkiv Oblast as the primary factor for the Russian retreat and claimed that Russian military command has been carrying out a controlled withdrawal from the Balakliya-Izyum area.
The Russian MoD falsely claimed that Russian forces undertook a number of demonstrative actions and used artillery and aviation to ensure the safety of withdrawing Russian forces.
Olga Lautman- "Complete collapse": Putin canceled a meeting with the generals after the largest defeat of the army since the beginning of their genocide operation. Putin and his cronies are done. Expect more chaos between Kremlin, Russia's military, & security services.
Kremlin-sponsored propagandists offered a variety of confusing explanations for Ukrainian successes ranging from justifications that Russian forces are fighting against the entire Western Bloc, to downplaying the importance of Russian ground lines of communication in Kupyansk. The Kremlin’s propagandists were unusually disorganized in their narratives, with some confirming the liberation of certain towns and others refuting such reports.
Residents in Russian-controlled parts of the Kharkiv region have been advised to evacuate to Russia, according to the state-run news agency Tass.
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant’s last reactor shuts down. The plant’s sixth and last functioning reactor was disconnected from the national grid in the early morning of Sept. 11, reported Ukraine’s state nuclear operator Energoatom.
Water and electricity were restored to Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Dmytro Orlov, mayor of Enerhodar, where the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is located, said workers restored power and electricity for citizens after it was disconnected due to Russian shelling.
Putin has 'stopped' all fake referendums on 'annexing' occupied territories to Russia. They were 'postponed indefinitely.'
Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed leader of Chechnya, has criticised the Russian army’s leadership after it appeared to be caught off-guard by Ukraine’s fightback against the Russian invasion in the north-east.
US official: Ukraine should decide how to liberate territories occupied by Russia. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Ukraine's Armed Forces should independently decide when and how to liberate territories occupied by Russia in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as well as Crimea.
Scholz: Germany prepared to face coming winter without Russian gas. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany is ready to weather the winter season if Russia decides to halt gas exports.
Putin and Macron discussed the security situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
Transport Minister: France to sign deal with Romania to increase grain export from Ukraine. French Transport Minister Clement Beaune told LCI television channel the agreement is aimed to increase Ukrainian grain exports to developing countries, including to the Mediterranean.
After leaving Balmoral this morning at 10am, the funeral cortege carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II has arrived at her official residence in Edinburgh, Holyroodhouse.
Thread: Lydia Tomkiw- Shopping Ukrainian!
This may be a very useful thread for people looking to help Ukrainian businesses. Lydia Tomkiw has provided a fabulous thread on various Ukrianian-made goods. Some people donate to chartible associations, or the military, but you may want to help Ukrainian businesses.
You asked so here’s a list, in no particular order, of Ukrainian brands that I’ve ordered from/shopped at over the last 10+ years. Some things I bought while in Ukraine, so do your own due diligence on shipping, import & remember things might take longer in a time of war
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Putin thinks he's the hero of Russia's story. He couldn't be more wrong- MSNBC
Shortly before he invaded Ethiopia in 1935, Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini stated, “I follow my instincts, and I am never wrong.” That war bankrupted the state, but it made him popular with Italians as the restorer of the Italian empire. It also further inflated his ego. In 1940, against the advice of many of his generals, Il Duce entered World War II alongside Adolf Hitler. He counted on a quick win and lasting glory, but instead dragged Italy through a disastrous war that ended with his own execution by anti-fascist partisans in 1945.
Kirillova, Spy Scandal in Albania: Could Russian Intelligence Be Using Bloggers? Jamestown.Org
Another Albanian source, who wishes to remain anonymous, provided a different version. According to him, a “shadow” market has existed for a long time in the Balkans in which orders are placed for photography of hard-to-reach places. “Different structures are engaged in this, from criminals to intelligence services, but it is very difficult to identify specific customers because the chain of intermediaries is very long,” the interlocutor explained. He further elaborated that those fulfilling the orders often do not know themselves the final consumer of the information (Author’s interview, August 24).
Teri Kanefield, Timeline: Trump’s Stolen Documents Case (the Espionage Act and Obstruction)
IF YOU CLICKED HERE LOOKING FOR THE INVESTIGATION FAQs, they are here.
Trump makes off with government property: During the last days and hours of the Trump administration, the White House counsel’s office told Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that roughly two dozen boxes in the White House residence, including documents marked highly classified, needed to be turned over to the archives, as required by law. Instead they were shipped to Florida.
Remembering 9/11
