Sept 16 Buonasera Mag
Day 205: Izyum, UA up-date, RU admin caput, US-EU aid, US-EU sanctions, Kadyrov, NATO, Xi, Modi, RU prisoners, Pope Francis, Switzerland, GR gas, Draghi. A&Ps: Avdeeva, Scherba, Burgess, J6
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.
Ukrainian authorities have found a mass burial site of more than 440 bodies in the eastern city of Izium that was recaptured from Russian forces, a regional police chief has said.
President Zelensky likened the discovery to what happened in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, saying in a Thursday night video address: “Russia is leaving death behind it everywhere and must be held responsible.”
President Zelensky: "You are weaklings at war with civilians. The scoundrels who, having escaped from the battlefield, try to harm from far away. You'll remain terrorists, of whom their grandchildren will be ashamed".
Today, PM, Kaja Kallas, urged people “don’t look away” from the images emerging from liberated cities like Izium. She said “This is the face of Russian occupation: towns and cities turned into mass graves. Ukraine has used our military aid with skill and determination. Ukraine can win if we keep supporting them.”
Stories we’re following…
Explosions reported in Russian city of Belgorod Oblast. Russia's Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the city of Valuyki lost power after the explosions.
Russian state media is reporting that the Sergey Gorenko, the prosecutor general of the pro-Russian separatist authority in the Luhansk oblast, was killed today in a bombing at his office.
In a single day at least 5 Russian-installed officials have been killed on occupied Ukrainian territory. Two in Luhansk, one in Kherson, & two more in Berdyansk. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility but this is sure to undermine Russian morale just as Kyiv presses its offensive.
Oleksandr Scherba: Russians write in telegram channels that after Ukraine de-occupying the territories, they observe much more resilience of Ukrainians in the still occupied part. Even traitors are less cooperative. They know for sure now Ukraine is coming.
Poll: 87% of Ukrainians against territorial concessions regarding Russia's war. A survey conducted from Sept. 7 to 13 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology said that no territorial concessions are acceptable for 87% of respondents. This number reportedly increased by 3% since July.
The US defence department has announced details of the $600m in new military aid the White House approved for Ukraine on Thursday, Agence France-Presse reports. “The package will include 37,000 artillery rounds, of which 1,000 will be precision-guided, and four counter-artillery radars, among other weapons and equipment.”
US imposes new sanctions against Kadyrov, Russian official involved in deportation of Ukrainian children. The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against two entities and 22 individuals involved in Russian aggression against Ukraine. These include Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov and his family, as well as Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights.
EU extends sanctions against 1,206 individuals, 108 entities due to Russia's war. The European Council said sanctions against those “responsible for undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine” have been extended for six months until March 15, 2023. Sanctions include travel restrictions, asset freezes, and economic sanctions.
Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has said that Ukraine’s counter-attack against Russian troops had been very effective, but warned nations should prepare for the long haul as this did not signal the beginning of the end of the war.
The Russian FM threatened Washington with a response to the supply of longer-range missiles to Ukraine. Zakahrova: "If the United States decides to supply Kyiv with longer-range missiles, they will cross the red line and become a direct party to the conflict".
Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday said he sent Russian forces into Ukraine in February in response to the West wanting to break up Russia, Reuters is reporting.
Putin was speaking at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
When Vladimir Putin met Xi Jinping for the first time since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president said he understood China’s “questions and concerns” about the war. (I’m sceptical about Xi’s reservations about the war. Nontheless these are official statements.)
Grozev: Can't think of a reason why not to arm thousands, ideally tens of thousands of antisocial recidivist murderers who would suddenly be expected to follow the strictest social order conceived - an army. With an AK47 in hand.
The Russian government is implementing a major budget sequester after the country’s largest revenue slump since at least 2011. Vedomosti, citing a source close to Russia's Cabinet of Ministers, reported that various government ministries and agencies have been notified by the Finance Ministry that spending for 2022-2023 will be cut by 10 percent.
EU chief von der Leyen said she wanted Putin to face the international criminal court over war crimes in Ukraine. “That Putin must lose this war and must face up to his actions, that is important to me,” she told Bild yesterday.
Pope: Morally acceptable to supply Ukraine with weapons for self-defense. "Self-defense is not only licit but also an expression of love for the homeland. Someone who does not defend oneself, who does not defend something, does not love it." Pope Francis said. This marks a change in the Pope’s stand on supplying weapons to Ukraine.
Switzerland today aligned itself with the European Union in suspending a 2009 agreement easing rules for Russian citizens to enter the Alpine country.
Italian PM Mario Draghi on the US intel report on Russian interference in the EU: “Italian democracy is strong, it does not let itself be beaten by external enemies and their hired puppets. It is clear that in the last twenty years Russia has carried out systematic corruption in business, press and politics in many EU countries and in the US".
Italian Elections- Meloni, head of the right coalition: "If a woman thinks of having an abortion because she is left alone by the institutions, we want to give her the right not to do it and not to have an abortion". (Please note that no one forces a woman to have an abortion in Italy. This is a false problem created to garner the vote of Catholics and other groups.)
The German government just announced that Rosneft Germany will be put under trusteeship of the grid regulator. Two other natural gas companies Uniper and VNG may be nationalised to avoid a collapse of its domestic energy market.
German Ministry for the Economy:
Rosneft Germany accounts for around 12% of Germany’s oil processing capacity, making it one of the largest oil processing companies in Germany.
The continuation of the business operations of the affected refineries was in danger due to the ownership of the companies. Central critical service providers such as suppliers, insurance companies, IT companies and banks, but also customers, were no longer willing to work with Rosneft.
Robyn Dixon, Putin, tone deaf and isolated, pursues war ‘goals’ and refuses to lose- WaPo
In some ways, Putin is a victim of his own policies. The Kremlin for years has fostered a large group of politically apathetic citizens, making it difficult now to take firmer steps to win the war, such as mobilization, which require patriotic fervor to avoid a political backlash.
Sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky said the loyal but passive mass of Russian citizens — which he puts at up to 80 percent — saw themselves as “outside politics,” and are focused on their own lives, seeing the war as none of their business.
Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Ukrainian victory shatters Russia’s reputation as a military superpower- The Atlantic Council
Recent events in Ukraine have revealed the underwhelming truth behind the many exaggerations that had previously led international experts to rank Russia as the world’s number two military. In a peacetime environment, such misconceptions were perhaps understandable. According to official figures, Russia had the world’s third-largest annual defense budget of more than sixty billion dollars. Moscow was expert at staging impressive training exercises, while the Kremlin also invested heavily in prestige events that reinforced the impression of a mighty military.
Toomas Hendrik Ilves: Um... PAAAANIC!!!!! RUNNNNN!!!
Christopher Burgess, Russia’s cyber future connected at the waist to Soviet military industrial complex- CSO
Of particular note, especially given the current exodus of cyber talent from Russia by those who are voting with their feet in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting embargos and crippling sanctions, is the manner in which Russia has historically addressed its cyber and information operations personnel pipeline.
J6 Hearing Committee audio evidence
