At least seven people were killed and ten were injured in an attack by a Ukrainian drone on a bus in the Donetsk region, the local authorities of that region in the east of Ukraine, which is mostly controlled by Russia, announced today.
If Konstatinovka falls, the way is opened for the Russians to occupy all of Donetsk. This war, death and horror experienced by Ukrainian civilians seems to no longer interest anyone in the West. The public's attention has long been focused on the conflicts in the Middle East.
It is officially known that at least 500 Ukrainian children have been killed since the beginning of the Russian invasion. However, the actual numbers may be much higher as data is hard to come by in occupied areas
For the Kremlin, private individuals are now of great use, but we need to look further - the reputation of the Russian army, which is having difficulty collecting winter uniforms, will not increase during the winter months, problems will accumulate, discontent of the mobilized, war losses, bad news. In Russian society, social stratification into those who are important and those who are less important, who are material for the front, creates an unpleasant tension
Kiev claims that Ukrainian armed forces have shot down 278 Russian planes since the start of the war. Russians suffer losses in Kherson and Donetsk. Secret talks between Washington and Moscow
Russian military bloggers report that Ukrainian troops have virtually surrounded the strategically important city of Liman in the Donetsk region. In Zaporizhia, 23 people died after a rocket hit a civilian convoy. The British military service claims that Russian soldiers at the front lack medical equipment
Speaking about the beginning of the invasion in the early morning of February 24, the Russian president held himself as the absolute ruler on whom everything depends. However, that pose quickly and noticeably began to unravel along with the dissolution of the original "special military operation" plan. Self-confidence noticeably returned to Putin in mid-summer, when the Russian army recorded successes on the Luhansk battlefield, but the Ukrainian counteroffensive around Kharkiv brought a new low: at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Samarkand, he was forced to express understanding for the objections of China and India, but and exposed to the humiliation of smaller members of that organization
The first calculations show that about 90 percent of those who went to the referendum in the people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk and the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye voted for joining Russia. Such results are expected. Vladimir Putin is expected to announce the annexation on September 30
The orders from Moscow obviously change according to the circumstances and are not part of any well-thought-out and precisely defined plan. There were strong indications that Russia would occupy Donbas by the fall, but the collapse of the front destroyed that plan
The Ukrainian army is conquering town after town, Russian troops are retreating. Fighting is also reportedly taking place around the airport in Donetsk, which the Russians have controlled since 2014. President Volodymyr Zelensky talks about the return of 2000 square kilometers of territory
While Zelensky is calling on Ukrainians to resist the occupiers, Western allies are considering how to increase Ukraine's defense power in the long term. During that time, a high-ranking Russian general stated as the goal of the "second phase of the special operation" the "complete control" not only of the Donbass, but also of the south of Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers are making a last stand. An order came from Kiev not to surrender, and the Russians threatened to "destroy" them. The fall of the strategically and symbolically important Ukrainian port city on the Sea of Azov seems certain. After they finally capture Mariupol, a major Russian offensive on Donbas is expected
A weapons factory in Kiev was hit. During the seven-week invasion, up to three thousand Ukrainian soldiers died, Zelensky said. Russian forces are strengthening positions around the city of Izyum in Kharkiv Oblast and are preparing to intensify attacks near Avdeyevka in Donetsk Oblast
A powerful explosion resounded in Kiev during the night. A factory that produces missiles for S-300 air defense systems was reportedly hit. The head of the CIA warns of the Russian threat of using tactical nuclear weapons. The Russian Black Sea cruiser "Moscow" sank. In the east of the country, hostilities are intensifying
Everything points to the fact that a major Russian offensive is coming in the east of Ukraine. Army General Alexander Vladimirovich Dvorikov, who received the highest Russian award for his war merits in Syria, was appointed as the commander of the joint Russian military forces in Ukraine. Western statesmen visit Kiev one after another, many European companies have problems due to the sanctions imposed on Russia, and Russian oil and gas continue to flow to the west of Europe.
One or more rockets hit the railway station in Kramatorsk, which is located in the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk, which has been quiet for the past few days. About 1000 people were waiting for evacuation at the stations before the announced Russian offensive. More than 30 people died, among them several children
Mariupol is about to fall. On Thursday, Uraj residents are trying to establish 10 corridors for the evacuation of civilians from war-affected cities. Kiev is calling on the civilian population to leave the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, where a Russian offensive is expected. Ukraine is asking the West for the delivery of heavy weapons, despite the sanctions against Russia, the EU has paid more than 35 billion euros for energy since the beginning of the aggression against Ukraine, and the German companies Metro, Bayer, BASF and Strada are still working in Russia
Foreign Ministers of Russia and Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov and Dmytro Kuleba, met on Thursday morning in Antalya. There was no progress. They repeated the previous demands and expanded the list of accusations. Everything is happening at a dangerous speed where all three parties first react and then think about the consequences
The translator, who lives in the west of Ukraine, did not believe "that an open, cynical attack, a ground invasion, rocketing of the whole of Ukraine is possible." He says that this war is the realization of the plan to create a new Russian empire. He does not foresee its end, he believes that good will defeat evil and says that despite everything, Ukrainians do not seem scared
Currently, the only visible winner of the Ukrainian war is the NATO pact, which, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has a permanent justification for its existence, which it has been desperately seeking since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Putin ordered the attack on Ukraine. Russian troops are crossing the Ukrainian border from several sides. While Putin talks about "demilitarization", military aggression is at work, which could soon turn into a bloody war on a wider scale. At the moment, it is not clear how the Ukrainian armed forces will respond
Moscow announces that it is not affected by American sanctions and that it will respond with countermeasures, without specifying what this entails
From the "thunderbolt of ready-made sanctions", "atomic" sanctions, "never seen package" of punitive measures "that are ready for use stored in the shale with poisons" and are to be applied in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, nothing is visible so far . And Russia did recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, its troops are already in Donbass, and Crimea was annexed a long time ago.
Beijing's reaction to Russia's recognition of the breakaway people's republics of Lugansk and Donetsk in the east of Ukraine is restrained: in principle it supports the territorial integrity of every sovereign state, but at the same time it criticizes NATO's expansion to the east. In a conflict whose end is not in sight, China will take care of its own interests and not worsen trade relations with either the West or Russia
In full view of the whole world, Putin can play with Ukraine like a cat with a mouse: he can send "peacekeeping troops" to the newly created pro-Russian independent republics and secure a separation border with the rest of Ukraine; can occupy an additional separation band, purely for the sake of order; can establish a land strip between the already formally annexed Crimea and Donbass; can order the invasion of Kiev and establish a pro-Russian regime. And no one can stop him
The West has been insisting for months that Russia is preparing an invasion of Ukraine, Moscow persistently denies this. The Kremlin announces that it is withdrawing part of its troops, the West denies this and claims that more and more Russian soldiers are ready to go to Ukraine. Russia warns that the Ukrainian forces could try to provoke the Russians in Donetsk and Luhansk, who have declared republics, in order not to provoke conflicts, Western politicians put the appearance of a Russian attack "under a false flag" on their compatriots, which they would use as an excuse to start an invasion. Both sides accuse each other of media war and unscrupulous propaganda. During that time, there is more and more shooting in the east of Ukraine, war is really in the air
While the state tourism organization promotes Ukraine with the slogan "Keep Calm and Visit Ukraine", war courses and combat training are held throughout the country, in which women participate in large numbers. A survey by the Kyiv Institute for Public Opinion Research shows that one third of Ukrainians are ready to take up arms in the event of war
