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The Foreign Office has condemned the elections currently taking place in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. The Ukrainian army reports progress in the counteroffensive. The developments in the live blog.
The Romanian government wants to approve a plan to improve the infrastructure, specifically the roads, in the Black Sea port of Constanta. This is part of broader investments in the port aimed at facilitating the transit of Ukrainian grain.
Since the Russian naval blockade, Ukraine’s most important alternative export route has been through Constanta, through which grain arrives on the Danube by road, rail or inland waterway barge.
Russian air defense has shot down an “enemy drone” over northern Crimea. This was announced by Sergei Aksyonov, the head of the peninsula’s administration appointed by Russia.
According to the EU, this year’s G20 summit of the leading industrialized and emerging countries could end without a joint final declaration. It is difficult to predict whether it will be possible to reach an agreement, said EU Council President Charles Michel before the start of the summit meeting in the Indian capital New Delhi. One reason is that it appears to be more difficult for some states this year to agree to a clear condemnation of Russia for the war of aggression against Ukraine, said Michel.
The Foreign Office has condemned the local and regional elections currently taking place in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. The “sham elections” are “nothing more than a transparent propaganda exercise,” the office explained on X, formerly Twitter. “We do not recognize Russia’s attempted land grab,” it said.
Local and regional elections are currently taking place in the Russian-occupied regions of Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson and Luhansk. Russia announced the annexation of the four Ukrainian regions in September 2022, despite strong condemnation from Western states. Votes known as “referendums” had previously been held there and were not internationally recognized. Then as now, Russia controls only part of the four claimed regions. New governors, regional parliaments and city councils will also be elected in many regions of Russia by Sunday. There is no real opposition represented.
Hatched: territories occupied by Russia as of September 7, 2023.
According to official reports, at least one person was killed and twelve others injured in renewed Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine during the night. There may be other victims. Serhiy Lysak, the military governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, told Telegram that a rocket was aimed at an administrative building in Kryvyi Rih.
According to the civil defense, a total of 20 houses and eight vehicles were damaged in the rocket strike in the Sumy region in the north of the country, and two people were injured.
conflicting parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
According to military governor Yuri Malashko, one person was also injured in the Zaporizhia region in southern Ukraine. According to him, the Russian armed forces also fired a missile.
The port region of Odessa was attacked for the fifth time this week. Drones were mainly used here. The Ukrainian Air Force reported shooting down 16 of the 20 drones launched. Initially there was no information about major damage. The military governor of Odessa, Oleh Kiper, only said on Telegram that the debris from a drone had damaged an administrative building. According to preliminary information, there were no deaths or injuries.
According to the Interior Ministry, 17 people have been arrested in Cuba who are said to be part of a network that recruits men for the war in Ukraine. Among those arrested were the “internal organizer of these activities” and two recruiters, explained the investigator in charge, César Rodriguez. He did not provide any information about the nationality of those arrested.
The public prosecutor’s office accuses the suspects of, among other things, human trafficking and “hostile acts” by a foreign state. In Cuba, the offenses can be punished with life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
According to the Russian Embassy in the US, Washington is interfering in Russia’s internal affairs by considering elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine to be illegitimate. This is reported by the Ria news agency. Russia is holding regional elections this week, including in the four Ukrainian regions it partially controls. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the elections in the occupied territories on Thursday as “sham elections”.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has reported a “partial success” near the eastern city of Bakhmut as well as progress in the advance of Ukrainian troops south to the Sea of Azov. In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked military units in the east and south of the country for their actions against Russian troops.
Ukraine began its counteroffensive in June, focusing on recapturing Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian troops in May.
conflicting parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has shown understanding for Ukraine’s demand for the delivery of long-range “Taurus” cruise missiles. She pointed out to the newspapers of the Funke media group and the French newspaper “Ouest France” that the Russian army had laid huge minefields between the occupied territories and the rest of Ukraine.
In order to free the people in eastern Ukraine and hit Russian supply lines behind the defense line, the mine belt must be overcome, said Baerbock. “In this respect, the Ukrainian request for a device with a longer range is more than understandable.” At the same time, the Foreign Minister spoke out in favor of a careful examination. As with the Leopard tanks and the Iris-T air defense system, every detail must be clarified beforehand.
According to the “Financial Times” (FT), British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants to call on his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to do more with regard to Russia and the war against Ukraine. As the paper reports, Sunak plans to call on Modi at the upcoming G20 summit to better use his influence over Russia to finally end the war.
The UN cultural organization UNESCO has placed 20 cultural assets in Ukraine under increased temporary protection in view of the Russian war of aggression. UNESCO said it was also decided to train Ukrainian security forces and judicial staff in protecting cultural heritage.
Due to the destruction of cultural property in Ukraine, a special meeting of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was held at the country’s request. The committee condemned the “severe damage caused by Russian missile attacks on historic buildings of cultural significance in Lviv, Odessa and Chernihiv.” The cultural assets that UNESCO has placed under increased protection include the historic center of Lviv, St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev and the residence of the Metropolitan of Bukovina and Dalmatia in Chernivtsi.
The Russian border region of Bryansk has reported drone attacks on an industrial facility. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has ended his visit to Ukraine. Thursday’s live blog for reading.