Because of low morale and reluctance to fight, Russian forces have probably started deploying barrier troops, or blocking units, which threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers to compel attacks, the UK Ministry of Defence says, citing the force’s poor discipline.
North Korea is covertly supplying Russia with a significant number of artillery shells for its war in Ukraine and hiding the shipments by making them appear to be bound for the Middle East or North Africa, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
The US has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin of the consequences his country would face if it used a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, calling Russian claims that Ukraine was preparing a dirty bomb another fabrication and a pretext.
Iran is lying when it denies supplying Russia with drones used to kill Ukrainians, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Canadian broadcasters, saying hundreds have already been delivered and that orders and agreements involve thousands of Iranian-made attack drones.
Gen. Sergei Surovikin, newly appointed commander of Russia’s forces in Ukraine, will likely have to contend with an increasingly factional Russian Defence Ministry that is poorly resourced to achieve the political objectives set for it in Ukraine, British intelligence says.
Instead of a tactical nuclear weapon, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is being activated, Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said after Minsk accused Ukraine of preparing an attack, arguing the aim is to pull Ukrainian forces from the front to the border.
A fire broke out on the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait linking occupied Crimea with Russia, partially collapsing two road spans and halting traffic, after Russian authorities said a truck exploded and set fire to fuel tank cars on a freight train on the bridge.
In Lyman, Donetsk region, over 50 civilian graves have been found following its liberation. Russian forces had coerced locals to bury the dead, leaving many unidentified. Ukrainian troops have regained control, encircling 5,000 Russian soldiers, and continue stabilizing nearby areas.
Russian authorities have finalized referenda in occupied Ukrainian regions, paving the way for annexation announcements by Putin. Ukrainian forces continue strategic advances, particularly in Eastern Ukraine, disrupting Russian supply lines and targeting key military infrastructure.
Vladimir Putin rejected requests from his commanders to withdraw Russian forces from Kherson and has become personally involved in strategic planning of the war against Ukraine, causing tension with his top military leaders, The New York Times reports, citing US officials.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the UK’s Chief of the Defence Staff, said Vladimir Putin was failing his military-strategic objectives in Ukraine, in a BBC interview on September 18, 2022.
Russia was expanding its mobilisation reserves and planned to recruit around 90,000 personnel for the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian military-intelligence representative Vadym Skibitskyi said on August 28, 2022.
