G7 countries believe that the conflict in Ukraine could drag on and continue for another 6-7 years, Bloomberg reports, citing a senior official from a European country of the bloc. The president of the US Congress Kevin McCarthy said he was not ready to guarantee Zelenskyj a new financing of 24 billion dollars; On Thursday he will ask to report the money already allocated. In any case, the US Air Force Strategic Command was keen to make it known that two-thirds of America’s strategic nuclear forces are constantly ready for use, he reported.
The only one who still believes that the Ukrainians can bring immediate results seems to be the American Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, according to him, in fact, “the Ukrainian armed forces still have the necessary capabilities to continue the counteroffensive”, he said at a press conference after the meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine in Germany. “The Ukrainian Armed Forces are moving very slowly and very carefully, preserving the lives of servicemen,” Milley said. “I will tell all critics that there is still a long time before the weather remains suitable for combat operations, there there is still a lot of fighting – forces ready.” “From conversations [with Ukrainian colleagues], it became clear to me that the Ukrainians have no intention of stopping hostilities in the winter,” he said. According to him, Kiev is now fighting “heavy battles”, trying to “move 200-300 thousand Russian military personnel” from the territory of Ukraine.
The supply of Taurus missiles to Kiev was not discussed at the meeting in the Ramstein format – the German Ministry of Defense reported this
The New York Times says Ukraine and its allies, including the United States, may have set expectations too high for a counteroffensive. “Ukraine and its allies, including the United States, may have placed too much hope in a counteroffensive. Ukraine is fighting against one of the most powerful armies in the world. If Ukraine succeeds in forcing Russia to retreat significantly , it would have taken years rather than months anyway,” the newspaper’s author writes in the article.
The New York Times also demonstrated in an investigation that a missile launched from the Ukrainian Buk air defense system fell on the Konstantinovka market, killing 15 civilians and injuring 30 others. Vladimir Zelenskyj on the same day blamed Russia for the attack, but journalists from the New York Times came to the conclusion that the tragedy occurred due to a mistake by the Ukrainian air defense. A few minutes before the explosion, a publication about the launch of Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles appeared on local public pages, and camera recordings show that one of them was flying from Ukrainian-controlled territory. The launch itself was carried out from the city of Druzhkovka: on September 6 it was heard by New York Times journalists working nearby and two eyewitnesses. Journalists also visited the site of the alleged missile launch in the Druzhkovka area. There they found tracks, trenches and burnt grass; Satellite images of the site before and after the impact also showed the appearance of new launch tracks.
The Spanish newspaper El Pais has learned that Kiev is trying to find an alternative to the Starlink satellite network, the closure of which threatens the collapse of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but “giving up Musk” proves “impossible”.
The State Duma, at its plenary meeting on 20 September, will consider at first reading a bill abolishing the obligation to notify the Secretary General of the Council of Europe of the introduction or termination of martial law or a state of emergency in Russian Federation. This decision was made by the Duma Council, First Deputy Speaker of the House Alexander Zhukov told reporters. The document was presented to the State Duma on August 9 by Vladimir Putin. The changes are foreseen by the laws “On martial law” and “On the state of emergency”. Also the State Duma adopted a law establishing an anniversary for September 30, the Day of the reunification of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions with the Russian Federation
And now a look at the front updated at 06:00 on 20 September.
Bachmut Directorate (Artemovsk). Fighting continues in Kleshcheiivka, social media sources say that the area is “already littered with the corpses of Ukrainian soldiers”. At Andriivka, the Russians tried to take previously abandoned positions. The Russian Armed Forces launched or a counteroffensive from Kurdiumivka.
Zaporozhzhie Directorate. In the Orikhiv sector, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have ceased active offensive operations. While to the west of Rabotino battles and attempts to clash are expected in Novoprokopovka and Verbove. On the Vremevsky ledge, militants attacked Novodonets’ke and Novomaiors’ke. Russian anti-aircraft shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 in the Novopokrovka area, in the Zaporozhizhie region.
The Russian army bombed Ukrainian infrastructure all night. In the Kharkov region, a missile attack occurred in the area of an armored tank plant in the Kholodnogorsk region. And in the Odessa, Lviv and Khmelnytsky regions there were geran drone attacks. In Lviv, an airstrike on an industrial plant caused a fire. It arrived near Odessa through the port infrastructure. And in Khmelnitsky the Starokonstantinov airport was targeted.
Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the village of Maksimovka in the Shebekinsky urban district of the Belgorod region. A residential building was damaged by a direct hit and the owner suffered a concussion. During the shelling of Maksimovka, one civilian was killed and another was injured while driving along the highway past the settlement.
Other Ukrainian bombings on the border with Russia were recorded in: Masychevo, Mokraya Orlovka, Antonovka and Golovchino were under fire from the Ukrainian armed forces. In the latter, according to the regional governor, several families were damaged, but there were no victims. There is no official information yet on other settlements.
Finally a drone tried to hit Sochi international airport, a powerful explosion occurred at a Rosneft gas station. As a result of the attack, one of the depots with fuel and lubricants burned down.
Graziella Giangiulio
