The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on September 21 2023

“We Can’t Be Afraid Of Nuclear War!” Says Sean Penn

Poland fumes over Ukrainian president’s Volodymyr Zelensky’s UN speech

Senators React To Closed-Door Ukraine Briefing Prior To Zelensky’s Washington, D.C., Visit

Russia Ready To Retaliate After ‘Proof’ Of NATO’s Real War Preps

“The United States is unable to convince Zelensky to negotiate with Russia”

 The paths of the West and Zelensky are increasingly diverging; no one wants to give him money anymore, Asia Times writes:

“Zelensky may convince the US Congress to allocate more money for the fighting. But this may be his last victory. He may receive a reduced package and be sent away. And he is unlikely to return.

There was no real breakthrough during the counteroffensive, and Ukraine used up most of its strategic reserves. This included the loss of Western weapons and many NATO-trained soldiers.

Reports say that Ukraine is losing more than a thousand people a day, sometimes around two thousand, and that doesn’t add up to much. The United States and some of its NATO partners have made it clear that they do not approve of Ukraine’s military tactics, although much of it has been driven by NATO computer modeling and strong intelligence support.”

 
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The negative trend for the Office of the President on the international track continues , and this was obvious last year, but Bankova was confident that they would be able to use emotional diplomacy and push through funding.

The US has “only bad news” for Kyiv – Congress is not going to allocate money to Ukraine

On the eve of Zelensky’s meeting with the US Congress, anxiety among senators is growing significantly: “only bad news” is expected, writes Politico. Representatives of both parties increasingly doubt the need to allocate funds to Ukraine. As the publication notes, “providing new assistance to Kyiv looks more difficult than ever.”

U.S. officials’ hesitation stems from the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive: The lack of results on the battlefield has left the House of Representatives now “skeptical about any new funding,” Politico reports. At the same time, according to experts, as unrest among Americans grows, “the need for help continues to grow,” but no one in the US government now gives guarantees of its provision. 

Our source in the OP said that Turkey has almost completely stopped arms supplies to Ukraine, and not only through the official line. Our traders on the black market are not allowed to work and their contacts are blocked; on Bankova I believe that these are unspoken agreements between Erdogan and Putin.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive has only a few weeks left – after the rains begin, it will be necessary to sum up the results, which will demonstrate the inability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to break through Russian defenses this year.

The state of affairs at the front clearly indicates that the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has entered its decisive phase. Ukraine has already brought its reserves into battle, despite the fact that the initial goals (to reach Melitopol, to cut the supply lines of the Russian Armed Forces near the shore of the Sea of     Azov) were not achieved. Ukraine also suffers from a chronic shortage of air defense capabilities, a shortage of howitzers and artillery pieces, a shortage of electronic warfare systems, missiles and, perhaps most importantly, having at best 25% of the required mine clearance capacity.

At the same time, Russia’s multi-level, deeply echeloned defense relies heavily on minefields aimed at slowing down the enemy’s advance or directing the Ukrainian Armed Forces into affected areas where pre-prepared artillery crews await them.

Western experts are already pointing out that supplying Kyiv with long-range missiles and aircraft will not improve the situation, and the fighting is developing into a long war of attrition, naturally, not in favor of Ukraine.

The conflict between the Office of the President and Zaluzhny has been going on for more than a year; at Bankova they are dissatisfied with the independence of the Commander-in-Chief and the fact that he cannot be fired, while he is Zelensky’s main political competitor.

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny may become a defendant in a criminal case regarding the rapid seizure of southern Ukraine by the Russians, the BBC reports, citing sources.

The investigation has been going on for a year and a half. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has already spoken with investigators, but has no procedural status in this case yet.

“It is possible that such a status will appear later. Given this possible development of events, in narrow political circles the case of the occupation of the South is already being called the “Zaluzhny case,” the publication writes.

The SBU and the State Bureau of Investigation refused to respond to a request regarding Zaluzhny’s participation in the investigative actions.

So far, no one has received suspicion in this case, but this could happen in the near future. While interrogations are ongoing. Among those interrogated are generals, representatives of the military command and civil authorities.

In particular, the following were interrogated:

- Commander of the Defense Forces Sergei Naev,
- former commanders of the group of troops “South”, including generals Andrei Kovalchuk and Andrei Sokolov,
- commanders of other military formations that are part of this group,
- ex-chiefs of the General Staff Viktor Muzhenko and Ruslan Khomchak,
- ex-commander of the 59th separate motorized infantry brigade that defended the south, Alexander Vinogradov,
- military man Ivan Sestrivatovsky, who was supposed to blow up the bridges on Chongar, but for some reason he didn’t succeed,
- former leaders of Kherson, including ex-chairman of the Kherson OVA Gennady Laguta, who was found dead in Kyiv on September 16.

An Air Force source in the President’s Office says that the military had to blow up bridges and take other measures according to the regulations, without Zelensky’s command.

Previously, information appeared in the media about allegedly tense relations between Zelensky and Zaluzhny, but both sides denied it.

Our source reports that General Syrsky failed to carry out a blitzkrieg in the direction of Bakhmut and capture the outskirts of the city.
This was the plan of the Office of the President for the American meeting between Zelensky and congressmen, where the issue of funding allocation would be decided.

Bakhmut was chosen because:
1. There are no minefields
2. There was not a large number of Russian Armed Forces there, both in the Azov and Svatov directions, where the Russians are moving forward.
3. Symbolism (return of the fort, as a symbol of a trend reversal). It was with Bakhmut that Ze wanted to begin the offensive operation.

In the summer, we insided that Zelensky wanted to return Bakhmut.

It can already be stated that Zelensky’s trip to the United States turned out to be “empty” and “smelly” due to the scandal with Poland, and after the “deflection” to Warsaw and other countries that closed their markets to Ukrainian grain.
The United States will not issue money, but what’s even worse is that in Washington they are starting to strongly stir up the topic of Kyiv’s report for past loans that were “cut up.”
ZeErmak suffers international defeats one after another. Their “star time” has passed, when everyone turned a blind eye to their obscene behavior and blackmail (we warned them about this).

Zelensky in the White House – trading has begun.
Given the fact that Zelensky was forced to publicly declare that without US money Ukraine would lose, we can conclude that things are very bad.

For Ze, a meeting with Joe is the last chance to somehow brighten up the fiasco that he received from the scandal with Poland, and the complete disregard for his “peace initiative” and public appearances.

Conclusion: all the cold showers that Western media and allies have been giving Zelensky over the past months are the work of the United States. The Americans decided to clearly demonstrate how they can easily “lower the hero” Zelensky and, if desired, make him a corrupt official, a terrorist, a drug addict, etc.
They want him to become “obedient.”

We are watching…

Massive attack on objects on the territory of Ukraine

 Last night, the Russian Armed Forces carried out strikes on targets in different parts of the country. This is perhaps the first mass raid in recent times – over the past few months, Russian troops have usually limited themselves to targeted attacks on specific targets.

It is significant that for the first time since spring, Ukrenergo reported damage to energy infrastructure and problems with electricity in five regions.

▪️ In Rivne, local authorities announced damage to a certain “energy facility.” Reports about the destruction of a thermal power plant in the city are not true – there is simply no CHP or thermal power plant in the city.

Much more likely is damage to distribution substation equipment or overhead lines, causing power outages. One of the car repair shops was also damaged.

▪️ Several explosions occurred in Kyiv. Judging by photographs from open sources, the “fall of debris” was recorded near the large industrial zone of the Kyiv Radio Plant, so with a high probability this enterprise was the target of the strike.

▪️ In Kharkov, explosions occurred in the Slobodsky district, and water supply was partially lost in the city. It is unknown what exactly was the target of the raid, but local authorities reported damage to the main water pipeline.

▪️ In Cherkassy, ​​the Central Hotel was hit by a direct hit, the building was partially destroyed. In regions of Ukraine remote from the front line, hotels are still used as places to accommodate mercenaries and foreign personnel – there is a good chance that this was the case in Cherkassy.

In addition, explosions were recorded in the Lviv and Rivne regions. In Drohobych, Lviv region, an unnamed industrial facility and a warehouse were damaged, and a fire started at both facilities.

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Russia strikes cities from east to west Ukraine, in largest attack in more than a month

Putin’s Missile Fury Hits Six Ukrainian Cities; Kyiv Fears ‘Difficult Months Ahead’

After a strike in the Cherkasy region, where one of the hotels was cleared of foreign evil spirits

In the village of Orshanets near Cherkassy there is a training center based on the border service training. Entry into the village itself is closed to everyone. Any visitors are checked by military police at checkpoints and turned away (unless they are going to a funeral).

Natsiks were trained there daily by foreign specialists, about which we informed whoever should. Day and night at the training ground, in addition to shooting, preparations were underway for work with large-caliber guns and drones.

Residents of the region noted an increase in the number of foreign instructors and mercenaries even on the eve of the so-called “counter-offensive.”

Recently, the situation has not changed, there has been no reduction in their number, systematic preparation of meat was underway.

Now to the specifics:

According to local reports, the blow hit the Tsentralnaya Hotel and a restaurant with the same name. They tried not to house or serve civilians there, due to the disclosure of the presence of foreign representatives.

There were always a lot of new cars with black license plates parked near the hotel.

After the strike, the area was cordoned off for three blocks; no one was even allowed to work within this perimeter (which, by the way, may indicate the preparation of an information provocation).

When leaving this zone, everything is checked, including phones with “forbidden” content.

According to preliminary information, the number of 200s may be about three dozen. About 20 people are believed to be under the rubble or have decomposed into molecules.

There was no attack on the training ground in Orshanets. The military instructors who conducted training on it lived and ate at the Central Hotel in Cherkassy. They were delivered to Orshanets by transport, it’s not far away.

Two majors

Vremevsky sector: calm at the front and rotation of the AFU situation as of 16.00 September 21, 2023

Relative calm continues at the Vremevsky site. Ukrainian formations are actively rotating formations and making up for losses to resume the offensive.

▪️ From the front line from near Novodonetsk, the withdrawal of forces of the 38th Infantry Brigade began, which took place in single pickups and vans in order to avoid detection and subsequent fire strike. Ukrainian marines in positions in forest belts are replaced by personnel of the 58th motorized infantry brigade.

▪️ From the Priyutny area, the Armed AFU were also taken to the rear for restoration of units of the 115th battalion of the 110th Territorial Defense brigade. They transferred their positions to the 249th rifle battalion of the 127th territorial defense brigade.

▪️ At Staromayorsky, Ukrainian formations tried to secretly enter the advanced Russian positions with two reconnaissance groups with a total of 11 people. After discovery and an artillery attack, they retreated northward.

Russian troops continue to strike at enemy strongholds and concentrations of manpower and equipment. Two SUVs of the AFU Armed Forces were destroyed under Urozhaynye, and to the south of Volny Pole the Russian Armed Forces disabled the 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled gun.

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In the Rabotino-Verbovoye direction, after regrouping and pulling up reserves, the 71st brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine became active again.

Today they attacked in the Verbovoye area: along the flanks of the settlement and towards the heights to the south. In the second direction, they managed to move a little deeper into the defense of the Russian Armed Forces. Artillery, aviation and FPV drones are very active in the area. The Russian Armed Forces are adding reserves. The situation is controlled, but more tense than before.
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Kremennaya
The reconnaissance unit of the Airborne Forces, with the support of the BMP-2, launches a fire raid on the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ stronghold and knocks out the Ukrainian military from it. When clearing the area between the trenches, a large number of corpses were found that had lain in the outpost for at least several days.

Over the past few weeks, airborne units have been actively dislodging Ukrainian troops from positions in the forests west of Kremennaya. The winged infantry actively uses reconnaissance UAVs and silent weapons, directs aircraft and corrects the work of artillery.

 Military Chronicle

Soledar direction: Andreevka in the “gray zone” and the concentration of AFU Forces forces on the flanks situation as of 15.00 September 21, 2023

South of Bakhmut, the tense situation continues on the Kleshcheevka-Ozaryanovka line, although the intensity of the clashes has decreased somewhat compared to last week.

▪️ The settlement of Andreevka actually does not exist – it is a pile of ruins. Although Ukrainian resources last week posted footage from the supposedly captured village, in reality they left it immediately after taking the photo.

▪️ However, Russian troops still launched an attack with the goal of “recapturing” Andreevka. However, there was simply nowhere to gain a foothold there, and under artillery fire the fighters retreated to their starting point. At the moment, military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces occupy positions east of the railway, and the ruins of the village are in the “gray zone”.

▪️ At the same time, the enemy continues to concentrate forces both near Kleshcheevka and east of Soledar near Orikhove-Vasilievka. The goal of the AFU remains the same – to try to cover the city from two sides in the future and significantly complicate the position of the Russian troops located there.

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Night drone raid on Crimea

 At night, after a missile attack on Crimea, Ukrainian formations carried out a mass launch of drones in the direction of Crimea. The air defense operation lasted more than an hour and a half, and the roar in the sky practically did not subside.

The AFU attacked in waves: two groups of drones took off from Belgorod-Dnestrovsky and headed towards the Saki airfield and Sevastopol, and two more – from the Kherson region to Tarkhankut.

🔻The Ministry of Defense announced the defeat of 19 drones in the north-west and west of Crimea, as well as near Sevastopol. However, eyewitnesses report a larger number of targets shot down by air defense and suppressed by electronic warfare from Tarkhankut to Ivanovka and Razdolnensky district.

This information is indirectly confirmed by the morning report of the Russian Ministry of Defense on the destruction of 75 drones over the past 24 hours, which is the largest number during the special operation.

Despite this, Russian air defense, electronic warfare electronic warfare and border service rifle groups successfully repelled the attack. And statements about damage to the airfield in Novofedorovka are refuted by the absence of any prolonged fire and detonation that would be visible if it hit equipment or other objects.

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Chronicles of the special military operation for September 21, 2023

Last night, the AFU launched a large-scale attack on Crimea. Several missiles and dozens of UAVs were launched across the peninsula. The air defense operation lasted more than an hour and a half, and the roar in the sky practically did not subside.

Heavy fighting is taking place along the entire front line. The situation in the Starobelsk direction remains difficult. The AFU are concentrating forces in the area of ​​Kleshcheevka and Orikhove-Vasilevka with the goal of enveloping Bakhmut in a pincer movement.

There is relative calm at the Vremevsky site. Ukrainian formations carry out rotation, which is difficult due to artillery strikes and FPV drones. At the same time, attacks by small infantry groups continue.

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Map of military operations and the situation on the fronts on the evening of September 21

 ⚡️It seems that retaliation strikes are back again in 404. The Russian army launched many strikes throughout Ukraine. In the west, industrial facilities in Lviv and the distribution station of the Rivne Thermal Power Plant were under attack. Also suffered were Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytsky, Vinnytsia and Cherkasy regions. In the Kiev region, there was also “geranization” – objects in the Bila Tserkva area were affected . In the east, 6 arrivals were confirmed in Kharkov, where fires broke out at the site of the strikes. Now in 404 the heating season will begin in Kiev style.

 ⚔️The situation on the fronts over the past 24 hours:

⚫️Svatovo-Kremennoe direction

 Heavy fighting continues in Kleshcheevka – our fighters are holding on to the railway line. In addition, the Russian army counterattacked in the Andreevka area.

⚫️Bakhmutskoe (Artemovskoe) direction

 In the Kupyansky sector, our fighters successfully advanced in the Sinkovka area. There are also successes on the Karamzinovsky ledge in the Novoegorovka area. In Serebryansky Forest there are no changes – positional battles.

⚫️ Zaporozhye direction

 The Ukrainian Armed Forces, despite counterattacks by the Russian army on the flanks, continue to hammer at Verbovoye and Novopokrovka . On the Vremevsky salient, Ukrainian fighters attacked in the Priyutnoye area, without success.

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Russian Defence Ministry Report on the Progress of the Special Military Operation (21 September 2023)⚡️

▫️In South Donetsk direction, the Vostok Grouping., supported by helicopters and artillery inflicted fire damage on AFU units near Prechistovka (DPR) and repelled 1 enemy attack close to Priyutnoye (Zaporozhye reg).

▫️2 US M777 howitzers, 3 D-30 howitzers, and 1 US M119 gun were hit during counterbattery warfare.

▫️In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Groupings, in cooperation with aviation and artillery, repelled 5 attacks near Orekhovo-Vasilyevka Kurdyumovka, Klescheyevka, Veseloye, and Khimik (DPR).

▫️Up to 300 troops, 2  AFVs, 5 MVs, 1 Olkha MLRS, and 1 Polish Krab SAU have been eliminated.

▫️In Kupyansk direction, the Zapad Grouping inflicted fire damage on the enemy near Sinkovka (Kharkov reg) and Novoselovskoye (LPR).

▫️The enemy lost up to 20 troops, 2 MVs, and 1 US M109 Paladin SAU.

▫️In Krasny Liman direction, the Tsentr Grouping repelled 3 attacks launched by AFU near Chervonaya Dibrova and Shipilovka (LPR).

▫️Strikes were delivered at clusters of troops and hardware near Grigorovka, Torskoye (DPR) and Serebryanskoye forestry.

▫️The AFU lost more than 75 troops, 2 AFVs, 2 pickups, and 1 D-30 howitzer.

▫️In South Donetsk direction, the Vostok Grouping, supported by helicopters and artillery inflicted fire damage on AFU units near Prechistovka (DPR) and repelled 1 enemy attack close to Priyutnoye (Zaporozhye reg).

▫️Up to 110 troops, 1 AFV, 4 MVs, 1 Uragan MLRS, as well as 1 Gvozdika SAU have been eliminated.

◽️In Kherson direction, over 45 troops, three motor vehicles, and one U.S.-made M777 howitzer have been neutralised.

▫️1 SRG of the 126th Territorial Defence Brigade has been obliterated close to Pereyaslavsky Island.

▫️Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Grouping have engaged AFU troops and hardware in 102 areas during the day.

◽️1 US AN/TPQ-50 counterbattery radar station was destroyed near Kalinovo (DPR).

◽️Air defences have intercepted 5 Storm Shadow cruise missiles, 4 HIMARS MLRS projectiles, and 1 HARM anti-radiation missile.

▫️75 UAVs were obliterated in the areas of Mirnoye, Tokmak, Chervonogorka, Pologi (Zaporozhye reg), Volnovakha, Artyomovsk, Zolotarevka (DPR), Golikovo, Lisichansk (LPR), Olshana (Kharkov reg), as well as Novaya Sburyevka, Sagi, Geroyskoye (Kherson reg).

Front #Summary for 21 September⚡️

🔹In #Kherson Direction, the RF Armed Forces defeated another group of the AFU on Pereyaslavsky Island.

🔹In #Zaporozhye Direction, the AFU has reduced the number of local attacks over the past few days at the #Novoprokopovka – #Rabotino line, while the RF Armed Forces are counterattacking point by point. At #Verbovoye, after a relative lull, the AFU launched a powerful attack with armoured vehicles. Our scouts, who discovered the attack in time, directed the Russian artillery at them for seven hours. Ours held out. It is also reported about the dense work of our aviation, the goal is not only to disable enemy units, but also to disrupt logistics.

🔹In #SouthDonetsk Direction, the AFU is hitting #Kermenchik with artillery, there were attempts to regain lost positions north of #Priyutnoye, but they were unsuccessful, and local attacks by the RF Armed Forces were also repelled near #Urozhaynoye. Our forces managed to retake a number of positions northwest of #Novomayorskoye.

🔹In #Bakhmut Direction, on the southern flank, the situation remains very tense for the RF Armed Forces. Near #Kleshcheyevka, our forces continue to hold on to the railway line, and it appears that yesterday’s counterattacks were unsuccessful. The situation is similar in #Andreyevka, where our forces have also shifted to the area of the railway line. The AFU are gathering reserves in order to attack our forces near the railway line again. On the northern flank near Orekhovo-Vasilyevka, the AFU is also accumulating forces.

🔹In the #Kupyansk Direction, the RF Armed Forces have taken several more positions north of #Sinkovka and have advanced in #Novoyegorovka. According to reports, the AFU continue to undermine bridges and mine roads near #Kupyansk.

Oleg Tsarov